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Forming Questions in the Present Simple

1.When there is no auxiliary in the sentence then we use Do for forming questions in the Present Simple.

1.1 How to form Questions in the Present Simple

  1. A question must have an auxiliary verb.
  2. If you have an auxiliary in the sentence you must use the same one in the question.
  3. If you don’t have an auxiliary verb in the sentence, add the auxiliary verb ‘to do’.
  4. Always use the base form of the main verb after ‘to do’ in negatives and questions.

Here are some examples of Present Simple sentences with auxiliaries:

Sentence Question Sentence
They can swim Can they swim?
Mandy is a doctor Is Mandy a doctor?
We are English. Are you English.

 

2. Yes, No questions in the Present Simple using DO

Auxiliary Subject Verb Rest Yes/No Subject Auxiliary
(+ n’t)
Do you like football? Yes,
No,		 I
I		 do.
don’t.
Does Susan play tennis? Yes,
No,		 she
she		 does.
doesn’t.

2. Questions with question words in Present Simple using DO

Question word Auxiliary Subject Verb Rest Answer
What do you do in the evening? I play football in the garden.
When does your mother finish work? She finishes work at 5 o’clock.
Where do you visit your grandmother? I visit her on Saturdays.

Exercises