QUESTIONS
FORMING QUESTIONS
She was crying.
Was she crying?
In writing, we put the question mark at the end of the sentence. In speaking, we use the rising intonation. We also change the word order and move the auxiliary verb in front of the subject to form a question. This is called the subject auxiliary inversion (SAI).
In some cases we have to add an auxiliary verb because there is no auxiliary in the affirmative statement (Present Simple and Past Simple tenses).
She likes romantic movies. Does she like romantic movies?
I live in London? Do you live in London?
He moved to Paris. Did he move to Paris?
Another exception is the verb BE in the Present Simple and Past Simple tenses, because we do not add auxiliary verbs in question forms.
She was happy. Was she happy?
He is very lazy? Is he lazy?
TYPES OF QUESTIONS
YES/NO QUESTIONS start with an auxiliary verb; two possible answers are yes and no. With this type of question we usually demand confirmation.
Did he call? Yes, he did.
Do you know her? No, I don't.
WH- QUESTIONS start with a WH- question word (why, who, what, where, when, whose, whom, which, how), followed by an auxiliary verb. We cannot answer with yes or no, we usually use them when we want some information.
When did he call? Yesterday at 5.
How long have you known her? For 6 years.
Who is that? That's my brother.
HOW can be followed by an adjective or an adverb.
How long will this take? How far away is it?
WHAT can be followed by a noun. WHICH and WHOSE are typically followed by a noun.
Which book did you read? Whose book is that? What kind of books do you like?
NEGATION
To form negative statements, we put NOT after the first auxiliary verb.
She is crying. She is not crying.
They have been sleeping. They have not been sleeping.
The verb BE in Present Simple and Past Simple tenses is again an exception; we put the word NOT after the verb BE.
He is very nice. He is not very nice.
DOUBLE NEGATION means using two words for expressing negation within the same clause (not sentence). It is sometimes a feature of spoken English and highly irregular.
I do not know no one here. I did not see nothing.
In some cases, we can express negation by finding a suitable antonym (a word expressing the opposite meaning).
She is fat. She is thin.
He is fast. He is slow.
FORMING QUESTIONS
She was crying.
Was she crying?
In writing, we put the question mark at the end of the sentence. In speaking, we use the rising intonation. We also change the word order and move the auxiliary verb in front of the subject to form a question. This is called the subject auxiliary inversion (SAI).
In some cases we have to add an auxiliary verb because there is no auxiliary in the affirmative statement (Present Simple and Past Simple tenses).
She likes romantic movies. Does she like romantic movies?
I live in London? Do you live in London?
He moved to Paris. Did he move to Paris?
Another exception is the verb BE in the Present Simple and Past Simple tenses, because we do not add auxiliary verbs in question forms.
She was happy. Was she happy?
He is very lazy? Is he lazy?
TYPES OF QUESTIONS
YES/NO QUESTIONS start with an auxiliary verb; two possible answers are yes and no. With this type of question we usually demand confirmation.
Did he call? Yes, he did.
Do you know her? No, I don't.
WH- QUESTIONS start with a WH- question word (why, who, what, where, when, whose, whom, which, how), followed by an auxiliary verb. We cannot answer with yes or no, we usually use them when we want some information.
When did he call? Yesterday at 5.
How long have you known her? For 6 years.
Who is that? That's my brother.
HOW can be followed by an adjective or an adverb.
How long will this take? How far away is it?
WHAT can be followed by a noun. WHICH and WHOSE are typically followed by a noun.
Which book did you read? Whose book is that? What kind of books do you like?
NEGATION
To form negative statements, we put NOT after the first auxiliary verb.
She is crying. She is not crying.
They have been sleeping. They have not been sleeping.
The verb BE in Present Simple and Past Simple tenses is again an exception; we put the word NOT after the verb BE.
He is very nice. He is not very nice.
DOUBLE NEGATION means using two words for expressing negation within the same clause (not sentence). It is sometimes a feature of spoken English and highly irregular.
I do not know no one here. I did not see nothing.
In some cases, we can express negation by finding a suitable antonym (a word expressing the opposite meaning).
She is fat. She is thin.
He is fast. He is slow.