Questions, questions, questions. Do you know how to form them properly in English? As per usual, English likes to complicate things and add extra words (where honestly, Cambridge, are they really necessary?!), hence making it more difficult for people to properly form and respond to questions. So hopefully this guide will help you to always get them right!
The question words
In English, we call them the 5 W's (really they should be called the 5 W's and the H, but anyways...).
What - cosa | What is your name? |
When - quando | When did you finish work? |
Where - dove | Where are you from? |
Who - qui | Who is your best friend? |
Why - perché | Why do you like English? |
Which - quale | Which book is yours? The red or blue one? |
How - come | How will you celebrate your birthday? |
As you can see, the question word always comes at the beginning of the phrase, followed by the auxiliary verb (for example, do/did), the subject and the main verb of the phrase. The following chart will help you form questions properly in all simple tenses, so keep reading!
Forming questions
Present simple Asking about habits, routines and schedules
Question word + do/does + subject + verb | What do you do on the weekends? |
Question word + to be + subject | When is the meeting? |
Question word + to be + subject + adjective | Why are you stressed? |
Past simple Asking about past completed actions
Question word + did + subject + verb | What did you do last weekend? |
Question word + was/were + subject | When was the meeting? |
Question word + was/were + subject + adjective | Why were you so tired yesterday? |
Future simple Asking about future actions and schedules
Question word + will + subject + verb | What time will your parents arrive? |
Question word + to be + subject + going to + verb | Where are you going to go on holiday? |
The most important thing to remember is that you absolutely must add do, did or the verb to be to your questions in English. If you translate directly from Italian, for example by saying, "when the meeting starts?", instead of "when does the meeting start?", people will of course understand you, but wouldn't you rather speak properly?
Glossary
As per usual: a slightly sarcastic way to say that something is always the same
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