Asking questions
Question word or phrase
Auxiliary verb
Subject
Main verb
Rest of question
How often
do
you
speak
English?
How many people
does
your company
employ?
When
did
it
open?
What time
do
you
get up
every day?
How
do
you
get
to work?
Why
did
he
arrive
late?
Yes /No questions present simple
Do you live in Prague?
Does she live in Prague?
present continuous
Are you coming with us?
Is he coming with us?
past simple
Did you go to the meeting?
Did she go to the meeting?
past continuous
Were you waiting long?
Was he waiting long?
modals can /could / will
Can you speak German?
Can he speak German?
Notice that yes/no questions are formed with an auxiliary verb + subject + main verb. The auxiliary verb can be: do, did, be, or a modal verb like can, will, etc.
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Short answers To make a short answer we repeat the auxiliary verb, not the main verb.
A: Do you speak French?
B: Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.
A: Are you staying at the Ritz?
B: Yes, I am. / No, I am not.
A: Did you see Michel?
B: Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.
A: Were you enjoying yourself?
B: Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.
A: Can you be here at 7.00?
B: Yes, I can. / No, I can’t.
What vs. Which What + noun -what is more common for things
Which + noun -which is more common for people and organizations
What software do you use?
-what is more common where there is a wide choice What time are you arriving?
Which speaker is giving the opening talk? Which company do you work for? -which is more common where there is a limited number of choices Which airport are you arriving at: Heathrow or Gatwick?
Whose is used to ask who someone of something belongs to Whose computers are working are whose are not working?
We can use how with adjectives: How far, How important, How long, etc.
We use how many for countable nouns (dollars, bottles, people) and how much for uncountable nouns (money, water, information).
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Questions starting with a Wh- or How word 
To make a question with a question word, we use the question word followed by exactly the same structure as a yes/no question. So: question word + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
present simple
When do you usually leave work?
present continuous
What are you doing about the Alpha project?
past simple
How did you feel when you heard the news?
past continuous
Where were you living at the time?
can / could / will
What can I say? What will you do?
Subject / object questions Subject question A: Who called? B: Susie called?
Object question A: Who did Susie call? B: Susie called Mike
A: What caused the explosion? B: A gas leak caused the explosion.
A: What did the explosion cause? B: It caused the factory to close for a week.
Who and What are the subjects of the question. They refer to Susie and a gas leak.
Who and what are the objects of the question. They refer to Mike and the factory. These questions need auxiliary
These questions do not need auxiliary
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Question Words
Who What When Where Why Which How Whose How much How many How often What color How old How far How long How big How tall How deep What is it like? What does he/she look like?
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