Ch 2 · Lesson 33English · Chapter 2 · Lesson 33 · Grammar primer
Where do you live? The order in a question
After the question word, the helper verb comes before the person: Where do you live? Except when who or what is the subject: Who told you?
The short version
Where do you live, not where you live
?
Why?Hide
After the question word, the helper verb comes before the person: Where do you live? Where are they? The one exception is when who or what is the subject. Then nothing moves and there is no do: Who told you? asks who did it.
Word order
After the question word, the helper verb comes before the person. The colour marks the verb that jumps.
- Where do you live? (not Where you live?)
- Who is that? (with be, the verb moves in the same way)
One case has no change: when who or what is the subject, the words stay in normal order.
- Who told you? (asking who did it: no did)
- What happened? (asking about the event: no did)
The helper do is the same one you use in present simple questions: Do you live here? Where do you live? (see do and does).
Inside a polite opener the order goes back to normal: Could you tell me where you live? That has its own page: indirect questions.
Common mistakes
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Where you live? | Where do you live? | . |
| How much friends? | How many friends? | . |
| How many money? | How much money? | . |
| Who did tell you? | Who told you? | . |
| What is he? (name) | Who is he? | . |
What is he? is a real question, but it asks about his job, and it can sound old-fashioned or rude: today people ask What does he do? (He's a doctor.) To ask about the person, say Who is he? (He's my brother.)
Going further: The seven words and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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6-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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Lesson 33 of 37 in this chapter