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Activities: “How to ask questions in English?”

By: Erin Kuester
Associated Articles

These activities are part of our English Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Activity 1: Forming ‘wh-’ questions

Can you form wh-questions using each of the sentences below? Practice turning each sentence into a wh-question. Remember to choose both the correct wh-question word AND correct auxiliary verb (if needed).

For example:

Sentence: That is my dog.

Question: Whose dog is that?

Now you try!

  • Sentence: Michael is bringing the birthday cake.

    Question:

    e.g. Who is bringing the birthday cake?

  • Sentence: I studied biology in college.

    Question:

    e.g. What did you study in college?

  • Sentence: We can meet at the library after class.

    Question:

    e.g. Where can we meet after class?

  • Sentence: Emma left her job because she got a better paying position.

    Question:

    e.g. Why did Emma leave her job?

  • Sentence: Between Monday and Tuesday, I can go to the movies on Tuesday.

    Question:

    e.g. Which day can you go to the movies?

  • Sentence: Harold worked at the library from 2019 to 2022.

    Question:

    e.g. When did Harold work at the library? Where did Harold work in 2019?

  • Sentence: I will pick you up at 8:00 p.m.

    Question:

    e.g. When will you pick me up?

  • Sentence: My sister has been waiting for an hour.

    Question:

    e.g. How long has your sister been waiting?

  • Sentence: I visited New York City last year.

    Question:

    e.g. When did you visit New York City? Where did you visit last year?

  • Sentence: We should go to the new Mexican restaurant for dinner.

    Question:

    e.g. Where should we go for dinner?

  • Sentence: Ellie lives in Boston.

    Question:

    e.g. Where does Ellie live?

  • Sentence: The class is meeting at noon.

    Question:

    e.g. When is the class meeting?

  • Sentence: Those are my shoes.

    Question:

    e.g. Whose shoes are those?

  • Sentence: The kids ate grilled cheese for lunch.

    Question:

    e.g. What did the kids eat for lunch?

  • Sentence: The hike is five miles long.

    Question:

    e.g. How long is the hike?

  • Sentence: I fixed the lock with a screwdriver.

    Question:

    e.g. How did you fix the lock?

Activity 2: Celebrity question game

Have you ever played the ✨ celebrity question game ✨ ?

You can play this game with two people. Your partner thinks of a celebrity or famous person, and you must guess who the famous person is based on yes/noquestions. You can ONLY ask yes/noquestions and use the information to try and guess who your partner is thinking of!

Here are some example questions:

Have they ever won an Oscar?

Are they younger than you?

Do they live in the United States?

Let’s try it out — write at least fifteen yes/noquestions to help you guess someone’s celebrity! Then, if you’ve got a friend handy, try playing the game!

Sample Questions:

Is your celebrity alive?

Are you thinking of a man?

Is she an actor?

Are you thinking of a musician?

Do they play rock music?

Is she part of a band?

Does she play guitar?

Is she a country musician?

Are you thinking of Taylor Swift?

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