{"id":21190,"date":"2020-11-12T10:51:48","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T10:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lingobest.com\/free-online-english-course\/?p=21190"},"modified":"2023-02-15T20:09:18","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T20:09:18","slug":"asking-questions-in-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lingobest.com\/free-online-english-course\/asking-questions-in-english\/","title":{"rendered":"Asking Questions in English: a Simple Guide with 35+ Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You ask questions all the time. You may need directions to get somewhere, permission to do something, or an opinion before buying a new piece of clothing. The thing is: learning how to ask questions in English is necessary for any ESL student! It is even more important that you can form questions in English<\/strong> correctly. This article teaches you everything you need to know about asking questions in English.<\/span> Keep reading for examples of questions and answers using the WH question words<\/strong>, the verb to be<\/em>, and more. You can even download our free ebook for future reference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to form questions in English<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In English, information questions depend on using specific words \u2014<\/span> these are what we call WH question words<\/a><\/strong>. We have nine WH question words: what, when, where, which, who, why, whom, whose, and how<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some questions are formed with adverbs. These ask for information about time, place, reason, or manner. The four words which function as adverbs are: when, where, why, <\/strong>and how.<\/strong> Adverbs describe a verb or an adjective. Think about this example: where did you read that?<\/em> In this sentence, where <\/em>is asking from what source did the information come. Other questions are formed with pronouns. These ask about people or things. The five words that are pronouns are: what, which, who, whom, <\/strong>and whose<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With most questions, you can use the following structure to form them properly. The first structure is for the verb \u2018to be.\u2019 The second structure is for all other verbs.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions using \u2018to be\u2019 <\/strong><\/span><\/td>Questions using other verbs<\/strong><\/span><\/td><\/tr>
Question word + to be<\/strong><\/mark> + subject +<\/span> complement (optional)<\/td>Question word + auxiliary verb<\/mark> + subject + base verb<\/mark> <\/mark>+ complement<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
Where is your house? <\/span><\/td>Where do you live?<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
How is the food?<\/span><\/td>How do you like the food?<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
Who is that girl?<\/span><\/td> Who do you know?<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
When is your birthday? <\/span><\/td>When do you work?<\/span><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In many questions with pronouns, the question word functions as a subject. Think of the question \u2018who sings that song?\u2019 The subject is \u2018who\u2019 and \u2018sing\u2019 is the verb. \u2018That song\u2019 is the object. This is important because occasionally, questions that start with a pronoun will not use an auxiliary verb<\/strong>.<\/span> Look at this example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n