Question formation – Present & Simple Past

Asking questions is an essential part of communication in English. In this micro lesson, we will learn how to form questions in the Present Simple and Past Simple tenses.

In the Present Simple tense, we use "do" or "does" to form questions.

• Structure:
  • Do + Subject + Base Form of the Verb + (Rest of the Sentence)?
  • Does + Subject + Base Form of the Verb + (Rest of the Sentence)? (used for he, she, it)

Examples:

• Do you like coffee?
• Does she play tennis?
• Do they go to school?
• Does he work here?

Negative Questions:
In the Present Simple tense, we can also form negative questions by adding "not" or using the contraction "don’t" or "doesn’t."

• Structure:
  • Do/Does + Subject + Not + Base Form of the Verb + (Rest of the Sentence)?

Examples:

• Don’t you like coffee?
• Doesn’t she play tennis?
• Don’t they go to school?
• Doesn’t he work here?

In the Past Simple tense, we use "did" to form questions.

• Structure:
  • Did + Subject + Base Form of the Verb + (Rest of the Sentence)?

Examples:

• Did you see the movie?
• Did she finish her homework?
• Did they visit the museum?
• Did he call you?

Negative Questions:
In the Past Simple tense, negative questions are formed by adding "not" or using the contraction "didn't."

• Structure:
  • Did + Subject + Not + Base Form of the Verb + (Rest of the Sentence)?

Examples:

• Didn’t you see the movie?
• Didn’t she finish her homework?
• Didn’t they visit the museum?
• Didn’t he call you?

Practice Activity:

1. Form Questions: Turn the following statements into questions.
   • I like chocolate. (Present Simple)
   • She went to the store. (Past Simple)
2. Negative Questions: Turn the following statements into negative questions.
   • You play soccer. (Present Simple)
   • They watched the show. (Past Simple)

Closure:

Practicing question formation is key to improving your conversational skills. Remember the structures for Present Simple and Past Simple questions, and try to use them in your daily conversations.

Homework:

Write five questions in the Present Simple and five questions in the Past Simple using the structures learned. Have friend or native speaker check your work.