6.3 - Questions

Do vs. Does

To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does. It is normally put at the beginning of the question (before the subject).

Affirmative: You speak Spanish.
Question: Do you speak Spanish?

You will see that we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question. We use Do when the subject is I, you, we or they.

Affirmative: He speaks Spanish.
Question: Does he speak Spanish?

When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a question. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the question. We will see the reason why below.

We DON'T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs (can, must, might, should etc.)

Word Order of Questions with Do and Does

The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does.

Do/Does	Subject	Verb*	The rest of the sentence
Do	I / you / we / they	have / buy eat / like etc.	cereal for breakfast?
Does	he / she / it

*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.

Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.

Examples of Questions with Do and Does:

• Do you speak English?
• Does John speak French?
• Do we have time for a quick drink?
• Does it rain a lot in the South?
• Do they want to come with me?
• Does she like chocolate?

Short Answers with Do and Does

In questions that use do/does it is possible to give short answers to direct questions as follows:

Sample Questions	Short Answer (Affirmative)	Short Answer (Negative)
Do you speak English?	Yes, I do.	No, I don't.
Do I need a dictionary?	Yes, you do.	No, you don't.
Do you both speak English?	Yes, we do.	No, we don't.
Do they speak English?	Yes, they do.	No, they don't.
Does he speak English?	Yes, he does.	No, he doesn't.
Does she speak English?	Yes, she does.	No, she doesn't.
Does it have four legs?	Yes, it does.	No, it doesn't.

However, if a question word such as who, when, where, why, which or how is used in the question, you can not use the short answers above to respond to the question.

Question Words with Do and Does

The order for making sentences with Questions words is the following:

Question Word	Do/Does	Subject	Verb
What	do	you	have for breakfast?
What	does	she	have for breakfast?
Where	do	you	live?
When	do	you	study?
How	do	you	spell your name?

Question words!

Question Words in English

The most common question words in English are the following:

WHO

WHO is only used when referring to people. (= I want to know the person)

• Who is the best football player in the world?
• Who are your best friends?
• Who is that strange guy over there?

WHERE

WHERE is used when referring to a place or location. (= I want to know the place)

• Where is the library?
• Where do you live?
• Where are my shoes?

WHEN

WHEN is used to refer to a time or an occasion. (= I want to know the time)

• When do the shops open?
• When is his birthday?
• When are we going to finish?

WHY

WHY is used to obtain an explanation or a reason. (= I want to know the reason)

• Why do we need a nanny?
• Why are they always late?
• Why does he complain all the time?

Normally the response begins with "Because..."

WHAT

WHAT is used to refer to specific information. (= I want to know the thing)

• What is your name?
• What is her favourite colour?
• What is the time?

WHICH

WHICH is used when a choice needs to be made. (= I want to know the thing between alternatives)

• Which dish did you order – the pizza or the pasta?
• Which day do you prefer for a meeting – today or tomorrow?
• Which is better - this one or that one?

HOW

HOW is used to describe the manner that something is done. (= I want to know the way)

• How do you cook lasagna?
• How does he know the answer?
• How can I learn English quickly?

With HOW there are a number of other expressions that are used in questions:

How much – refers to a quantity or a price (uncountable nouns)

• How much time do you have to finish the test?
• How much is the jacket on display in the window?
• How much money will I need?

How many – refers to a quantity (countable nouns)

• How many days are there in April?
• How many people live in this city?
• How many brothers and sister do you have?

Read more about How much vs. How many.

How often – refers to frequency

• How often do you visit your grandmother?
• How often does she study?
• How often are you sick?

How far – refers to distance

• How far is the university from your house?
• How far is the bus stop from here?