Welcome to Lesson 10: Questions.
In Lesson 9, you practiced building positive statements. Now you will learn how to turn those ideas into questions.
Questions are an important part of everyday English. We use them to get information, learn about other people, and communicate.
Use Google Translate if you need help.
What Is a Question?
A question asks for information or an answer.
Compare these sentences:
Statement: You are a student.
Question: Are you a student?
Statement: She has a car.
Question: Does she have a car?
Statement: They study English.
Question: Do they study English?
Questions end with a question mark (?).
Questions with “To Be”
Questions with to be are different from many other English questions.
Put am, is, or are before the subject.
Am/Is/Are + Subject + More Information?
Examples
Statement: She is a teacher.
Question: Is she a teacher?
Statement: They are ready.
Question: Are they ready?
Statement: You are tired.
Question: Are you tired?
Statement: Bob is at work.
Question: Is Bob at work?
Notice that we do not use do or does with to be.
Is she tired? ✓
Does she be tired? ✗
Questions with “To Have”
For most simple present questions with have, use do or does.
Do + I/you/we/they + have…?
Does + he/she/it + have…?
Examples
Statement: You have a car.
Question: Do you have a car?
Statement: She has a phone.
Question: Does she have a phone?
Statement: They have children.
Question: Do they have children?
Remember:
After does, use have, not has.
Does he have a job? ✓
Does he has a job? ✗
Questions with “To Do”
When do is the main verb, we also use do or does as the helping verb.
Examples
Statement: You do your homework.
Question: Do you do your homework?
Statement: She does the dishes.
Question: Does she do the dishes?
In these questions, the first do/does is the helping verb.
The second do is the main verb.
Questions with Other Verbs
We use do and does to make many simple present questions with other verbs.
Do + I/you/we/they + base verb…?
Does + he/she/it + base verb…?
Examples
You work every day.
→ Do you work every day?
They live in California.
→ Do they live in California?
He likes coffee.
→ Does he like coffee?
Maria studies English.
→ Does Maria study English?
After does, use the base form of the main verb.
Does Maria study English? ✓
Does Maria studies English? ✗
Yes/No Questions
Many questions can be answered with yes or no.
These are called yes/no questions.
With “To Be”
Are you tired?
Yes, I am. / No, I’m not.
Is she a teacher?
Yes, she is. / No, she isn’t.
With Do/Does
Do you study English?
Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.
Does he work here?
Yes, he does. / No, he doesn’t.
Information Questions
Sometimes we need more than a yes or no answer.
We can begin questions with question words such as:
| Question Word | Asks About |
|---|---|
| Who | a person |
| What | a thing or information |
| Where | a place |
| When | a time |
| Why | a reason |
| How | the way something happens or information about condition |
Examples
Who is your teacher?
What do you do?
Where do you live?
When do you study English?
Why do you study English?
How are you?
Question Word + Question
A question word usually comes at the beginning.
With “To Be”
Where + is + Bob?
→ Where is Bob?
How + are + you?
→ How are you?
With Other Verbs
Where + do + you + live?
→ Where do you live?
What + does + she + do?
→ What does she do?
When + do + they + work?
→ When do they work?
Statement → Yes/No Question → Information Question
Look at how the same information can be used in different ways.
Statement: Maria lives in California.
Yes/No Question: Does Maria live in California?
Information Question: Where does Maria live?
Another example:
Statement: Bob is a teacher.
Yes/No Question: Is Bob a teacher?
Information Question: What does Bob do?
Practice
Turn each statement into a yes/no question.
- She is a teacher.
- They are ready.
- You have a car.
- He has a job.
- They study English.
- Maria works every day.
Choose the Question Word
Choose Who, What, Where, When, Why, or How.
- __________ is your teacher?
- __________ do you live?
- __________ do you study English?
- __________ do you go to work?
- __________ are you today?
- __________ do you do?
Remember
There are different ways to make questions in English.
With to be, put the verb before the subject:
She is tired. → Is she tired?
With many other verbs, use do or does:
You work. → Do you work?
She works. → Does she work?
For more information, begin with a question word:
Who – What – Where – When – Why – How
Always end a written question with a question mark (?).
Goal
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
- Recognize a question.
- Make questions with am, is, and are.
- Make questions using do and does.
- Ask questions with have.
- Use the base form of the verb after does.
- Ask and answer simple yes/no questions.
- Use who, what, where, when, why, and how to ask for information.