Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
You also know that with most questions in the present simple, we use DO / DOES (except those
with BE, BE ABLE TO, HAVE GOT, MUST, CAN…) Eg. How much do you pay for your
classes? Why does he always use swear-words?
In the past, we normally use DID for questions, except those asked with BE, BE ABLE TO and
COULD). How many pens did the secretary buy? Where did they go on holiday last summer?
WHO, WHAT, WHICH, HOW MUCH, HOW MANY.. AS THE SUBJECT OF A VERB IN
A QUESTION
Remember too, that if one of the words above is the SUBJECT of the verb in a question, we DO
NOT use the auxiliary verb (DO; DOES; DID) in the present and past to form the question.
EG. Who do you play tennis with? (YOU is the subject of the verb, and WHO refers to the object)
But Who plays tennis with you? (WHO is the SUBJECT of the verb,)
e.g. How many apples did she buy? (SHE is the subject of the verb and HOW MANY APPLES is the object)
e.g. How many apples fell from the tree in the storm? (HOW MANY APPLES is the subject of the verb)
INDIRECT QUESTIONS.
You have remembered, above, how to form normal, direct questions.
But we can also use INDIRECT QUESTIONS if we want to be more polite, or if we are speaking to
somebody we don’t know, like a stranger in the street.
INDIRECT QUESTIONS can be formed with phrases beginning with…CAN YOU TELL ME….
PLEASE COULD YOU TELL ME…. DO YOU KNOW…. I’D LIKE TO KNOW… etc etc
When we use INDIRECT QUESTIONS in WH questions, we begin with the question word (When,
why, what, who, etc) followed by an affirmative sentence. (There is no question mark at the end of
the sentence.)
E.g. I’d like to know WHERE YOU LIVE.
Could you tell me WHICH CAR YOUR SISTER BOUGHT.
Can you tell me HOW MANY INHABITANTS THERE ARE IN CABANILLAS.
EXERCISES WITH INDORECT QUESTIONS.
These are DIRECT QUESTIONS. Use a suitable phrase and change them into INDIRECT
QUESTIONS.
12. ARE YOU THINKING OF GOING ABROAD FOR YOUR NEXT HOLIDAYS?