Questions & Negatives

Level B2–C2 · do/does/did, word order & embedded questions

◎What you'll master

Form yes/no questions with do/does/did, be, have, and modals.
Form wh- questions with the right word order (question word + auxiliary + subject).
Make negatives with don't / doesn't / didn't + base, and with be / have.
Handle subject questions (Who called?) without do.
Keep statement order in embedded questions (I know where she lives).

1The core idea: the auxiliary does the work

English builds questions and negatives with an auxiliary (a helping verb): be, have, or a modal. When the sentence has no auxiliary, do / does / did steps in to carry the grammar — and the main verb goes back to its base form.

She works. → Does she work? · They left. → They didn't leave.

2Yes / No questions

Put the auxiliary before the subject: auxiliary + subject + base verb.

Statement	Question
She works here.	Does she work here?
They are ready.	Are they ready?
He has left.	Has he left?
You can swim.	Can you swim?

⚠ Watch out — with be and modals there is no extra do: not Do you can swim? → Can you swim?

3Wh- questions

Start with the question word, then keep the same order: wh- + auxiliary + subject + verb.

Ask about…	Word	Example
person	who / whom	Who did you call?
thing	what / which	What does she want?
place / time	where / when	Where do you live?
reason / manner	why / how	Why did he leave?

4Negatives

Use don't / doesn't / didn't + base verb. With be, add not directly; with have (perfect) and modals, add not after the auxiliary.

He doesn't agree. · They weren't ready. · She hasn't finished. · You mustn't worry.

⚠ Watch out — no double marking (didn't went → didn't go) and no double negative (I don't know nothing → I don't know anything).

5Subject vs object questions

When the question word is the subject (it's the one doing the action), you do notuse do — just use the verb normally. When it's the object, you do.

Subject: Who called you? (who = the caller)

Object: Who did you call? (you = the caller)

⚠ Watch out — don't add did to a subject question: not Who did break the window? → Who broke the window?

6Embedded questions & tag questions

Inside a bigger sentence (after I wonder / Do you know / Could you tell me), the question loses its inversion and goes back to statement order.

Where does she live? → Do you know where she lives? (not “where does she live”)

Tag questions

A short tag flips the polarity: a positive statement takes a negative tag and vice versa — You're coming, aren't you? · She doesn't drive, does she?

Practice — 15 questions with instant feedback

0 / 15 correct

Question 1

______ you speak French?

Question 2

______ he work on Saturdays?

Question 3

She (not like) tea.

Question 4

Where ______ they go last night?

Question 5

(?) you finish the report yesterday?

Question 6

______ she working right now?

Question 7

He (not arrive) yet — he's still on the train.

Question 8

Who ______ the window? Nobody admits it.

Question 9

Who ______ you invite to the party?

Question 10

(?) you seen this film before?

Question 11

Do you know where ______ ?

Question 12

Why (you / not call) me when you arrived at the station?

Question 13

I'd love to know why the meeting ______ postponed at the last minute.

Question 14

(?) any of the students submitted their essays yet?

Question 15

Could you tell me ______ the nearest station is, please?

✎Fix the Error

Each sentence has one mistake in the underlined word. Type the correction and check.

1.Does she likes jazz?

2.Where you did go yesterday?

3.I don't know where does she live .

4.Who did call you last night?

5.They didn't went to school.