Question forms

Do you know how to make questions? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how questions are made.

Is he a teacher?
Does she eat meat?
When did you get here?
How much does a train ticket cost?

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1: Question forms: Grammar test 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

To make questions, we often put the verb before the subject. This is called inversion.

Affirmative	Question
I am late.	Am I late?
I can help.	Can I help?
She is sleeping.	Is she sleeping?
We have met before.	Have we met before?

If there is a question word (why, what, where, how, etc.), it goes before the verb.

Question	Question with question word
Are you late?	Why are you late?
Was she there?	When was she there?
Can I help?	How can I help?
Have we met before?	Where have we met before?

This is true for sentences with be, sentences that have auxiliary verbs (e.g. They are waiting. She has finished.) and sentences with modal verbs (can, will, should, might, etc.).

Questions in the present simple and past simple

For other verbs in the present simple, we use the auxiliary verb do/does in the question.

Affirmative	Question	Question with question word
You work at home.	Do you work* at home?*	Where do you work?
It costs £10.	Does it cost £10?	How much does* it cost?*

We use the auxiliary verb did in the past simple.

Affirmative	Question	Question with question word
She went home.	Did she go home?	Where did* she go?*
They went to the cinema.	Did they go to the cinema?	Where did* they go?*