1. I have a lot of work to do.

2. Plenty of people want to buy cars.

3. There is a great deal of controversy about the language problem.

4. The sea is a long way off.

5. A great deal of research has been done on the subject.

6. A lot of money has been spent on the project.

Answers

1. I don’t have much work to do. / Do you have much work to do?

2. Not many people want to buy cars. / Are there many people who want to buy cars?

3. There isn’t much controversy about the language problem. / Is there much controversy about the language problem?

4. The sea isn’t far off. / Is the sea far off?

5. Not much research has been done on the subject. / Has much research been done on the subject?

6. Not much money has been spent on the project. / Has much money been spent on the project?

Explanation

Expressions like a lot of, plenty of, a great deal of and a long way off are generally preferred in the affirmative. Shorter forms like much, many, far and far off are used in negatives and questions.

He wanted to know where I was going. (NOT He wanted to know where was I going.) (NOT He wanted to know where I was going?)
I asked where they were staying. (NOT I asked where were they staying.)

The auxiliary do is not used in indirect questions.

I want to know when he proposes to start. (NOT I want to know when does he propose to start.)

Indirect yes/no questions are introduced with if / whether.

The driver asked if / whether I knew where I wanted to go.

Exercise

Change the following direct questions into indirect using the introductory clauses given in brackets.

1. (I would like to know) ‘When are you going to get a good job?’
2. (She wondered) ‘Why did you refuse the offer’
3. (Tell me) ‘What do you mean by that?’
4. (Can you tell me whether) ‘Is that true?’
5. (She wants to know) ‘Why do Scottish men wear skirts?’

Answers

1. I would like to know when you are going to get a good job.
2. She wondered why I refused the offer.
3. Tell me what you mean by that.
4. Can you tell me whether that is true?
5. She wants to know why Scottish men wear skirts.

What are you looking for? (More natural than ‘For what are looking?’)
Who is this present for? (For whom is this present? is extremely formal.)
Who were you speaking to? (NOT To whom were you speaking?)
Which pictures are you talking about?
What are you laughing at?
Who put the cat in?
Who turned the lights off?

Prepositions come at the end of clauses in indirect wh-questions and what-clauses which are not questions.

Tell me what you are looking for. (NOT Tell me for what you are looking.)
What a lot of trouble I have gotten into! (NOT Into what a lot of trouble I have gotten.)

Some questions consist of simply a question word and preposition.

What with?
Who for?
What about?

Note that this structure is unusual when there is a noun with the question word.

With what money? (NOT What money with?)

Exercise

Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions.

1. What are you crying ————–?
2. Who shall I give this ——————?
3. What are you waiting ——————?
4. Which writer were you talking ——————?
5. Which candidate have you voted ——————-?

Answers

1. for
2. to
3. for
4. about
5. for

You will do it, won’t you?

This sentence can be said in two ways. If you say it with the voice falling on ‘won’t you’ it means, ‘I am sure, you will do it.’ But if you say it with the voice rising on ‘won’t you?’ it becomes a question. It means ‘I think you will do it – but I am not quite sure – please tell me if I am wrong.’

Exercise

Add tag questions to the following sentences and read them in the two ways indicated above.

1. He will come.
2. You won’t disappoint us.
3. The train is arriving on time.
4. You can help us.
5. It is worth the trouble.
6. We should buy some furniture.
7. He shouldn’t have said that.
8. He is an intelligent person.
9. The meeting is at ten.
10. You will lend me a pound.

Answers

1. He will come, won’t he?
2. You won’t disappoint us, will you?
3. The train is arriving on time, isn’t it?
4. You can help us, can’t you?
5. It is worth the trouble, isn’t it?
6. We should buy some furniture, shouldn’t we?
7. He shouldn’t have said that, should he?
8. He is an intelligent person, isn’t he?
9. The meeting is at ten, isn’t it?
10. You will lend me a pound, won’t you?

Notes

When the statement is affirmative, the tag question is negative and when the statement is negative the tag question is affirmative.

Questions are formed by putting the auxiliary before the subject. Negatives are formed by putting not after the auxiliary.

I have seen her.
Have I seen her?
I have not seen her. OR I haven’t seen her.

I had told him that.
Had I told him that?
I had not told him that.

He has come.
Has he come?
He has not come.

They have arrived.
Have they arrived?
They have not arrived.

When has, have and had are used as principal verbs, expressing the idea of possession – either of material things or of characteristic features – questions and negatives may be formed with or without do.

She has a sweet voice.
Has she a sweet voice? OR Does she have a sweet voice?
She hasn’t a sweet voice. OR She doesn’t have a sweet voice.

I have a sister.
Have you a sister? OR Do you have a sister?
I haven’t a sister. OR I don’t have a sister.

She has curly hair.
Has she curly hair? Does she have curly hair?
She hasn’t curly hair. OR She doesn’t have curly hair.
Notes
Questions and negatives with do are more common than questions and negatives without do.

When have is used to express other ideas (e.g. receive, experience, take etc.), questions and negatives are made with do.

I had (= experienced) an accident.
Did I have an accident? (NOT Had I an accident?)
I didn’t have an accident. (NOT I hadn’t an accident.)

I had (= received) a letter from my son.
Did I have a letter from my son? (NOT Had I a letter from my son?)
I didn’t have a letter from my son. (NOT I hadn’t a letter from my son.)

I have (= take) a bath in the morning.
Do I have a bath in the morning?
I don’t have a bath in the morning.

Auxiliary verb before subject

In a question the auxiliary verb normally comes before the subject.

Have you finished the project? (NOT You have finished the project?)
Who are you talking about? (NOT Who you are talking about?)
Why are you crying? (NOT Why you are crying?)

Do
If there is no auxiliary verb, we use do, does or did before the subject to form the question.

Do you like classical music? (NOT Like you classical music?)
Did you like the movie? (NOT You liked the movie?)

Note that do is not used with other auxiliary verbs or with be.

Can you tell me the time? (NOT Do you can tell me the time?)
Have you gone there? (NOT Do you have gone there?)
Are you coming? (NOT Do you are coming?)

Infinitive without to
After do, we use the first form of the verb. Also note that infinitives are used without to.

What does he want? (NOT What does he wants?)
Did you go there? (NOT Did you went there?)

Only the auxiliary verb goes before the subject

Note that only the auxiliary verb goes before the subject in a question. We do not put the whole verb before the subject.

Are you going to invite John? (NOT Are going you to invite John?)
Questions words

When the words who, what or whose is the subject, the question word comes before the verb. Note that we do not normally use do in questions that have a question word as their subject.

Who let the cat in? (NOT Who did let the cat in?)
What happened? (NOT What did happen?)
How many people attended the meeting? (NOT How many people did attend the meeting?)

Do, however, can be used for the sake of emphasis.

So who did the heiress marry in the end?

Do is also used when the question word is the object.

Who do you want to meet?

In question tags we use the following patterns:

Auxiliary + n’t + subject (If the statement is positive)
Auxiliary + subject (If the statement is negative)

Examples are given below:

You are coming, aren’t you?
He is your friend, isn’t he?
It is raining, isn’t it?
She can speak English, can’t she?
John broke the window, didn’t he?
You aren’t coming, are you?
He isn’t your friend, is he?
She can’t speak English, can he?

Note that the subject of a question tag is always a pronoun, and not a noun.

John is your friend, isn’t he? (NOT …isn’t John)
Alice is a doctor, isn’t she? (NOT …isn’t Alice)

Note the special cases given below:

I am right, aren’t I? (NOT …amn’t I?)
Let’s go for a walk, shall we?
Wait a minute, can you?
Have some coffee, will you?
There is a library in that street, isn’t there?
There are some boys in your class, aren’t there?

Short answers

Short answers to questions beginning with an auxiliary verb have the following structures:

Yes + pronoun + auxiliary
OR
No + pronoun + auxiliary +n’t (not)

Are you coming with us? Yes, I am. OR No, I am not.
Can you drive a car? Yes, I can. OR No, I can’t.
Does he work? Yes, he does.
Did he say anything? No, he didn’t.

Agreements with affirmative sentences are made with ‘yes + pronoun + auxiliary’.

She is a good girl. Yes, she is.
He looks honest. Yes, he does.

Agreements with negative statements are made with ‘no + pronoun + auxiliary + n’t/not’.

He isn’t very intelligent. No, he isn’t.
She doesn’t like fish. No, she doesn’t.
They didn’t play well. No, they didn’t.

I know him.
I don’t know him. (NOT I know not him.)
She cheated me.
She did not cheat me. (NOT She cheated not me.)
They invited us.
They did not invite us.

You will have noticed that in the sentences given above the anomalous finites help to turn positive sentences into negative sentences.

Will you come? No, I won’t.
Can I do it? No, you can’t.
Should I go? No, you shouldn’t.

In the sentences given above the verbs will, can and should are anomalous. When the verb itself is an anomalous finite negatives are made by the simple addition of not or n’t.

To form questions

Questions are usually made by putting the anomalous finite before the subject of the sentence.

He is my teacher. Is he my teacher?
They have won the race. Have they won the race?
He will come. Will he come?
She should obey. Should she obey?

Note that only the anomalous finites can be put before the subject to form questions. In the case of other finites, the auxiliary do and its forms have to be used.

He fell off the ladder. Did he fall off the ladder?
She went to the market. Did she go to the market?
She likes to watch movies. Does she like to watch movies?
I want to be a writer. Do I want to be a writer?

To form negative questions

He does not like her. Does he not like her? Doesn’t he like her?
She did not mean it. Did she not mean it? Didn’t she mean it?
He did not come. Did he not come? Didn’t he come?

Note that the forms does he not, did she not etc., are very formal. In informal speech and writing the forms doesn’t he, didn’t she etc., are preferred.

To avoid repetition of principal verbs

Do you want this? Yes, I do. (= Yes, I want that.)
Can you hear me? Yes, I can. (= Yes, I can hear you.)
Who broke my window? John did. (= John broke the window.)

To form the tag question

It is hot today, isn’t it?
She didn’t come, did she?
She can sing very well, can’t she?
They shouldn’t wait, should they?

You will have noticed that when the statement is in the positive, the tag question is in the negative and vice versa.

Form: Subject + is/are/am + -ing form of the verb.

I am doing sums.
We are looking at the black-board.
They were playing with the toys.
She is writing a letter to her friend.
They are waiting for us?
They are going to the market.

An interrogative sentence in the present continuous tense has the following structure.

Is/am/are + subject + -ing form of the verb.

Am I doing sums?
Are we looking at the black-board?
Were they playing with the toys?
Are you coming with us?
Is she writing a letter to her friend?
Are they waiting for us?
Are they going to the market?

Present perfect tense

The present perfect tense indicates the completion of an action. It has the following form:

Subject + has/have + past participle form of the verb.

They have arrived.
We have finished the job.
The workers have painted the house.
He has stolen my purse.
We have paid our dues.
We have learnt our lesson.
The sun has risen.

An interrogative sentence in the present perfect tense has the following structure.

Has/have + subject + past participle form of the verb

Have they arrived?
Have we finished the job?
Have the workers painted the house?
Has he stolen my purse?
Have we paid our dues?
Have we learnt our lesson?
Has the sun risen?

Present perfect continuous tense

The present perfect continuous tense has the following structure:

Subject + has/have + been + -ing form of the verb

She has been sleeping since morning.
He has been waiting for them for several hours.
We have been working hard for the examination for several months.
He has been doing this work for hours.
It has been raining heavily since the last night.

An interrogative sentence in the present perfect continuous tense has the following structure:

Has/have + subject + been + -ing form of the verb

Has she been sleeping since morning?
Has he been waiting for them for several hours?
Have we been working hard for the examination for several months?
Has he been doing this work for hours?
Has it been raining heavily since the last night?

The simple present tense has the following structure:

Subject + present tense forms of the verb (bare infinitive)

The sun rises in the east.
The cow eats grass.

In order to change an assertive sentence in the simple present tense into an interrogative sentence, we use do or does as the first word followed by the subject, verb and the object.

Note that we use do with I, you and plural subjects. Does is used with singular subjects.

Form: Do/does + subject + present tense form of the verb.

Examples are given below:

The cow eats grass. (Assertive)
Does the cow eat grass? (Interrogative)
Alice sings a song. (Assertive)
Does Alice sing a song? (Interrogative)
She gets up early in the morning. (Assertive)
Does she get up early in the morning? (Interrogative)
I work hard. (Assertive)
Do I work hard? (Interrogative)
She speaks English well. (Assertive)
Does she speak English well? (Interrogative)

Note that if the interrogative sentence is in the negative, we begin it with do not or does not.

Don’t you want to come with us?
Doesn’t she understand what he means?

The question words who, whom, whose, when, why, where, which, how etc., sometimes precede do and does.

Whom do you want to meet?
Why do you want to go there?
Where does he live?
How do you know him?
Who does not love his country?

When the affirmative sentence contains the primary auxiliaries is, am, are, has or have, the interrogative sentence will begin with these words.

She is a doctor. (Affirmative)
Is she a doctor? (Interrogative)
They have a car. (Affirmative)
Have they a car? OR Do they have a car? (Interrogative)
She is very clever. (Affirmative)
Is she very clear? (Interrogative)
She has many friends. (Affirmative)
Has she many friends. OR Does she have many friends? (Interrogative)

When the affirmative sentence contains the auxiliaries can, may, will, shall etc, the interrogative sentence will begin with these words.

She can go.
Can she go?
They will come.
Will they come?
You may take this book.
May I take this book?
I can lift this load?
Can you lift this load?
We must go there.
Must we go there?