English Questions Quiz
Can you form questions correctly in English? Test yes/no questions, wh-questions, subject questions, tag questions and indirect questions across 20 multiple-choice items.
Start the Quiz →What This Quiz Covers
Forming questions correctly is one of the most important — and most error-prone — areas of English grammar. Unlike many languages that form questions by intonation alone, English requires specific word-order inversions and the addition of auxiliary verbs (do, does, did, have, is, will) in the right position. This quiz tests your ability to produce and recognise correctly formed questions across all the main question types encountered at A2–B2 level.
The 20 multiple-choice questions cover yes/no questions with auxiliary inversion (Do you like…? Is she coming…?), wh-questions with question words (who, what, where, when, why, how), subject questions where the question word itself is the subject (Who broke the window?), indirect questions using reporting structures (Could you tell me where the station is?), and question tags (You're coming, aren't you?). Each item is set in a realistic conversational or written context so that the grammatical patterns feel natural rather than mechanical.
Mistakes with question formation are among the most frequent errors made by learners at A2 to B2 level, often persisting even when other areas of grammar are strong. This quiz pinpoints exactly which question types cause you trouble so you can target your study efficiently.
What You Will Learn
- How to invert the subject and auxiliary verb to form yes/no questions in all major tenses, including present simple, past simple, present perfect and future with will.
- How to place the correct question word at the start of a wh-question and choose between who, whom, whose, what, which, where, when, why and how and its compounds (how much, how many, how long, how often).
- Why subject questions do not use the auxiliary do/does/did — the single most common question formation mistake — and how to recognise them in context.
- How to embed questions inside indirect structures such as Do you know…?, I wonder…, Could you tell me…?, switching from inverted to statement word order.
- How to form tag questions by matching polarity (positive statement — negative tag; negative statement — positive tag) and selecting the correct auxiliary and pronoun.
How to Prepare
If question formation is a weak area, spend a few minutes reviewing the rules before you start. The key rule to memorise is the QUASI structure: Question word — Auxiliary — Subject — Infinitive (main verb). For subject questions, drop the auxiliary entirely. For indirect questions, return to normal statement order after the introductory phrase.
You can practise question formation in context using the Complete the Sentence exercise, which lets you fill in missing question words and auxiliaries before moving to timed quiz conditions. The Gameshow Quiz is also a fun way to practise answering and forming questions quickly under time pressure.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The standard word order for English questions is: (Question Word) + Auxiliary Verb + Subject + Main Verb + (Rest of sentence). For example: Where does she work? or Did they arrive on time? The key step is inverting the subject and auxiliary verb compared to a statement. If there is no auxiliary in the statement, you must add do/does (present) or did (past).
A subject question is one where the question word (usually who or what) is asking about the subject of the verb — the thing or person performing the action. Because the question word itself fills the subject position, no inversion is needed and no auxiliary do/does/did is added. Compare: Who did you call? (object question — you is the subject) vs Who called you? (subject question — who is the subject). The second follows normal statement word order.
Indirect questions are embedded inside a polite phrase such as Could you tell me…?, Do you know…?, I wonder…, I'd like to know…. After this introductory phrase, the word order reverts to normal statement order — there is no inversion and no auxiliary do/does/did in the embedded clause. Compare: Direct: Where is the bank? — Indirect: Could you tell me where the bank is? Note that the verb moves to the end and the question mark is placed at the end of the whole sentence.
Tag questions follow the rule of opposite polarity: a positive statement takes a negative tag, and a negative statement takes a positive tag. The tag always uses the same auxiliary verb (or be) as the main clause, and the same subject pronoun. Examples: She's coming, isn't she? / You haven't finished, have you? / He works here, doesn't he? The one exception is I am, whose negative tag is aren't I? rather than amn't I?
Use do for present simple questions with I, you, we, they: Do you like coffee? Use does for present simple questions with he, she, it: Does she live here? Use did for past simple questions with all subjects: Did they arrive? After the auxiliary, the main verb returns to its base (infinitive) form — never add -s or -ed to the main verb in a question: Did he went is incorrect; Did he go? is correct.
Who asks about people (subject or object). Whom is the formal object form of who. Whose asks about possession. What asks about things or actions. Which asks for a choice among a defined set. Where asks about place. When asks about time. Why asks about reason. How asks about manner or degree, and combines with adjectives/adverbs: how much, how many, how long, how often, how far, how old.
The most common mistake is failing to invert the subject and auxiliary verb — for example, saying Where you are going? instead of Where are you going? A second very common error is using do/does/did in subject questions, saying Who did break the window? instead of Who broke the window? A third error is keeping inverted word order inside indirect questions: Can you tell me where does she live? instead of Can you tell me where she lives?
Use compounds of how: How long asks about duration (How long have you lived here?), How often asks about frequency (How often do you exercise?), How much asks about quantity with uncountable nouns (How much water do you drink?), and How many asks about countable nouns (How many students are in the class?). How far asks about distance and How old asks about age.
Yes, in two cases. First, when the main verb is be, it acts as its own auxiliary and inverts directly with the subject: Is she happy? Were they at home? No do/does/did is needed. Second, in subject questions, as explained above, no auxiliary is used because the question word fills the subject position. In all other cases — present simple, past simple, future with going to — you must add do/does/did or the relevant modal (can, will, should, etc.).
Correct question formation is essential for IELTS Speaking (Part 1 and 2 involve responding to examiner questions naturally) and for Cambridge Writing tasks where learners must phrase questions accurately. In the IELTS Speaking test, using indirect questions such as I wonder if you could explain… demonstrates B2–C1 level sophistication. This quiz builds the grammatical accuracy needed to avoid the most penalised errors at these levels.