Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy

We talked about these earlier. However, I got another request to explain it once more.

No problem.

You need “do” and “does” to make questions in the present simple tense.

Here are some examples:

Do you live in Baltimore?

Do they like fish?

Does your uncle drink sugar in his coffee?

Does Bernard go to art class?

Does the cat have a red tail?

When to Use Does

You use “does” with he, she, and it.

When to Use Do

You use “do” with the other pronouns: I, you, we, they.

Question Words First

You can also put a question word in front of your question. Like so:

Where do you live?

What do they like?

How much sugar does your uncle drink in his coffee?

When does Annie go to art class?

Why does the cat have a red tail?

Exercise 1

Change the following sentences to questions:

Example:

Annie wants to meet her lover on top of the Empire State Building.

Answer:

Does Annie want to meet her lover on top of the Empire State Building?

Now it’s your turn:

1 Sam thinks Annie is a hag.

2 He dates his colleague Victoria.

3 His son Jonah hates Victoria.

4 Jonah sends a letter to Annie in Baltimore.

5 Sam and Annie fall in love.

 

Exercise 2

Now ask questions using a question word about the same sentences as above. Start with the question word given.

Example:

Annie wants to meet her lover on top of the Empire State Building.

Answer:

Where does Annie want to meet her lover?

1 What … ?

2 Who … ?

3 Who … ?

4 Where … ?

5 Why … ?

 

You will find the answers to these exercises at the bottom of this page.

Past Tense with “Did”

In the past tense you use did to make questions.

Have a look at these examples:

Did Carlos and Marco use their laptops this morning?

Did Peaches go for a walk yesterday?

Did you have many friends in school?

Question Word + Do/Does Question

As with the present, put your question word before your question with “does.”

Examples:

What did Carlos and Marco do this morning?

Where did Peaches go for a walk yesterday?

How many friends did you have in school?

I’m sure you’ll love this easy rule:

Use “did” for all the pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, and they.

Exercise 3

This exercise is not easy!

Ask questions with did. You can choose just to use “did” or also use a question word.

Example:

The princess found her golden ball in the middle of the pond.

Answer:

Did the princess find her golden ball in the middle of the pond?

Or:

Where did the princess find her golden ball?

1 Porridge from the magic pot covered the little town. (Did … ? / What … ?)

2 The Queen wanted to kill her beautiful stepdaughter with a poisonous apple. (Did … ? / How … ?)

3 Thumbelina flew to the Land of Summer on the swallow’s back. (Did … ? / Where … ?)

4 The wolf tried to look like Red Riding Hood’s Grandma. (Did … ? / Who … ? )

5 Sleeping Beauty slept for a hundred years. (Did … ? / How long … ? )

For the answers, please scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Negative sentences (with “not”)

You also need to use “do,” “does” and “did” in negative sentences.

We’ll do those some other time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers to the Exercises: 

Exercise 1:

1 Does Sam think Annie is a hag?

2 Does he date his colleague Victoria?

3 Does his son Jonah hate Victoria?

4 Does Jonah send a letter to Annie in Baltimore?

5 Do Sam and Annie fall in love?

 

Exercise 2

1 What does Sam think of Annie?

2 Who does he date?

3 Who does his son Jonah hate?

4 Where does Jonah send a letter?

5 Why do Sam and Annie fall in love?

 

Exercise 3

1 Did porridge from the magic pot cover the little town?

What did the porridge from the magic pot do?

2 Did the Queen want to kill her beautiful stepdaughter with a poisonous apple?

How did the Queen want to kill her beautiful stepdaughter?

3 Did Thumbelina fly to the Land of Summer on the swallow’s back?

Where did Thumbelina fly?

4 Did the wolf try to look like Red Riding Hood’s Grandma?

Who did the wolf try to look like?

5 Did Sleeping Beauty sleep for a hundred years?

How long did Sleeping Beauty sleep?