wh - questions

Lecture No.9
Wh-questions
Why are you fighting ?
What can you do for the people ?
When will the war be over ?
A wh-question begins with a question word. Question words are who, what, which, whose, where, when, why and how .
We use a wh-question to ask for information .
Most wh-questions begin with a question word + an auxiliary verb + the subject. An auxiliary verb is a form of be or have or a modal verb.
QUESTION WORD: What, Where, When, etc.
AUXILIARY: is, have, can, etc.
The main verb be also comes before the subject in questions:
Where is Kitty? How are you? What was that noise? If there is more than one auxiliary verb, only the first one comes before the subject .
The guerrillas have been hiding. Where have the guerrillas been hiding ?
I should have said something. What should I have said ?
In the present simple and past simple we use a form of do .
QUESTION WORD AUXILIARY SUBJECT
Where do people meet ?
How does the radio work ?
What did the guerrillas say ?
An ordinary verb such as meet, work or say cannot come before the subject .
NOT Where meet-people? and NOT How works-the-radio ?
The verb after the subject does not end in s or ed .
NOT How-does-the-radio-works? and NOT What did-the-guerrillas-said ?


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Question phrases
Look at these question phrases with what and how .
What time is your friend arriving? ~ Half past eight. What colour is your toothbrush? ~ Yellow. What kind of/What sort of club is it? ~ A nightclub. How old is your sister? ~ She s twenty. How often do you go out? ~ About once a week, usually. How far is the beach? ~ Only five minutes walk How long will the meeting last? ~ An hour or so, I expect. How many televisions have you got? ~ Three. How much money did you spend? ~ About a hundred pounds .
Exercises
Wh-questions
What would you say in these situations ?
? You are talking to a man at a party. Ask him where he works .
Where do you work ?
1.You want to know what the date is today. Ask your friend .
2.You ve forgotten when the course finishes. Ask your friend .
3.Your friend is having a party. You d like to know who he has invited. Ask him .
4.Your favourite band are going to give a concert. Ask how you can get tickets .
5. You are in town with a friend, and you are wondering where the two of you are going to have lunch .
What do you ask?
Question words and phrases
Quiz champion Claude Jennings is answering questions. Put in these words and phrases :
how far, how long, how often, how many, what, what colour, what kind, when, where, who
? What colour is the Greek flag? Blue and white .
1..........................is Melbourne? It s in Australia .
2. ................................. centimetres are there in a kilometre? A hundred thousand
3. .......................................did the Second World War end? In 1945.
4. ........................................did Romeo love? Juliet .

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