Lesson 25. Questions

 

Questions

Ann :    Is this your dog?

Nick :  Yes,it is.

Ann :   Did you get him from a pet shop?   

Nick:   Yes,we did.   

Sue:  What have you got in this bag?

                  Betty:  A new dress.

                              Sue:  How much did it cost?

     Betty:   $ 55.

Questions with Yes/No answers

 

These kinds of questions begin with an auxiliary verb ( is,are, have,has,will, can, do,does, did...)

and then the subject. We usually answer these questions with Yes / No answers.

Are you listening to music? -Yes, I am.

Have you got a pet? - No, I haven't.

Can you swim? - Yes, I can.

When the main verb is in the present simple we form the questions with the auxiliary verb do/does .

Do you play tennis every day?-Yes, I do.

Does he work hard? -No, he doesn't.

When the main verb is in the past simple we form the questions with the auxiliary verb did.

Did they send you a letter? -No, they didn't.

Did she come home early last night? -Yes, she did.
 

Wh- questions

Wh- questions begin with a question word. We put the auxiliary verb before the subject.

people     things       place           time               quantity/number       manner      reason            age

Who         What       Where       When                 How much                  How         Why       How old

Whose    Which                        How often          How many 

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Who is that man? - He is his father. 

 

Whose is that coat? -It's Jane's.

What is it? -It's a pen.

 

Which book is yours? -The blue one. 

How many sisters have you got? -Two.

 

How much does it cost? - Ninety pence.

 

How long have you known her? -For three years.

 

How long ago did she leave school? - One year ago.

 

How old are you? -I am sixteen.

 

Why are you sad? -Because I've lost my purse.

 

When did you arrive? -Yesterday.

 

Where are my glasses? -They are in your bag.

 

How are you? -Fine thanks.

Question Tags

They're very small, aren't they? 

 

Rabbits don't eat meat, do they? 

 

A zebra has got stripes, hasn't it?

Questions tags are short questions at the end of a statement. We mainly use them in speech when we want to confirm something or when we want to find out if something is true or not.

• We form a question tag with the auxiliary verb and the appropriate personal pronoun. When the statement is positive, the question tag is negative.

Helen can speak French, can't she?

This is a castle, isn't it?

• When the verb of the sentence is in the present simple, we form the question tag with the auxiliary verb do, does and the personal pronoun. When the verb is in the past simple, we form the question tag with the auxiliary verb did and the personal pronoun.

Tom likes hockey, doesn't he?


Susan went to Rome last year, didn't she? 

• When the statement is negative, the question tag is positive.

 
They haven't finished yet, have they?

• When the sentence contains a word with a negative meaning like never, hardly, seldom or rarely, the question tag is positive.

 
He is never late, is he? 

Study the following examples:

I am     -     aren't?      I am clever, aren't I?

Imperative     -     will / won't you?      Open the door, will / won't you?

Let's     - shall we?        Let's go to the park, shall we?

I have (got)     - haven't I?         He's got a pet, hasn't he?

I have     -   don't I?              You have a shower every day, don't you?

There is / are     -  isn't / aren't there?          There is a boy in the room, isn't there?

This /That is     -    isn't it?      That's Mary's T-shirt, isn't it?