In many languages, a question is just a statement with rising intonation. In English, the structure changes, and that is where many learners slip.
Rule 1: “to be” and auxiliaries, invert
| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| You are tired. | Are you tired? |
| She is at home. | Is she at home? |
| They can swim. | Can they swim? |
| He will come. | Will he come? |
| You have finished. | Have you finished? |
Rule 2: other verbs, use do, does or did
| Tense | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present (I, you, we, they) | Do + subject + verb | Do you like coffee? |
| Present (he, she, it) | Does + subject + verb | Does she work here? |
| Past (all) | Did + subject + verb | Did they call you? |
Watch the verb after the auxiliary: it stays in its base form. “Does she work” (not “works”), “Did you go” (not “went”).
Question words
| Word | Asks about | Example |
|---|---|---|
| what | things, actions | What do you do? |
| where | place | Where do you live? |
| when | time | When did you arrive? |
| why | reason | Why are you late? |
| who | people | Who is that? |
| which | a choice between options | Which one do you want? |
| how | manner | How did you do that? |
| how much / how many | quantity | How much is it? |
| how long | duration | How long have you lived here? |
The order is: question word + auxiliary + subject + verb. “Where do you live?”
The most common mistakes
- “Where you live?” → “Where do you live?”
- “Does she works?” → “Does she work?”
- “Did you went?” → “Did you go?”
- “What means this?” → “What does this mean?”
- “How is called this?” → “What is this called?”
Indirect questions (more polite)
To sound more polite, add an introduction and go back to normal sentence order:
- “Where is the station?” → “Could you tell me where the station is?”
- “What time does it start?” → “Do you know what time it starts?”
How to make it stick
Shows and interviews are full of questions. Notice the auxiliaries, which are heavily reduced in speech: “Do you” sounds like “d’you”, “Did you” like “didja”. In Telidioma, replaying the line helps you hear those reductions. For a summary of verb tenses, see English tenses overview.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I ask “You like coffee?”
In informal speech you will hear it, with rising intonation. But the standard form uses an auxiliary: “Do you like coffee?”. As a learner, it is worth using the auxiliary.
When do I use “do” and when “does”?
“Does” with he, she and it; “do” with I, you, we and they. Note that with “does”, the main verb loses its “s”: “Does she work here?”, not “Does she works here?”.
How do I ask with “who” without an auxiliary?
When “who” is the subject of the question, there is no do/does/did: “Who called you?” (someone called you). When it is the object, you use one: “Who did you call?” (you called someone).