Question and Negation Formation | English Grammar Guide for French Students

• 1 Questions typically begin with interrogative words or inverted verb patterns
• 2 Negations require auxiliary verbs in most cases
• 3 Both require structural changes to basic sentence patterns
• 4 They serve essential communicative functions in English

1 Move auxiliary verb to the beginning: "You are happy" → "Are you happy?"
2 For present tense: "Do you like?" (with regular verbs)
3 For past tense: "Did you go?"
4 For "be" verbs: "Are you?" "Is he?" "Was she?"

• 1 Present simple: "Do you like pizza?" (from "You like pizza")
• 2 Past simple: "Did she go?" (from "She went")
• 3 Present continuous: "Are you studying?" (from "You are studying")
• 4 Present perfect: "Have you finished?" (from "You have finished")

1 Who: "Who is coming?" (subject question)
2 What: "What do you want?" (object question)
3 Where: "Where do you live?"
4 When: "When did you arrive?"
5 Why: "Why are you crying?"
6 How: "How do you solve this?"

1 Subject questions: Who, what (doesn't use auxiliary): "Who broke the vase?"
2 Object questions: What, whom, which (uses auxiliary): "What did you buy?"
3 Other wh-words: Always use auxiliary: "Where do you live?"
4 Remember: Subject questions don't use do-support

1 Add "not" after the auxiliary: "I am" → "I am not"
2 For present tense: "I do not like" (I don't like)
3 For past tense: "I did not go" (I didn't go)
4 For "be" verbs: "I am not", "She is not", "They were not"

1 Am not: I am not (no contraction for "I'm not")
2 Is not: isn't
3 Are not: aren't
4 Do not: don't
5 Does not: doesn't
6 Did not: didn't

Tense	Statement	Question	Negative
Present Simple	I like pizza	Do you like pizza?	I don't like pizza
Past Simple	She went home	Did she go home?	She didn't go home
Present Continuous	You are studying	Are you studying?	You aren't studying
Present Perfect	They have finished	Have they finished?	They haven't finished
Be Verb	He is happy	Is he happy?	He isn't happy

1 Positive statement + negative tag: "You like pizza, don't you?"
2 Negative statement + positive tag: "You don't like pizza, do you?"
3 Use the same auxiliary as in the statement
4 Use the same subject pronoun in the tag

1 Expecting a positive answer: "Don't you like it?"
2 Seeking confirmation: "Isn't that right?"
3 Polite requests: "Wouldn't you mind...?"
4 Surprise: "Haven't you finished yet?"

• 1 Using "do" with "be" verbs: "Do you are happy?" (incorrect)
• 2 Forgetting auxiliary verbs: "You like pizza?" (incorrect)
• 3 Using wrong auxiliary: "Does you like?" (incorrect)
• 4 Double negatives: "I don't like nothing" (incorrect)

1 ✓ Correct: "Are you happy?"
2 ✗ Incorrect: "Do you are happy?"
3 ✓ Correct: "Do you like pizza?"
4 ✗ Incorrect: "You like pizza?"

1. Statement: "She reads books every day" → Question: _______

2. Statement: "They visited Paris" → Question: _______

3. Statement: "He is a doctor" → Question: _______

4. Statement: "We are going to the cinema" → Question: _______

5. Statement: "It rains often here" → Question: _______

6. Statement: "I like chocolate" → Negative: _______

7. Statement: "She went to school" → Negative: _______

8. Statement: "They are happy" → Negative: _______

9. Statement: "He plays football" → Negative: _______

10. Statement: "We have finished" → Negative: _______

1. Does she read books every day?

2. Did they visit Paris?

3. Is he a doctor?

4. Are we going to the cinema?

5. Does it rain often here?

6. I don't like chocolate.

7. She didn't go to school.

8. They aren't happy.

9. He doesn't play football.

10. We haven't finished.

1 English: Requires auxiliary verbs for questions (Do you like?)
2 French: Uses inversion (Aimes-tu?) or est-ce que (Est-ce que tu aimes?)
3 English: Uses do-support extensively
4 French: No equivalent to do-support system

• 1 English requires auxiliary verbs for most questions
• 2 Practice using do-support consistently
• 3 Remember to invert subject and auxiliary in questions
• 4 Double negatives are incorrect in English

1 Questions: "Move auxiliaries to the front!"
2 Negations: "Add 'not' after auxiliary!"
3 Remember: "Do for present, Did for past"
4 Practice: Form questions and negations daily

• 1 Practice with real sentences daily
• 2 Focus on the auxiliary verb patterns
• 3 Read English texts to see natural usage
• 4 Create your own example sentences

• Questions require auxiliary verbs in most cases
• Negations add "not" after auxiliary verbs
• Be verbs follow different patterns
• Do-support is essential for present/past simple
• Subject questions don't use do-support

Remember: Questions move auxiliaries to front! Negations add "not" after auxiliaries!

• Start with simple present/past questions
• Practice with "be" verbs separately
• Focus on auxiliary patterns