Question Formation

L N G 2 0 13

Prepared by Ms.Nabira Mansor

YES/ NO QUESTIONS
 YES/ NO QUESTIONS

• Inverting the subject and the verb

▪Adding helping verb before the subject

 QUESTIONS WITH
AUXILIARIES

- 99% of the time we need to

use something called an
auxiliary (a helper) to make a
question in English

FUTURE AUXILIARY
THE VERB TO BE
 I am happy.
 I will see you later.
 Am I happy?  Will I see you later?

MODAL VERBS PRESENT PERFECT

 They can speak Spanish very AUXILIARY
well.
 Can they speak Spanish very  He hasn’t phoned us.
well?
 Hasn’t he phoned us?
 QUESTIONS IN PRESENT SIMPLE
EXAMPLES FOR DO:
 We have English every Wednesday.
1. Use auxiliaries DO / DOES at the
beginning of the question.  Do we have English every
Wednesday?
2. In 3rd person singular CHANGE
THE VERB EXAMPLES FOR DOES:
to the base form.  My pen has black ink.
 The “s” from the verb  Does my pen have black ink?
is added to D-o-e-s.  He teaches ESL.
 Does he teach ESL?
 Maria types quickly.
 Does Maria type quickly?
QUESTIONS IN PAST TENSE
1. Use the auxiliary DID (for all pronouns).
2. Change the verb back to the base form.
Examples:
 She talked too much.
 Did she talk too much?
 I wrote my name on the test.
 Did I write my name on the test?
 The students spoke on the phone.
 Did the students speak on the phone?
Yes/No Questions

Answer
auxiliary verb subject main verb
Yes or No
Do you want dinner? Yes, I do.
Can you drive? No, I can't.
Has she finished her work? Yes, she has.
No, they
Did they go home?
didn't.
Exception! verb be simple present and simple
past
Is Anne French? Yes, she is.
Was Ram at home? No, he wasn't.
Question and Short/ Long Answers
TRY These!
❑ They are American.
❑ She is nice.
❑ They are visiting Paris.
❑ She has done the housework.
❑ Nancy has been working all night long.
❑ He will be reading the book.
❑I like apples.
❑They go to a high school.
❑Nancy reads a lot.
❑He hates basketball.
❑He discovered the truth.
❑She wrote a nice essay.
❑They did the homework.
❑ We will leave soon.
❑He gets up early.
❑You like ice cream
 WH Questions
WHO Person
WHAT Things
WHERE Place
WHY Reason
WHEN Time
HOW Process
Choose
WHICH
- there are WH questions about the subject and all
other WH questions
 1) Sentences with auxiliary verbs

-You must invert the subject and

the helping verb following the ‘wh’
word.

Sammy is going to Florida.

Subject Helping Verb Main Verb Where?

Where is Sammy going?

 2) Sentences without auxiliary verbs.
- need to have a form of the verb “do” inserted
- change the main verb to its base form
- wh word is in the initial position

The man broke the window.

What did the man break?

 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SUBJECT

- when the subject of the sentence is not known, there is

no inversion

- when the questions is about the subject, the WH- word

(who, what, which) replaces the subject and the verb is
always in the singular

- ? is feeling sick.
Who is feeling sick?
? are learning French.
Who is learning French?
 Question Word Questions

Answer
question word auxiliary verb subject main verb
Information

Where do you live? In Paris.

lunch
When will we have At 1pm.
?
Who did she meet? She met Ram.
Why hasn't Tara done it? Because she can't.

Exception! verb be simple present and simple past

Where is Bombay? In India.

How was she? Very well.
Question
Function Example
Word

what asking for information about something What is your name?

What? I can't hear

asking for repetition or confirmation you.
You did what?
What did you do that
what...for asking for a reason, asking why
for?

when asking about time When did he leave?

where asking in or at what place or position Where do they live?

Which colour do you

which asking about choice
want?
asking what or which person or people Who opened the
who
(subject) door?
 Whose are these keys?
whose asking about ownership
Whose turn is it?

why asking for reason, asking what...for Why do you say that?

why don't making a suggestion Why don't I help you?

how asking about manner How does this work?

asking about condition or quality How was your exam?

how + adj/adv asking about extent or degree see examples below

how far distance How far is Pattaya from Bangkok?

how long length (time or space) How long will it take?

how many quantity (countable) How many cars are there?

how much quantity (uncountable) How much money do you have?

how old age How old are you?

how come (informal) asking for reason, asking why How come I can't see her?
 Ask questions for the underlined Word/
expression:
1. _____________________? In the morning I drink milk.
2. _____________________? She goes to school every day.
3. _____________________? At lunch time I eat soup.
4. _____________________? Mary lives in Lisbon.
5. _____________________? We went to Paris in August.
6. _____________________? We got there by bus.
7. _____________________? I waited 10 minutes to see him.
8. _____________________? We stayed in London for a week.
9. _____________________? We didn´t visit that museum because
we were in a hurry.
10. _____________________? She studies in her bedroom.
11. _____________________? He is my English teacher.
 Work in groups and invent at least 3 taboo
questions which will be answered afterwards
by the members of the other teams ☺

• E.g.
• “How often do you take a bath or
shower?”
• “What is the name of your
boyfriend/girlfriend?”
• “How tall are you?”
• “How much money do you have (in the

wallet)?”
Useful language

Politely refusing to answer a question

• “I’d rather not answer that (if you don’t mind)?”
• “I’d rather not say”
• “I’m afraid that’s a bit personal”

Impolitely refusing to answer a question

• “(That’s) none of your business!”
• “Keep your nose out (of other people’s business)!”
• “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you
QUESTION TAGS
QUESTION TAGS
A question tag is a short question at the end of a
statement:
He won the prize, didn’t he?

question tag

We use question tags when we want to check if

information is correct.
FORM
1. Use question tags at the end of a sentence:
He won the prize, didn’t he?

question tag
FORM
2.a. NEGATIVE QUESTION TAG:
If the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative:
You have seen that film, haven’t you?
+ -
2.b. POSITIVE QUESTION TAG:
If the sentence is negative, the question tag is positive:
You haven’t seen that film, have you?
- +
If the sentence contains a negative word (never, hardly…) the question
tag is positive:
Ann never goes anywhere, does she?
- +
FORM
3. Questions tags consist of …
AUXILIARY VERB + PRONOUN:
I shouldn’t laugh, should I?
Sarah was winning, wasn’t she?
We use the auxiliary verb that is used in the previous sentence. If there
is no auxiliary verb, se use “do/does” (present tense) and “did” (past
tense):
You live near here, don’t you?
You turned left, didn’t you?
The pronoun refers to the subject of the previous sentence.
FORM
4. Some verbs form question tags differently:
I am → aren’t I?
I’m helpful, aren’t I?
There is → isn’t there?
There is a chemist’s near here, isn’t there?
There are → aren’t there?
There are many shops in the area, aren’t there?
This is / That is → isn’t it?
That’s your wife over there, isn’t it?
FORM
5. When we answer question tags, we often use short
answers:
A: You are French, aren’t you?
B: Yes, I am. / No, I’m not.  SHORT ANSWERS
A: She’s got a dog, hasn’t she?
B: Yes, she has. / No, she hasn’t.  SHORT ANSWERS
A: You smoke, don’t you?
B: Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.  SHORT ANSWERS
FORM
6. Intonation:
When we are sure of the answer, the voice goes
down in the question tag:
John doesn’t like gold, does he?
→The speaker knows John doesn’t like gold.
When we are not sure of the answer, the voice goes
up:
They left for Milan, didn’t they?
→ The speaker doesn’t know if they left for Milan
or not.
Overview
Step 1: Identify the verb in the sentence
Step 2: Identify the type of verb.
Step 3: Identify the tense.
Step 4: If in present tense, determine if 1st or 3rd
person. If in past tense, use auxiliary “to be” or
“do” in past.
Step 5: Affirmative or negative?
Step 6: Add pronoun.
Important Notes!

In the present tense, if the subject is

"I", the auxiliary changes to are or
aren't.

I'm sitting next to you, aren't I?

With let's, the tag question is shall
we.

Let's go to the beach, shall we?

With an imperative, the tag
question is will you.

Close the window, will you?

We use a positive tag question after a
sentence containing a negative word
such as never, hardly, nobody.

Nobody lives in this house, do they?

You've never liked me, have you?
When the subject is nothing, we use
it in the tag question.

Nothing bad happened, did it?

When the subject is nobody,
somebody, everybody, no one,
someone, or everyone, we use they
in the tag question.

Nobody asked for me, did they?

We can use positive question tags
after positive sentences to express
a reaction such as surprise or
interest.

You're moving to Brazil, are you?

With used to, we use didn't in the
tag question.

You used to work here, didn't you?

If the main verb in the sentence is
have (not an auxiliary verb), it is
more common to use do in the
question tag.

You have a Ferrari, don't you?

 Here are some mixed examples:
• But you don't really love her, do you?
• This will work, won't it?
• Well, I couldn't help it, could I?
• But you'll tell me if she calls, won't you?
• We'd never have known, would we?
• The weather's bad, isn't it?
• You won't be late, will you?
• Nobody knows, do they?
PRACTICE 1
1.She didn’t watch the film last night, ________
2.It’s great to see you again, __________
3.He comes every Friday, _________
4.You’re married, __________
5.You went to the beach last weekend, _________
6.You don’t like coffee, ___________
7.She isn’t a very good cook, ________
8.He hasn’t got any brothers or sisters, ________
PRACTICE 2
1.You can’t speak German, __________
2.Nobody called me, __________
3.Something has happened, __________
4.Let’s watch a film, __________
5.Give me that box, __________
6.You never talked to John, __________
7.Everybody will come to the party, __________
8.There are three people waiting for you, __________
9.I’m too worried, ______________
ANSWERS
1.She didn’t watch the film last night, did she?
2.It’s great to see you again, isn’t it?
3.He comes every Friday, doesn’t he?
4.You’re married, aren’t you?
5.You went to the beach last weekend, didn’t you?
6.You don’t like coffee, do you?
7.She isn’t a very good cook, is she?
8.He hasn’t got any brothers or sisters, has he?
ANSWERS
1.You can’t speak German, can you?
2.Nobody called me, did they?
3.Something has happened, hasn’t it?
4.Let’s watch a film, shall we?
5.Give me that box, will you?
6.You never talked to John, did you?
7.Everybody will come to the party, won’t they?
8.There are three people waiting for you, aren’t there?
9.I’m too worried, aren’t I?
PRACTICE 3
In each of the following tag questions there is a
mistake;identify it and correct it.

• They enjoy playing football, didn’t they?

• Sarah isn’t thinking of living in New York,
does she?
• My cousin will go to university, won’t it?
• She doesn’t study a lot, does her?
• Jack bought a new car last week, don’t he?
• They aren’t serious, do they?
• You live in an apartment, isn’t you?
• She doesn’t speak Russian, do she?
• These students should shut up, shouldn’t
them?
• He isn’t concentrating, does he?
• They can’t come tonight, don’t they?
• This music is fantastic, doesn’t it?
ANSWERS
• They enjoy playing football, don’t they?
• Sarah isn’t thinking of living in New York, is
she?
• My cousin will go to university, won’t he?
• She doesn’t study a lot, does she?
• Jack bought a new car last week, didn’t he?
• They aren’t serious, are they?
• You live in an apartment, don’t you?
• She doesn’t speak Russian, does she?
• These students should shut up, shouldn’t
they?
• He isn’t concentrating, is he?
• They can’t come tonight, can they?
• This music is fantastic, isn’t it?