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Wh- questions: what, where, when, why? Wh- questions exercises for A1 beginners

This A1 drill lesson gives wh- questions exercises on twelve question words and the word order after them, with is, are, do, does, can and -ing.

Grammar
Question word + helping verb + subject + verb (What does he do?), is / are or do / does, what time against when, how much for prices and What does … mean?
Topic
Green Hollow, an invented Vermont town: a student's school-paper interview with the baker Frank Miller, the bakery's questions-and-answers page and messages with Mom.
Activities
Choices, gap-fills, word order, matching, memory games, tables, drag-and-drop dialogues, find-the-mistake quizzes, a chat in which the student orders a cake, and a final test.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1The rule

    • PictureUnlock
    • Study the scheme: wh- questionsGrammar schemeTry it
    • Is the question correct? Mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Sort the answers: which question do they answer?Sort into columnsTry it
    • Choose the helping verb: is, are, do or doesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Write the short form: question word + isFill in the gapsUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Which question word?

    • Choose the question word for the answerChoose the optionTry it
    • Match the questions and the answersMatchUnlock
    • Write the question wordFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the right question for the answerQuizUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: question word and answerMemory gameUnlock
    • Read the talk at soccer practice and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Word order with be and can

    • Choose the right word order: questions with beChoose the optionUnlock
    • Write the questions with beFill in the gapsTry it
    • Write the questions with canFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in order to make questionsUnjumbleUnlock
    • Fill in the table: make questionsFill in the tableUnlock
    • Find the mistake: questions with be and canQuizUnlock
    • Read the hotel chat and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Word order with do / does and -ing

    • Choose do, does, is or areChoose the optionUnlock
    • Choose the right form of the verbChoose the optionUnlock
    • Write the questions with do / doesFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Write the questions: do / does or am / is / are?Fill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the right order: questions with do / does and -ingUnjumbleUnlock
    • Match the questions and the answers: do or be?MatchTry it
    • Find the mistake: questions with do / doesQuizUnlock
    • Read Hugo's email and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Real life: The school newspaper interview

    • Read Sophie's interview in the school newspaperReal-life documentUnlock
    • Read the interview again: true or false?True or falseUnlock
    • Read more of the interview and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Read the bakery's questions and answers and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
    • Read Sophie's messages with Mom and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the right replies: at Miller's BakeryChatTry it
    • Test yourself: choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Choose the question word: a new neighborChoose the optionUnlock
    • Write the question word: at the doctor'sFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose is, are, do, does or can: a call with GrandmaChoose the optionUnlock
    • Write the questions with be: a new classmateFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Write the questions with do / does: a job at a caféFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the right order: mixed questionsUnjumbleUnlock
    • Match the questions and the answers: on vacationMatchUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: questions and answersMemory gameUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: questions and answersDrag and dropUnlock
    • Fill in the table: write the questionsFill in the tableUnlock
    • Find the mistake: mixed questionsQuizUnlock
    • Choose the correct questionQuizUnlock
    • Read Elena's post and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Read the messages and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
    • Write the question for the answerFill in the gapsUnlock

49 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Grammar: wh- questions: question words and word order

A wh- question asks for information, and the answer decides the question word: a place takes where, a clock time what time, a price how much. The word order is fixed: question word, then a helping verb (is / are, do / does or can), then the subject. Where is she from? What does he do?

Wh- questions: what, where, when, why?

Ask for information: question word + is / are / do / does / can + subject + verb.

Twelve question words

What asks about a thing, where a place, who a person, whose the owner, why a reason, answered with because. When takes a day or a month; what time takes a clock time. How much asks a price; how many, a number. Who's means who is, not whose.

Question words

Question wordIt asks aboutExampleAnswer
whata thing, an action, a job (also what + a noun: what color, what sports)What do you have in your bag?My phone and a book.
wherea placeWhere does Rita work?At a school.
whena day, a month, a part of the dayWhen do you play soccer?On Saturdays.
what timethe time on a clockWhat time do you get up?At 6:30.
whoa personWho is that girl?My cousin.
whosethe ownerWhose phone is this?It's Mia's.
whichone of a few thingsWhich one do you want, the red one or the blue one?The blue one.
whya reasonWhy are you sad?Because my dog is sick.
howthe way, or how someone isHow do you get to school? · How are you?By bus. · I'm fine, thanks.
how oldageHow old is your teacher?She's forty.
how manya number of thingsHow many sisters do you have?Two.
how mucha priceHow much is this T-shirt?It's $10.

Short forms

What is → What's · Where is → Where's · Who is → Who's · How is → How's. Who's (= who is) and whose (= the owner) sound the same: Who's your coach? Whose bag is this?

Question word + helping verb + subject + verb

The order stays the same with every helping verb: Where are your friends from? What time does the show start? What can your dog do? Where is Mom going? The helping verb always comes before the subject, never after it.

Word order in a wh- question

question wordis / are · do / does · cansubjectverb / the rest

Where is she from?

What does he do?

What can you cook?

The helping verb comes before the subject

Question wordHelping verbSubjectVerb / the rest
Whereareyour friendsfrom?
Whyisthe babysad?
Whatdoyouwant for lunch?
What timedoesthe showstart?
Whatcanyour dogdo?
WhereisMomgoing?

Is / are or do / does?

Use is / are when there's no other verb (Where is the park?) or with verb + -ing (What is he doing?). Any other verb needs do or does: Where do they live? After does, the verb loses its -s: What time does she get up?

is / are or do / does?

is / are

  • no other verb (a place, an age, a word like happy), or verb + -ing
  • Where is the park?
  • Why are they angry?
  • What is he doing?

do / does + verb

  • with another verb: live, work, like, start, get up…
  • Where do they live?
  • What time does she get up? (not: gets up)

Questions and answers

  • What does Rita do? — She's a teacher.a job
  • What are your kids doing? — They're playing outside.now
  • What can you make? — Pizza and pancakes.can
  • Why is your dog so happy? — Because we're going to the park!Why? → Because…
  • Who is your new teacher? — Mr. Fisher.a person
  • How much is a cupcake? — It's $3.a price

Common mistakes

Watch for a missing helping verb (Where you live?), is with a full verb (Where is live your sister?) and be after the subject (How old you are?). It's What does “bakery” mean?, not What means…? And a price takes how much, not how many.

Common mistakes

  • Where you live?

    Where do you live?

    add do / does before the subject

  • What does she likes?

    What does she like?

    does + verb with no -s

  • Where is live your sister?

    Where does your sister live?

    live, work, go… need do / does, not is

  • How old you are?

    How old are you?

    is / are comes before the subject

More mistakes

What time it is? → What time is it? · Why you are late? → Why are you late? · What means “bakery”? → What does “bakery” mean? · For a price, say How much: How much is this cake? (Not: How many…?) · The answer must fit the question word: Where? → In Boston. (Not: When…? — In Boston.)

More lessons on this grammar: Questions lessons and exercises

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What's in the lesson

  • 41 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 games
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 picture

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • pick the question word the answer needs: When is your birthday? – In October. What time does the class start? – At 9:30.
  • put is or are before the subject: How old are your cousins? Why is Adam angry?, not Why Adam is angry?
  • ask with do / does + base verb: Where does your aunt live? What does your brother want?, not wants
  • ask with can and about now with -ing: What can your dad cook? Where are your parents going?
  • ask what a word means: What does “tiny” mean?, not What means “tiny”?

Lesson 21 of English Grammar Practice · A1 belongs on the questions page and sits between lesson 20, Like, love, hate + -ing: I love dancing, and lesson 22, Countable and uncountable nouns: some, any, how much? It gathers the question forms of lessons 2, 10, 14 and 18 (be, do / does, can and -ing) in one place. Because a drill lesson brings no new vocabulary, it fits into any A1 course.

After the picture and the scheme, four drills cover question words, helping verbs and short forms such as What's. Which question word? pairs words with answers in six exercises, among them a memory game and Renata's first soccer practice. Word order with be and can builds questions from prompts and ends with a hotel guest's chat. Word order with do / does and -ing sets habits against now and closes with Hugo's email to his host family. In the real-life chapter, students read Sophie's school-paper interview with Frank, fill in more of it, a bakery FAQ and her messages with Mom, order a birthday cake in the chat and take a 12-question test.

All 15 homework tasks are self-checking and use new sentences: a new neighbor, the doctor's, a call with Grandma, a new classmate and a café job, then mixed word order, vacation questions to match, a memory game, a table, two quizzes, Elena's post as a newcomer, Liam and Nina's messages and questions to write for given answers.

Grammar:
wh- questions · question words · question word order · do / does questions
Topic:
grammar practice · questions · interview · bakery · school newspaper

Teaching tips

  • Start from answers: write In Boston., At 6:30., Because I'm tired. and It's $4. on the board, and students say which question word each one answers before they see the scheme.
  • Color the helping verb: in five questions on the board, students underline the question word, circle is, are, do, does or can, and box the subject. The order is the same every time.
  • Interview a classmate like Sophie after the real-life chapter: pairs write five questions with five different question words about a hobby or a job, then ask and answer them.
  • Contrast What do you do? with What are you doing?: say a job and ask the first, mime an action and ask the second. The matching drill in chapter 4 tests exactly this pair.

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The whole course: English Grammar Practice · A1

English Grammar Practice · A1 has 24 drill lessons for adult beginners, one grammar point each, from the verb to be and the present simple to can, was and were and telling the time. Each has the rule as a scheme, 43 to 47 exercises that check themselves, 15 of them for homework, and no new words, so it works next to any course.See the course

  1. 1To be: I am, you are, she is
  2. 2To be negatives and questions: is it your bag?
  3. 3Subject pronouns and possessive adjectives: I, my, she, her
  4. 4This, that, these, those: what's this?
  5. 5Plural nouns: one box, two boxes
  6. 6A, an, the: a new apartment
  7. 7There is, there are: what's in the hotel?
  8. 8Have and has: she has a dog
  9. 9Present simple: she works, they work
  10. 10Present simple: don't, doesn't, do you…?
  11. 11Adverbs of frequency: always, usually, never
  12. 12In, on, at: times, days and months
  13. 13Prepositions of place: in, on, under, next to
  14. 14Can and can't: I can swim
  15. 15Imperatives: open, don't run, let's go
  16. 16Object pronouns: me, him, her, them
  17. 17Possessive 's: whose bag is this?
  18. 18Present continuous: what's happening now?
  19. 19Present simple or present continuous: every day or now?
  20. 20Like, love, hate + -ing: I love dancing
  21. 21Wh- questions: what, where, when, why?
  22. 22Countable and uncountable nouns: some, any, how much?
  23. 23Was and were: where were you yesterday?
  24. 24Telling the time and dates: what time is it?

Questions about this lesson

What are wh- questions?
Wh- questions are questions that ask for information, not yes or no. They start with a question word such as what, where, when, who, why or how: Where does your cousin live? – In Seattle. The name comes from the wh- that most of them start with, as in what and why. Wh- questions: what, where, when, why?, an A1 drill lesson on edio.ai, practices twelve question words and their word order.
What are the question words in English?
The main ones are what, where, when, who, whose, which, why and how, plus combinations such as what time, how old, how many and how much. Each asks about one kind of answer: where about a place, whose about the owner, why about a reason. The scheme of Wh- questions: what, where, when, why? on edio.ai lists twelve, each with an example answer.
How do you form wh- questions?
Use question word + helping verb + subject + verb: What does he do? The helping verb is is / are with no other verb or with -ing (Where are you going?), do / does with any other verb (Where do you live?) and can for what someone can do (What can you cook?). Wh- questions: what, where, when, why? on edio.ai drills be and can in one chapter, do / does and -ing in the next.
What's the difference between “when” and “what time”?
What time asks only for a clock time, while when is wider: a day, a month or a part of the day. When do you play soccer? – On Saturdays. What time do you get up? – At 6:30. Because when can take a clock time too, Wh- questions: what, where, when, why? on edio.ai never offers both for one answer, so only one word fits each item.
Is it “Where you live?” or “Where do you live?”
It's Where do you live?: verbs like live need do or does before the subject. The same goes for What time does the train leave?, not What time the train leaves? And after does, drop the -s: What does she like? The find-the-mistake quizzes in Wh- questions: what, where, when, why? on edio.ai keep coming back to these slips.
Are there interactive wh- questions exercises?
Yes. This page plays five parts of Wh- questions: what, where, when, why?, an A1 drill lesson on edio.ai, with no account: a sort of answers by question word; a choice of question word for each answer; questions with be to write; questions to match with their answers, do or be; and a chat at Miller's Bakery. With an account, students get the other 41 as well, homework included.
How do I teach wh- questions to A1 students?
Teach the question word and the word order separately: first let the answer pick the word (In Boston → where), then build the order with be and can before do / does. Wh- questions: what, where, when, why? on edio.ai follows that path, from a chapter on question words to two on word order and a school-paper interview with a baker.
What's a good game for practicing question words?
Try “Guess the question”: one student says only an answer (At 7:30. My sister. Because it's raining.), and the class races to ask a question that fits. The memory games in Wh- questions: what, where, when, why? on edio.ai work the same way, pairing Where? with In Miami. and Whose? with Grandpa's.
What's good homework for wh- questions?
Good homework gives the answer and asks for the question, because that tests the word and the order at once: What time does the train arrive? for It arrives at 11:45. The homework in Wh- questions: what, where, when, why? on edio.ai checks itself, from a call with Grandma to Elena's questions as a newcomer in town.
How do you practice wh- questions one-to-one?
Let the student be the interviewer: they prepare questions about your job, town or weekend and ask them, and you answer briefly, so every turn needs a new question. In Wh- questions: what, where, when, why? on edio.ai, the chat at Miller's Bakery mixes both sides: the student asks about prices and closing time, then answers the baker's questions about a birthday cake.
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