How the task looks
You get five sentences, all of them questions or sentences with a question tag. You must choose all correctly formulated ones — usually two, three or four.
Choose the correctly formulated questions.
1. Would you like to pay by card or in cash? ✓
2. Can you tell me where does he live? ✗ — embedded question: where he lives
Each sentence is judged on its own. Do not try to guess “there must be three correct”. Check each one with the method below.
Symbols used below
S = subject; V1 = base form (go); V2 = past simple (went); V3 = past participle (gone); V-ing = -ing form (going). Auxiliaries: be, have, do. Modals: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would.
Step-by-step check
- Name the type: ordinary yes/no question, WH-question, subject question, embedded question (Do you know…?), alternative question (… or …?), question tag (…, isn’t it?).
- Find the first auxiliary in the statement. Is there be, have (as an auxiliary), a modal? If not, the question needs do / does / did.
- Check the word order: auxiliary + subject + main verb in direct questions; subject + verb inside embedded questions.
- Check the main verb form: V1 after do/does/did and modals; V-ing after be; V3 after have.
- For tags: polarity (positive ↔ negative), the same auxiliary, the right pronoun.
- Look for the special cases in the tables below: I am, Let’s, there is, nobody, had better, would rather, used to, have to.
Direct yes/no questions
Put the first auxiliary before the subject. If the verb has no auxiliary (Present Simple, Past Simple), add do / does / did and use V1.
| Tense / structure | Question pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | Do / Does + S + V1? | Does Eva work here? |
| Past Simple | Did + S + V1? | Did Tom leave early? |
| be (main verb) | Am / Is / Are / Was / Were + S…? | Were they ready? |
| Continuous | be + S + V-ing? | Are you still working on it? |
| Perfect | Have / Has / Had + S + V3? | Has she arrived? |
| Modal | Modal + S + V1? | Could he help us? |
| Future | Will + S + V1? | Will you be there? |
| Passive | be + S + V3? | Was the bridge built in 1900? |
✗ Did Tom left? → ✓ Did Tom leave? (did already shows the past)
✗ Does she can swim? → ✓ Can she swim? (no do with modals)
✗ Did the bridge was built? → ✓ Was the bridge built? (no do with be)
Adverbs like still, already, ever, always go after the subject, before the main verb: ✓ Are you still working? ✗ Are you working still?
Have, have to, have got
| Meaning | Question | Tag |
|---|---|---|
| have as an auxiliary (Perfect) | Have you finished? | She has finished, hasn’t she? |
| have = possess (British) | Have you got a car? / Do you have a car? | You’ve got a car, haven’t you? |
| have as an action (have lunch, have a shower, have a rest) | Did you have lunch? | He had a shower, didn’t he? |
| have to = must | Do you have to go? / Did you have to wait? | She has to leave, doesn’t she? |
✗ Had you to wait long? → ✓ Did you have to wait long?
✗ He had lunch at noon, hadn’t he? → ✓ … didn’t he? (have lunch is an action, not Perfect)
Used to
Used to forms questions and tags with did, and in a question it becomes use to (no -d):
✓ Did you use to play the piano? ✓ They used to live here, didn’t they? ✗ Used you to…? (old and not accepted in this test)
Do not confuse with be / get used to + V-ing (= be accustomed): He is used to working late, isn’t he? Anna’s got used to the cold weather, hasn’t she? (here ’s got = has got)
WH-questions
Object or other information: WH-word + auxiliary + subject + verb.
Where did Helen go? What are you reading? Why has he left? How long have you lived here?
Subject questions: if who / what / which + noun is the subject, there is no do and no inversion — the order is like a statement.
Who sent the email? (somebody sent it) — Who did you send it to? (you sent it to somebody)
What happened? ✗ What did happen? (except for strong emphasis)
Which team won?
Prepositions usually go to the end: Who are you talking to? What is this tool used for? Where do you come from?
Useful question words:
| Expression | Asks about | Example |
|---|---|---|
| how many | number (countable) | How many tickets do we need? |
| how much | amount, price | How much does it cost? |
| how long | duration | How long have you been waiting? |
| how often | frequency | How often do they meet? |
| how far | distance | How far is the station? |
| since when | starting point | Since when has she worked here? |
| what … like? | description | What is your new teacher like? |
| what kind of / what sort of | type | What kind of music do you like? |
| whose + noun | owner | Whose bag is this? |
| which + noun | choice from a known group | Which bus goes to the centre? |
✗ What is your new teacher look like? → ✓ What does your new teacher look like? / What is your new teacher like?
Embedded (indirect) questions
After Do you know…? Can you tell me…? Could you explain…? I wonder… Do you remember… I’d like to know… Do you have any idea…? the inner question becomes a statement: subject + verb, no do / does / did, no inversion.
| Direct | Embedded |
|---|---|
| Where does Leo study? | Do you know where Leo studies? |
| When will the train leave? | Can you tell me when the train will leave? |
| Why did she cry? | I wonder why she cried. |
| Is Mira coming? | Do you know if / whether Mira is coming? |
| How do I get there? | Could you tell me how I get there / how to get there? |
✗ Can you tell me why do you want this job? → ✓ Can you tell me why you want this job?
The question mark depends on the outer sentence: Do you know where she lives? but I wonder where she lives.
Do you think / do you suppose / do you believe
When do you think is inside a WH-question, the question word comes first, then do you think, then a statement:
✓ When do you think the meeting will end? ✗ Do you think when will the meeting end? ✗ What do you think when will he come?
✓ Why do you think she left early? ✓ Who do you think will win?
For a yes/no question there is no question word: ✓ Do you think the weather will change? ✓ Don’t you think the film was too long?
Alternative questions
Both parts after or must be parallel — the same form, the same structure.
✓ Did Sam walk home or take a bus? (one did governs both V1)
✗ Did Sam walk home or took a bus?
✓ Are you still reading that book, or have you finished it? (two complete questions)
✗ Are you reading that book or you finished it? (the second part is not a question)
✓ Would you like tea or coffee?
✓ Is your brother or are you going to drive? — two subjects need different forms of be, so each gets its own verb.
Question tags: the basic rule
A tag is a short question at the end: …, isn’t it? …, did they?
- Positive sentence → negative tag; negative sentence → positive tag.
- Use the same auxiliary as in the sentence (or do / does / did if there is none).
- Use a pronoun, not a noun: Anna is here, isn’t she?
| Sentence | Tag |
|---|---|
| Dina has finished, | hasn’t she? |
| The children didn’t complain, | did they? |
| You can swim, | can’t you? |
| She works here, | doesn’t she? |
| They went home, | didn’t they? |
| He won’t come, | will he? |
| It’s been raining, | hasn’t it? (it’s = it has) |
| He’d already left, | hadn’t he? (he’d = he had) |
| He’d prefer tea, | wouldn’t he? (he’d = he would) |
Contractions: ’s = is or has; ’d = had or would. Decide by the next word: he’d left (V3 → had), he’d prefer (V1 → would), she’s working (is), she’s worked (has).
Question tags: special cases
| Sentence | Tag | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I am early, | aren’t I? | special form |
| I am not late, | am I? | |
| Let’s go, | shall we? | suggestion |
| Open the door, | will you? / can you? / could you? | request or order |
| Don’t be late, | will you? | negative imperative |
| There is a problem, | isn’t there? | there stays there |
| There are many students here, | aren’t there? | ✗ aren’t they |
| This is your seat, | isn’t it? | this / that → it |
| These are yours, | aren’t they? | these / those → they |
| Everybody agreed, | didn’t they? | everybody, somebody, nobody → they |
| Nothing happened, | did it? | nothing, everything → it |
| Nobody called, | did they? | nobody is negative → positive tag |
| She hardly ever speaks, | does she? | hardly, never, seldom, rarely, scarcely are negative |
| You’d better hurry, | hadn’t you? | had better → had |
| She’d rather stay, | wouldn’t she? | would rather → would |
| You’ve got a car, | haven’t you? | |
| He has to leave, | doesn’t he? | have to → do |
| They used to live here, | didn’t they? | used to → did |
| It’s time we left, | isn’t it? | the tag follows the main clause It is |
| He doesn’t know what he wants, | does he? | the tag follows the main clause |
Must: You mustn’t smoke here, must you? (prohibition) — He must be tired, isn’t he? (deduction: he is surely tired). Judge by the meaning.
The most common traps
| ✗ Wrong | ✓ Correct | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Where did she went? | Where did she go? | V1 after did |
| Had you to wait? | Did you have to wait? | have to → do |
| Are you working still? | Are you still working? | adverb before the main verb |
| Who did call you? | Who called you? | subject question |
| Can you tell me where does he live? | Can you tell me where he lives? | statement order inside |
| What do you think when will he come? | When do you think he will come? | WH-word first |
| Did you walk or took a bus? | Did you walk or take a bus? | parallel forms |
| There are many students here, aren’t they? | …, aren’t there? | there → there |
| This is your seat, isn’t this? | …, isn’t it? | this → it |
| I am right, amn’t I? | …, aren’t I? | special form |
| You’d rather stay, hadn’t you? | …, wouldn’t you? | ’d rather = would |
| He had a shower, hadn’t he? | …, didn’t he? | have as an action |
| Nobody came, didn’t they? | …, did they? | nobody is negative |
| When did the tunnel was opened? | When was the tunnel opened? | no do with be |
Worked example
- How long have you been learning English? — ✓ have + S + been + V-ing; how long = duration.
- Do you know what time does the shop open? — ✗ embedded: what time the shop opens.
- She’s never been to Paris, has she? — ✓ ’s = has (been = V3); never is negative → positive tag.
- Let’s have a break, don’t we? — ✗ Let’s → shall we.
- Who told you about the party? — ✓ subject question, no did.
Correct: 1, 3, 5.
Final checklist
- What type of question is it?
- Is the auxiliary right — and is do / does / did used only when there is no other auxiliary?
- After do / did and modals — V1? After be — V-ing or V3 (passive)? After have — V3?
- Is the subject after the auxiliary (direct question) or before the verb (subject and embedded questions)?
- Alternative question — are both parts parallel?
- Tag — opposite polarity, the same auxiliary, a pronoun? Any special case (I am, let’s, there, nobody, had better, used to)?
- Evaluate every sentence independently.