Questions to the subject of the sentence or its attribute begin with who, what, which whose. They dont change the structure and word order of the sentence.
E.g. She was there with us.
Who was there with us? She was.
E.g. Who has done this exercise? We have.
E.g. Two of them liked our proposal.
Which of them liked our proposal? Two of them did.
Remember: Who is always singular.
Questions to the subject and object of the sentence
If the subject and object of the sentence are personal nouns the question starts with who, but the word order is different.
Compare:
E.g. Mary saw Claire at the station.
Who saw Claire at the station? Mary did.
Who did Mary see at the station? Mary saw Claire.
Grammar Exercises
Question phrases:
What time is your friend arriving? - Half past eight.
What kind of/what sort of club is it? - A nightclub.
How often do you go out? - About once a week.
How long will the meeting last? - An hour or so, I expect.
How much money did you spend? - About a hundred pounds.
What colour is your toothbrush? - Yellow.
How old is your sister? -Shes twenty.
How far is the beach? - Only five minutes walk.
How many televisions have you got? - Three.
Exercise 1. Complete with the correct question word
1. _______ much are the potatoes? One dollar.
2. _______ can I do for you? I want two white T-shirts.
3. _______ can I get a newspaper? In Park Street.
4. _______ is your best friend? It´s Paul.
5. _______ does Lisa live? In Boston.
6. _______ colour is your new car? It´s white.
7. _______ do you collect? Stickers.
8. _______ can help me? I can.
9. _______ about some grapes? No, thanks.
10. _______ was your first word as a baby? Mama.
11. _______ were you born? On March 9th.
12. _______ were you born? In St. Maarten.
13. _______ were you last Sunday? I was working.
14. _______ can we have a picnic? I know a nice place near a pond.
15. _______ are you going to take with you? Some sandwiches and a coke.
Yes/No (general) questions
1. asking for information: Are you ready? Yes, nearly / No, not quite
Has anyone seen my bag? - Yes, its on the chair. / No, I dont think so.
2. making a suggestion: Shall we eat out tonight?
3. requesting: Can/could you write the address down for me, please?
4. offering: Can I carry something for you? No, its OK, thank you.
5. inviting: Would you like to come to the party? Yes, Id love to.
6. asking permission: May I use your phone? Yes, of course.
Exercise 2. Ask questions which have been pre-planned.
Model: You want to know if Mark has been to Los Angeles?
Has Mark been to Los Angeles?
1. You arent sure if Rachel and Vicky are going to America. Ask them.
2. You want to know if Laura plays tennis. Ask Trevor.
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3. You are wondering if Claire enjoyed her holiday. Ask her.
4. You want to suggest to Rachel that you both go for a walk.
5. You need to know if David will be at the club tonight. Ask him.
6. You want to know if the train is on time. Ask Mark.
7. You are wondering if Mike and Harriet go camping. Ask David.
8. You want to ask Matthew if you can borrow his squash racket.
9. You want to know if Nick has got a motor bike. Ask him.
Exercise 3. Quiz champion Claude Jennings is answering questions. Put in these words and phrases: how far, how long, how often, how many, what, what colour, what kind, when, where, who
| Quiz-master: | Claude: |
| 1. _________________is the Greek flag? | Blue and white |
| 2. _________________centimetres are there in a kilometre? | A hundred thousand |
| 3. _________________is Melbourne? | Its in Australia |
| 4. _________________did the Second World War start? | In 1939 |
| 5. _________________did Romeo love? | Juliet |
| 6. _________________is Sirius? | Its a star. |
| 7.__________________is it from Los Angeles to San Francisco? | About 400 miles |
| 9. _________________of food is Cheddar? | Its cheese |
| 10. ________________is a game of rugby? | Eighty minutes |
Subject/object questions
| Subject | Object |
| Who likes jazz? Who is helping you? Who is talking to you? What makes you think so? What wine goes with fish? | Who did you ring? Who are you helping? What does this colour go with? |
| Which program is on now? Whose dog is barking over there? | Which program are you watching? Whose dog is Melanie walking? |
Exercise 4. Harriet is visiting her grandmother, Mrs Evans. Its Mrs Evanss birthday.
She cant hear very well, and she sometimes gets confused. Complete her questions.
| Harriet | Mrs Evans |
| 1. So ten people have sent cards | Pardon? How many people have sent cards? |
| 2. I met Davids friend yesterday | What? Whose____________________________ |
| 3. You can keep these photos. | Photos? Which ___________________________ |
| 4. Those flowers look lovely. | Do they? Which __________________________ |
| 5. Fifty pounds went missing. | Missing? How much_______________________ |
| 6. I passed Marks house earlier. | Pardon? Whose___________________________ |
| 7. The doctor has four children. | Really> How many _______________________ |
