What Questions

Personal de ALULA, Actualizado en September 14, 2023

  • "What" + helping verb (do/does) + subject + verb + object ?
  • When using third person singular subjects (he, she, it), the helping verb becomes "does".
  • A subject question is a question where the subject of the sentence is the unknown information.
  • When using "What" as a subject in a question, the formula to follow looks like this: What + verb + object/complement?

The word "What" is commonly used in English to ask questions. We'll learn how to use "What" to form a question sentence in the simple present tense.

The Structure of "What" Questions

The structure of "What" questions in simple present is as follows:

"What" + helping verb (do/does) + subject + verb + object ?

If the subject is "I", "you", "we", "they", or many things/people, use "do".

If the subject is "he", "she", "it", or 1 thing/person, use "does". Note, the verb must be in base form.

Examples:

  • What do you like?

    Question word ("What") + helping verb ("do") + subject ("you") + verb ("like")?

  • What does she wear to work?

    Question word ("What") + helping verb ("does") + subject ("she") + verb ("wear")?

  • What does she wears to work?

    "wears" (third-person singular) is WRONG.

Answers to "What" Questions

Here are some example answers to "What" questions.

Examples:

  • What do you like?

  • I like comic books.

  • What does he drink every day?

  • He drinks water every day.

"What" Questions as Subject Questions

A subject question is where the subject of the sentence is the unknown information.

Use this form to make a subject question: What + verb + (object/complement)?

Examples:

  • What smells good? - The apple pie smells good.

    Question word ("What") + verb ("smells") + complement ("good")?

  • What caused the accident? - Heavy rain caused the accident.

    Question word ("What") + verb ("caused") + object ("the accident")?

  • What is this? - This is a toy.

    Question word ("What") + verb ("is") + subject ("this")?

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