Questions without a question word
Not every asking sentence starts with who or what or where. Read these.
“Can you swim?”
“Is the soup hot?”
“Did you feed the cat?”
No question words anywhere. They are still questions, and they all want the same kind of answer: yes or no.
Where these questions come from
Take a telling sentence. Move one word to the front. You have a question.
| Telling sentence | Word that moves | Asking sentence |
|---|---|---|
| You can swim. | can | Can you swim? |
| The soup is hot. | is | Is the soup hot? |
| You are ready. | are | Are you ready? |
| The boots were wet. | were | Were the boots wet? |
The words are the same. Only the order changed, and the end mark changed with it.
Words that start yes or no questions
These words often come first in this kind of question:
- is, are, was, were
- do, does, did
- can, will
Say the sentence out loud after you move the word. If it sounds like it is waiting for an answer, you have built it right.
A mistake to watch for
Moving the word is not enough on its own. The end mark has to change too.
“Can you swim.” is wrong. The words ask a question and the mark says it does not.
“Can you swim?” is right.
Your turn
Turn each telling sentence into an asking sentence.
- “The door is open.”
- “You are cold.”
- “The bread was warm.”
Check your answers
- “Is the door open?”
- “Are you cold?”
- “Was the bread warm?”
Remember
- Many questions have no question word in them.
- Move a word like is or can or did to the front.
- Change the period to a question mark at the same time.