English made easy · Lesson 7 of 12
Lesson 7: Asking questions
Who, what, where, when, why, how
Good questions help you learn. In English, the order of the words in a question is very important. Think of a small train. The question word is first, the helper is second, the person is third and the action is last.
“Where | do | you | live?”
Question words
Here are the main ones:
- Who asks about a person. What asks about a thing.
- Where asks about a place. When asks about a time.
- Why asks about a reason. How asks about a way.
The helper
Put a helper verb after the question word. In the present, use do or does: “What do you eat?” In the past, use did: “What did you eat?” You can also use will or can: “When will you come?”
With “be”, the verb “be” is the helper. Do not add “do”: “Where are you from?”
Yes or no questions
When there is no question word, start with the helper: “Do you like music?” “Is she here?” “Can he swim?”
Answer with a short answer: “Yes, I do.” “No, she isn’t.”
How much and how many
Use “how many” for things you can count: “How many books do you have?” Use “how much” for things you cannot count, like water or time: “How much water do you drink?”
Three more useful ones: “how old”, “how long” and “how far”.
Try it
Put the words in the right order:
- you / do / where / live
- she / is / happy
- much / how / water / do / drink / you
The answers are: “Where do you live?”, “Is she happy?” and “How much water do you drink?”
Next time, we will learn three little words: in, on and at.