1. The Language Centre La Estrella
A brief overview of Question words
Question structure and formation. C
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2. We normally use question words for:
people
Jobs
things
animals
actions
place
time
quantity
manner
reason
Who
Whose
Which
(one of)
What
Which
(one of)
Where
When
How long
What time
How often
How much
How many
How
Why C
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3. as auxiliary verbs to make questions
Present Simple
We also use the verbs
“be”
“do”
“have”
as auxiliary verbs to make questions
be do have I am do
have
YOU
are HE is
does
has
SHE IT WE
THEY C
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4. question word - auxiliary - subject – verb - object – compliment
To make a question in English for the verb, the object or the compliment of a sentence we must use the structure:
question word - auxiliary - subject – verb - object – compliment
QW Aux S V O C
John walks to work everyday.
Where does John walk everyday?
When does John walk to work?
What does John do everyday?
to work
everyday
He walks to work. C
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5. John walks to work everyday. Does John walk to work everyday.
We can also ask questions that begin with an auxiliary – they do not have a normal question word.
QW AUX S V O C
John walks to work everyday.
Does John walk to work everyday.
The answer to these questions are Yes or No.
Example:
Mary lives in London.
Does Mary live in Leeds?
No she doesn’t. (more information) She lives in London. C
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6. Will you see him next week?
We can also make questions with Modal Verbs.
These include words such as:
can, may, must, shall, will etc.
They behave in much the the same way as an auxiliary in this context and normally have a yes or no answer.
QW Aux S V O C
Can Joe come to the cinema tonight?
Shall we walk to Las Palmas tomorrow?
May I borrow €uros, please?
Will you see him next week?
Would you open the door please? C
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7. You’re Spanish, aren’t you?
And last but by no means least we have the question tag, also known as a question tail.
Example:
You’re Spanish, aren’t you?
These are questions at the end of a statement and can have two possible answers depending on your intonation.
A rising intonation may be a genuine question:
You’re Spanish, aren’t you? (you are not sure)
A falling intonation indicates confirmation or agreement.
You’re Spanish, aren’t you? (you expect the answer yes). C
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8. Question Tags – the rules.
If the phrase is afirmative – the question tag is negative.
If the phrase is negative – the question tag is afirmative.
If there is an auxiliary verb in the phrase we use the same auxiliary in the question tag.
It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?
You haven’t met my sister, have you?
Brian can’t drive, can he?
The show wasn’t very good, was it?
If there is no auxiliary in the phrase we use the auxiliary verb “do” to make the tag.
You speak three languages, don’t you?
He went to Las Palmas, didn’t he?
Sue looks tired, doesn’t she?
You like London, don’t you? C
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9. do becomes does in the 3º person and did in the past tense
Remember that auxiliary verbs, modal verbs and question tags are time sensative.
This means that they change their form depending on which tense is being used or the situation it is being used in.
do becomes does in the 3º person and did in the past tense
have becomes has in the 3º person and had in the past tense
is changes to was in the past tense and to will be in the future etc.
can changes to could or be able to
will to would etc. C
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10. Remember we need SVOCA to make questions
Now let’s practice
A sample activity
Remember we need SVOCA to make questions C
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11. Making subject / object questions
His name is Robert Drayton.
He is 37 years old and he is a policeman.
He’s married. His wife’s name is Carla.
She’s 36 and she’s a secretary.
Robert works in Rochester, Kent. He’s a detective sargeant.
He’s been a policeman for 14 years.
He’s lived in Rochester since March 1999.
He was promoted to DS 2 years ago.
He likes his job because of the variety of work he gets.
He would like to be a detective inspector by 2016.
He is going to go on a course next week.
He will have to stay in London for 3 days C
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12. Make the questions for these answers and then click to check
What’s his name?
His name is Robert Drayton
He’s 37 years old.
He’s a policeman
Yes, he’s married.
His wife’s name is Carla.
She’s 36 years old.
She’s a secretary.
He works in Rochester, Kent.
He’s a Detective Sargeant.
He’s been a policeman for 14 years.
He’s lived in Rochester since March 1999.
He was promoted to DS 2 years ago.
He likes his job because of the variety of work.
He would like to be an inspector by 2016.
He’s going to go on a course next week.
He will have to stay in London for 3 days.
How old is he?
What does he do?
Is he married?
What’s his wife’s name?
How old is she?
What does she do?
Where does he work?
What rank is he?
How long has he been a policeman for?
How long has he lived in Rochester?
When was he promoted?
Why does he like his job?
When would he like to be an inspector by?
When is he going to go on a course?
How long will he have to stay in London?