Questions with question word английский язык

Как выучить английские вопросительные слова? Нужно делать много упражнений! Я предлагаю несколько упражнений на вопросительные слова в английском языке, которые помогут Вам закрепить тему. Ознакомьтесь также с правилами и таблицами использования вопросительных слов.

Первые из предложенных упражнений на английские вопросительные слова подойдут для детей, которые только начинают изучать английский, далее сложность упражнений возрастает.

Упражнения на вопросительные слова для детей.

Следующие упражнения подойдут для детей – учеников 3 – 4 классов.

Упражнение 1. Match the question words to the answers.

1.      Why? 2.      When? 3.      Where? 4.      How? 5.      How many? 6.      What? 7.      Whose? 8.      How old?

a)      Twelve years old b)      Chocolates c)      Because I like them. d)      Twenty-seven e)      Quickly f)       Yesterday g)      At home. h)      Michael’s

Упражнение 2. Вставьте вопросительные слова: what, where or when.

1. _____ does Molly get up? – At 10 o’clock.
2. _____ does Molly have lunch? – At school.
3. _____ does Molly read in the morning? – A book.
4. _____ do Molly’s parents get home? – At 6 o’clock.
5. _____ does Molly’s family have dinner? – At home.
6. _____ does Molly do after dinner? – She brushes her teeth.

Упражнение 3. Ask questions with who, what, how, where, when or why

1. _______ is your name?
2. _______ do you spell your name?
3. _______ are you from?
4. _______ do you live?
5. _______ old are you?
6. _______ is your birthday?
7. _______ tall are you?
8. _______ kind of films do you like?
9. _______ is your favorite singer?
10. _______ is your favorite TV programme?

Упражнение 4. Look at these answers Find one answer for each question word.

1.      What? 2.      Who? 3.      Whose? 4.      How? 5.      Where? 6.      When? 7.      Why?

a)      Today b)      My friend’s c)      Diana d)      A book e)      At school f)       Because it’s late g)      Slowly

 Английские вопросительные слова. Упражнения для 5 класса.

Следующие несколько упражнений на вопросительные слова окажутся полезными ученикам 5 класса.

Упражнение 5. Вставьте вопросительные слова.

Why, what, how, where

1. ______ is Molly thinking about?
2. ______ don’t you wear this funny sweater?
3. ______ does your boyfriend go on Mondays?
4. ______ didn’t you come to school yesterday?
5. ______ is Susan wearing?
6. ______ do you think of Fred?
7. ______ often does Derek go running?
8. ______ don’t we go fishing this afternoon?
9. ______ much are these pants?
10. ______ tall is Rachel?
11. ______ are they from?
12. ______ far is your school from our house?

Упражнение 6. Choose and write.

How old, When, How often, How tall, How many

1. _____ is your mum’s birthday? – It’s on the 21^st of May.
2. _____ should you eat fruit and vegetables? – Every day
3. _____ is your dad? – He’s 1m 95cm tall.
4. _____ is your dad? – He’s 30 years old.
5. _____ apples do you eat every day? – Two.

Упражнение 7.  Fill in the question words

1. _____ did your mum make? A cake.
2. _____ did you decorate the Christmas tree? With ornaments.
3. _____ do you play jokes?- On April 1st
4. _____ presents did you get? Five.
5. _____ do you celebrate New Year? At home.
6. _____ do you like parties?-Because they’re fun.
7. _____ were you on your last birthday? Nine.

Упражнение 8.  Вставьте вопросительные слова.

1. _____ was your holiday like? – It was fantastic!
2. _____ did you go there? – Last month.
3. _____ did you go there with? – With my friends.
4. _____ did you like best in the camp? – The picnics in the woods.
5. _____ did you like the picnics? –Because they were fun.

Упражнение 9.  Choose and write.

What?  Where?  When?  Who?  Why?

1. ____ lives at the seaside? – Mary’s grandad
2. ____he go fishing? – In the morning
3. ____does he collect shells? – On the beach.
4. ____did Mary’s grandad find on the beach? – A bottle with a strange message
5. ____does Mary visit her grandad? – Because she loves him.

Упражнение 10.  Write in how many, where, what, when or how old.

1. ________is your school number? – Number 96
2. ________ is your school? – 45 years old.
3. ________lessons do you have on Friday? – Five.
4. ________ is your last lesson on Monday? – English.
5. ________do you play sports games? In the gym.
6. ________ children are there in your class? -26.

Упражнение 11.  Write in what, where, when, who or why

1. _______ did Pete do yesterday? – To the amusement park
2. _______ did he go there? – In the afternoon.
3. _______ did he go there with? – With Molly.
4. _______ did he have lunch? –At home.
5. _______ did he get home? – At 4 o’clock.
6. _______ did he like best? – He liked the ponies very much.
7. _______ did he like them? – Because they were fast.

Question words exercises. Более сложные упражнения.

Следующие упражнения на английские вопросительные слова несколько сложнее предыдущих. В любом случае, Вы сможете проверить себя, обратившись к ответам в конце статьи

Упражнение 12. Which question word is used to put the question to the italic type word or expression?

who, how, what, where, when, why, whom, with whom

1. Jill phoned Amanda.
2. Jane likes spaghetti so much.
3. We can start working on Monday.
4. The last test was the easiest.
5. Janet met her friend at a party.
6. Molly doesn’t want to dance with Greg.
7. Megan’s worried about the test.
8. We have seen this cartoon five times.
9. My boyfriend’s family has got a flat on the seventy-fifth floor.
10. It isn’t hot in England in the winter.
11. Ann’s cousins are going to the concert tonight.
12. Jannat was upset because she wasn’t invited to the concert.
13. I’d like to listen to the radio.
14. They went on an excursion by train.
15. Molly borrowed money from my sisters.

Упражнение 13. Fill in.

 What / What’s

1. ________ Sally doing?
2. ________are Greg’s hobbies?
3. ________your phone number?
4. ________do you think of Molly’s new dress?
5. ________in the news today?
6. ________does Janet’s sister look like?
7. ________Nickolas playing with?
8. ________silver used for?
9. ________the man in black doing?

Упражнение 14. Ask questions with what, who or which.

1. _______ kind of books do you like?
2. _______ hand do you write with?
3. _______ is your favorite actor?
4. _______ actor do you prefer –  Al Pacino or Jack Nicholson?

Упражнение 15. Complete the questions. Use question words.

1. _____ kind of car have you got?
2. _____ is your favorite sport?
3. _____ ocean is bigger-the Atlantic or the Pacific?
4. _____ book is this? Is it yours?
5. _____ are you from? Are you English?
6. _____ do you usually have your summer holiday? Do you have it in August?
7. _____ are you in bed? Are you ill?
8. _____ do you go to work? Do you go by car?
9. _____ is your friend? Is he over 21?
10. _____ are you? Are you over 1 meter 80?
11. _____ children have you got?
12. _____ were your shoes? Were they expensive?
13. _____ do you go to the cinema? Do you go more than once a week?
14. _____ have you lived in this town? Have you been here for very long?

Упражнение 16.  Ask questions. Вставьте вопросительные слова.

1. _______ do you go to work? – By train
2. _______ do you start work? – At 8.30
3. _______ coffee do you drink every day? – Not very much
4. _______ do you usually have lunch? – In a cafe
5. _______ do you go out in the evenings? – Once or twice a week.
6. _______ sleep do you have a night? – 9 hours
7. _______ do you usually go to bed? – At about 11.00

Упражнение 17.  Вставьте вопросительные слова

How, when, where, how long, what, who

1. _____ did you go on your last holiday? – To Greece
2. _____ did you go there? – Last June
3. _____ in Greece did you go? – To Crete.
4. _____ did you go with? – I went with some friends.
5. _____ did you go there? – We went by plane.
6. _____ did you stay in Crete? – At a hotel
7. _____ was the hotel like? – It was very good.
8. _____ did you stay there? – For two weeks
9. _____ was the weather like? – It was hot.

Ответы к упражнениям на английские  вопросительные слова:

Exercise 1.

1-с, 2-f, 3-g, 4-e, 5-d, 6-b, 7-h, 8-a

Exercise 2.

1 when, 2 where, 3 what, 4 when, 5 where, 6 what

Exercise 3.

1 what, 2 how, 3 where, 4 where, 5 how, 6 when, 7 how, 8 what, 9 who, 10 what

Exercise 4.

1-d, 2-c, 3-b, 4-g, 5-e, 6-a, 7-f

Exercise 5.

1 what, 2 why, 3 where, 4 why, 5 what, 6 what, 7 how, 8 why, 9 how, 10 how, 11 where, 12 how

Exercise 6.

1 when, 2 how often, 3 how tall, 4 how old, 5 how many

Exercise 7.

1 what, 2 how, 3 when, 4 how many, 5 where, 6 why, 7 how old

Exercise 8.

1 what 2 when, 3 who, 4 what, 5 why

Exercise 9.

1 who, 2 when, 3 where, 4 what, 5 why

Exercise 10.

1 what, 2 how old, 3 how much, 4 what, 5 where, 6 how many

Exercise 11.

1 where, 2 when, 3 who, 4 where, 5 when, 6 what /who, 7 why

Exercise 12.

1 whom, 2 who, 3 when, 4 what, 5 where, 6 with whom, 7 what, 8 how many, 9 where, 10 when, 11 where, 12 why, 13 what, 14 how, 15 whom

Exercise 13.

1 what’s, 2 what, 3 what’s, 4 what, 5 what’s, 6 what, 7 what’s, 8 what’s, 9 what’s

Exercise 14.

1 what, 2 which, 3 who, 4 which

Exercise 15.

1 What, 2 what, 3 which, 4 whose, 5 where, 6 when, 7 why, 8 how, 9 how old, 10 how tall, 11 how many, 12 how much, 13 how often, 14 how long

Exercise 16.

1 how, 2 when, 3 how much, 4 where, 5 how often, 6 how much, 7 when

Exercise 17.

1 where, 2 when, 3 where, 4 who, 5 how, 6 where, 7 what, 8 how long, 9 what

По теме я могу предложить Вам также почитать:

• Упражнения на построение вопросов в английском языке.
• General questions или как составить общий вопрос.
• Общий вопрос в английском — упражнения. General questions exercises.
• Специальные вопросы упражнения. Special questions exercises.
• Разделительные вопросы в английском. Tag Questions.

Понравилось? Сохраните на будущее и поделитесь с друзьями!

Вопросительные слова в английском языке имеют широкое применение в составлении специальных вопросов и в английской речи в целом. Вопросительных слов и выражений в английском не так уж и много, но некоторые из них имеют характерные особенности, поэтому в этой теме стоит разобраться.

Что такое вопросительные слова

Вопросительные слова – Ques­tion Words – являются вопросительными местоимениями и наречиями. Они всегда находятся в самом начале вопроса перед вспомогательным глаголом. Также вопросительные слова на английском легко запомнить, так как практические все они начинаются с «wh» за исключением слова «How», поэтому их иногда называют еще Wh-Questions.

Таким образом вопросительные слова создают специальные вопросы (Spe­cial Ques­tions) – вопросы, которые задаются к определенному слову в предложении. В специальных вопросах действует обратный порядок слов, то есть сначала вспомогательный глагол, а после подлежащее. Однако при переходе в косвенную речь прямой порядок слов сохраняется.

Например:

• She said: «When did we leave Lon­don?». – She asked when we lived London.

Все вопросительные слова с переводом и примером употребления представлены в таблице ниже.

Ques­tion word	Trans­la­tion	Exam­ple
Вопросительные местоимения
Who	Кто?	Who plays video games?
What	Что? Какой?	What is your favourite colour?
Which	Который? Какой? Чей?	Which pants do you like?
Whose	Чей?	Whose is this phone?
Whom	Кому? Кого?	Whom did he meet?
Вопросительные наречия
Where	Где? Куда?	Where are you from?
When	Когда?	When will you come?
How	Как?	How did you do it?
Why	Почему?	Why do you run in the mornings?

Вопросительные фразы на английском

Кроме вопросительных слов в английском языке также существуют вопросительные фразы, то есть сочетание вопросительных слов с другими. Обычно это сочетания со словами «how», «what» и «who», но могут быть и другие. Они будут представлены в таблице ниже.

Ques­tion phrase	Trans­la­tion	Exam­ple
How long	Как долго?	How long have you lived in Spain?
How much/how many	Сколько?	How many birds do you see there?
How often	Как часто?	How often do you vis­it your grandparents?
How old	Сколько лет?	How old is her brother?
How tall	Какого роста?	How tall is this tree?
How deep	Как глубоко?	How deep is this pool?
How wide	Насколько широк?	How wide is this bed?
How fast	Как быстро?	How fast is that car?
How come	Как так?	How come she didn’t notice me?
How about	Как насчет?	How about a walk in the park tomorrow?
What kind of	Какой вид? Какие?	What kind of sport does he do?
What type of	Какой тип?	What type of films do you like?
What sort of	Какой? Какого типа/вида?	What sort of book do you prefer?
What time	Сколько времени?	What time was it when we arrived?
What colour	Какого цвета?	What colour is this T‑shirt?
What … for	Для чего?	What is this thing for?
What … about	О чем?	What is this poem about?
What … like	Как?	What does his new room look like?
What … like as	Что собой представляет как?	What is she like as a singer?
What … with	Чем?	What do you paint with? Pen­cils or paints?
What about	Как насчет?	What about pizza?
What of it	И что с того?	I didn’t so it on time and what of it?
What if	Что если?	What if we go out of town for the weekend.
Since what time	С какого времени?	Since what time do you live in London?
So what	Ну и что?	Yes, we don’t like watch­ing TV shows, so what?
Where … from	Откуда?	Where did you come from?
Who … with	С кем?	Who do you go to school with?
Who … by	Кем?	Who is direct­ed this film by?
Who … about	О ком?	Who do you think about?
Who … at	На кого?	Who are they look­ing at?
Who … from	От кого?	Who did you run away from?
Who … for	С кем?	Who are you going to study for?
Why don’t …	Почему бы не?	Why don’t we go jog­ging in the park?

Читайте также: как переводится и где используется last name

Особенности вопросительных слов

What

Вопросительное слово «What» в английском языке употребляется очень часто и в предложении может использоваться как подлежащее, дополнение или определение.

Например:

• What did you bring us? – Что ты нам принес?
• What is she doing here? – Что она здесь делает?
• What songs do you love the most? – Какие песни ты любишь больше всего?

What VS who

Чтобы узнать то, кем является человек по профессии. также нужно использовать вопрос «what», и ни в коем случае нельзя «who», так как этот вопрос относится к имени человека, его описанию или его качествам.

Например:

• What is your moth­er? – Кто твоя мама по профессии? (Кем работает твоя мама?)
• Who is your moth­er? – Кто твоя мама?
• What is that man? – Кем работает тот человек?
• Who is that man? – Кто тот человек?

What or which

Оба эти слова переводятся как «какой?» или «который», и они практически являются синонимами, но все же у них есть отличия. Они различны тем, что «which» используется в тех случаях, когда есть выбор из нескольких предметов или лиц, чаще всего из двух. Часто после слова «which» ставится предлог «of».

«What» употребляется тогда, когда речь идет о качестве предмета или в тех случаях, когда есть выбор из неограниченного количества предметов или лиц.

Например:

• Which per­fume do you pre­fer — del­i­cate or sweet? – Какие духи ты предпочитаешь – нежные или сладкие?
• Which of movies do you want to watch now? – Который фильм ты хочешь посмотреть сейчас?
• What is your favourite sort of dances? – Какой твой любимый вид танцев?

How much or how many

И «how much», и «how many» переводятся как «сколько», а отличается употребление much и many только тем, что «how much» используется с неисчисляемыми существительными, а «how many» – с исчисляемыми.

Например:

• How much milk do you need for a cake? – Сколько тебе нужно молока для торта?
• How much does a cin­e­ma tick­et cost? – Сколько стоит билет в кино?
• How many pic­tures do we have at home? – Сколько картин у нас дома?
• How many apple did you buy? – Сколько яблок ты купил?

Вопросительные слова в английском языке играют огромную роль в устной и письменной речи, а значит их употребление должно быть автоматизировано. При общении с собеседником специальных вопросов не избежать, поэтому знать вопросительные слова должен каждый говорящий на английском языке.

В английском языке девять основных вопросительных слов, которые могут использоваться сами по себе или в сочетании с другими словами (вопросительные группы слов). Сегодня мы рассмотрим, как вопросительные слова с переводом и примерами, так и вопросительные группы слов.

Подробнее обо всех видах вопросительных предложений читайте в статье: «Пять видов вопросов в английском языке».

Девять основных вопросительных слов в английском языке

• What — что, какой

What is hiding under my bed? — Что прячется под моей кроватью?

What is your real name? — Какое твое настоящее имя?

• Who — кто

Who are you? — Кто ты?

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? — Кто живет в ананасе на дне моря?

• Where — где, куда

Where have you gone? — Куда ты ушел?

Billy boy, where have you been? — Мальчик Билли, где ты был?

• Why — почему

Why did you do that? — Почему ты это сделал?

Why is it always raining when I go for a walk? — Почему всегда идет дождь, когда я выхожу на прогулку.

• How — как

How are you feeling? — Как вы себя чувствуете?

How should I explain this to my wife? — И как мне это объяснить своей жене?

• When — когда

When was it? — Когда это было?

When did you see Mr. Parker last time? — Когда в последний раз вы видели мистера Паркера?

• Which — какой, который (из нескольких)

Which car is your? — Которая машина (из нескольких) твоя?

Which part of the car is broken? — Какая часть машины сломана?

• Whose — чей

Whose bag is it? — Чья это сумка?

Whose biography has impressed you most? — Чья биография больше всего вас впечатлила?

• Whom — кому

Местоимение whom в современном английском языке почти не используется в разговорной речи, его заменяют местоимением who — в этом нет никакой ошибки.

Whom (who) did you see? — Кого ты видел?

Whom (who) did you call in your sleep? — Кого ты звал во сне?

Вопросительные группы слов

Зачастую роль вопросительного слова в английском предложении играет не одно слово, а словосочетание или группа слов. Особенно часто вопросительные группы слов включают how (как). В вопросительном предложении такая группа слов используется так же, как и вопросительное слово — занимает место перед подлежащим.

• How many — сколько

«How many» можно сказать только о чем-то исчисляемом, об исчисляемых существительных.

How many siblings do you have? — Сколько у тебя братьев и сестер?

How many finger can you see? — Сколько ты видишь пальцев?

• How much — сколько

«How much» используется с неисчисляемыми существительными.

How much time do you need? — Сколько времени вам нужно?

How much water can I take? — Сколько я могу взять воды?

• How old — сколько лет (о возрасте)

How old are you? — Сколько вам лет?

How old is this oak? — Сколько лет этому дубу?

• How long — 1) как долго, сколько (о времени), 2) какой длины

How long are you going to be at work? — Сколько ты пробудешь на работе?

How long is this rope? — Какой длины эта веревка?

• How tall — какой высоты (о здании), роста (о человеке)

How tall is the Chrysler Building? — Какой высоты Крайслер-билдинг?

How tall are you? — Какой у тебя рост?

• How far — как далеко, какой расстояние

How far is the police station from here? — Насколько далеко отсюда полицейский участок?

How far is it from here to the hospital? — Какое расстояние отсюда до больницы?

• How often — как часто

How often do you see a doctor? — Как часто вы бываете у врача?

How often does it happen? — Как часто это происходит?

• What time — в какое время, во сколько

Говоря «what time», мы подразумеваем точное время по часам (во сколько), а говоря «when» — приблизительное (когда).

What time is it now? — Сколько сейчас времени?

What time are they going to pick us up? — Во сколько они за нами заедут?

• What kind (sort) of — какой (какого рода, типа)

What kind of books do you like? — Какие (какого вида, рода) книги вам нравятся?

What kind of construction materials do you need? — Какие (какого рода) вам нужны строительные материалы?

• What colour — какого цвета

What colour are my eyes? — Какого цвета мои глаза?

What colour is your phone case? — Какого цвета чехол вашего телефона?

Напоминаю, более подробно обо всех видах вопросительных предложений я рассказал в статье: «Пять видов вопросов в английском языке».

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We cannot do without questions. We ask questions every day. We answer questions every day. Asking questions and getting answers to them, we become smarter. By asking questions we learn.

How to ask questions correctly? What are the types of questions in English?

Don’t worry if you don’t know yet. This is an easy and very interesting topic.

General questions (Yes/No Questions)

In some languages, we can only ask questions using interrogative intonation. In English, in order to form a question, we need additional tools:

1. Auxiliary verbs.
2. Special word order.

These tools depend on the type of questions we ask.

A general question (Yes/No Question) is one of the most popular and frequently used ways to get information.

A general question is a question that we can answer simply YES or NO.

We ask a general question when we don’t need more information. We ask a general question when it is enough for us to get YES or NO.

In English grammar, we call these questions: Yes / No questions or General Questions.

Look at the examples:

Question: Are you going to work today?
Answer: Yes, I am.

Question: Do you want us to have dinner at a restaurant?
Answer: No, I don’t want to, thanks.

The word order inversion plays an important role in such questions.

It means that we put the auxiliary verb at the beginning. Not the subject. We put the subject after the auxiliary verb. Then we put the main verb. Then we can add the rest of the sentence.

Do you like your new job?

Does she know the secret?

We can also use modal verbs in general questions. In this case, we don’t need any auxiliary verbs. Because modal verb can play the auxiliary role for itself.

In such questions, we put the modal verb at the beginning of the sentence. After the modal verb, we put the subject. Then we put the main verb. Then we can add the rest of the sentence.

Could you do me a favor?

Can we help you this time?

Should I pretend to believe all that nonsense?

To form a general question with the verb to be, we also do not use auxiliary verbs. The verb to be, like modal verbs, forms questions on its own.

Is he saying something behind my back?

Are we really doing this again?

Look at the detailed explanation of what a general question consists of, this will help you better understand how we form them:

Do you know the answer?

Do (auxiliary) you (subject) know (predicate) the answer (object)? (question mark)

Can you help me?

Can (modal verb) you (subject) help (predicate) me (object)? (question mark)

Are you a writer?

Are (verb to be) you (subject) a writer (rest of the sentence) ? (question mark)

A special question differs from a general one in only one detail. A special question starts with a question word or question phrase.

We use a Special question to get additional information other than a YES / NO answer.

That is why a special question has a question word or phrase at the beginning.

Compare:

General yes / no question:

Will you go to work?

Special question with a question word:

When will you go to work?

We cannot simply answer yes/no to a Special question. Because a special question has an extra word or phrase at the beginning. This word or phrase influences the answer.

Question: Where were you yesterday?
Answer: I visited my friend Frank.

The word “where” in the question influenced the answer.

To ask a special question we usually use these question words:

• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?
• Which?
• Whose?
• Whom?

These question words begin with “Wh” so we often call special questions Wh-questions.

As you may have noticed, we use the same word order in Wh-questions as in General questions. We just simply add a question word (or question phrase) to the beginning of the question.

Question word + auxiliary / modal / to be verb + subject + predicate / object + rest of the sentence.

Take a look at examples:

When do you want me to leave?

Why do you stay with him?

What are you still doing here?

Why can’t you be with us tonight?

How long does he have to be in quarantine?

Questions to the subject in English

The next type of questions are Questions to the subject. We ask a question to the subject when we want to know WHO is performing the action.

Question: Who will go for a walk with you?
Answer: John.

Question: Who broke the cup?
Answer: Tom did it!

Question: Who wants a slice of delicious pie?
Answer: I would not mind a piece of the pie …

The main feature of subject questions is that we don’t use any auxiliary verbs.

We just use the words Who or What instead of the subject.

If we ask a question to the subject in the Present Simple, then we add the ending -s to the main verb.

Question word + predicate + Secondary Parts of the Sentence

Who talks like that guy?

Who loves you?

Alternative questions

Another type of question that you should understand is alternative questions.

Why do we call these questions alternative questions? Because when we ask an alternative question, we not only ask but also offer alternatives for the answer! Doesn’t that sound interesting? Take a look at examples:

Do you like it or not?

Would you like tea or coffee?

We can ask an alternative question to any Parts of the Sentence.

Note the conjunction or in these examples. The conjunction or is an important feature of alternative questions.

It is the or that separates the answer options.

We form alternative questions almost in the same way as general questions.

Auxiliary verb + subject + action + answer option + or + answer option

Will you work at the central bank or one of its branches?

Alternative questions always have the or part.

Are you going to the cinema or the theater?

Have you played football or basketball?

If we want to use several auxiliary verbs in an alternative question, then we put the first auxiliary verb before the subject, and we put the remaining auxiliary verbs immediately after the subject.

Has John been working in this department or the next one?

We can easily turn an alternative question into a Wh Alternate Question (Special Alternative Question). To do this, we put a question word, or phrase at the beginning of the question:

Who do you prefer to work with John or Tom?

When did you decide to buy a new car, today or yesterday?

Tag Questions

Tag Question is a very interesting type of question in English.

For example, we ask General Questions just to get an answer (Often this is a simple yes / no answer). Often, when we ask a general question we do not know what the answer is.

When we ask a tag question, we often expect to hear confirmation of some information that we already know. That is, when we ask a tag question, we often know or mean what the answer is!

You’re going to see your grandmother, aren’t you?

You probably noticed that such questions do not look exactly like questions? Indeed, tag questions are more like affirmative sentences.

We DO NOT use question word order in tag questions. We use direct word order.

The main feature of this type of question is in the ending. The end of a tag question is called the tag. This is why we call them Tag questions.

You like her, don’t you?

To form such a tag, we put an auxiliary verb and the subject at the end of the sentence.

Any tag question has two parts:

1. Affirmative or negative sentence.
2. Tag at the end.

In the first part, we put what we think is the answer.

In the second part, we use the tag for confirmation.

He doesn’t want to talk to me, does he?

Tag questions are very popular and convenient in the English language. We use them all the time. We often ask tag questions to start a conversation.

We also use tag questions as a way to express feelings or emotions:

• surprise
• irony
• distrust
• skepticism
• doubt
  etc.

He can’t beat me, can he?

They will help you, won’t they?

Janice doesn’t want to go to school anymore, does she?

We won’t be able to win this game, can we?

You better give up, don’t you?

If we form a tag question using the verb to have, then the end of the question can have several types:

British English: You have a new bike, have you?
American English: They have a new home, don’t they?

If we form such a question with the pronoun I, then:

• In the affirmative question, the auxiliary verb remains in the am form.
• In the negative form, the auxiliary verb changes to aren’t I. Because it is inconvenient to say am not.

Correct: I am not the perfect Princess, am I?
Correct: I am the perfect Princess, aren’t I?
Incorrect: I am the perfect Princess, am not I?

A tag question can be negative even if there is no negative particle not in the first part. Take a look at this sentence:

You rarely go outside, do you?

Note that the tag contains the verb do without the negative particle not. The first part of the sentence also has no negation. Why do we use do you instead of don’t you? Because the first part of the question contains the negative word rarely.

RULE: If the first part of a tag question contains a word with a negative meaning, then the tag part must contain a verb in a positive form.

Examples of negative words we often use:

• scarcely
• hardly
• rarely
• barely
• little
  Etc.

You barely know him, do you?

We rarely work, do we?

Negative questions

There is another popular question type in English. These are Negative questions.

We can divide negative questions into two types:

Type 1: contracted negative questions
Type 2: uncontracted negative questions

We use Contracted Questions to express:

• a polite request
• criticism
• dissatisfaction
• remark
• invitation

Why don’t you get some more champagne?

Wouldn’t you object at this point?

Why don’t you take him shopping?

Contracted negative questions begin with words such as:

• Won’t you …?
• Wouldn’t you …?
• Why don’t you …?

We use the following word order in contracted negative questions:

auxiliary verb + ending n’t + subject

Take a look at examples:

Won’t you guys go up with me, please?

Why don’t you keep your thoughts to yourself?

Wouldn’t you like to refresh yourself?

Won’t you please reconsider my request?

Such questions are considered less formal.

If you want to give a positive answer to this type of question, you should answer: YES. In case of a negative answer, you should answer: NO.

Haven’t you read what I wrote?
Yes.

Haven’t you been dreaming about this?
No.

Haven’t you people heard anything?
No.

Now let’s look at uncontracted negative questions. Such questions are more formal than contracted negative questions.

We form uncontracted negative questions using the following scheme:

Auxiliary verb + subject + not

See how it looks with examples:

Why do you not tell them I am here?

Do you not recognize your own best friend?

Why do you not want to help me?

Have you not figured that out?

Has he not been true to his vow?

Are they not a shame on their country?

Do you not dare to face me?

Have you not seen The Voice?

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1. Questions without question words and be

Subject and verb change their position in statement and question.

• Sentence: You are from Germany.
• Question: Are you from Germany?

We always use the short answer, not only Yes or No. That’s why questions without question words are also called YES/NO-questions.

2. Questions with question words and be

Question word	Verb	Subject	Rest	Answer
Where	are	you	from?	I am from Stuttgart. I‘m from Stuttgart.
What	is	your name?		My name is Peter.
How	are	Pat and Sue?		They are fine. They‘re fine.

Questions with question words are also called WH-questions.

3. Questions without question words and have

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n’t)
Have	you	got	a cat?	Yes,	I	have.
Have	you	got	a new car?	No,	we	haven’t.
Has	your brother	got	a bike?	Yes,	he	has.
Do	you	have	a cat?	Yes,	I	do.
Do	you	have	a new car?	No,	we	don’t.
Does	your brother	have	a bike?	Yes,	he	does.

4. Questions with question words and have

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
Where	have	you	got	your ruler?	I‘ve got it in my pencil case.
Where	do	you	have	your ruler?	I have it in my pencil case.

5. Questions without question words in the Simple Present

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n’t)
Do	you	read	books?	Yes, No,	I I	do. don’t.
Does	Peter	play	football?	Yes,	he	does.

6. Questions with question words in the Simple Present

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	do	you	play	on your computer?	I play games on my computer.
When	does	your mother	go	to work?	She goes to work at 6 o’clock.

7. Questions without question words in the Simple Past

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n’t)
Did	Max	play	football?	Yes, No,	he he	did. didn’t.

BUT:

to be	Subject	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n’t)
Were	you	in Leipzig last week?	Yes, No,	I I	was. wasn’t.

8. Questions with question words in the Simple Past

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	did	you	play	yesterday evening?	I played computer games.

BUT:

Question word	to be	Subject	Rest	Answer
Where	were	you	yesterday?	I was at the cinema.

9. Subject question

Question word	Verb	Rest	Subject	Verb	Rest
Who	runs	to the shop?	Peter	runs	to the shop.

10. Object question

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
Who	did	Mandy	phone	last Monday?	Mandy phoned her uncle.

NOTE!

Subject question	Object question
Who phoned John?	Who did John phone?

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