HomeGrammarWh- Questions ExercisesQuestion Order (Easy) — Form Questions from Words

Question Order (Easy) — Form Questions from Words

A1-A2 Level

In English, questions have a different word order from statements. A statement says 'She is happy,' but a question says 'Is she happy?' — the verb moves before the subject. This is the basic rule for all yes/no questions with 'be': put am, is, or are before the subject. For wh- questions, add the question word first: 'Where is she?' 'What is your name?'

When you use other verbs in the present simple, you need do or does as a helper: 'Do you like pizza?' 'Does he play football?' The main verb stays in its base form — say 'Does she like tea?' not 'Does she likes tea?' For wh- questions with do/does, put the question word at the start: 'What do you want?' 'Where does she live?' A common mistake is forgetting the helper verb entirely: 'Where you live?' is wrong — it must be 'Where do you live?' Practise forming questions from statements and you will quickly feel confident with English word order.

Quick Rule

Is/Are + subject + adjective/noun? | Do/Does + subject + base verb? | Wh- word + is/are/do/does + subject + ...?

  • 1.Is she a doctor? (be — put 'is' before the subject)
  • 2.Do you like chocolate? (present simple — use 'do' as a helper)
  • 3.Where does he work? (wh- question with 'does')
  • 4.Why aren't they coming to the party? (negative question with 'be')
  • 5.What time do the shops close? (wh- question with 'do' + plural subject)