We make questions by:
1: moving an auxiliary to the front of the clause:
| Everybody is watching | >> | Is everybody watching? |
| They had worked hard | >> | Had they worked hard? |
| He's finished work | >> | Has he finished work? |
| Everybody had been working hard | >> | Had everybody been working hard? |
| He has been singing | >> | Has he been singing? |
| English is spoken all over the world | >> | Is English spoken all over the world? |
| The windows have been cleaned | >> | Have the windows been cleaned? |
2: … or by moving a modal to the front of the clause:
| They will come | >> | Will they come? |
| He might come | >> | Might he come? |
| They will have arrived by now | >> | Will they have arrived by now? |
| She would have been listening | >> | Would she have been listening? |
| The work will be finished soon | >> | Will the work be finished soon? |
| They might have been invited to the party | >> | Might they have been invited to the party? |
3: The present simple and the past simple have no auxiliary. We make questions by adding the auxiliary do/does for the present simple or did for the past simple:
| They live here | >> | Do they live here? |
| John lives here | >> | Does John live here? |
| Everybody laughed | >> | Did everybody laugh? |
Section:
Comments
Thanks a lot.
Hi
If the affirmative sentence is, "Everybody stood up and clapped", what would be the interrogative structure: "Did everybody stand up and clapped" or "Did everybody stand up and clap"?
Hello Adya's,
The second one is the correct one -- the auxiliary verb 'did' is omitted before 'clap', but is understood to be there.
No worries about the multiple posts. We monitor all comments before they are published, so we just deleted them. But thanks for letting us know.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Thanks Peter M.
So, does it mean that for the 'Simple Present' statements, which do have an auxiliary verb as the main verb in it , we can't make question with 'DO/DOES'. Therefore, we have to use auxiliary verb in those statements to form the question.
Please explain with the following examples
1) I’m nineteen years old.
2) My name is John
3) You are welcome
Thanks in Advance !
Hello SushilKumar,
The verb 'be' forms its questions by inversion and does not require an auxiliary verb:
I'm nineteen years old > Are you (Am I) nineteen years old?
My name is John > Is my name John?
You are welcome > Are you welcome?
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sir,
Why it is mentioned that " The present simple and the past simple have no auxiliary" ?
Because example like " I’m nineteen years old. " , do have an auxiliary verb despite being Simple Present.
Hello SushilKumar,
The verb 'be' can be an auxiliary verb but it can also be a main verb when it appears alone. In your example the verb 'am' appears alone and is the main verb. It would be an auxiliary verb if there were another part to the verb:
I'm working at the office. ['am' is an auxiliary verb]
I'm at the office. ['am' is the main verb]
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sir!
I'm a bit confused with this sentence to form a question : The river Tiber flowed round the town so people were safer in Rome.
Would this be the question : Which river did flow round the town so people were safer I Rome?
Thanks in advance!
Hello mohitm,
Yes, I'd say that's the most likely question, though others are possible. Please note, however, that since 'river' is the subject of the verb, it should be: 'Which river flowed round the town ...?'
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi! I would like to know if the sentence "That music is good to hear" is grammatically correct? If not, what would be the correct form? Thanks :)
Pages