Collins Cobuild

Unit 5
Questions
Main points
In most questions the first verb comes before the subject.
‘Yes/no’-questions begin with an auxiliary or a modal.
‘Wh’-questions begin with a ‘wh’-word.
1
 Questions  which  can  be  answered  ‘yes’  or  ‘no’  are  called  ‘yes/no’-
questions.
‘Are you ready?’ – ‘Yes.’
‘Have you read this magazine?’ – ‘No.’
If the verb group has more than one word, the first word comes at the
beginning  of  the  sentence,  before  the  subject.  The  rest  of  the  verb
group comes after the subject.
Is he coming?
Can John swim?
Will you have finished by lunchtime?
Couldn’t you have been a bit quieter?
Has he been working?
2
If the verb group consists of only a main verb, you use the auxiliary
‘do’,  ‘does’,  or  ‘did’  at  the  beginning  of  the  sentence,  before  the

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subject. After the subject you use the base form of the verb.
Do the British take sport seriously?
Does that sound like anyone you know?
Did he go to the fair?
Note that when the main verb is ‘do’, you still have to add ‘do’, ‘does’,
or ‘did’ before the subject.
Do they do the work themselves?
Did you do an ‘O’ Level in German?
3
If the main verb is ‘have’, you usually put ‘do’, ‘does’, or ‘did’ before
the subject.
Does anyone have a question?
Did you have a good flight?
When  ‘have’  means  ‘own’  or  ‘possess’,  you  can  put  it  before  the
subject, without using ‘do’, ‘does’, or ‘did’, but this is less common.
Has he any idea what it’s like?
4
If the main verb is the present simple or past simple of ‘be’, you put
the verb at the beginning of the sentence, before the subject.
Are you ready?
Was it lonely without us?
5
When you want someone to give you more information than just ‘yes’
or ‘no’, you ask a ‘wh’-question, which begins with a ‘wh’-word:
what
when
where
which
who
whom
whose
why
how

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Note that ‘whom’ is only used in formal English.
6
When a ‘wh’-word is the subject of a question, the ‘wh’-word comes
first, then the verb group. You do not add ‘do’, ‘does’, or ‘did’ as an
auxiliary.
What happened?
Which is the best restaurant?
Who could have done it?
7
When a ‘wh’-word is the object of a verb or preposition, the ‘wh’-word
comes  first,  then  you  follow  the  rules  for  ‘yes/no’-questions,  adding
‘do’, ‘does’, or ‘did’ where necessary.
How many are there?
Which do you like best?
If there is a preposition, it comes at the end. However, you always put
the preposition before ‘whom’.
What‘s this for?
With whom were you talking?
Note that you follow the same rules as for ‘wh’-words as objects when
the question begins with ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘why’, or ‘how’.
When would you be coming down?
Why did you do it?
Where did you get that from?
8
You can also use ‘what’, ‘which’, ‘whose’, ‘how many’, and ‘how much’
with a noun.
Whose idea was it?
How much money have we got in the bank?
You can use ‘which’, ‘how many’, and ‘how much’ with ‘of’ and a noun

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group.
Which of the suggested answers was the correct one?
How many of them bothered to come?
See Unit
6
for more information on ‘wh’-words.

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