Word Order in English Questions
1. Questions without question words and be
Subject and verb change their position in statement and question.
- Sentence: You are English.
- Question: Are you English?
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 England. I‘m from England. |
What | is | your name? | My name is John. | |
How | are | you? | I am fine. I’m 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 sister? | Yes, | I | have. |
Have | you | got | a ball? | No, | we | haven’t. |
Has | your sister | got | a car? | Yes, | she | has. |
Do | you | have | a sister? | Yes, | I | do. |
Do | you | have | a ball? | No, | we | don’t. |
Does | your sister | have | a car? | Yes, | she | does. |
4. Questions with question words and have
Question word | Auxiliary | Subject | Verb | Rest | Answer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
What | have | you | got | in your hand? | I‘ve got a sweet. |
What | do | you | have | in your hand? | I‘ve got a sweet. |
5. Questions without question words in the Simple Present
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, | she | does. |
6. Questions with question words in the Simple Present
Question word | Auxiliary | Subject | Verb | Rest | Answer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Where | do | you | work? | I work in a bank. | |
What | does | your sister | do | at the weekend? | She goes dancing. |
7. Questions without question words in the Simple Past
Auxiliary | Subject | Verb | Rest | Yes/No | Subject | Auxiliary (+ n’t) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Did | Peter | play | chess? | Yes, No, | he he | did. didn’t. |
BUT:
to be | Subject | Rest | Yes/No | Subject | Auxiliary (+ n’t) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Were | you | in London last month? | 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 | do | last night? | I watched television. |
BUT:
Question word | to be | Subject | Rest | Answer |
---|---|---|---|---|
Where | were | you | last night? | I was at home. |
9. Subject question
Question word | Verb | Rest | Subject | Verb | Rest |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Who | lives | in that house? | Susan | lives | in that house. |
What | happened | to you? | I | had | an accident. |
10. Object question
Question word | Auxiliary | Subject | Verb | Rest | Answer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Who | do | you | love? | I love my wife. | |
Who | did | John | phone | last night? | John phoned his wife. |
Mind the difference in meaning in the following two questions:
Subject question | Object question |
---|---|
Who phoned John? | Who did John phone? |
Explanations
- Word Order in English questions (Summary)
- Questions in the Passive
- Questions in the Past Simple
- Questions in the Present Simple
- Questions with Questions Words and the verb BE
- Questions with CAN
- Questions with HAVE and HAVE GOT
- Questions with WHO and WHAT – Subject – Object
- Short Answers in English
- Yes/No questions and short answers and the verb BE