Making Question

Introduction

There are many different ways to form questions. We will look at two kinds of questions. One is called a yes / no question and the other is called a WH- question.

Yes / No Questions

A yes / no question is a question that can be answered with yes or no. Yes / no questions can be formed using the words is / are or do / does.

The most common type of yes / no question is formed by putting a to be verb (for example, is or are) at the beginning of a question.

Making a Question with a “To Be” Verb

Example (be-verb: IS)

Statement	Question	Answers
Elliot is reading a book.	Is Elliot reading a book?	Yes, he is. No, he isn't.

Example (be-verb: ARE)

Statement	Question	Answers
They are from Greece.	Are they from Greece?	Yes, they are. No, they are not.

Another common type of yes / no question is formed by adding do or does at the beginning of a sentence.
The form of this kind of yes / no question is: Do / Does + subject +verb*

Making a Question with "Do" or "Does"

Statement	Question	Answers
I eat breakfast at 7 a.m.	Do you eat breakfast at 7 a.m.?	Yes, I do. No, I don't.
I listen to music.	Do you listen to music?	Yes, I do. No, I don't.
He doesn't work on the computer.	Does he work* on the computer?	Yes, he does. No, he doesn't.
We don't watch TV every night.	Do we watch TV every night?	Yes, we do. No, we don't.
I start work at 8 p.m.	Do you start work at 8 p.m.?	Yes, I do. No, I don't.
It takes* an hour to walk home.	Does it take an hour to walk home?	Yes, it does. No, it doesn't.

* Note that the -s is never added to the verb when using do / does in a question.

WH- Questions

Questions can ask for information. You ask for information using WH- question words (who, what, where, how, whose, why, and when).

WH- questions have a different structure when "who" is the subject.

Information Questions

Question	WH- Word	Structure	Answer
Where is the hotel?	Where Information about place	question word + auxiliary verb + subject	The hotel is on Douglas Street.
What is your name?	What Information about things	question word + auxiliary verb + subject	My name is Rachael.
Why is the road wet?	Why Information about the reason for something	question word + auxiliary verb + subject	The road is wet because it was just raining.
When do you get up?	When Information about time	question word + auxiliary verb + subject (+ verb)	I get up at 7:00 every morning.
How do you drink your coffee?	How Information about the manner or way in which something is done	question word + auxiliary verb + subject (+ verb)	I drink my coffee with milk and sugar.
Who lives in that house?	Who (subject) Information about people	question word + verb	My mother lives in that house.
Whose pen is this?	Whose Information about possession (who the owner is)	question word + subject + verb	That is Camilla's pen.