Creating interrogative Sentence in Simple Present Tense

When we are talking about our habits, daily activities, and hobbies, we may not only tell our friends about our activities. However, we must ask some questions about that. In a conversation, we often use the interrogative sentence to search some information. Here is a tips from EEL to help students creating a good interrogative sentence in simple present tense.

Different with the positive or affirmative sentence, Predicate in the Interrogative sentence is placed before the subject.

Positive Sentence: S + P

Interogative Sentence: P + S?

Look at the picture bellow:

The examples of interrogative sentence:

Positive Sentence:

• Andy is a doctor.
• They are happy.
• They make a cake.
• She has a car?

Interrogative Sentence:

• Is Andy a doctor?
• Are they happy?
• Do they make a cake?
• Does she has a car?

There are two question types:

1. Yes-No question

Yes-No questions are questions used for confirmation, so you can answer this question using ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

Examples:

• Is he a doctor? Yes, he is.
• Are they happy? No, they aren’t.

In Yes-No question, we don’t find the use of question words, such as what, when, where, etc.

2. ‘Wh’ questions

They are used to search the information. The main point is the use of six question words, such as What, Where, When, Why, Who, How. How to construct a ‘Wh’ questions?

Question words + P + S?

Although, we add the question words, we have to remember that predicate comes before subject in the interrogative sentence.

Example:

• What is his name?
• What are they?
• Who am I?
• When do they go?
• Why does she cry?
• How do they do that?