Asking Questions in English
Asking questions in English isn’t too difficult once you get the hang of it. As with any language, there are several ways to ask questions. If you learn those, you’ll have much more complex conversations in no time.
The easiest way to ask a question is with intonation (the pitch or sound of your voice). That simply means making your voice a bit higher at the end of a sentence. Listen for an example.
While using intonation is the easiest way, it can become repetitive and doesn’t sound as good as the other ways.
The next way to ask a question in English is to invert a sentence (switch the subject and the verb). This is a great way to ask questions, but you must use a "to be" verb (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) or a helping verb (could, would, should, have, must, etc.).
This is really hard. --- Is this really hard?
You are sad. --- Are you sad?
Monday was terrible. --- Was Monday terrible?
You can help me. --- Can you help me?
The final method is more complex, but it is also the most flexible and allows for the most details. I’ll help you remember by giving you the acronym QUASM.
QU estion word
A uxiliary verb
S ubject
M ain verb
Present Tense Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| Where | do | you | exercise? | |
| Why | does | Jennifer | fight | with you? |
| How | are | you | feeling | |
| Who | do | you | love? |
Past Tense Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| Where | did | you | exercise? | |
| Why | did | Jennifer | fight | with you? |
| How | were | you | feeling? | |
| Who | did | you | love? |
Future Tense Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| Where | will | you | travel? | |
| Why | won't | they | be able | to come? |
| How | will | Santa | fit | in the chimney? |
| Who | will | you | ask | on a date? |
Present Continuous Tense Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| Where | are | you | going? | |
| Why | is | Alex | smiling? | |
| How | are | you | feeling? | |
| When | is | the party | happening | this month? |
Past Continuous Tense Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| Where | were | they | going? | |
| Why | was | he | lying | to me? |
| How | were | people | swimming | in that cold water? |
| Who | was | she | cooking | with? |
Modal (conditional) Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| Where | would | you | fly | if you had a free ticket? |
| When | could | I | visit | visit you? |
| How | should | I | contact | you? |
| Why | wouldn't | you | help? |
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