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= a question that may be answered by yes or no : Does he live in Chicago? : Yes, he does. OR No, he doesnt
Interogative sentences can be formed in two main ways: 1. By inversion of subject and verb, i.e by the word order VERB + SUBJECT
In modern English this method is used only with special finites (forming the tenses) e.g Is he your friend? Will they help us? Can George speak Japanese? Are the mason spreading the mortar? Has Henry finished the project?
2. By using do (does, did) and the infinitive. The word order is: Do (does, did) + SUBJECT + INFINITIVE
Does water boil at 100o c? Do you come here? Did they go to the workshop?
= a question that asks for information by using a question word : Where does he live? : In Chicago
Question Word
Auxiliary Verb
Main Verb Live Live? Live Live? Live Live? There? There?
Subject
There?
If the verb is in the simple present, use does (with he, she, it ) or do (with I, you, we, they) in the question. If the verb is simple past, use did. Notice: The main verb in the question is in its simple form; there is no final s or ed
c. He lived there
Where
Did
Is d. He is living there Where Is have e. They have lived there Where have can f. Marry can live there Where Can
There? If the verb has There? Auxiliary ( a helping Verb), the same There? Auxiliary is used in the question. There is no change in the form of the main verb.
Will
he
be living
Where
will
he
be living? If the verb has more than one auxiliary, only the first auxiliary preceded the subject If the question word is the subject, do not change the verb. Do not use does, do, or did Be, in the simple present (am, is, are) and simple past (were, was) precedes the subject when be is the verb.
there?
Who who
can
lives come?
there?
they
there?
are
they?
Jim Jim?
there?
QUESTION
ANSWER
When is used to ask question about time Where is used to ask question about place Why is used to ask question about reason
WHERE
WHY
How did you come to school? How does he drive? How much money does it cost? How many people come? How old are you? How cold is this?
HOW
By bus Carefully Ten dollars Fifteen Twelve Ten below zero In ten minutes 50 miles an hour Two years Every week 500 miles I can Jane and Eric
How generally ask about manner How is used with much and many How is also used with adjectives and adverbs
How soon can you get here? How fast were you driving? How long has he been here? How often do you write home? How far is Miami from here? Who can answer the question? Who came to visit you?
How long ask about the length of time How often asks about frequency How far asks about distance Who is used as the subject of a question. It refers to people Who is usually followed by a singular verb even if the speaker is asking about more than one person
WHO
Who(m) did you see? Who(m) are you visiting? Who(m) should I talk to? To whom should I talk? (formal)
WHOM
Whom is used as the object of a verb or preposition. In spoken English, whom is rarely used; who is used instead. Whom is used only in formal questions. Note : whom, not who, is used if preceded by a preposition
Whose key is this? (Whose is this?) What made you angry? What went wrong? What do you need? What did Alice buy? What did he talked about? About what did he talk? (formal)
WHAT
What is used as the subject of a question. It refers to things What is also used as a object
WHAT
What kind of asks about the particular variety or type of something What + a form of do is used to ask questions about activities
What countries did you visit? What time did she come? What color is his hair? What is Ed like? What is the weather like?
Italy and Spain Seven oclock Dark brown Hes kind and friendly Hot and humid
What + be like asks for a general description of qualities What + look like asks for a physical description
What does Ed look like? What does her house look like?
Hes tall and has dark hair Its a two story house
I have two pens Which pen do you want? Which one do you want? Which do you want? Which book should I buy?
WHICH
Which is used instead of what when a question concerns choosing from a definite, known quantity or group In some cases, there is a little difference in meaning between which and what when they accompany a noun, as the example
Which countries did he visit What countries did he visit? Which class are you in? What class are you in? This class