![]() Wh Question Word/Phrase + Auxiliary Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Object or Other Information? The structure of a wh question is usually: Note that some question “words” are actually phrases with multiple words. For example, I can start a question with “Where,” but I can also add a phrase, such as “ Where in Germany.” We’ll usually need to invert the word order as well, but not always. How many? How much? How often? (to ask about the number or amount)įor these questions, we’ll need to replace part of the sentence with a wh word. How? (to ask about the way things happen or are done) Here’s a list of common question words in this category and what each is used for: These are also referred to as “open questions” because the answer can essentially be anything. These are the question words who, what, when, where, how and why. Had you been to Canada before you moved there? Was Jeremy at the group dinner last Thursday? Once you’ve had more practice turning basic sentences into questions, you can skip the first step of starting with a sentence and go directly to forming the question. ![]() (Notice the new form of “to play” to accommodate the new structure.) You’ll need to put do or does at the beginning of the question.īe sure to use the correct tense and form, for example, did if the sentence is in the past tense. If the sentence has no auxiliary verb and the main verb isn’t to be, things are a little different. Let’s look at a few more inversions to form yes/no questions: If the sentence has an auxiliary or modal verb, that’s the one you’ll need to move. To change this sentence into a question, simply move the verb to the beginning. The basic structure for yes/no questions looks like this:Īuxiliary Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Object/Other Information? They usually begin with a verb, including auxiliary verbs (a “helping” verb that comes before the main verb) or modal verbs (such as can or would). You can use them to ask for a simple yes or no answer. Yes/No questions are the most basic type of question. ![]() This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬlick here to get a copy.
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