B2 – Upper Intermediate
Question Forms
Question forms are primarily built using inversion, where you switch the order of the subject and the auxiliary verb. While there are many ways to ask something, most fall into a few key grammatical categories.
Yes/No Questions
These are “closed” questions that require a simple “yes” or “no” answer.
Structure: Auxiliary Verb + Subject + Main Verb?
Examples:
- Are you hungry? (using the verb “be”)
- Do you like coffee? (using “do” for simple present)
- Can you swim? (using a modal verb)
Wh- Questions (Open Questions)
These use “question words” to ask for specific information. A common formula to remember the order is QUASM: QUestion word, Auxiliary, Subject, Main verb.
Question Words: Who (people), What (things), Where (place), When (time), Why (reason), and How (manner).
Example: Where do you live?
Subject vs. Object Questions
Object Questions
Ask about the receiver of an action. They use the standard auxiliary inversion.
Example: What did you eat? (Answer: I ate an apple.)
Subject Questions
Ask about the person or thing doing the action. These do not use an auxiliary verb (like do/did) or inversion.
Example: Who ate the apple? (Answer: John ate the apple.)
Question Tags
These are short questions added to the end of a statement to check for agreement or confirmation.
Rule: If the statement is positive, the tag is negative (and vice versa).
Example: It’s a nice day, isn’t it?
Indirect Questions
These are more polite ways to ask questions, often starting with phrases like “Can you tell me…”.
Rule: Unlike direct questions, they use statement word order (Subject + Verb).
Example: Could you tell me where the station is? (Direct: Where is the station?)
Common Errors
Incorrect: I wonder where is he.
Correct: I wonder where he is.
Incorrect: Who did break this? (unless emphasizing)
Correct: Who broke this?
Incorrect: How come did she leave?
Correct: How come she left?