English for Geographers

Forming questions

Question formation

Would you like to know how to form questions?
If so, this is the right place to be.

Examples

  • Are you hungry?
  • Will it rain tomorrow?
  • Do you speak any other language apart from English?
  • Are you paying attention?
  • Can agents of S.H.I.E.L.D hold their breath for 10 minutes?
  • What do you know about climate change?
  • Where do polar bears live?
  • How long have you been studying geography?
  • What causes tornadoes?
  • Who discovered America?
  • Who wants to become a cartographer?
  • How long does it take to fly from the Czech Republic to Tasmania?

Over to you

What do you notice about question formation?

  • Where do you put the verb?
  • Where do you put the subject, e.g. "you", "it" or "agents of S.H.I.E.L.D? 
FAQs

Yes, you're right.

We put the verb at the beginning 
ARE you hungry?

Well, but when there are two verbs?
DO you SPEAK any other language apart from English?
ARE you PAYING attention?
CAN agents of S.H.I.E.L.D  HOLD their breath for 10 minutes?

You put the subject (I, you , he, Agents of Shield etc.) between the two verbs. The auxiliary (do, are, can) comes before the subject, and the full verb after the subject.

OK, but what about when the question starts with a question word, like what, who, why and whose?
WHAT do you know about climate change?
WHERE do polar bears live?
HOW LONG have you been studying geography?

Yes, the question word comes at the beginning, but it's followed by an auxiliary:
WHEN DID the Wednesday groups give their final presentations?

Ha! But how do you explain these questions? There's no auxiliary (see, I too can use fancy words)
What CAUSES tornadoes?
Who DISCOVERED America?

Hm, that's easy! These are SUBJECT questions.

Well, that doesn't tell me much.

It means that you are asking who or which person or thing does something. Let's try:
What CAUSES tornadoes? - Supercells.
Who DISCOVERED America? - Columbus.

Careful, you only make these auxiliary-free questions when you use the present and past simple tenses.
Note that in the PRESENT simple, you have to remember to use the -s ending:
What helpS you to sleep well at night?

In the PAST simple, remember to use the -(e)d ending (or irregular verb past form):
Who watchED videos as research source for their posters?
Who GAVE you feedback on your weekly journals?

OK, OK, I get it. There's one more thing, though. How will you explain these questions:

What are you talking ABOUT? 
Why is ABOUT at the end???

Well, in less formal English, it is normal to put prepositions at the end:
Which conference did you present your poster AT?

However, if you would like to sound very formal, you put it before the question word:
AT which conference did you present your poster?

Does that make sense?

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