tenses, modal auxiliaries and questions

Ingrid Lizbeth Hernandez Orellana. 31-4693-2012

Universidad Tecnológica de El Salvador. Página 1

TENSES

Present Tenses.

Simple present.

Structure.

+ Verb/verb + -s She works in London.

- Do/ does not + not He doesn’t work in London.

? Do / does… + verb? Where do you work?

We use the present simple:

To say when things happen if they take place regularly.

To talk about permanent situations.

To state general truths.

To talk about habits and how often they happen.

To describe the plots of books and films.

For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.

For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the

auxiliary.

For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.

subject auxiliary verb

main verb

+ I, you, we, they

like coffee.

He, she, it

likes coffee.

- I, you, we, they do not like coffee.

He, she, it does not like coffee.

? Do I, you, we, they

like coffee?

Does he, she, it

like coffee?

Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

subject main verb

French.

You, we, they are

French.

He, she, it is

French.

I am not old.

You, we, they are not old.

He, she, it is not old.

Are you, we, they

Is he, she, it

Take a look at these examples:

I live in New York.

The Moon goes round the Earth.

John drives a taxi.

He does not drive a bus.

We meet every Thursday.

We do not work at night.

Do you play football?

Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the present simple tense for situations

that are not general. We can use the present simple tense to talk about now.

Present continuous.

Structure.

+ Am/ is/ are + verb + -ing He is working in London this week.

- Am/ is/ are not + verb + -ing I am not working in London this week.

? Am/ is/ are… + verb + -ing? Are you working in London this week?

We use the present continuous:

To talk about the present moment.

To suggest that an action is temporary. Often with words like now, at the

moment, at present or just.

For an action around the time of speaking, which has begun but is not finished.

For a changing or developing situations.

With a world like always or continually, if we want to criticize or complain.

With always when something unexpected happens several times.

Present Continuous tense for the future

We can also use the present continuous tense to talk about the future - if we add

a future word!! We must add (or understand from the context) a future word. "Future

words" include, for example, tomorrow, next year, in June, at Christmas etc. We only

use the present continuous tense to talk about the future when we have planned to do

something before we speak. We have already made a decision and a plan before

speaking.

I am taking my exam next month.

past present future

A firm plan or programme

exists now.

The action is in the

future.

Look at these examples:

We're eating in a restaurant tonight. We've already booked the table..

They can play tennis with you tomorrow. They're not working.

When are you starting your new job?

In these examples, we have a firm plan or programme before speaking. The decision

and plan were made before speaking.

How do we spell the Present Continuous Tense?

We make the present continuous tense by adding -ing to the base verb. Normally it's

simple - we just add -ing. But sometimes we have to change the word a little. Perhaps

we double the last letter, or we drop a letter. Here are the rules to help you know how

to spell the present continuous tense.

Basic rule Just add -ing to the base verb:

work > working

play > playing

assist > assisting

see > seeing

be > being

Exception

If the base verb ends in consonant + stressed vowel + consonant,

double the last letter:

s t o p

consonant stressed

consonant

(vowels = a, e, i, o, u)

stop > stopping

run > running

begin > beginning

Note that this exception does not apply when the last syllable of the base

verb is not stressed:

open > opening

Exception

If the base verb ends in ie, change the ie to y:

lie > lying

die > dying

Exception

If the base verb ends in vowel + consonant + e, omit the e:

come > coming

mistake > mistaking

Present perfect.

Structure.

+ has/have + verb in past participle I have finished.

- has/have not + verb in past participle She has not finished.

? Has/have… + verb in past participle? Have you finished?

We use the present perfect:

With since or for, about a period of time which is still continuing.

With questions asking how long.

For unfinished actions and events, often with still or yet.

For events repeated over a period of time.

For events which happened in the past at a time which is unknown and / or

irrelevant.

For event that happened in the recent past (often with just).

When the timed stated is not finished.

When we talk about a period of time up to the present.

When we talk about how many times something has happened.

With adverbs like already, before, ever and never.

After a superlative.

For & Since with Present Perfect Tense

We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.

We use for to talk about a period of time - 5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years.

We use since to talk about a point in past time - 9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday.

for since

a period of time a point in past time

20 minutes 6.15pm

three days Monday

6 months January

4 years 1994

2 centuries 1800

a long time I left school

ever the beginning of time

Here are some examples:

I have been here for 20 minutes.

I have been here since 9 o'clock.

John hasn't called for 6 months.

John hasn't called since February.

He has worked in New York for a long time.

He has worked in New York since he left school.

“For can be used with all tenses. Since is usually used

with perfect tenses only.”

Here are some examples of the present perfect tense:

main verb

+ I have

seen ET.

+ You have

eaten mine.

- She has not been to Rome.

- We have not played football.

? Have you

finished?

? Have they

done it?

He's or he's??? Be careful! The 's contraction is used for the auxiliary

verbs have and be.

For example, "It's eaten" can mean:

It has eaten. [present perfect tense, active voice]

It is eaten. [present tense, passive voice]

It is usually clear from the context.

Present perfect continuous. STRUCTURE.

+ Has/have + been + verb-ing I have been working hard.

- Has/have not + been + verb-ing She has been working hard.

? Has/have…. + been + verb-ing Have you been working hard

We use the present perfect continuous:

To talk about how long something has been happening.

To focus on the activity or event itself (whether it is complete or not is

unimportant).

auxiliary verb main verb

+ I have

been waiting for one hour.

+ You have

been talking too much.

- It has not been raining.

- We have not been playing football.

? Have you

been seeing her?

? Have they

been doing their homework

I have been reading for 2 hours. [I am still reading now.]

We've been studying since 9 o'clock. [We're still studying now.]

How long have you been learning English? [You are still learning now.]

We have not been smoking. [And we are not smoking now.]

Past tenses.

Past simple. STRUCTURE.

+ Verb + -ed* I wanted it.

- Did not + verb I did not want it.

? Did… +verb ? What did you want?

*Regular verbs add –ed or –d to the verb: want wanted; hope hoped.

Many common verbs are irregular: think thought; make made.

To be is irregular: am, is, are (not) was (not); are (not) were (not).

The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he

did etc). And the base form and past form do not change.

Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were,

he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and

question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at

these examples:

subject main verb

I, he/she/it was

You, we, they were

in London.

- I, he/she/it was not there.

You, we, they were not happy.

Was I, he/she/it

right?

Were you, we, they

We used the past simple:

For completed actions and events in the past.

For a sequence of actions or events.

For permanent or long-terms situations in the past.

For repeated events.

In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the past simple

tense; we cannot use the present perfect.

Here are some more examples:

I lived in that house when I was young.

He didn't like the movie.

What did you eat for dinner?

John drove to London on Monday.

Mary did not go to work yesterday.

Did you play tennis last week?

I was at work yesterday.

We were not late (for the train).

Were you angry?

Past continuous. STRUCTURE.

+ Was/were + verb + -ing They were waiting.

- Was/were not + verb + -ing She was not waiting.

? Was/were… + verb + -ing Were you waiting?

We use the past continuous:

For an activity beginning before a past action and continuing until or after it.

For two things happening at the same time.

For repeated events, with a word like always or continually, especially if the

speaker is criticizing the activity.

For unfilled plans, with verbs like hope, plan etc.

The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The

action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example,

yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.

When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands

what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:

I was working at 10pm last night.

They were not playing football at 9am this morning.

What were you doing at 10pm last night?

What were you doing when he arrived?

She was cooking when I telephoned her.

We were having dinner when it started to rain.

Ram went home early because it was snowing.

Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense.

We often use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense. We use the past

continuous tense to express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to

express a short action that happens in the middle of the long action. We can join the

two ideas with when or while.

when + short action (simple past tense)

while + long action (past continuous tense)

There are four basic combinations:

I was walking past the car when it exploded.

When the car exploded

I was walking past it.

The car exploded while I was walking past it.

While I was walking past the car

it exploded.

Notice that the long action and short action are relative.

"Watching TV" took a few hours. "Telephoned" took a few seconds.

"Walking past the car" took a few seconds. "Exploded" took a few milliseconds.

Past perfect.

STRUCTURE.

+ Had + verb in past participle He had painted the ceiling.

- Had not + verb in past participle He had not painted the ceiling.

? Had… + verb in past participle? Had He painted the ceiling?

The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past.

This is the past in the past. For example:

The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left.

We use the past perfect:

When we are already talking about the past and want to make it clear that we are

referring back to an even earlier time.

In some sentences with time expressions (when, after, by the time, as soon as)

when one event happened before the other.

We don’t use the past perfect:

If one action happens at the same time as another.

If one actions comes immediately after the other and is connected to it.

Look at some more examples:

I wasn't hungry. I had just eaten.

They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours.

I didn't know who he was. I had never seen him before.

The 'd contraction is also used for the auxiliary verb would. For

example, we'd can mean:

We had

We would

But usually the main verb is in a different form, for example:

We had arrived (past participle)

We would arrive (base)

It is always clear from the context.

Past perfect continuous. STRUCTURE.

+ Had been +verb + -ing I had been working hard.

- Had not been +verb + -ing I had not been working hard.

? Had… been +verb + -ing? Had I been working hard?

We use the past perfect continuous:

To focus on the earlier activity itself or on how long it continued.

When we talk about how long something happened up to a point of time in the

The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer

actions in thepast before another action in the past.

For example:

Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been

waiting for two hours.

John was very tired. He had been running.

I could smell cigarettes. Somebody had been smoking.

Suddenly, my car broke down. I was not surprised. It had not been running well

for a long time.

Had the pilot been drinking before the crash?

FUTURE TENSES.

STRUCTURE.

+ Will + verb They will arrive soon.

- Will not + verb They will not arrive today.

? Will … + verb? Will they arrive soon?

We use will:

For decisions made at the moment of speaking.

For anything which is uncertain, especially with probably, maybe, I think, I

expected and I hope.

For situation that we predict will happen but which are not definitely decided or

arranged.

For something in the future which doesn’t depend on a decision by the speaker.

We use the future simple tense when there is no plan or decision to do something

before we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at

these examples:

Hold on. I'll get a pen.

We will see what we can do to help you.

Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight.

In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the

time of speaking.

We often use the future simple tense with the verb to think before it:

I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow.

I think I will have a holiday next year.

I don't think I'll buy that car.

Prediction

We often use the future simple tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there

is no firm plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:

It will rain tomorrow.

People won't go to Jupiter before the 22nd century.

Who do you think will get the job?

When the main verb is be, we can use the future simple tense even if we have a firm

plan or decision before speaking. Examples:

I'll be in London tomorrow.

I'm going shopping. I won't be very long.

Will you be at work tomorrow?

Future continuous.

STRUCTURE.

+ Will be + verb + -ing She will be working at 7.30

- Will not be + verb + -ing She will not be working at 7.30

? Will... be + verb + -ing Will she be working at 7.30?

We use the future continuous for an event which is going on at a particular time in the

future or over a period of time in the future.

When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands

what time we are talking about.

Look at these examples:

I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow.

They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight.

What will you be doing at 10pm tonight?

What will you be doing when I arrive?

She will not be sleeping when you telephone her.

We'll be having dinner when the film starts.

Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.

FUTURE IN THE PAST.

We use was were going to.

To talk about something which was planned but did not or will not

happen.

You were going to stay here at least a year.

To show that we don’t mind changing our plans.

Boy: Are you busy this evening? (= but now you have changed your

Girl: Well, I was going to write some letters. (= she may forget about

the letters if he has a more interesting idea)

Going to.

STRUCTURE.

+ Am/is/are going to +verb I am going to leave.

- Am/is/are not going to +verb They are not going to leave.

? Am/is/are… going to +verb? Are you going to leave.

It is often possible to use going to to express the future instead of the present

continuous or will.

Going to is used extremely often in everyday speech. In formal and written English will

and the present tenses are used more often than going to.

We use going to:

For future actions which we have already decided about.

To predict something, when we already see evidence for our prediction.

“Pronunciations note: going to is often pronounced gonna. You may

see it spelt this way in comic books and pop songs.”

Future perfect.

STRUCTURE.

+ Will have + past participle I will have finished by six o’clock.

- Will not have + past participle He will not have finished by six o’clock.

? Will… have + past participle? Will you have finished by six o’clock.

We use the futures perfect for an action which will be complete at a point of time in the

future. It Is usual mention the point of time.

The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the

future. This is the past in the future.

For example:

The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am.

When you arrive, the train will have left.

Look at some more examples:

You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8.

They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time.

"Mary won't be at home when you arrive."

"Really? Where will she have gone?"

Future perfect continuous.

+ Will have been + verb + -ing By one o’clock, I will have been waiting

for three hours.

- Will not have been + verb + -ing She will not have been waiting for long.

? Will… have been + verb + -ing? Will they have been waiting for a long

We use the future perfect continuous to emphasize how long a action will have lasted

up to a point of time in the future. It is usually necessary to mention the point of time and

the length of time.

I will have been working here for ten years next week.

He will be tired when he arrives. He will have been travelling for 24 hours.

MODAL AUXILIARIES.

Helping verbs or auxiliary verbs such as will, shall, may, might, can, could, must,

ought to, should, would, used to, need are used in conjunction with main verbs to

express shades of time and mood. The combination of helping verbs with main verbs

creates what are called verb phrases or verb strings. In the following sentence, "will

have been" are helping or auxiliary verbs and "studying" is the main verb; the whole

verb string is underlined:

As of next August, I will have been studying chemistry for ten years.

Students should remember that adverbs and contracted forms are not, technically,

part of the verb. In the sentence, "He has already started." the adverb already modifies

the verb, but it is not really part of the verb. The same is true of the 'nt in "He hasn't

started yet" (the adverb not, represented by the contracted n't, is not part of the

verb, has started).

Shall, will and forms of have, do and be combine with main verbs to indicate time

and voice. As auxiliaries, the verbs be, have and do can change form to indicate

changes in subject and time.

I shall go now.

He had won the election.

They did write that novel together.

I am going now.

He was winning the election.

They have been writing that novel for a long time.

Uses of Shall and Will and Should

In England, shall is used to express the simple future for first person I and we, as in

"Shall we meet by the river?" Will would be used in the simple future for all other

persons. Using will in the first person would express determination on the part of the

speaker, as in "We will finish this project by tonight, by golly!" Using shall in second and

third persons would indicate some kind of promise about the subject, as in "This shall be

revealed to you in good time." This usage is certainly acceptable in the U.S.,

although shall is used far less frequently. The distinction between the two is often

obscured by the contraction 'll, which is the same for both verbs.

In the United States, we seldom use shall for anything other than polite questions

(suggesting an element of permission) in the first-person:

"Shall we go now?"

"Shall I call a doctor for you?"

(In the second sentence, many writers would use should instead, although shouldis

somewhat more tentative than shall.) In the U.S., to express the future tense, the

verb will is used in all other cases.

Shall is often used in formal situations (legal or legalistic documents, minutes to

meetings, etc.) to express obligation, even with third-person and second-person

constructions:

The board of directors shall be responsible for payment to stockholders.

The college president shall report financial shortfalls to the executive director each

semester."

Should is usually replaced, nowadays, by would. It is still used, however, to mean

"ought to" as in

You really shouldn't do that.

If you think that was amazing, you should have seen it last night.

In British English and very formal American English, one is apt to hear or

readshould with the first-person pronouns in expressions of liking such as "I should

prefer iced tea" and in tentative expressions of opinion such as

I should imagine they'll vote Conservative.

I should have thought so.

Uses of Do, Does and Did

In the simple present tense, do will function as an auxiliary to express the negative

and to ask questions.

(Does, however, is substituted for third-person, singular subjects in the present

tense. The past tense did works with all persons, singular and plural.)

I don't study at night.

She doesn't work here anymore.

Do you attend this school?

Does he work here?

These verbs also work as "short answers," with the main verb omitted.

Does she work here? No, she doesn't work here.

With "yes-no" questions, the form of do goes in front of the subject and the main

verb comes after the subject:

Did your grandmother know Truman?

Do wildflowers grow in your back yard?

Forms of do are useful in expressing similarity and differences in conjunction

with so and neither.

My wife hates spinach and so does my son.

My wife doesn't like spinach; neither do I.

Do is also helpful because it means you don't have to repeat the verb:

Larry excelled in language studies; so did his brother.

Raul studies as hard as his sister does.

The so-called emphatic do has many uses in English.

1. To add emphasis to an entire sentence: "He does like spinach. He really does!"

2. To add emphasis to an imperative: "Do come in." (actually softens the command)

3. To add emphasis to a frequency adverb: "He never did understand his father."

"She always does manage to hurt her mother's feelings."

4. To contradict a negative statement: "You didn't do your homework, did you?"

"Oh, but I did finish it."

5. To ask a clarifying question about a previous negative statement: "Ridwell didn't

take the tools." "Then who did take the tools?"

6. To indicate a strong concession: "Although the Clintons denied any wrong-doing,

they did return some of the gifts."

7. In the absence of other modal auxiliaries, a form of do is used in question and

negative constructions known as the get passive:

Did Rinaldo get selected by the committee?

The audience didn't get riled up by the politician.

Uses of Have, Has and Had

Forms of the verb to have are used to create tenses known as the present

perfect and past perfect. The perfect tenses indicate that something has happened in

the past; the present perfect indicating that something happened and might be

continuing to happen, the past perfect indicating that something happened prior to

something else happening. (That sounds worse than it really is!)

To have is also in combination with other modal verbs to express probability and

possibility in the past.

As an affirmative statement, to have can express how certain you are that something

happened (when combined with an appropriate modal + have + a past participle):

"Georgia must have left already." "Clinton might have known about the gifts." "They may

have voted already."

As a negative statement, a modal is combined with not + have + a past participle to

express how certain you are that something did not happen: "Clinton might not have

known about the gifts." "I may not have been there at the time of the crime."

To ask about possibility or probability in the past, a modal is combined with the subject

+ have + past participle: "Could Clinton have known about the gifts?"

For short answers, a modal is combined with have: "Did Clinton know about this?" "I

don't know. He may have." "The evidence is pretty positive. He must have."

To have (sometimes combined with to get) is used to express a logical inference:

It's been raining all week; the basement has to be flooded by now.

He hit his head on the doorway. He has got to be over seven feet tall!

Have is often combined with an infinitive to form an auxiliary whose meaning is similar

to "must."

I have to have a car like that!

She has to pay her own tuition at college.

He has to have been the first student to try that.

Modal Auxiliaries

Other helping verbs, called modal auxiliaries or modals, such as can, could,

may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, and would, do not change form for

different subjects. For instance, try substituting any of these modal auxiliaries

for can with any of the subjects listed below.

Uses of Can and Could

The modal auxiliary can is used:

1. To express ability (in the sense of being able to do something or knowing how to

do something):

He can speak Spanish but he can't write it very well.

2. To expression permission (in the sense of being allowed or permitted to do

something):

Can I talk to my friends in the library waiting room? (Note that can is less formal

than may. Also, some writers will object to the use of canin this context.)

3. To express theoretical possibility:

American automobile makers can make better cars if they think there's a profit in

The modal auxiliary could is used:

1. To express an ability in the past:

I could always beat you at tennis when we were kids.

2. To express past or future permission:

Could I bury my cat in your back yard?

3. To express present possibility:

We could always spend the afternoon just sitting around talking.

4. To express possibility or ability in contingent circumstances:

If he studied harder, he could pass this course.

In expressing ability, can and could frequently also imply willingness: Can you

help me with my homework?

Can versus May

Whether the auxiliary verb can can be used to express permission or not — "Can I

leave the room now?" ["I don't know if you can, but you may."] — depends on the level

of formality of your text or situation. As Theodore Bernstein puts it in The Careful

Writer, "a writer who is attentive to the proprieties will preserve the traditional

distinction: can for ability or power to do something, mayfor permission to do it.

The question is at what level can you safely ignore the "proprieties." Merriam-Webster's

Dictionary, tenth edition, says the battle is over and can can be used in virtually any

situation to express or ask for permission. Most authorities, however, recommend a

stricter adherence to the distinction, at least in formal situations.

Uses of May and Might

Two of the more troublesome modal auxiliaries are may and might. When used in

the context of granting or seeking permission, might is the past tense of

may. Might is considerably more tentative than may.

May I leave class early?

If I've finished all my work and I'm really quiet, might I leave early?

In the context of expressing possibility, may and might are interchangeable present

and future forms and might + have + past participle is the past form:

She might be my advisor next semester.

She may be my advisor next semester.

She might have advised me not to take biology.

Avoid confusing the sense of possibility in may with the implication of might,

that a hypothetical situation has not in fact occurred. For instance, let's say

there's been a helicopter crash at the airport. In his initial report, before all the

facts are gathered, a newscaster could say that the pilot "may have been

injured." After we discover that the pilot is in fact all right, the newscaster can

now say that the pilot "might have been injured" because it is a hypothetical

situation that has not occurred. Another example: a body had been identified

after much work by a detective. It was reported that "without this painstaking

work, the body may have remained unidentified." Since the body was, in fact,

identified, might is clearly called for.

Uses of Will and Would

In certain contexts, will and would are virtually interchangeable, but there are

differences. Notice that the contracted form 'll is very frequently used for will.

Will can be used to express willingness:

I'll wash the dishes if you dry.

We're going to the movies. Will you join us?

It can also express intention (especially in the first person):

I'll do my exercises later on.

and prediction:

specific: The meeting will be over soon.

timeless: Humidity will ruin my hairdo.

habitual: The river will overflow its banks every spring.

Would can also be used to express willingness:

Would you please take off your hat?

It can also express insistence (rather rare, and with a strong stress on the word

"would"):

Now you've ruined everything. You would act that way.

and characteristic activity:

customary: After work, he would walk to his home in West Hartford.

typical (casual): She would cause the whole family to be late, every time.

In a main clause, would can express a hypothetical meaning:

My cocker spaniel would weigh a ton if I let her eat what she wants.

Finally, would can express a sense of probability:

I hear a whistle. That would be the five o'clock train.

Uses of Used to

The auxiliary verb construction used to is used to express an action that took place

in the past, perhaps customarily, but now that action no longer customarily takes place:

We used to take long vacation trips with the whole family.

The spelling of this verb is a problem for some people because the "-ed" ending quite

naturally disappears in speaking: "We yoostoo take long trips." But it ought not to

disappear in writing. There are exceptions, though. When the auxiliary is combined with

another auxiliary, did, the past tense is carried by the new auxiliary and the "-ed" ending

is dropped. This will often happen in the interrogative:

Didn't you use to go jogging every morning before breakfast?

It didn't use to be that way.

Used to can also be used to convey the sense of being accustomed to or familiar with

something:

The tire factory down the road really stinks, but we're used to it by now.

I like these old sneakers; I'm used to them.

Used to is best reserved for colloquial usage; it has no place in formal or

academic text.

WH Question Words

Making questions with questions words (who,

what, where, why, how, which)

When we use what, which or who to make questions about the subject of the

verb we do not change the word order (unlike yes / no questions):

The pool looks too small. What looks to small?

(Answer: The pool.)

This hotel offers the best view. Which hotel offers the best view?

(Answer: This hotel.)

We make questions all other parts of the sentence in the same way as yes / no

questions:

They will be in Madrid tomorrow. When will they be in Madrid?

(Answer: Tomorrow)

We can’t stay here because it is full. Why can’t we stay here?

(Answer: because it is full)

She prefers to travel by train. How does she prefer to travel?

(Answer: by train)

We use question words to ask certain types of questions (question word questions). We

often refer to them as WH words because they include the letters WH (for example

WHy, HoW).

Question Word Function Example

what asking for information about something What is your name?

asking for repetition or confirmation What? I can't hear you. You did what?

what...for asking for a reason, asking why What did you do that for?

when asking about time When did he leave?

where asking in or at what place or position Where do they live?

which asking about choice Which colour do you want?

who asking what or which person or people (subject)

Who opened the door?

whom asking what or which person or people (object)

Whom did you see?

whose asking about ownership Whose are these keys? Whose turn is it?

why asking for reason, asking what...for Why do you say that?

why don't making a suggestion Why don't I help you?

how asking about manner How does this work?

asking about condition or quality How was your exam?

how + adj/adv asking about extent or degree see examples below

how far distance How far is Pattaya from Bangkok?

how long length (time or space) How long will it take?

how many quantity (countable) How many cars are there?

how much quantity (uncountable) How much money do you have?

how old age How old are you?

how come (informal)

asking for reason, asking why How come I can't see her?

Making yes / no questions.

To make questions:

Which can be answered with yes or no, we put the auxiliary verb before its

subject:

You are going on holiday son. Are you going on holiday soon?

He has packed his case. Has he packed his case?

In the present simple or the past simple, we use the auxiliary verb do (es) or did

to make the questions:

I like Italy. Do you like Italy?

She prefers Greece. Does she prefer Greece?

They went to Corsica. Did they go to Corsica?

With the verb to be, we the verb to be before the subject:

They are in Madrid today, Are they in Madrid Today.

With the modal verbs, we put the modal verb before the subject:

We can stay here. Can we stay here?

We make negatives questions in the same way:

They like big cities. Don’t they like big cities?

She can’t stay here. Can she stay here?

These questions often express surprise.

Short answers

We answer a yes / no questions using the same auxiliary or modal verb as in the

questions.

If we are agree with a positive questions, the answer is yes:

Are you going to Greece? Yes, I am.

Did you like the hotel? Yes, I did.

If we are agree with a negative questions, the answer is no:

Aren’t you going to Greece? No, I am not.

Didn’t you like the hotel? No, I did not.

If we disagree with a positive questions, the answer is no:

Are you going to Greece? No, I am not.

Did you like the hotel? No, I did not.

If we disagree with a negative question, the answer is yes:

Are you going to Greece? Yes, I am.

Did you like the hotel? Yes, I did.

tenses, modal auxiliaries and questions

simple present

present continuous tense

present moment

present simple tense

past present future

verb ing

subject main verb

tenses present tenses

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