Lesson 1B
Questions
Information Questions
We can ask information questions by using the question words who, what, where, when, why, and how.
Look at the following sentence. Hold your mouse pointer over a highlighteda highlighted word word to see its type.
Yesterday, Wendysubject quietly gaveverb the dogobject a boneobject under the table.
(subject) (verb) (object) (object)
To ask a who or what question about the subject, we do not use do, does, or did.
Who gave the dog a bone?
To ask a who or what question about the objects, we use do, does, or did.
Who did Wendy give a bone to? (informal)
To whom did Wendy give a bone? (formal)
What did Wendy give to the dog?
To ask a where, when, why, or how question, we use do, does, or did.
Where did Wendy give the dog a bone?
When did Wendy give the dog a bone?
How did Wendy give the dog a bone?
Following are more examples of information questions. Click to hear the statements and questions.
Statement |
Information Question |
|---|---|
(subject) Who woke me up? |
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| (object) Who did the baby wake up? |
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(subject) Who wore a dress? |
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| (object) What did Sally wear? |
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(subject) Who eats lunch at the office? |
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| (object) Where does Jethro eat lunch? |
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(subject) What arrived at five o’clock? |
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| When did the boat arrive? |
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(subject) Who opened the window? |
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| (object) What did they open? |
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| Why did they open the window? |
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(subject) Who goes to school by bus? |
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| Where does Jane go by bus? |
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| How does Jane go to school? |
When a sentence has a helping verb, we change the word order and add a question word to ask an information question. We use do to ask about the main verb. Hold your mouse pointer over a highlighteda highlighted word word to see its type.
Alexandersubject willhelping verb swimmain verb. 
Whatquestion word willhelping verb Alexandersubject do?
(subject) (helping verb) (main verb) (question word) (helping verb) (subject)
Alexandersubject willhelping verb swimmain verb. Whoquestion word willhelping verb swimmain verb?
(subject) (helping verb) (main verb) (question word) (helping verb) (main verb)
In sentences with the verb “to be”
Alexander is a swimmer.
we ask information questions by simply adding a question word.
Who is a swimmer?
We also ask information questions by adding a question word and changing the word order.
What is Alexander?
Following are more examples of information questions with helping verbs and “to be”. Click to hear the statements and questions.
Statement |
Information Question |
|---|---|