Look at these examples to see how questions are made.
Is he a teacher?
Does she eat meat?
When did you get here?
How much does a train ticket cost?
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
To make questions, we often put the verb before the subject. This is called inversion.
| Affirmative | Question |
| I am late. | Am I late? |
| I can help. | Can I help? |
| She is sleeping. | Is she sleeping? |
| We have met before. | Have we met before? |
If there is a question word (why, what, where, how, etc.), it goes before the verb.
| Question | Question with question word |
| Are you late? | Why are you late? |
| Was she there? | When was she there? |
| Can I help? | How can I help? |
| Have we met before? | Where have we met before? |
This is true for sentences with be, sentences that have auxiliary verbs (e.g. They are waiting. She has finished.) and sentences with modal verbs (can, will, should, might, etc.).
Questions in the present simple and past simple
For other verbs in the present simple, we use the auxiliary verb do/does in the question.
| Affirmative | Question | Question with question word |
| You work at home. | Do you work at home? | Where do you work? |
| It costs £10. | Does it cost £10? | How much does it cost? |
We use the auxiliary verb did in the past simple.
| Affirmative | Question | Question with question word |
| She went home. | Did she go home? | Where did she go? |
| They went to the cinema. | Did they go to the cinema? | Where did they go? |
Subject questions
In some questions, who or what is the subject of the verb. There is no inversion of subject and verb in these questions.
Who broke the window?
Who is knocking on the door?
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Dear Sir, Could you tell me why in this sentence: Across a river swam people simply the subject's and a verb's place are changed but in this sentence: Only then did I understand my mistake is an auxiliary verb used? When is the inversion supposed to be done by changing places and when by using an auxiliary verb? Thank you in advance.
Hi Zuzanna,
These examples are actually two different types of inversion.
The first one (Across a river swam people) is subject-verb inversion. No auxiliary is added. This is done for a few particular purposes. One purpose is to emphasise the movement of something, and that is the reason for inversion in this example. Other purposes are to emphasise the location of something (e.g. In the room stood a grand piano) and to report a quotation (e.g. "Where's the station?" asked Diana).
Your second example is subject-auxiliary inversion. An auxiliary verb needs to be added, if it is not already present. This is done when the sentence begins with a negative or limiting adverbial (Never had I met ... Little did I know ... Rarely did I go there ... etc.). It can also be used in conditional sentences (e.g. Had I not left early, I would have missed the train. = If I hadn't left early, I would have missed the train.)
Does that make sense? I hope it helps.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Nice explanation, but the amount of different verb tenses in this topic only makes ESL students confused. I'd argue it's better to divide it into smaller topics, like "Questions with 'to be' " and "Questions with auxiliar verb 'do' " etc
When I use verb to be and when I use auxiliary verb in wh question???
Hi Hala jabir,
Use the verb "to be":
- if "be" is the main verb (e.g. How are you? Which station is closest?)
- with present continuous or past continuous (e.g. Where are you going? What were you doing?)
- with passive voice (e.g. Where was the movie filmed?)
Use "do / does / did":
- with verbs (apart from "be") in the present simple or past simple (e.g. Where do you live? Where does he live? Why did she go to London?)
Use "have / has / had":
- with verbs in the present perfect or past perfect (e.g. Where have you been? Where has she been? When I came home, why had you already eaten?)
I hope that helps :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Tim O'Brien,
First of all, I would be tempted to rewrite the sentence! It reads to me more like a spoken sentence than typical written language. I would most likely use a conditional form (If you can... then we will...).
That said, I think I would probably use a question mark as the primary function of the sentence is requesting. It is a debatable point, however, so the safest course would be to consult the style guide for your organisation, or else a standard style guide if your organisation does not have one. The Chicago Manual of Style is the most popular in the US, I believe.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team