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 - gerund/inf.

Introduction - How to form questions:

There are questions

- with interrogative pronouns and

- without interrogative pronouns

 

You have to distinguish between:

- SIMPLE QUESTIONS

used in sentences, where the main verb is "be" or "have got" or sentences in a composed tense (all tenses formed with "have" or "be" + verb or sentences with modal verbs)

- QUESTIONS WITH "DO"

used for all sentences in a non-composed tense with a main verb other than "be" or "have got"

First, this chapter will discuss questions in general, and after that, the different interrogative pronouns and their use will be discussed.

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Simple Questions (without “do”) (without interrogative pronouns)

If you want to transform a sentence where the main verb is “be” or “have got” into a question, you simply have to switch the first two parts of the sentence (subject and verb).

The rest of the sentence remains unchanged.

Note: „have got“ is divided, „got“ stays at its original position; see example 2)

Examples:

- Sue   is   a nice girl.
- Is   Sue   a nice girl?

- Melanie   has   got   many toys.
- Has   Melanie  got   many toys?

 

The same rule also applies for sentences in a composed tense. Composed tenses are all tenses that are formed with the verb "be" or "have" and a second verb.

Tenses formed with „be“ + verb:

- all progressive tenses (be + „ing“-Form)
- “going to” - future

Tenses formed with "have" + verb:

- Present Perfect (have + 3rd Form)
- Past Perfect (had + 3rd Form)

Examples:

- She   is   reading   a book.
- Is   she   reading   a book?

- The teacher   has   explained   the rules.
- Has   the teacher   explained   the rules?

 

Sentences with modal verbs (“will”, “shall”, “should”, “might”, “can”, “may”, “must”) are also transformed into simple questions:

Examples:

- Lisa   will   visit   her brother tomorrow.
-Will   Lisa   visit   her brother tomorrow?

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Questions with „do“ (without interrogative pronouns)

In sentences with a main verb other than "be" or "have got" you need to use the verb "do" to form a question.

The form of the verb „do“ in the original tense of the sentence must be put in front of the sentence, the rest of the sentence remains almost unchanged. However, the former main verb must be put into its base form!

Examples:

- Sue   likes   her brother.
- Does   Sue   like   her brother?

- Melanie   walked   along the street.
- Did   Melanie   walk   along the street?

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Interrogative pronouns:

Basically, interrogative pronouns must always be put in front of the sentence.

There are two kinds of interrogative pronouns:

a) interrogative pronouns referring to the subject of the sentence (who, what)

b) interrogative pronouns referring to an object or another part of the sentence (all others)

 

 

List of the most important interrogative pronouns (English - German - Spanish)

who..............................wer........................................quién
what.............................was........................................qué
whom...........................wem/ wen..............................a quién
whose.......................... wessen..................................de quién
when............................wann......................................cuándo
where...........................wo.........................................dónde
why..............................warum....................................por qué
how…………………..wie.........................................cómo
which.......……………welche/welcher/welches...........cuál

where ... to…………...wohin.....................................a dónde
where ... from …….....woher.....................................de dónde
how much……………wieviel....................................cuánto
how many……………wie viele.................................cuántos

Note: „what“ can refer to the subject or to another part of the sentence; therefore there are two possibilities to form questions with "what"

 

a) interrogative pronouns referring to the subject of the sentence:

Questions asking for the subject of the sentence (who, what) are formed as follows:
The interrogative pronoun is followed by the unchanged original sentence; the interrogative pronoun replaces the original subject.

Example:

- Peter   likes tomatoes.
- Who    likes tomatoes?

- The song   is beautiful.
- What         is beautiful?

b) interrogative pronouns referring to an object or another part of the sentence:

For all other interrogative pronouns the above mentioned rules for "simple questions" and "questions with do" apply.

The interrogative pronoun must be put in front of the sentence, it replaces the part of the sentence it asks for.

Examples:

- Lenny sings   a song.
- What   does Lenny sing?

- Susie is   in the restaurant.
- Where   is Susie?

 

If you want to ask for the verb, you have to replace the original verb with a form of "do":

- Rudolph   went   to the station.
- What   did   Rudolph do?

- My dad   plays   the piano.
- What   does   your dad do?

- The birds were   singing   in the morning.
- What   were the birds   doing.

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