1. What are ‘do’ questions?

‘Do’ questions are questions that use the word ‘do’ at the start.

Like ‘be’ questions, they come in two forms:
– yes/no questions (without a question word)
– requests for details (with a question word)

2. Yes/no questions

Yes/no questions are made by placing the word ‘do’ before an S.V.O. structure.

The structure can use any verb except ‘be’ (‘be’ structures make ‘be’ questions).

3. Conjugating verbs

Verbs must conjugate with their subject
This means you need to add ‘s’ to verbs with ‘he’, ‘she’, or ‘it’.

Because ‘do’ is the first verb in this structure, it takes the ‘s’. Therefore the questions are
‘Does he…?’,
‘Does she….?’
‘Does it…?’

Normal	Do + normal	Answer
I take…	Do I take…?	Yes, I do. No, I do not.
You have…	Do you have…?	Yes, you do. No, you do not.
He likes…	Does he like…?	Yes, he does. No, he does not.
She eats…?	Does she eat…?	Yes, she does. No, she does not.
It plays…	Does it play…?	Yes, it does. No, it does not.
We go…	Do we go…?	Yes, we do. No, we do not.
They make…	Do they make…?	Yes, they do. No, they do not.

4. Examples of yes/no questions

Do you like ice cream?	Yes, I do.
Does he have a girlfriend?	No, he does not.
Does this shop sell potatoes? (this shop = it)	No, it does not.
Do we need to work this weekend?	Yes, we do.
Do Kevin and Jana live here? (Kevin and Jana = they)	Yes, they do.

5. Requests for detail

By adding question words, yes/no questions change into requests for details.

Question words include: what, when, why, where, who, how
+ variants of what (what time, what size, what day)
+ variants of how (how much, how many, how long)

yes/no question	+ question word 1	+ question word 2
Do you like…?	Why do you like…?	What do you like?
Does she go…?	Where does she go…?	When does she go…?
Does it make…?	How does it make…?	What does it make?
Do they work…?	Where do they work?	How do they work?

6. Examples of requests for details

Question	Answer
Where do I sit?	You sit there.
What time does it start?	It starts at 7.
How does she make so much money?	She works for the government.
Why does this house cost so much? (this house = it)	Because it has a garden.
When do Mika and Anne arrive? (Mika and Anne = they)	They arrive at 1.

7. Test yourself

Click here to test your knowledge of this grammar point.