What Questions
- "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.
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What does he drink every day?
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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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