ENGLISH GRAMMAR

Contenido
Verb Tense ............................................................................................................................................................2
The Verb 'To Be'................................................................................................................................................2
Simple Present ..................................................................................................................................................3
Present Progressive ..........................................................................................................................................4
Using the Simple Past .......................................................................................................................................5
Forming the Simple Past ...................................................................................................................................6
Present Perfect .................................................................................................................................................7
Past Progressive................................................................................................................................................9
Simple Future ................................................................................................................................................ 11
Subject Verb Agreement ................................................................................................................................... 12
Subject Verb Agreement (A) .......................................................................................................................... 12
Subject Verb Agreement (B) .......................................................................................................................... 13
Countable and Uncountable Nouns .................................................................................................................. 15
Countable and Uncountable Nouns (A) ......................................................................................................... 15
Comparative, Superlative .................................................................................................................................. 16
Degrees of Comparison ................................................................................................................................. 16
Comparison of Adjectives .............................................................................................................................. 17
Prepositions ....................................................................................................................................................... 18
Prepositions of Place (A)................................................................................................................................ 18
Others ................................................................................................................................................................ 19
Definite and Indefinite Articles...................................................................................................................... 19
Yes/No Questions .......................................................................................................................................... 21

1
Verb Tense

The Verb 'To Be'

When we want to express conditions and physical characteristics, such as age, height, size, color
and occupation, we use the verb to be.
It is a very common verb in English, so you will find it used in many ways.

We use different forms of to be with different sentence subjects.

When the subject is I use am:
I am a teacher.
When the subject is he, she, it use is:
My hair is brown.
She is tall.
When the subject is you, we, or they use are:
We are parents.
They are beautiful.

When the verb to be is used as the main verb in a sentence, it can be followed by an adjective,
noun or a preposition.
subject + to be + adjective
I am hungry.
You are beautiful.
Sarah and Collin are sad.
subject + to be + noun
I am a student.
Laura is a lawyer.
We are friends.
subject+ to be + preposition
I am at the table.
It is on the sofa.
They are in the bedroom.

Contractions are short forms of the subject and verb combined into one word.
I am a student. = I'm a student.
He is married. = He's married.
They are hungry. = They're hungry.
My name is Sarah. = My name's Sarah.

Full Form of the Verb 'To Be' Contracted Form

I am I'm
you are you're
he is, he's,
she is, she's,
it is it's
we are we're
you are you're
they are they're

2
Simple Present
The simple present tense is used for the following situations:

1. Long-lasting situations
Meghan lives in Seattle.
She lived there in the past and will continue to live there in the future. This situation is long lasting
and possibly permanent so we use the simple present.
More examples:
She often plays tennis on Mondays.
She cooks dinner once a week.

2. Facts
Megan speaks three languages.
General facts and timeless truths are also expressed in the simple present. It's a fact that Meghan
speaks three languages, and it won't change soon.
More examples:
She is an American.
She has two sisters.

3. Habits
She usually goes shopping on the weekend.
Shopping on the weekends is a regular habit for Meghan. We use the present simple to talk about
habits and what we do every day.
We use words like usually, often, sometimes, in the evening, in the morning to show that the action
is habitual.
More examples:
She is an American.
She has two sisters.

4. Opinions
She thinks riding a bike is fun.
We often express opinions and states of mind in the present simple. Because bicycling is her
favorite sport, Meghan's opinion is that riding a bike is fun.
More examples:
She considers it good exercise.
I agree with Meghan.

5. Feelings
Meghan loves strawberries.
Feelings such as love and hate are also expressed in the present simple tense.
More examples:
She hates onions.
She feels sad when it rains.

6. Schedules
Her yoga class begins at 6 p.m.
Details about schedules and time tables are expressed in the present tense as well. In this case,
Meghan's class is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
More examples:
Classes at Seattle University begin on September 1.
The flight to Madrid leaves at 5 p.m.

3
Present Progressive

When we talk about actions that are happening right now, we use the present progressive tense.

These are temporary actions that have begun at some point in the past, are currently in progress, and
will end at some point in the future.
I'm driving to work.
You're studying English.

We can also use the present progressive tense to describe actions or events happening around the
present moment.
I'm playing football this year.

We form the present progressive using this structure:

Subject + to be + -ing verb form + object Mark is playing football.
Subject + to be + not + -ing verb form Mark isn't dancing.

Remember to conjugate the auxiliary verb to be according to the subject of the sentence.

Present Simple vs. Present Progressive

The present simple refers to repeated actions or habits, while the present continuous refers to
something happening now. Let's look at an example:
Present Simple: I play golf.
This is a fact. It means that I know how to play golf and I do so on a regular basis.
However, I am not necessarily engaged in playing right now.
Present Progressive: I'm playing golf.
This means at this moment, I am out on a golf course actively engaged in a game of
golf. It highlights the action of playing golf.

4
Using the Simple Past
We will learn how and when to use the Simple Past tense.

The simple past is the tense we use to talk about ordinary situations in the past. We use it when
there is no particular reason to use a perfect or progressive tense.

It is generally used for actions that started and finished in the past, such as:
 short actions that are quickly finished
He dropped the ball.
 longer, more permanent situations
I grew up in Japan.
It is also used for:
 past habits or repeated actions
He knocked five times but there was no reply.
 telling a story or describing events
He ran around the corner and stopped when he saw his boss.
 events taking place at a specific time
They went to Spain last summer.

The past form of the verb is formed differently, depending on whether the verb is regular or
irregular.

Regular verbs end in 'ed' in the past tense.

cooked, pushed, passed, walked

Irregular verbs form the past tense in many different ways and do not follow regular patterns.
slept, went, caught, flew, drank

The verb form does not change according to the subject, except for the verb 'to be'.
I was sixteen when I learned to drive.
He was not at work today.
I thought you were American.
We were on holiday in Thailand.

Use of Simple Past Example

short,completed past action He broked the glass.
long-lasting past situation I went to school in England.
past habit He smoked a pack a day for ten years.
telling a story The thief stole a million dollars.
specific past time event It happened in June this year.

5
Forming the Simple Past
In this lesson we will learn rules for forming the Simple Past Tense.

We form the simple past tense using the past tense of the verb.
The past tense is formed differently, depending on whether or not the verb is regular or irregular.

Regular verbs always follow the same conjugation patterns. In the past tense they take the ending
'ed'.

Irregular verbs do not follow any pattern and can have many different endings.
teach - taught, swim - swam.

Let's take a look at regular verbs first.

1. If the verb ends in 'e' then we add 'd' to form the past tense.
Dance Danced
Smile Smiled
Like Liked
Smoke Smoked
Practice Practiced

2. If the verb ends in a consonant + 'y' then we take away the 'y' and add 'ied' to form the past
tense.
Cry Cried
Marry Married
Study Studied
Rely Relied
Be careful when the word ends in 'y': if the 'y' is preceded by a vowel then we do not replace
the 'y' with 'i'
Play Played
Stay Stayed
Annoy Annoyed
Delay Delayed

3. If the verb ends in one vowel + one consonant then we double the consonant and add 'ed'
to form the past tense.
Stop Stopped
Rub Rubbed
Hop Hopped
Hug Hugged
Drag Dragged
Note that we don't double the consonant if the verb ends in 'x'.
Fix Fixed
Mix Mixed

4. In all other cases, we add 'ed' to the verb to form the past tense.
Want Wanted
Laugh Laughed
Train Trained
Stay Stayed

Irregular verbs do not follow any patterns, and unfortunately their past tenses have to be memorized.

6
Present Perfect
The present perfect tense is very important in English. It is used in situations where we want to show
a link between the past and present.

Although many other languages have a tense that may look like the present perfect, it is used quite
differently in English. The perfect tense has a specific function, and you should understand how it is
used without trying to translate from your own language.

Connection between Past and Present

We use the present perfect when we want to emphasize the connection between past and present:
 when we are thinking about the past and present at the same time
 when something that happened in the past is important NOW.

Completion, Achievement, News

We often use the present perfect to convey the idea of completion or achievement.
I've finished the project at last.
He's won the race!
We also use it to give news.
The president has arrived in China.
The price of oil has risen sharply.
BUT if the news mentions a specific time, then we don't use present perfect.
The bomb exploded this morning.

Unspecified Time
We use the present perfect tense when we talk about an event that took place at an unspecified time
in the past.
I've been to Beijing before.
He's never tried sky-diving.
In these cases, we are talking about things that took place at some point in the person's life, up till
now.
We often use time expressions like 'ever', 'before' and 'never' to show that the time is not known or
not important. We can NOT use time expressions that refer to a specific time, e.g. three weeks ago,
last week, etc.

Repetition and Duration

Present perfect can also express how often something has happened up till now, or how long
something has lasted.
He's failed three tests this month. (repeated action)
I've worked there for five years. (duration)
I've known him since I was young. (duration)
We often use time expressions like 'for' and 'since' with the present perfect.

Forming the Present Perfect

The present perfect tense takes the following form: auxiliary 'have' + past participle
I have seen that film.
We've been to her house.
7
The past participle is sometimes the same as the simple past tense of the verb, but no always.

Use of Present Perfect Example

connection between past and present I can't buy the shoes because I've spent all my money.
completion and achievement Gillian has graduated at last!
giving news Prince Willian has arrivedin Austria.
unspecified time events I have been to Prague.
repeated events Tim has asked her many times but she won't go out with him.
duration We've known them for years.

8
Past Progressive
We will learn how and when to use the Past Progressive Tense.

We use the past progressive tense to describe an action that was in progress around a particular
time. The action started and finished in the past, but we are referring to a time while it was taking
place.
Past progressive actions are often temporary.
At 2am last night I was sleeping.

I went to bed at 10pm and woke up at 7am. The action has been completed in the past, but I am
talking about a time (at 2am) when I was in the middle of doing it.

Forming the Past Progressive

We form the past progressive in the same way as we form the present progressive, except that
we use the past tense of the auxiliary 'be'.

auxiliary was/were + -ing verb

I work. I was working.
We ran. We were running.

Two Actions in the Past

We often use the past progressive when we are talking about two past actions, one of which took
place in the middle of the other one. In this case, the longer action (the 'background' event) is in
the past progressive tense.
The phone rang while we were watching TV.

Action 1: watching TV (6pm-10pm)

Action 2: phone call (8pm)
Both events started and finished in the past, but the one action took place in the middle of the other
one.
9
However, if the two past actions occurred one after the other, then we use the simple past tense.
She opened her umbrella when it started to rain.
(it started to rain and then she opened her umbrella)

Remember, usually use while with the past progressive and when with simple past. Look out for these
words if you aren’t sure which tense to use.

10
Simple Future
The simple future is one of the most common ways to talk about the future in English.
It has two different forms which are used in different ways.
 'will' + verb
He'll be here soon.
I'll tell you when I see him.
 'be going to' + verb
I'm going to work late tonight.
You're going to be late if you don't hurry up.
Although sometimes it doesn't matter which one we use, there are cases where one form is better
than the other.

The 'will' form is used in the following situations:

 giving information about the future
They will arrive this evening.
 making predictions
I'm sure it will rain tomorrow.
 decisions made 'on the spot'
There's no beef? Then I'll have chicken.
 conditional situations
You'll get fat if you don't stop eating.
 requests and orders
Will you please be quiet?
You will stay until it's finished!
 promises and refusals
I won't be late again.

The 'going to' form is used for:

 arrangements and fixed plans
I'm going to see him at 6pm.
 decisions made in the past
I'm going to go abroad next summer.
(the decision was made before the time of speaking)
 future events which are almost certain (based on evidence)
You're never going to succeed like that!

Forming the Simple Future

The 'will' form is made by putting 'will' in front of the infinitive form of the verb:
'will' + infinitive
Examples:
leave - will leave
study - will study
be - will be
I'll speak to him when he arrives.
He will wait for us to arrive.

The 'going to' form is made by putting the correct form of 'be going to' in front of the verb.
auxiliary (am/is/are) + 'going to' + infinitive
Examples:
leave - is going to leave
sit - am going to sit
be - is going to be
I'm going to leave early today.
We're going to visit her this weekend.
He is going to go abroad next year.
11
Subject Verb Agreement
Subject Verb Agreement (A)

We will practice identifying sentence subjects. We will also learn how to determine if a subject is
considered singular or plural.

When the subject of a sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and,
use a plural verb.
Laura and her husband are looking at the computer.
Mark and Sarah play tennis every Saturday.
Blue and purple are beautiful colors.

When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb.
This shirt or that shirt is suitable.
Either Jim or Pam needs to meet the client.
Neither a book nor a magazine is in my bag.

When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or or nor,
the verb should agree with the part of the subject nearest to the verb.
Neither the CD nor the DVDs are in the case.
Either my grandparents or my aunt is coming to help.
Neither Kim nor her sisters are attending the party.

In sentences beginning with there is/are or here is/are, the subject follows the verb. Since there
and here are not subjects, the verb agrees with what follows.
There are some cookies on the table.
Here is a plate of cookies.
There is a big sale at the shopping mall.

Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between the subject and the verb. The verb agrees with the
subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.
A man who loves dogs is coming here later.
One of my former students is now a CEO.
The team members, as well as the captain, are excited.

If the subject is... Then the verb... Example...

two or more nouns or
pronouns connected by 'and'
two or more singular nouns or
pronouns connected by 'or'
or ‘nor’
both a singular and a plural
noun or pronoun joined by 'or'
or 'nor'
is plural
is singular
agrees with the part of the
subject closest to the verb
Blue and purple are beautiful
colors.
Neither a book nor a
magazine is in my bag.
Neither Kim nor her sisters are
attending the party.

If the sentence is... Then... Example...

begins with 'There' or 'Here' the subject follows the verb There is a big sale at the
shopping mall.
has a phrase between the the verb agrees with the The team members, as well as
subject and the verb subject, not the phrase the captain, are excited.

12
Subject Verb Agreement (B)
In this lesson, we will learn about some categories of subjects that commonly cause confusion when
following the rules of subject-verb agreement.

Singular nouns that end in -s

Don't be confused with singular nouns that end with –s that require in singular verbs:
Some school subjects:
Mathematics, physics, civics
Some illnesses:
Measles, mumps
Some others:
News
Examples:
The news comes on at 7 p.m.
The mumps is a serious illness.

Nouns with two parts

Other nouns are actually only one object with two parts. They are considered plural subjects.
Some clothing:
Pants, shorts, trousers
Some tools:
Scissors, pliers
Some others:
Glasses, frames
Examples:
These pants are too short.
Her glasses are cute.

Collective nouns
Some words have meanings that include more than one person or thing, but they are
considered singular.
Groups of people:
Group, team, class
Groups of animals:
Flock, herd
Groups of things:
Collection, set
Examples:
The committee is planning a party.
That collection is huge!

Indefinite pronouns
When indefinite pronouns are used as the subject of a sentence, they are considered singular.
Anyone, anybody, anything, someone, somebody, something, no one, nobody
Examples:
Someone wants to visit you.
Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject.
No one is home.

Pronouns with every

While everyone, everybody and everything certainly feel like more than one person or thing, they are
also indefinite pronouns that considered singular subjects.
Examples:
Everything is fine.
Everybody has completed his or her projects.

13
The pronoun each
Don't be confused by the phrases that follow the pronoun each. It is always considered singular,
even when the phrase that follows, e.g., each of the students, ends with a plural word.
Examples:
Each of them has finished.
Each of the animals is trained.

Situation Rule Example...

Singular nouns that end in 's'...
Nouns with two parts...
Collective nouns...
Indefinite pronouns...
Pronouns with 'every'...
The pronoun 'each'...
...take singular verbs. The news comes on at 7pm.
...take plural verbs. Her glasses arebroken.
...take singular verbs. That team isstrong.
...take singular verbs. Nobody is home.
...take singular verbs. Everything isfine.
...takes a singular verb. Each of them has finished.

14
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Countable and Uncountable Nouns (A)
In English, we see some nouns as direct units that can be counted.

Countable nouns, such as chair, have both singular and plural forms because you can have one or
many of them.

Singular countable nouns cannot be used alone in sentences. You can use a or an in front of
countable nouns when there is only one:
a/an + countable noun
a bed
a chair
an apple
a house
a bag

When countable nouns are plural, you can use numbers in front of them. Remember to add a
final s or es.
number + countable noun
four tables
three beds
two chairs
one desk

Uncountable nouns, unlike beds, tables, and chairs, we cannot count furniture. It doesn't describe
one single item, but a whole set of items. Therefore, it isn't seen as a direct unit that can be counted.

Even though uncountable nouns are singular, they cannot be preceded with a or an, or with a number.

Remember that with no plural form, uncountable nouns never end in s or es.

Singular Plural
A countable noun can be preceded by 'a' or 'an' a chair chairs
Countable
and takes a final 's' or 'es' in the plural. one chair two chair
An uncountable noun is never preceded by 'a' or
Uncountable 'an'. It does not have a plural form and does not Furniture /
take final 's' or 'es'.

15
Comparative, Superlative
Degrees of Comparison
In this lesson we will learn when to use the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives.

When we want to compare two things with each other in English, we use the comparative form.
Cats are small but lions are very large:
Cats are smaller than lions.
Bears are very dangerous, but dogs are not:
Bears are more dangerous than dogs.
Dolphins are quite smart but frogs are not:
Dolphins are smarter than frogs.
Notice that the word more or the ending -er is often used to form the adjective.
Noun1 + to be + comparative adjective + than + noun2

To compare three or more people or things, we use the superlative form of the adjective, not
the comparative.

Comparative Superlative
Dr. Louis is taller than Dr. Lam. Dr. Louis is the tallest doctor.
Dr. Lam is more skillful than Dr. Hall. Dr. Lam is the most skillful doctor.

Notice that the word most or the ending –est is commonly used to form the superlative.
Subject + to be + the + superlative adjective + noun Dr. Louis is the tallest doctor
The + superlative adjective + noun + to be + noun2 The tallest doctor is Dr. Louis

Usage Form Example

comparison of two people or things use 'more' or end in 'er' Cheetahs are faster than snails.
comparison of three or more people or use 'most' or end in 'est' Dr. Louis is the tallest doctor.
things

16
Comparison of Adjectives
We will learn various rules for forming the comparative form of adjectives.

Most one-syllable adjectives

To form the comparative with most one-syllable adjectives, simply add -er to the end of the adjective.
tall - taller My brother is taller than my sister.
cold – colder Yesterday was colder than today.

One-syllable adjectives ending in '-e'

To form the comparative with one-syllable adjectives ending in -e, simply add -r to the end of the
adjective.
nice - nicer My mother is nicer than my father.
blue – bluer The sky today is bluer than usual.

One-syllable adjectives ending with vowel + consonant

If a final consonant is preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant.
big – bigger Horses are bigger than mules.
thin – thinner I am thinner than before.

Two-Syllable Adjectives Ending in '-y'

If an adjective as two syllables and ends in -y, remove the y from the adjective and add -ier.
funny - funnier This movie is funnier than that movie.
dirty – dirtier My bathroom is dirtier than my kitchen.

Two, Three or More Syllable Adjectives

For other two or more syllable words, place 'more' before the adjective to form the comparative.
beautiful - more beautiful My girlfriend is more beautiful than your girlfriend!
expensive - more expensive Coffee is more expensive than tea.
serious - more serious His history teacher is more serious than his math teacher.

Exceptions
There are several common exceptions to these rules:
bad – worse Watching the opera is worse than watching football.
far – further Mars is further from the sun than Earth.
good – better Her cooking is better than his.

Situation Rule Example

Most one-syllable adjectives add '-er' tall – taller
cold - colder
One-syllable adjectives ending add '-r' nice – nicer
in '-e' late - later
One-syllable adjectives ending double the consonant and add '- big – bigger
with vowel + consonant er' thin - thinner
Two-Syllable Adjectives Ending remove the 'y' and add '-ier' dirty – dirtier
in '-y' funny - funnier
Two, Three or More Syllable use 'more' beautiful - more beautiful
Adjectives serious - more serious

17
Prepositions
Prepositions of Place (A)
Prepositions of place are small words that tell us about position and location. They describe
where an object is in relation to something else.

In this lesson, we're going to learn how to use the prepositions 'in', 'at' and 'on' to describe location.

In
The preposition 'in' is used to describe an object that is inside an enclosed space or container, for
example:
Mother is in the kitchen.
The flowers are in the vase.
They are swimming in the water.
The tea is in the cup.
‘In’ is also used for position inside a larger area, in particular: tows or cities, countries, streets,
buildings or areas.
Julia is in the garden
I live in Miami
He is in France this week
I lived in Oxford Street

On
The preposition 'on' is used to describe a position on top of a surface or above something.
on the table
on a bike
on a horse
on the mountain
on the carpet
'On' is also used to show that something is attached to or in contact with something else:
The writing is on the wall.
There is a stain on his shirt.
The coat is hanging on the door.
There's a fly on the ceiling.
Put the mat on the floor.

At
The preposition 'at' is used to describe an object that is nearby something else, or located at a
specific place.
at the bus stop
at the cinema
at the door
at the station
It is used when we talk about buildings and places, especially when we are mainly interested in
the function of a place and not the inside of the building.
She's at the cinema. (She watching a film)
BUT It's too cold in the cinema. (The room is too cold)

18
Others
Definite and Indefinite Articles
'A', 'an' and 'the' are articles: small words that precede and modify nouns. They are very common
in English, and it is important to know how to use them correctly.

'A' and 'an' are called indefinite articles. They are used before singular countable nouns.
He is a teacher. She is a sales manager
'A' is used before consonant sounds like b, c, d, f.
a banana, a camera, a woman
'An' is used before vowel sounds like a, e, o.
an apple, an egg, an olive
Note that this rule applies more to the sound of the word than the actual spelling:

When a vowel sounds more like a consonant (like when 'u' sounds like 'y', or 'o' sounds like 'w'), we
use 'a', not 'an'.
a union, a European, a one-sided argument

When the consonant sounds like a vowel, for example when spelling out the letters F, L, M, N, S, X (
ef, el, em, en, es, ex, etc.), or with silent 'h', then we use 'an', not 'a'.
an FBI agent, an X-ray, an honor

We've learned how to decide whether to use 'a' or 'an', but how do you know whether to use a
definite article (the) or an indefinite article (a/an)?

Indefinite articles are used in the following cases:

 to identify job or function e.g. It's an ashtray. He is a manager.
 to give a general example e.g. A cat has a long tail.
 to refer to a particular person/thing for the first time e.g. I saw a man in the street. He was
buying a newspaper.
 describing something e.g. He has a beard and a loud voice.

We also use indefinite articles with:

 exclamations using 'what' (e.g. what a pity, what a nice man)
 expressions using 'quite, rather, such' (e.g. quite a few people)

We DON'T use indefinite articles with:

 the possessive form. e.g. a my friend (incorrect) - my friend (correct)
 uncountable nouns. e.g. a water (incorrect) - water / some water

Definite articles are used with:

 specific items e.g. Yes, he's the one.
 things that have already been mentioned or implied e.g. Please open the window. (you know
which one I am talking about)
 things that are unique e.g. the world, the sky, the sun, the US president
 in some generalisations e.g. I can't play the piano. (I am not talking about one particular piano,
I mean I can't play all pianos.)

In general, we don´t use any article when we are talking about the following:
 Uncountable nouns. e.g. water, beauty, tennis, French, Mathematics
 With certain prepositional phrases e.g. by car, on foot, at school, in prison, in bed, at night.
 With most proper names e.g. names of countries, towns, cities, streets, stations, titles,
names of people.
 With names of meals e.g. breakfast, lunch, dinner

19
 Use of Indefinite Articles Use of Definite Articles
to identify job or function specific items
to give a general example things that have already been mentioned or
implied
to refer to a particular person/thing for the first things that are unique
time
describing something in some generalizations
exclamations using 'what'
expressions using 'quite, rather, such' (

20
Yes/No Questions
The basic structure of yes/no questions depends on the verb in the sentence.

As you can see, there are three different types of yes/no questions:
1. questions with 'be'
2. questions with auxiliary verbs
3. questions with 'do'
The easiest way to form yes/no questions is to look at the statement first.

1. The Verb 'To Be'

If there is one verb and the verb is a form of 'be', simply move the verb to the beginning of the
sentence. In other words, the subject and the verb change position.
They are in the office. -> Are they in the office?
She is sick. -> Is she sick?
We are on holiday. -> Are we on holiday?

2. Auxiliary Verbs
In English, some verbs have two or more parts and require an auxiliary verb.
I can speak German.
He was living in Turkey last year.
You have been working here since April.
To form a yes/no question from these statements, we change the position of the first auxiliary verb
and the subject of the sentence.
You have been to America. -> Have you been to America?
They are going to leave the office soon. -> Are they going to leave the office soon?

3. Other Verbs
The last group of sentences has a one-part verb which is not a form of 'be'.
He works harder than her.
They live in Paris.
To change these sentences to yes/no questions, simply add the correct form of the auxiliary verb 'do'
(do, does, did) to the beginning of the sentence. Finally, remember to change the verb to
the infinitive form (drives = drive).
Jane drives a car. -> Does Jane drive a car?
You travel often. -> Do you travel often?

Verb Type Rule Example

change the position of the subject and the You are from China.
be
verb Are you from China?
auxiliaries and modals change the position of the subject and the We can come tomorrow.
(can, have, be) auxiliary Can we come tomorrow?
He works from home.
other verbs add do/does/did to the beginning of the Does he work from home?
(play, learn, do,…) statement He does well at school.
Does he do well at school?

21
22