Page 110 - English Grammar in Use

Unit
49 Questions 1

A In questions the subject is usually after the first verb:
subject + verb verb + subject
Tom will → will Tom? Will Tom be here tomorrow?
you have → have you? Have you been working hard?
the house was → was the house? When was the house built?
The subject is after the first verb:
Is Katherine working today? (not Is working Katherine)

B In present simple questions, we use do/does:
you live → do you live? Do you live near here?
the film starts → does the film start? What time does the film start?

In past simple questions, we use did:
you sold → did you sell? Did you sell your car?
the train stopped → did the train stop? Why did the train stop?

But do not use do/does/did if who/what etc. is the subject of the sentence. Compare:

who object who subject

Emma phoned somebody . Somebody phoned Emma.
object subject
Who did Emma phone? Who phoned Emma?

In these examples, who/what etc. is the subject:
Who wants something to eat? (not Who does want)
What happened to you last night? (not What did happen)
How many people came to the party? (not did come)
Which bus goes to the centre? (not does go)

C In questions beginning who/what/which/where, prepositions (in, for etc.) usually go at the end:
Where are you from? What was the weather like?
Who do you want to speak to? Which job has Tina applied for?
You can use preposition + whom in formal style:
To whom do you wish to speak?

D isn’t it … ? / didn’t you … ? etc. (negative questions)
We use negative questions especially to show surprise:
Didn’t you hear the doorbell? I rang it three times.
or when we expect the listener to agree with us:
‘Haven’t we met before?’ ‘Yes, I think we have.’
Note the meaning of yes and no in answers to negative questions:
⎧
‘Yes.’ (= Yes, I want to go)
‘Don’t you want to go?’ ⎨
⎩ ‘No.’ (= No, I don’t want to go)
We often use negative questions with Why … ? :
Why don’t we eat out tonight? (not Why we don’t eat)
Why wasn’t Emma at work yesterday? (not Why Emma wasn’t)

98 Questions 2 ➜ Unit 50 Question tags (do you? isn’t it? etc.) ➜ Unit 52