Questions in English

Questions or Interrogative

What is a question?

A statement is a sentence that gives information. A question is a sentence that asks for information. Questions are also called "interrogative".

Statement:	I like EnglishClub.com.
Question:	Do you like EnglishClub.com?

A written question in English always ends with a question mark: ?

In this lesson we look at basic questions in English, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

• Basic Question Structure
• Basic Question Types
• Questions Quiz

Basic Question Structure

The basic structure of a question in English is very simple:

auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

auxiliary verb	subject	main verb
Do	you	like	Mary?
Are	they	playing	football?
Will	Anthony	go	to Tokyo?
Have	you	seen	ET?

Exception!

For the verb be in simple present and simple past, we do not use an auxiliary verb. We simply reverse the positions of be and subject:

Statement:	He	is	German.
Question:	Is	he	German?

Basic Question Types

There are 3 basic types of question:

1. Yes/No Questions (the answer to the question is "Yes" or "No")
2. Question Word Questions (the answer to the question is "Information")
3. Choice Questions (the answer to the question is "in the question")

1. Yes/No Questions

auxiliary verb	subject	main verb		Answer 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.
Did	they	go	home?	No, they didn't.
Exception! verb be simple present and simple past
	Is	Anne	French?	Yes, she is.
	Was	Ram	at home?	No, he wasn't.

2. Question Word Questions

question word	auxiliary verb	subject	main verb		Answer Information
Where	do	you	live?		In Paris.
When	will	we	have	lunch?	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.

3. Choice Questions

auxiliary verb	subject	main verb		OR		Answer In the question
Do	you	want	tea	or	coffee?	Coffee, please.
Will	we	meet	John	or	James?	John.
Did	she	go	to London	or	New York?	She went to London.
Exception! verb be simple present and simple past
	Is	your car	white	or	black?	It's black.
	Were	they	$15	or	$50?	$15.

Adapted from englishclub.com

Exercise on Questions I

Arrange the words below to make questions.

1. she / to collect / stickers -
2. they / to play / a game -
3. the cat / to sleep / in the cat's bed -
4. she / often / to dream -
5. he / to play / streetball -
6. you / to be / from Paris -
7. the pupils / to wear / school uniforms -
8. you / to go / to the cinema -
9. she / to have / friends -
10. he / to read / books -

Simple Present

Exercise on Questions with Interrogatives

Ask for the bold part of the sentence.

1. Julia likes pop-music. -

Maria comes from Spain. -

1. They play in the garden. -
2. Rick rides his bike. -
3. I go to the cinema on Saturdays. -
4. We go to Mallorca because it is warm there.. -
5. Joe repairs his bike. -
6. Robin drives his car carefully. -
7. Peter runs with his dog every day. -
8. Eric goes to Italy for a holiday. -