This document contains a chapter about asking questions in English. It provides examples of different types of questions using question words like who, what, when, where, why, how, etc. It discusses yes/no questions and information questions. It also covers contractions in spoken questions and question formation with verbs like do, be, have. Each section provides examples and exercises to practice asking and answering different kinds of questions.

2. 5-1 Yes/no questions and short answers
5-2 Yes/no questions and information questions
5-3 Where, why, when, and what time
5-4 Questions with who, who(m), and what
5-5 Spoken and written contractions with question words
5-6 Using what + a form of do
5-7 Using what kind of
5-8 Using which
5-9 Using whose
5-10 Using how
5-11 Using how often
5-12 Using how far
5-13 Length of time: it + take and how long
5-14 More questions with how
5-15 Using how about and what about
5-16 Tag questions
CONTENTS

3. 5-1 YES/NO QUESTIONS AND SHORT ANSWERS
Does Marta look happy?
No, she doesn’t.
Marta doesn’t look happy.

4. Yes, he did. (He arrived.)
No, he didn’t. (He didn’t arrive.)
Yes, I do. (I like apples.)
No, I don’t. (I don’t like apples.)
5-1 YES/NO QUESTIONS AND SHORT ANSWERS
YES/NO
QUESTION
SHORT
ANSWER
+ LONG ANSWER
(a) Do you like
apples?
(b) Did he arrive?

5. Yes, it is. It’s sunny.
No, it isn’t. It isn’t sunny.
Yes, I have. Yes I have seen Jim.
No, I haven’t. No, I haven’t seen
Jim.
5-1 YES/NO QUESTIONS AND SHORT ANSWERS
YES/NO
QUESTION
SHORT
ANSWER
+ LONG ANSWER
(c) Have you seen
Jim?
(d) Is it sunny?

6. Yes, he will. Yes, he will go.
No, he won’t. No, he won’t go.
5-1 YES/NO QUESTIONS AND SHORT ANSWERS
YES/NO
QUESTION
SHORT
ANSWER
LONG
ANSWER
(e) Will he go
with us?
yes/no question
can be answered yes or no

7. 5-1 YES/NO QUESTIONS AND SHORT ANSWERS
(c) CORRECT: Yes, I have. Yes, I’ve.
(d) CORRECT: Yes, it is. Yes, it’s.
(e) CORRECT: Yes, he will. Yes, he’ll.
affirmative short answer
helping verb is NOT contracted

8. ______________________Have you been to Croatia?
5-1 LET’S PRACTICE
YES / NO
QUESTION
SHORT
ANSWER
LONG
ANSWER
______________________
Yes, I have been to Croatia.
Yes, I’ve been to Croatia.
Yes, I have.

9. Can turtles run?
5-1 LET’S PRACTICE
YES / NO
QUESTION
SHORT
ANSWER
LONG
ANSWER No, turtles can’t run.
No, they can’t.
_________________
_________________
_________________

10. ______________________Have you been skydiving?
5-1 LET’S PRACTICE
YES / NO
QUESTION
SHORT
ANSWER
LONG
ANSWER
__________
Yes, I have been skydiving.
Yes, I’ve been skydiving.
Yes, I have.
______________________
______________________

11. 5-2 YES/NO QUESTIONS AND INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
Whose old truck is that?

12. 5-2 YES/NO QUESTIONS AND INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
yes/no question
can be answered yes or no
Are you going to college?
Where are you going to college?
information question
where, when, why, who, whom,
what, which, whose, how

13. (a) Does he work in Beijing?
(b) Where does he work ?
(QUESTION
WORD)
HELPING
VERB
SUBJECT MAIN
VERB
(REST OF
SENTENCE)
5-2 YES/NO QUESTIONS AND INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
yes/no question
information question

14. (h) Who(m) did Jack see ?
5-2 YES/NO QUESTIONS AND INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
(QUESTION
WORD)
HELPING
VERB
SUBJECT MAIN
VERB
(REST OF
SENTENCE)
(c) Are you working at home?
(d) Where are you working ?
(e) Will they visit soon?
(f) When will they visit ?
(g) Did Jack see Jill?
HELPING VERB + SUBJECT + MAIN VERB

15. (j) Where are you ?
(QUESTION
WORD)
HELPING
VERB
SUBJECT MAIN
VERB
(REST OF
SENTENCE)
(i) Are you at the gym?
5-2 YES/NO QUESTIONS AND INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
main verb: be
simple present, simple past
helping verb position

16. (l) What was wrong?
(QUESTION
WORD)
HELPING
VERB
SUBJECT MAIN
VERB
(REST OF
SENTENCE)
5-2 YES/NO QUESTIONS AND INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
(k) Who went with you?
subject: question word
do is not used

17. 5-2 LET’S PRACTICE
______________________
ANSWER
INFORMATION
QUESTION
Juana lives in Santiago, Chile.
Where does Juana live?

18. 5-2 LET’S PRACTICE
_____________________ there?
ANSWER
INFORMATION
QUESTION
Juana has lived in Santiago for six years.
How long has Juana lived

19. 5-2 LET’S PRACTICE
Who _______________
ANSWER
INFORMATION
QUESTION
Juana’s friend lives with her.
lives with her?

20. 5-3 WHERE, WHY, WHEN, AND WHAT TIME
What time is our meeting?

21. 5-3 WHERE, WHY, WHEN, AND WHAT TIME
(a) Where did you go? Vancouver
(b) Why did you go there? Because my
parents live there.
where place
why reason
QUESTION ANSWER

22. when any time
expression
5-3 WHERE, WHY, WHEN, AND WHAT TIME
QUESTION ANSWER
(c) What time did you go?
Six-fifteen.
Around noon.
A quarter to two.
(d) When did you get there?
Seven-thirty.
Last Monday.
Five hours ago.
what time on a clock

23. 5-3 LET’S PRACTICE
________________________
ANSWER
QUESTION
I’ll study this evening.
When are you going to study?
when

24. 5-3 LET’S PRACTICE
________________________
ANSWER
QUESTION
I’m going to study
geometry.
What are you going to study?
what

25. 5-3 LET’S PRACTICE
________________________
I’m going to study geometry
because I have a test tomorrow.
Why are you going to study
geometry?________________________
ANSWER
QUESTION
why

26. 5-4 QUESTIONS WITH WHO, WHO(M), AND WHAT
What broke?
Something
broke.

27. who subject
whom object
5-4 QUESTIONS WITH WHO, WHO(M), AND WHAT
QUESTION ANSWER
(a) Who spoke? Someone spoke.
(b) Who(m) did you hear? I heard Ms. Adam.
formal
English

28. what subject or object
5-4 QUESTIONS WITH WHO, WHO(M), AND WHAT
QUESTION ANSWER
(c) What broke? Something broke.
(d) What was it? I saw nothing.

29. who, what subject
5-4 QUESTIONS WITH WHO, WHO(M), AND WHAT
QUESTION ANSWER
(a) Who spoke? Someone spoke.
do not used
(c) What broke? Something broke.
CORRECT: Who sang?
INCORRECT: Who did sing?

30. 5-4 LET’S PRACTICE
_____
ANSWER We learned something.
did you learn?WhatQUESTION
who
whom
what

31. 5-4 LET’S PRACTICE
_____
ANSWER Rodrigo is at the door.
is at the door?WhoQUESTION
who
whom
what

32. With do you wish to speak?
5-4 LET’S PRACTICE
_____
ANSWER I wish to speak with Dr. Poulos.
whomQUESTION
(formal)
who
whom
what

33. What’s
that?
5-5 SPOKEN AND WRITTEN CONTRACTIONS WITH
QUESTION WORDS
What’s
that?

34. (a) “When’s he leaving?”
“Why’s that?”
5-5 SPOKEN AND WRITTEN CONTRACTIONS WITH
QUESTION WORDS
(b) “What’re they doing?”
“Who’re you?”
(c) “Who’d you see?”
“What’d she do?”
(d) “Where’ll you be?”
“When’ll they be here?”
SPOKEN ONLY
is
are
did
will
contracted in speaking
usually NOT written

35. 5-5 SPOKEN AND WRITTEN CONTRACTIONS WITH
QUESTION WORDS
SPOKEN WRITTEN
(e) Where’s the cat? Where’s the cat?
What’s that? What’s that?
Who’s he? Who’s he?
only contractions with
is + where, what or who
commonly written

36. 5-5 LET’S PRACTICE
Who is that person?
Who’s that person?
SAY: Who’s that person?

37. 5-5 LET’S PRACTICE
What did you do yesterday?
What’d you do yesterday?
SAY: What’d you do yesterday?

38. SAY: Who’ll you see at school
tomorrow?
5-5 LET’S PRACTICE
Who will you see at school tomorrow?
Who’ll you see at school tomorrow?

39. 5-6 USING WHAT + A FORM OF DO
What do you do in science class?

40. (a) What does Fayud do every evening?
He prepares dinner.
She went swimming.
She is reading.
5-6 USING WHAT + A FORM OF DO
QUESTION
ANSWER
(b) What did Amy do last weekend?
(c) What is Amy doing now?

41. (d) What are you going to do this week?
(e) What do you want to do tomorrow?
(f) What would he like to do now?
I’m going to study.
I want to go bowling.
He would like to eat.
5-6 USING WHAT + A FORM OF DO
QUESTION
ANSWER

42. I’ll paint the kitchen.
You should clean it up.
(g) What will you do tonight?
5-6 USING WHAT + A FORM OF DO
QUESTION
ANSWER
(h) What should I do about this mess?
what + form of do questions about activities
am doing, will do, are going to do, did…

43. 5-6 LET’S PRACTICE
_________________ right now?
They’re dancing.
What are they doing

44. 5-6 LET’S PRACTICE
______________________________________?
My brothers want to play volleyball this afternoon.
What do your brothers want to do this afternoon

45. 5-6 LET’S PRACTICE
______________________ this dirty van?
She should wash it.
What should she do about

46. 5-7 USING WHAT KIND OF
What kind of flowers do you like?

47. 5-7 USING WHAT KIND OF
(a) What kind of shirt do you need?
T-shirt dress shirtsport shirt formal shirt
what kind of specific type
general category

48. cucumbers eggplant garlic peppers
5-7 USING WHAT KIND OF
(b) What kind of vegetables do you like?
what kind of specific type
general category
carrots cabbage corn onions

49. 5-7 LET’S PRACTICE
What kind of movies do you like to see?
Other kinds of movies:
__________
__________
__________
__________
Dramas
Musicals
Horror
Adventure
Comedies.

50. 5-7 LET’S PRACTICE
What kind of do you like to play?
Other kinds of sports:
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
sports
Soccer / football
Baseball
Lacrosse
Archery
Volleyball.

51. 5-7 LET’S PRACTICE
What kind of fruit do you eat every day?
Other kinds of fruit:
________
________
________
________
Bananas
Papayas
Pears
Apricots
Apples.

52. 5-8 USING WHICH
Which pencil do you want?

53. 5-8 USING WHICH
Sure. Which one
do you want me
to check?
(a)
whichchoice
what
Would you
check my
answer?

54. 5-8 USING WHICH
Amy: I love to travel.
Cindy: Which cities do you like to visit?
(b)
which
plural nouns
singular nouns

55. (c) Laura: This is a photo of my family.
Bill: How nice. Which one is Shawna?
which people
5-8 USING WHICH

56. (d) What did you get for your birthday?
what not a choice
from a group
5-8 USING WHICH

57. 5-8 LET’S PRACTICE
what
which
_____________________?
I rode the brown one.
Which horse did you ride

58. What would you like for your birthday______________________________?
5-8 LET’S PRACTICE
what
which
I would like some pearls for my birthday.

59. ____________________________?Which do you think is more dangerous
5-8 LET’S PRACTICE
what
which
I think that the lion is more dangerous than the turtle.
turtle lion

60. 5-9 USING WHOSE
Whose keys are these?

61. 5-9 USING WHOSE
(a) Whose (hat) is this? It’s the recruit’s (hat).
(b) Whose (shoes) are these? They’re mine.
They’re my shoes.
(c) Whose phone did you use? I used Evelyn’s (phone).
Whose possession

62. 5-9 USING WHOSE
(d) Who’s that? Zoe Thompson.
(e) Whose birthday cake is that? It’s Zoe’s cake.
Whose possession
Who’s = who + is

63. __________________________ ?Who’s going to ride the gray one
5-9 LET’S PRACTICE
whose
who’s
Harry. Harry is going to ride the grey one.

64. _____________________ ?Whose suitcase is this
5-9 LET’S PRACTICE
whose
who’s
This is Misha’s suitcase.

65. Who’s driving Rachel to school_________________________ ?
5-9 LET’S PRACTICE
whose
who’s
Her father is driving Rachel to school.

66. 5-10 USING HOW
How was the beach?

67. 5-10 USING HOW
QUESTION ANSWER
(a) How did you get home?
I drove. / By car.

68. 5-10 USING HOW
QUESTION ANSWER
(a) How did you get home?
I drove. / By car.
I took a taxi. / By taxi.

69. 5-10 USING HOW
QUESTION ANSWER
(a) How did you get home?
I drove. / By car.
I took a taxi. / By taxi.
I took a bus. / By bus.

70. 5-10 USING HOW
QUESTION ANSWER
(a) How did you get home?
I drove. / By car.
I took a taxi. / By taxi.
I took a bus. / By bus.
I flew. / By plane.

71. 5-10 USING HOW
QUESTION ANSWER
(a) How did you get home?
I drove. / By car.
I took a taxi. / By taxi.
I took a bus. / By bus.
I flew. / By plane.
I took a train. / By train.

72. 5-10 USING HOW
QUESTION ANSWER
(a) How did you get home?
I drove. / By car.
I took a taxi. / By taxi.
I took a bus. / By bus.
I flew. / By plane.
I took a train. / By train.
I walked. / By foot.

73. 5-10 USING HOW
QUESTION ANSWER
(a) How did you get home?
I drove. / By car.
I took a taxi. / By taxi.
I took a bus. / By bus.
I flew. / By plane.
I took a train. / By train.
I walked. / By foot.
how many uses
ask about transportation

74. 5-10 USING HOW
(b) How old are you? Thirty-three.
(c) How tall is she? About 2 meters.
(d) How big is your van? It seats eleven.
(e) How tired are you? Not very tired.
(f) How thirsty are you? I’m very thirsty.
(g) How soon will they be ready? In about one hour.
(h) How well does he speak Urdu? Not very well.
(i) How quickly can you finish? I can finish by 3:00.
how adjectives
QUESTION ANSWER

75. 5-11 USING HOW OFTEN
How often do you eat sushi?

76. 5-11 USING HOW OFTEN
(a) How often do you eat out?
Every day.
Once a week.
About 3 times a week.
Every other day or so.
Two times a month.
Once a month.
how often frequency
QUESTION ANSWER

77. 5-11 USING HOW OFTEN
(b) How many times a day do you eat meat?
Once.
(c) How many times a week do you play tennis?
Two or three.
(d) How many times a month do you wash your car?
Maybe once.
(e) How many times a year do you visit your dad?
At least four.
how often =
how many times
a day
a week
a month
a year
QUESTION ANSWER

78. _________________________________ ?How many times a year do you go to the doctor
_________________________ ?
5-11 LET’S PRACTICE
How often do you go to the doctor
I go to the doctor about twice a year.
how often
how many times

79. _________________________________ ?How many times a month do they go to a party
_________________________ ?
5-11 LET’S PRACTICE
How often do they go to a party
They go to a party about once a month.
how often
how many times

80. How many times a week does she see her family__________________________________ ?
_________________________ ?
5-11 LET’S PRACTICE
How often does she see her family
She sees her family every Sunday.
how often
how many times

81. 5-12 USING HOW FAR
How far is it to the Eiffel Tower?

82. 5-12 USING HOW FAR
(a) It is 4,611 km from Ottawa to Vancouver.
(b) It is 4,611 km
from Ottawa to Vancouver.
from Vancouver to Ottawa.
to Vancouver from Ottawa.
to Ottawa from Vancouver.
It is + distance + from/to + to/from
most common
same meaning

83. 5-12 USING HOW FAR
(c) How far is it from Ottawa to Vancouver?
4,611 kilometers.
(d) How far do you live from your job?
About 3 miles.
distanceHow far
1 mile = 1.6 kilometers
1 kilometer = .614 mile

84. 5-12 USING HOW FAR
(e) How many miles is it from Chicago to Dallas?
(f) How many kilometers is it from Paris to Rome?
(g) How many blocks is it to the supermarket?
How far = how many miles
how many kilometers
how many blocks

85. _______________________________ ?How many miles is it from Orlando to Miami
_________________________ ?
5-12 LET’S PRACTICE
How far is it from Orlando to Miami
228 miles. (It’s 228 miles from Orlando
to Miami.)
how far
how many miles

86. How many kilometers is it from Ankara to Istanbul___________________________________ ?
___________________________ ?
5-12 LET’S PRACTICE
How far is it from Ankara to Istanbul
320 kilometers. (It’s 320 kilometers from Ankara
to Istanbul.)
how far
how many kilometers

87. _______________________________ ?How many blocks is it to the hardware store
_________________________ ?
5-12 LET’S PRACTICE
How far is it to the hardware store
8 blocks. (It’s 8 blocks to the hardware
store.)
how far
how many blocks

88. 5-13 LENGTH OF TIME: IT + TAKE AND HOW LONG
How long does it take
to cook a turkey?

89. (a) It takes four hours to cook a turkey.
(b) It took Lena ten minutes to make dinner.
It + take used with time words + infinitive
length of time
5-13 LENGTH OF TIME: IT + TAKE AND HOW LONG
IT + TAKE + (SOMEONE) + LENGTH + INFINITIVE
OF TIME

90. (a) It takes four hours to cook a turkey.
(b) It took Lena ten minutes to make dinner.
It + take used with time words + infinitive
length of time
5-13 LENGTH OF TIME: IT + TAKE AND HOW LONG
IT + TAKE + (SOMEONE) + LENGTH + INFINITIVE
OF TIME
An infinitive = to + simple form of verb

91. How long length of time
5-13 LENGTH OF TIME: IT + TAKE AND HOW LONG
(c) How long does it take to cook a turkey? –Four hours.
(d) How long did it take Abe to run home? –Five minutes.
(e) How long did you read last night? – 45 minutes.
(f) How long will you be on vacation? –Two weeks.

92. how many
5-13 LENGTH OF TIME: IT + TAKE AND HOW LONG
(g) How many weeks will you be on vacation? –Two.
+
minutes
hours
days
weeks
months
years

93. ______________________________________It took Mr. Richards 30 minutes to ride to work.
5-13 LET’S PRACTICE
Mr. Richards rode to work.
Length of time: 30 minutes.
it + take

94. ___________________________________It took the truck 25 years to get very rusty.
5-13 LET’S PRACTICE
The truck got very rusty.
Length of time: 25 years.
it + take

95. It takes us 5 minutes to drive from home to town.
5-13 LET’S PRACTICE
We drive from home to town.
Length of time: 5 minutes.
it + take

96. 5-14 MORE QUESTIONS WITH HOW
Terrible! I’m
so worried
about my test!
How’s it going?

97. 5-14 MORE QUESTIONS WITH HOW
QUESTION ANSWER
(a) How do you spell “effort”? E-F-F-O-R-T
(b) How do you say “no” in Russian? Nyet.
(c) How do you say/pronounce this
word?
Spell the word.
To answer: Say the word.
Pronounce the word.

98. 5-14 MORE QUESTIONS WITH HOW
QUESTION ANSWER
(d) How are you getting along?
(e) How are you doing?
(f) How’s it going?
Great.
Fine.
Okay.
So-so.

99. 5-14 MORE QUESTIONS WITH HOW
QUESTION ANSWER
(d) How are you getting along?
(e) How are you doing?
(f) How’s it going?
How is your life?
Is your life okay?
Do you have any problems?
Great.
Fine.
Okay.
So-so.
Greetings: Hi Pat. How’s it going?

100. 5-14 MORE QUESTIONS WITH HOW
QUESTION ANSWER
(g) How do you feel?
How are you feeling?
health,
general emotional state
Terrific!
Wonderful!
Great!
Fine.
Okay.
So-so.
A bit under the weather.
Terrible!
Lousy.
Awful!

101. 5-14 MORE QUESTIONS WITH HOW
(h)
formal introduction
How do
you do?
How do
you do?

102. 5-14 LET’S PRACTICE
I spell it: G-R-E-A-T.
___________________?How do you spell great

103. 5-14 LET’S PRACTICE
Alegre. Alegre means “happy” in Spanish.
__________________________ ?How do you say “happy” in Spanish

104. 5-14 LET’S PRACTICE
A bit under the weather.
___________________ ?How do you feel
___________________ ?How are you feeling
you

105. 5-15 USING HOW ABOUT AND WHAT ABOUT
How about joining
our study group?

106. What about
5-15 USING HOW ABOUT AND WHAT ABOUT
We need
something to drink
with dinner.
How about
iced tea?
(a)

107. What about
5-15 USING HOW ABOUT AND WHAT ABOUT
What time should
we serve the
soup?
How about
7:30?
(b)

108. What about
5-15 USING HOW ABOUT AND WHAT ABOUT
What do you
want to do
this weekend?
How about
going to a
museum?
(c)

109. How aboutWhat about
5-15 USING HOW ABOUT AND WHAT ABOUT
That sounds like
a good idea.
inviting Edith
to join us?
(d)

110. (c) How about going to a museum?
(a) What about ice tea?
(b) What about 7:30?
(c) What about going to a museum?
(d) What about inviting Edith to join us?
(a) How about iced tea?
(b) How about 7:30?
(d) How about inviting Edith to join us?
5-15 USING HOW ABOUT AND WHAT ABOUT
How about
What about
same meaning
& usage
suggestions or offers
+
noun
or –ing form of verb

111. 5-15 USING HOW ABOUT AND WHAT ABOUT
(e) I’m not worried.
We have time to
study.
I’m worried.
How about you?

112. 5-15 USING HOW ABOUT AND WHAT ABOUT
Are you worried?No. What
about you?
(f)
I’m very worried.
How about you
What about you
question about
preceding
information

113. 5-15 LET’S PRACTICE
When do you want to go on vacation?
M T W Th F Sat S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31
May
What about
What about May 6th?
How about
How about May 6th?

114. 5-15 LET’S PRACTICE
What time shall we leave?
What about
What about 5:00?
How about
How about 5:00?

115. _____________________________________
5-15 LET’S PRACTICE
We need a new house.
What about this house? How about this house?
What about How about
It is for sale. It is for sale.

116. 5-16 TAG QUESTIONS
Sydney isn’t in Africa, is it?

117. 5-16 TAG QUESTIONS
AFFIRMATIVE (+) NEGATIVE (-)
(a) You play tennis, don’t you?
(b) Lonnie is a doctor, isn’t she?
(c) Susan can play the flute, can’t she?
tag question
end of sentence
auxiliary verb
affirmative
main verb
negative tag
question

118. 5-16 TAG QUESTIONS
AFFIRMATIVE (+)NEGATIVE (-)
(d) You don’t play golf, do you?
(e) Lonnie isn’t a lawyer, is she?
(f) Susan can’t swim, can she?
negative main verb affirmative tag question

119. 5-16 TAG QUESTIONS
SPEAKER’S IDEA
I think you like
this brand.
(g)

120. 5-16 TAG QUESTIONS
You like this brand,
don’t you?
SPEAKER’S QUESTION
Yes, I
do.
EXPECTED ANSWER

121. 5-16 TAG QUESTIONS
SPEAKER’S IDEA
I think that
he isn’t tired
yet.
(h)

122. 5-16 TAG QUESTIONS
You’re not tired,
are you?
SPEAKER’S QUESTION EXPECTED ANSWER
No, I’m not.

123. 5-16 TAG QUESTIONS
COMPARE
(i) Do you know how to swim?
speaker doesn’t know the answer
(j) You know how to swim, don’t you?
speaker is making sure

124. 5-16 LET’S PRACTICE
They look happy, ________?
don’t they
isn’t it
do theydon’t they

125. 5-16 LET’S PRACTICE
Your yard doesn’t look like this, _______ ?
is it
doesn’t it
does it
does it

126. 5-16 LET’S PRACTICE
I enjoy dancing, ________ ?
don’t you
isn’t it
wasn’t it
don’t you

127. 127
Images used under license from:
• Shutterstock, Inc.
PHOTO CREDITS