Questions and negativesA1

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Yes/no questions, wh-questions, short answers and negatives, with be, modals and every other verb. Be and modals invert or take not; other verbs use do, does or did with the base verb: Do you like tea?

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CheatsheetA1

Point	Rule	Example
Negative: be, modals	subject + be / modal + not	They are not at home. / He can't drive.
Question: be, modals	be / modal + subject	Are they at home? / Can he drive?
Negative: other verbs	subject + don't / doesn't / didn't + base verb	He doesn't like jazz.
Question: other verbs	do / does / did + subject + base verb	Did you call her?
do, does, did	I / you / we / they → do, he / she / it → does, past → did	Do you like jazz?
Wh-question	wh-word + auxiliary + subject + base verb	Where do you live? / Where are you from?
Subject question	no do / does / did; the verb takes the tense	Who called you?
Short answer	repeat the be, modal or auxiliary verb	Yes, she can. / No, she can't.
Trap	after do / does / did the verb is the base form	Did you go?

OverviewA1

be and modal verbs invert with the subject or take not. Other verbs use do / does / did.
Every question and negative sentence has a subject.

Form: be and modalsA1

Form	Pattern	Example
Negative	subject + be / modal + not	They are not at home. / He can't drive.
Question	be / modal + subject	Are they at home? / Can he drive?

be and can, will, should, must need no do / does / did.
am not has the short form I'm not: I'm not ready.
have got inverts too: Have you got a pen?

Form: do, does and didA1

Auxiliary	Subject and tense	Example
do / don't	I / you / we / they, present	Do you like jazz?
does / doesn't	he / she / it, present	He doesn't like jazz.
did / didn't	every subject, past	Did you call her?

The negative order is subject + don't / doesn't / didn't + base verb: We didn't see him.
The question order is do / does / did + subject + base verb: Does she work here?
After do / does / did the verb is in the base form: Did you call?
The auxiliary carries the tense and the person; the main verb stays unchanged.
Present tables: Present Simple. Past: Past simple.
A negative sentence takes one negative word: I don't know anything. / I know nothing.

Form: negative contractionsA1

Full form	Short form	Example
is not	isn't	It isn't cold.
are not	aren't	They aren't here.
was / were not	wasn't / weren't	We weren't late.
do / does / did not	don't / doesn't / didn't	She doesn't know.
cannot	can't	I can't see.
will not	won't	It won't work.
should / must / could / would not	shouldn't / mustn't / couldn't / wouldn't	You shouldn't go.

Speech and messages use the short forms. The full forms add emphasis: I do not agree.

Form: wh-questionsA1

Wh-word	Asks about	Example
what	a thing	What do you want?
where	a place	Where does he live?
when	a time	When is the party?
who	a person	Who did you meet?
why	a reason	Why are you late?
how	a way	How do you get to work?
which	a choice	Which bag is yours?
whose	an owner	Whose keys are these?
how much	an amount or a price	How much is this?
how many	a number	How many brothers have you got?
how often	frequency	How often do you swim?
how old	age	How old is your sister?
how long	a length of time	How long is the film?

The order is wh-word + auxiliary + subject + base verb: Where do you live?
With be the order is wh-word + be + subject: Where are you from?
which and whose can take a noun: Which colour do you like?
how many takes a plural noun, how much an uncountable noun: How many eggs? / How much milk?

Form: subject questionsA1

Question word	Pattern	Example
who	who + verb	Who called you?
what	what + verb	What happens next?
which / how many	which / how many + noun + verb	How many people came?

When the question word is the subject, the question has no do / does / did.
The verb takes the tense directly: Who lives here? / Who lived here?

Form: short answersA1

Question	Yes	No
Are you tired?	Yes, I am.	No, I'm not.
Can she swim?	Yes, she can.	No, she can't.
Did he call?	Yes, he did.	No, he didn't.

A short answer repeats the be, modal or auxiliary verb from the question.
A positive short answer keeps the full form: Yes, I am.
For do / does see Present Simple.

Pronunciation: question intonationA1

Question	Voice	Example
yes / no	rises at the end	Do you like tea? ↗
wh-	falls at the end	Where do you live? ↘

Typical errorsA1

✗	✓	Rule
Did you went?	Did you go?	after did the verb is in the base form
Who did call you?	Who called you?	a subject question has no did
Do she like tea?	Does she like tea?	he / she / it → does