WH Question Words

We use question words to ask certain types of questions (question word questions). We often refer to them as WH words because they include the letters WH (for example WHy, HoW).

Question Word	Function	Example
what	asking for information about something	What is your name?
	asking for repetition or confirmation	What? I can't hear you. You did what?
what...for	asking for a reason, asking why	What did you do that for?
when	asking about time	When did he leave?
where	asking in or at what place or position	Where do they live?
which	asking about choice	Which colour do you want?
who	asking what or which person or people (subject)	Who opened the door?
whom	asking what or which person or people (object)	Whom did you see?
whose	asking about ownership	Whose are these keys? Whose turn is it?
why	asking for reason, asking what...for	Why do you say that?
why don't	making a suggestion	Why don't I help you?
how	asking about manner	How does this work?
	asking about condition or quality	How was your exam?
how + adj/adv	asking about extent or degree	see examples below
how far	distance	How far is Pattaya from Bangkok?
how long	length (time or space)	How long will it take?
how many	quantity (countable)	How many cars are there?
how much	quantity (uncountable)	How much money do you have?
how old	age	How old are you?
how come (informal)	asking for reason, asking why	How come I can't see her?

 Webgraphy: http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/wh-question-words.htm

Yes / No questions (closed questions)

Yes / No questions

In English, there are two basic types of questions: Yes / No questions and Wh- questions. Yes / No questions are also called closed questions because there are only two possible responses: Yes or No. When forming a Yes / No question, it must include one of these verbs: BE, DO, HAVE, or a modal verb. It is impossible to ask a Yes / No question without one of these verbs.

Read lesson  * en español  * en français

correct		incorrect
Are elections next year?		Elections next year?
Does he want to stay?		He want to stay?
Have the boys eaten?		The boys eaten?
Can the dog swim?		The dog swim?

Use the verb BE to ask Yes / No questions about the identity or description of a person, place, or thing.

question		response
Am I your friend?		Yes. / Yes, you are. / Yes, you are my friend.
Is this a good restaurant?		No. / No, it is not. / No, it is not a good restaurant.
Are these islands Greek?		Yes. / Yes, they are. / Yes, these islands are Greek.
Was his idea interesting?		No. / No, it wasn’t. / No, his idea was not interesting.
Were they happy?		Yes. / Yes, they were. / Yes, they were happy.

Note that the response can be short (Yes. / No.), or long: Yes or No followed by the subject and verb.
Use the verb BE with a preposition to ask Yes / No questions about a present or past location.

question		response
Am I at the correct location?		No. / No, you aren’t.
Are the keys under the books?		No. / No, they are not.
Was his house on an island?		Yes. / Yes, it was.
Were the demonstrations in the center of town?		No. / No, they weren’t.

Use the verb BE to ask a Yes / No question about a current activity or situation. This requires the present progressive: BE + (verb+ing).

question		response
Am I going with you and Tom?		Yes. / Yes, you are.
Is she working today?		No. / No, she isn’t.
Are we seeing a play tomorrow?		Yes. / Yes, we are.

Use the verb BE to ask a Yes / No question about a past activity or situation. This requires the past progressive: WAS / WERE + (verb+ing).

question		response
Was it raining?		Yes. / Yes, it was.
Were they playing?		No. / No, they weren’t.

Use the verb BE to ask a Yes / No question with the passive voice.

question		response
Is gold mined in Canada?		Yes. / Yes it is.
Are flowers grown here?		No. / No, they are not.
Was the book read?		Yes. / Yes, it was.

Use the verb HAVE to ask if somebody has done something or if some action has taken place. Note that these Yes / No questions use the present perfect (HAVE + past participle).

question		response
Has your brother left?		No. / No, he hasn’t.
Have you driven before?		Yes. / Yes, I have.
Has the party started?		Yes. / Yes, it has.

Use the verb DO to ask Yes / No questions in order to obtain facts about people, places, or things.

question		response
Do they smoke?		No. / No, they don’t.
Does it rain here?		Yes. / Yes, it does.
Did the key work?		No. / No, it didn’t.

Use modal verbs to ask Yes / No questions about possibilities or uncertainties.

question		response
Can we stay?		Yes. / Yes, we can. / Yes, we can stay.
Could this be true?		Yes. / Yes, it could (be true).
Should they stop?		No. / No, they shouldn’t (stop).
May I help you?		Yes. / Yes you may (help me).

Remember: When asking Yes / No questions with DO or a modal verb, the main verb remains in the base form (without to).

correct		incorrect
Do you drink coffee?		Do you to drink coffee?
Does she work here?		Does she to work here?
Can I go with you?		Can I to go with you?
Should we email her?		Should we to email her?

However, if there are two verbs that follow DO, the second verb remains in the infinitive (with to).

correct		incorrect
Do you want to drink coffee?		Do you want drink coffee?
Does she like to work here?		Does she like work here?
Did you need to go home?		Did you need go home?

Note that there are several ways to answer Yes / No questions, especially when using contractions.

Webgraphy:	http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/blog/learn-english/grammar/questions-yes-no/

The Best Way to Learn English Grammar

The Best Ways to Learn English Grammar

A person who is attempting to learn English grammar quickly realizes that there are many rules and many exceptions to these rules in the English language. For some, doing grammar exercises can be a helpful way to learn those grammar rules. Others find that immersing themselves in the language allows them to obtain the skills needed without doing intense study. For many others, an approach that incorporates parts of both of these methods is most effective.

Webgraphy: http://www.ehow.com/way_5232861_ways-learn-english-grammar.html#ixzz31hk6Tpwf

How to use modal verbs

How to use modal verbs

can

Can is used in three ways. It is used to show that something is possible:

"You can come to the party if you want."

Can is also used when making a request or when asking for permission:

"Can I leave the office early today?"

Use can to show an ability:

"I can speak English."

should / ought to

Give advice and talk about a duty using should and ought to.

"I think you should be more careful about what you eat."

"I ought to cut the grass while it's sunny."

must / have to

Must and have to are both strong words and have a similar meaning. This is the difference in use:

must

Must shows an obligation (something that we have no choice about). It usually refers to a personal obligation - something we decide.

"I must remember to call my sister tonight."

have to

Have to is also an obligation, but it is an obligation that comes from someone else, which we must follow.

"I have to return these books to the library. They are due back today."

must not (mustn't)

must not is also used for something that is prohibited (not allowed)

"I mustn't wear jeans to work."

Can you think of any example sentences? Write at least three sentences...Now!
Webgraphy:  http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/how-use-modal-verbs

What is Grammar?

What is Grammar?

Grammar is the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar as the "rules" of a language; but in fact no language has rules*. If we use the word "rules", we suggest that somebody created the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new game. But languages did not start like that. Languages started by people making sounds which evolved into words, phrases and sentences. No commonly-spoken language is fixed. All languages change over time. What we call "grammar" is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time.

Webgraphy:http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/grammar-what.htm

how should we use the infinitive in grammar

How should we use the infinitive

FUNCTION

The most common uses of the infinitive are:
To indicate the purpose or intention of an action (where the 'to' has the same meaning as 'in order to' or 'so as to'):

• She's gone to collect her pay cheque.
• The three bears went into the forest to find firewood.

As the subject of the sentence:

• To be or not to be, that is the question.
• To know her is to love her.
  (Note: this is more common in written English than spoken)

With nouns or pronouns, to indicate what something can be used for, or what is to be done with it:

• Would you like something to drink?
• I haven't anything to wear.
• The children need a garden to play in.

After adjectives in these patterns:

• It is + adjective +to-infinitive
  It is good to talk
• It is + adjective + infinitive + for someone + to-infinitive.
  It is hard for elephants to see mice
• It is + adjective + infintive + of someone + to-infinitive.
  It is unkind of her to say that.

After an adjective + noun when a comment or judgement is being made:

• It was a stupid place to park the car.
• This is the right thing to do.
• It was an astonishing way to behave.

With too and enough in these patterns:
too much/many (+ noun) + to-infinitive

• There's too much sugar to put in this bowl.
• I had too many books to carry.

too + adjective + to-infinitive

• This soup is too hot to eat.
• She was too tired to work.

too + adverb + to-infinitive

• He arrived too late to see the actors.

enough (+ noun) + to-infinitive

• I've had enough (food) to eat.

adjective + enough + to-infinitive

• She's old enough to make up her own mind.

not enough (+noun) + to-infinitive

• There isn't enough snow to ski on.

not + adjective + enough + to-infinitive

• You're not old enough to have grand-children.

webgraphy: http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/infinitive_function.php

Why is it important to use correct grammar ?

Why is it important to use correct grammar ? 

From time to time I find myself getting involved in a discussion about grammar. It's always the same: on one hand we have the people who argue that good grammar is important, and on the other hand we have those who say it isn't. Here I present my reasons for good grammar being important.

It boils down to this:

The purpose of good grammar is to ensure that what you write is correctly comprehended and is easy and enjoyable to read.