Study materials
Take two ordinary statements and turn them into questions. You will see the mechanism differs.
She is at home. → Is she at home?
She works here. → Does she work here?
In the first sentence the verb itself moved forward. In the second the verb cannot do that, so a helper had to be called in.
Questions with be, can and do
Verbs fall into two groups. Some manage on their own, and the rest need do.
| Statement | What moves forward | Question |
|---|---|---|
| she is ready | the form of be | Is she ready? |
| she can swim | can itself | Can she swim? |
| she works | the helper do or does | Does she work? |
If the sentence already holds be or a modal, that is what moves. If it holds an ordinary verb, do arrives.
A question answered with yes or no is called a yes-no question. The word that moves forward goes before the subject, the one we are asking about. The form of be depends on the subject. Am goes with I, is with he, she, it and one thing, are with you, we, they and plurals.
Am I late?
Are the shops open on Sunday?
Can is called a modal verb. It stands before another verb and adds the idea of ability or possibility. Do is called in for an ordinary action, like eat, live or play. Such a helper is called an auxiliary verb, and it is not translated. Does goes with he, she, it and one person or thing, do with everyone else. After does the verb is in its base form, the dictionary form with no s.
Does your grandma bake on Sundays?
Do your friends live nearby?
The two groups never mix. Do does not go with am, is or are, and is cannot replace do before an ordinary action.
Does your phone new? → Is your phone new?
Is he like jazz? → Does he like jazz?
Questions with a question word
A question with a question word is called a wh-question. You cannot answer it with just yes or no. It is built on top of a yes-no question. The question word simply goes in front of it, and nothing else changes.
Where do you live?
Why is he sad?
What does Mia want?
There are not many of these words: what for a thing, where for a place, when for a time, who for a person, why for a reason, how for a manner.
If the question has be, it comes straight after the question word, with no do.
What is your name?
Where is the station?
Some question words are two words long. How old asks about age, how many about a number of things you can count, how much about a price or things you do not count one by one, how often about frequency, and what time about the exact hour. Which picks one out of several.
How many cousins do you have?
How much is this T-shirt?
How often do you call your mum?
What time does the train leave?
Which cup is yours?
English describes age with be, not with have. You ask how old a person is, not how many years they have.
How many years have you? → How old are you?
A preposition, a short linking word like from or with, usually stays at the end of the question.
Where are you from?
Who do you live with?
What do you do? asks about someone's job. It has do twice. The first is the helper, and the second is the verb do itself.
What do you do? I am a nurse.
Questions about the subject
A question about the subject has a different order. If who is the one performing the action, no helper is needed, because there is nothing to move.
Who lives here?
Who do you visit?
To check, try answering the question. If the answer lands in the subject slot, do is not wanted.
The verb after such a who takes the same form as after he or she, with an s. What can ask about the subject too, and then it also manages without do.
Who knows the answer?
What makes you happy?
Short answers
When answering, English does not repeat the whole sentence. The word that moved forward is enough.
Is she ready? Yes, she is.
Do you like tea? Yes, I do.
Can he swim? No, he can't.
In a no answer, not joins that same word, which gives isn't, aren't, don't, doesn't and can't. Am not is shortened together with I, as I'm not.
Is your sister at home? No, she isn't.
Does he eat meat? No, he doesn't.
Are you cold? No, I'm not.
A yes answer is never shortened, because its last word is stressed. The main verb is not repeated in place of the helper either.
Yes, I'm. → Yes, I am.
Yes, I like. → Yes, I do.
Common mistakes
The first is building a question with statement order.
Where she works? → Where does she work?
The second is keeping the ending after does.
Does he plays? → Does he play?
The third is adding do to a question where who is the subject.
Who does lives here? → Who lives here?
The first and third are caught by asking yourself what in the sentence can move forward. If be or a modal is there, that is what moves, and if not, do comes in. When the question is about the subject itself, nothing moves. The second shows in the verb after does, which takes no s.