1.2.1: Simple Present-Questions

Yes/No Question Form: Simple Present Tense

Yes/No questions mean that the answer to the question is either yes or no. These questions don’t use wh- question words. Remember, when we use an auxiliary verb, the main verb is in the base form. The auxiliary verb goes before the subject and the main verb goes after the subject.

auxiliary DO + subject + base verb + rest of sentence

Auxiliary DO	Subject	Base Form of Main Verb	Rest of Sentence
Do	I you we they	speak	too loud?
Does	he she it	stay	in the room?

Examples:

• Do your daughters like to go shopping with friends?
• Does it rain a lot in Houston during the summer?
• Do teachers have to correct a lot of homework papers?
• Does this class begin at 8:00 AM?
• Does grammar help students to write better in English?

Short Answers

Short answers are quick answers to yes/no questions. Remember that if the question uses the BE verb, use the BE verb in your answer. If the auxiliary DO is used in the question, then use DO in the answer.

Examples

Do you have cats? Yes, I do.

Are you a teacher? No, I am not.

Affirmative			Negative
Yes,	I you we they	do.	No,	I you we they	do not. OR don’t.
Yes,	he she it	does.	No,	he she it	does not. OR doesn’t.

Examples

Do you drink coffee in the morning? Yes, I do.

Does he drink coffee in the morning? No, he doesn’t

Exercise 7: Fill-in-the-Blank

Directions: Complete the questions with the missing auxiliary verb and subject.

Example

A: Does she wake up early?

B: No, she doesn’t.

1. A:________ do her homework every day?

B: Yes, she does.

2. A:________ wash the dishes after dinner?

B: Yes, he does.

3. A:________ eat dinner together?

B: Yes, they do.

4. A:________ work late every day?

B: No, she doesn’t.

5. A:________ drive to school?

B: Yes, he does.

6. A:________ study vocabulary?

B: Yes, I do.

7. A:________ eat lunch at home?

B: No, we don’t.

8. A:________ ask questions?

B: Yes, she does.

Exercise 8:Game

Directions: The goal of this game is to get rid of all your cards. Your instructor will give you a set of “yes” cards and “no” cards. You will ask your classmate a yes/no question. If your classmate says no to the question, give them a card that says no. If your classmate says yes, give them a card that says yes. After you ask a question, your partner asks you a question. Then change partners and ask more questions. The first person to give away all of their cards is the winner.

Information Questions in the Simple Present

Wh- Question Word	Asks about...	Example Question
Who	a person	Who is your teacher?
What	information	What is your name?
Where	location	Where are you from?
When What time	Time *(specific and general)	When is your birthday? What time is your class?
Why	a reason	Why are you late?
How	directions, process, or means	How do you get home?
How many	a number	How many children do you have?
How often	frequency	How often do you drink coffee?
How much	an amount or money	How much is our textbook?
What kind	one from a group	What kind of fruit do you like?

*What time asks about specific time. When asks about general time.

Examples

What time does class start? Class starts at 9:00 am.

When is your birthday? My birthday is in August.

We form information questions (sometimes called wh- questions) the same as yes/no questions. Add the question word (who, what, where, when, what time, etcetera) to the beginning of the question.

Wh- Question Word	Auxiliary DO	Subject	Base Form Main Verb
Who What Where When What time Why How How many How often How much	do       does	I you we they   he she it	see? eat? drive? write? work? play?

Exercise 9: Choose the Correct Form

Directions: Circle the correct question word.

1. Who/What is your teacher? My teacher is Susan.
2. Where/What is your address? My address is 19 Molalla Ave, Oregon City.
3. Where/When do you wake up? I wake up at 7:30 am.
4. Why/Who do you have an umbrella? Because it’s raining.
5. How/Where do you take ESL? I take ESL classes at SanJac .
6. When/What do you work? I work at 5:00 pm.
7. Why/How do you get to school? I take the bus.
8. What/How do you cook hotdogs? I boil them, but some people grill them.
9. How much/How often milk do you want? I want 1 cup.
10. How many/Why cookies do you want? I want 2 dozen.

Exercise 10: Fill-in-the-Blank

Directions: Fill in the blank with the correct question word.

1. A:________ do you go to work?

B: I go to work at 5:00 am.

2. A:________ is he wearing a sweater?

B: He’s cold.

3. A:________ do you study vocabulary?

B: I use vocabulary cards.

4. A:________ are they from?

B: They’re from Italy.

5. A:________ are you doing?

B: I’m doing my homework.

6. A:________ often do you sleep in?

B: I sleep in on Saturdays.

7. A:________ time does class start?

B: Class starts at 6:00 pm.

8. A:________ do you study?

B: I study at the library.

9. A:________ is your favorite actor?

B: My favorite actor is Brad Pitt.

10. A:________ many classes do you take?

B: I take three classes each term.

Exercise 11: Interview

Directions: Your class will work together to create questions that you can use to interview a classmate.

• Ask a partner the questions
• Write the answers to the 5 questions below.

1. __________________________________________
2. __________________________________________
3. __________________________________________
4. __________________________________________
5. __________________________________________

Exercise 12: Write Yes/No Questions

Change the following sentences to simple yes/no questions.

1. Young people often use social media frequently.

2. My sister plays soccer.

3. Many people eat out on the weekends.

4. My sons make a lot of noise at my house.

5. Parents have a lot of responsibility.

6. Our teacher enjoys teaching English as a second language.

Asking Information Questions (WH Questions) about the Subjects of Sentences

So far, we have been writing questions about the object. We use questions about the object to ask about the receiver of an action. These questions follow the QUASM formula: Question word – Auxiliary verb – Subject – Main verb as we have seen above. For questions in the simple present, the auxiliary verbs are do and does:

Does Harry live in Dallas?

Do you like to play tennis?

What do you do in your free time?

However, sometimes we want to ask about the subject. We don’t know the person or thing who performed the action, and we want to find out. This type of question (a question about a subject) does not use the auxiliary verbs do or does. The verb in these types of questions is considered singular. Therefore, it ends with "s."

Examples:

1. Who buys groceries at HEB for his family?
   • My brother buys groceries for his family at HEB.
2. What eats on the porch?
   • The dogs eat on the back porch.
3. Who takes a walk in the park every evening?
   • My parents take in the park every evening.
4. What grows in your garden?
   • Many colorful flowers grow in my garden.

Exercise 13: Make WH questions about the subjects with the words following the sentences.

1. The Weather Channel gives weather foercasts every hour.

What channel gives weather forecasts every hour?

2. Boys get into trouble more often than girls.

Who

3. Many Americans go to restaurants every week.

Who

4. Driving at night makes me nervous.

What

5. The boys like to ride horses in the afternoon.

Who

When

6. My friend swims in the ocean with his sons.

Who

Who (m)

7. Some people buy expensive cars.

Who

What

Page by Don Bissonnette-Seattle Community College ESL Grammar the Way You LIke It