Question Formation

🎤 The Magic of Questions: Unlocking the Secret Door to Answers

Imagine you have a magic key. This key can open any door to get any answer you want. But here’s the thing—you need to know how to turn the key the right way. That’s what question formation is all about!

Think of making questions like rearranging furniture in a room. You take the same pieces (words) and move them around to create something new—a question instead of a statement!

🏠 Part 1: Questions with “BE” (am, is, are, was, were)

The Simple Swap Trick

When you have a sentence with be (am, is, are, was, were), making a question is like swapping seats at a dinner table!

Statement: She is happy. Question: Is she happy? ✨

You just moved “is” to the front! That’s it!

How It Works

graph TD
    A["Statement: He is a doctor"] --> B["Find 'be' verb"]
    B --> C["Move it to the front"]
    C --> D["Question: Is he a doctor?"]

Examples for Every “BE” Word

💡 Remember This!

The be verb jumps to the front like a frog hopping to the start of a race! 🐸

🎯 Part 2: Questions with “DO” (do, does, did)

When There’s No “BE” Verb

What if your sentence has a regular verb like “play,” “eat,” or “like”? You need a helper—and that helper is DO!

Statement: You like pizza. Question: Do you like pizza? 🍕

The Three DO Helpers

The Magic Formula

graph TD
    A["Statement: She plays tennis"] --> B["Add DO/DOES/DID at front"]
    B --> C["Remove -s from verb"]
    C --> D["Question: Does she play tennis?"]

⚠️ Important Rule!

When you use does or did, the main verb goes back to its base form:

• She plays → Does she play? ✅
• He worked → Did he work? ✅

More Examples

🦸 Part 3: Questions with Modals

What Are Modals?

Modals are superhero words that give verbs special powers! They include: can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must

The Good News!

Modals are easy! They work just like “be” verbs—just swap them to the front!

Statement: She can swim. Question: Can she swim? 🏊

Examples with Different Modals

💡 Easy Pattern!

Modal + Subject + Verb?

That’s it! No extra helpers needed!

✅ Part 4: Short Answers

Don’t Repeat Everything!

When someone asks a yes/no question, you don’t need to give a full answer. Use a short answer!

Question: Are you happy? Long answer: Yes, I am happy. (Correct but unnecessary) Short answer: Yes, I am. ✨

The Formula

graph TD
    A["Yes/No Question"] --> B{Answer}
    B -->|Yes| C["Yes + Subject + Helper"]
    B -->|No| D["No + Subject + Helper + not"]

Short Answer Patterns

🎯 Key Rule!

Use the same helper from the question in your short answer:

• Are you ready? → Yes, I am.
• Does he know? → No, he doesn’t.
• Can you help? → Yes, I can.

❓ Part 5: Question Words (Wh-Words)

The Information Seekers

Sometimes yes/no isn’t enough. You want real information! That’s when you use question words:

Question Word + Question Structure

graph TD
    A["Question Word"] --> B["+ Helper/Be/Modal"]
    B --> C["+ Subject"]
    C --> D["+ Verb/Rest"]
    D --> E["Complete Question"]

Formula: Question Word + Helper + Subject + Verb?

Examples

• What do you want?
• Where does she live?
• When will they arrive?
• Why did he leave?
• How can I help?

👤 Part 6: Subject Questions

When “Who” or “What” IS the Subject

Here’s a twist! Sometimes the question word replaces the subject. When this happens, you don’t need do/does/did!

Statement: Someone called you. Question: Who called you? ✅ (NOT: Who did call you? ❌)

How to Spot Subject Questions

Ask yourself: “Is the question word doing the action?”

graph TD
    A["Who/What doing the action?"] --> B{Yes}
    B --> C["Subject Question"]
    C --> D["No DO/DOES/DID needed"]
    A --> E{No}
    E --> F["Object Question"]
    F --> G["Use DO/DOES/DID"]

Examples of Subject Questions

💡 Notice!

The verb stays in its original form (with -s or -ed if needed):

• Who wants coffee? (not: Who want coffee?)
• What made that noise? (not: What make that noise?)

🎯 Part 7: Object Questions

When “Who” or “What” IS the Object

When the question word is the object (receiving the action), you need do/does/did!

Statement: She loves Tom. Question: Who does she love? ✅

Subject vs Object Questions

The Test

Who did the action? → Subject Question (no helper) Who received the action? → Object Question (use helper)

More Object Question Examples

• What do you eat for breakfast?
• Who does she admire?
• What did they buy?
• Who will you invite?

🌟 Part 8: Wh-Question Formation Summary

Putting It All Together

Here’s your complete formula for making Wh-questions:

With BE Verbs

Wh-word + BE + Subject + Rest?

• Where is your brother?
• What was that sound?

With DO/DOES/DID

Wh-word + DO/DOES/DID + Subject + Base Verb?

• What do you want?
• Where did she go?

With Modals

Wh-word + Modal + Subject + Base Verb?

• What can I do?
• When will they arrive?

Subject Questions (Exception!)

Who/What + Verb (keeps tense)?

• Who knows the answer?
• What caused the problem?

🎮 Quick Reference Chart

🏆 You Did It!

You now have the magic keys to form any question in English! Remember:

1. BE verbs → Just swap to the front
2. Regular verbs → Call the DO helper
3. Modals → Swap like BE verbs
4. Short answers → Match the helper
5. Question words → Add them at the start
6. Subject questions → No helper needed
7. Object questions → Helper required

Questions open doors to knowledge. Now go ask the world anything! 🚀