049 : Questions 1

   A   

In questions we usually put the subject after the first verb:

 

subject + verb		verb + subject
Tom will	→	will Tom?
You have	→	have you?
the house was	→	was the house?

• Will Tom be here tomorrow?
• Have you been working hard?
• When was the house built?

 

Remember that the subject comes after the first verb:

• Is Katherine working today? (not Is working Katherine)

 

 

   B   

In present simple questions, we use do/does:

 

you live	→	do you live?
the film starts	→	does the film start?

• Do you live near here?
• What time does the film start?

 

 

In past simple questions, we use did:

 

you sold	→	did you sell?
the train stopped	→	did the train stop?

• Did you sell your car?
• Why did the train stop?

 

 

But do not use do/does/did if who/what etc. is the subject of the sentence. Compare:

 

 

In these examples, who/what etc. is the subject:

• Who wants something to eat? (not Who does want)
• What happened to you last night? (not What did happen)
• How many people came to the meeting? (not did come)
• Which bus goes to the centre? (not does go)

 

 

   C   

Note the position of prepositions in questions beginning Who/What/Which/Where..?

• Who do you want to speak to?
• Which job has Tina applied for?
• What was the weather like yesterday?
• Where are you from?

 

You can use preposition + whom in formal style:

• To whom do you wish to speak?

 

 

   D   

Isn't it ... ? / Didn't you ... ? etc. (negative questions)

 

 

We use negative questions especially to show surprise:

• Didn't you hear the doorbell? I rang it three times.

 

or when we expect the listener to agree with us:

• 'Haven't we met before?'   'Yes, I think we have.'

 

Note the meaning of yes and no in answers to negative questions:

• Don't you want to go?
  Yes. (= Yes, I want to go)
  No. (= No, I don't want to go)

 

Note the word order in negative questions beginning Why ... ?:

• Why don't we eat out tonight? (not Why we don't eat)
• Why wasn't Emma at work yesterday? (not Why Emma wasn't)