❓ Question Forms & Indirect Questions
How to ask questions correctly — from basic to polite indirect forms
Yes/No Questions
To form yes/no questions, move the auxiliary verb before the subject. If there's no auxiliary, add "do/does/did":
| Statement | Question | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| She is happy. | Is she happy? | Invert "be" |
| They are coming. | Are they coming? | Invert "be" |
| He can swim. | Can he swim? | Invert modal |
| She has finished. | Has she finished? | Invert auxiliary "have" |
| You like coffee. | Do you like coffee? | Add "do" |
| She works here. | Does she work here? | Add "does" (verb loses -s) |
| They went home. | Did they go home? | Add "did" (verb → base form) |
Wh-Questions
Wh-questions use question words (who, what, where, when, why, how) followed by the auxiliary + subject pattern. But there's a critical exception: when the question word IS the subject.
| Question Word | As Object (needs auxiliary) | As Subject (no auxiliary) |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Who did you see? (you saw someone) | Who saw you? (someone saw you) |
| What | What did she say? (she said something) | What happened? (something happened) |
| Which | Which one did you choose? | Which team won? |
Tag Questions
Tag questions are short questions added to the end of a statement to confirm information or invite agreement. The rule: positive statement → negative tag, negative statement → positive tag.
| Statement | Tag | Full Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| You are a student, | aren't you? | You are a student, aren't you? |
| She can swim, | can't she? | She can swim, can't she? |
| They went home, | didn't they? | They went home, didn't they? |
| He doesn't like coffee, | does he? | He doesn't like coffee, does he? |
| You haven't been there, | have you? | You haven't been there, have you? |
| Let's go, | shall we? | Let's go, shall we? |
Indirect Questions
Indirect questions are embedded inside polite phrases like "Can you tell me...?", "Do you know...?", "I wonder..." They use STATEMENT word order (subject before verb), not question order. This is extremely tricky for all learners.
| Direct Question | Indirect Question | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Where is the station? | Can you tell me where the station is? | is → the station is |
| What time does the shop close? | Do you know what time the shop closes? | does close → closes |
| How much does it cost? | Could you tell me how much it costs? | does cost → costs |
| Is she coming? | Do you know if she is coming? | Add "if/whether" for yes/no |
| Did he pass the exam? | I wonder whether he passed the exam. | Add "whether/if" |
Common Question Errors for German & Russian Speakers
German and Russian question formation works differently, leading to predictable errors in English:
| Mistake | Correct | Why It Happens |
|---|---|---|
| "How looks it?" | "What does it look like?" | German word order: "Wie sieht es aus?" |
| "What means this word?" | "What does this word mean?" | Missing "do/does" auxiliary |
| "Where goes the train?" | "Where does the train go?" | German: "Wo fährt der Zug?" |
| "Have you a pen?" | "Do you have a pen?" | German: "Hast du einen Kuli?" |
| "Is it here the bank?" | "Is the bank here?" | Russian word order influence |
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