Goal
You’ll be able to form and answer basic yes/no and wh- questions, genuinely essential for any real conversation, since conversations naturally involve asking and answering questions.
Learn
Yes/no questions in the present tense typically use do/does at the start:
Do you like coffee? Yes, I do. / No, I don't. Does she work here? Yes, she does. / No, she doesn't.
Wh- questions use a specific question word to ask for particular information: what, where, when, who, why, how.
Where do you live? I live in London. What is your job? I'm a teacher. How are you? I'm fine, thank you.
A genuinely common structural mistake: forgetting to add do/does when forming a question, producing something that sounds like a statement rather than a real question — You like coffee? (missing the question structure) versus the correctly formed Do you like coffee? While the first version is sometimes used casually with rising intonation, the correctly structured version with do is the standard, universally correct form.
Decision Task
You want to ask someone if they like tea, forming a genuine, correctly structured question. Before reading on: what word needs to go at the very beginning of this question?
Show Answer
Do — Do you like tea? Yes/no questions in the present tense need do (or does for he/she/it) at the start to form the standard, correctly structured question.
Common Mistake
Forgetting to add do or does when forming a yes/no question, producing a statement-like sentence rather than a genuine question structure. You like coffee? is sometimes used casually, but Do you like coffee? is the correctly, universally structured form.
Practice Questions
1. Form a yes/no question asking if he plays football.
Show Answer
Does he play football?
2. Form a wh- question asking where someone lives.
Show Answer
Where do you live?
3. Answer this question with a short affirmative answer: Do you speak English?
Show Answer
Yes, I do.
4. What question word would you use to ask about a reason?
Show Answer
Why
5. Why does Does she work here? use “does” instead of “do”?
Show Answer
“Does” is used with third-person singular subjects (he, she, it), matching subject-verb agreement rules.
Try It Yourself
Without looking back, write a complete wh- question asking someone about their job, and a reasonable short answer to it.
Show Answer
For example: What is your job? / I’m a doctor.
Quick Check
1. What word typically starts a yes/no question in present tense (for I/you/we/they)?
Show Answer
Do
2. What word typically starts a yes/no question for he/she/it?
Show Answer
Does
3. Name two wh- question words.
Show Answer
Any two of: what, where, when, who, why, how.
4. How would you answer Does she work here? negatively?
Show Answer
No, she doesn’t.
5. What question word asks about a location?
Show Answer
Where