Lesson 5 - Family
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This page: Learn how to form possessives and questions in English.

Francisco's book
 

Possessives in English
Grammar

Use of the possessive with 's in English

To indicate who owns something, we use the apostrophe and the letter S ('s). 

      Sue's book

If you want to use the possessive with a plural word, place an apostrophe after the -s that makes the word plural.

      the students' books

 

Exercise - Possessives in English

The second word belongs to the first word. Write the possessive.

example
Mike - car   

1.  Dave - paper 

 

2.  Sarah - computer 

 

3.  Jenny - sister 

 

4.  the students - books      (Be careful! This noun is plural.)

 

5.  Karen - pencil 

 

6.  Mary - friend 

 

7.  my parents - house 

 

8.  my brother - wife

 

 

How to Form Questions in English

Yes/No Questions

Yes/No questions (those that can be answered with "Yes" or "No") are formed in different ways depending on the verb. In this lesson, we'll review how to form Yes/No questions with the verb to be and with other verbs in the present tense.

Video - How to form questions

Watch this video from "The English Minute" which teaches how to form Yes/No questions in English. The English Minute (www.theenglishminute.com) is a website with short lessons that you can study on your mobile phone.

 

to be: How to form questions

To ask a question with the verb to be, you must reverse the usual sentence order. The verb comes first, followed by the subject.

      She is a teacher.
      Is she a teacher?

      He is an actor.
      Is he an actor?

      They are teachers.
      Are they teachers?

      You are a mother.
      Are you a mother?

 

Present Tense: How to form questions

Asking a question with a verb in the present tense can be a little more complicated. Follow these rules:

1. First person, second person or third person plural
   If the subject is I, you, we, they, or an equivalent noun (such as "my sister and I" or "the students"), we use "do".
2. Third person singular
   If the subject is he, she, it or an equivalent singular noun (such as "Bob" or "the car", we use "does".

After do or does, the subject of the question follows, and then the verb in its basic form:

• examples:
• Do you like pizza?
• Does she play tennis?

What do "first person", "second person", and "third person" mean?

• First person: Refers to me (I) or a group that includes me (like we - we, which includes other people and me).
• Second person: Is the person I am speaking to (you).
• Third person: Refers to other people or things (neither you nor I). Examples: he, she, it, they, the car, Bob.

You play. Do you play? They play. Do they play? The children play. Do the children play?

He plays. Does he play? Maria plays. Does Maria play?

 

Exercise - Forming questions

Change these sentences into questions. First, identify whether the verb is to be or another verb in the present tense to know how to form the question. Make sure you use correct capitalization and include the question mark at the end.

example
Frank is her brother. 

1.  They're friends. 

 

2.  She is a teacher. 

 

3.  She's his sister. 

 

4.  They work in the bank. 

 

5.  He walks in the afternoon. 

 

6.  He lives in Mexico. 

 

7.  The students study English. 

 

8.  Kelly is a teacher. 

 

9. The nurse helps the patients. 

 

10. The waiters serve the food. 

 

 

Question Words

► Who - used to ask about people
► What - used to ask about things, actions, or situations
► Where - used to ask about places
► When - used to ask about the time or moment when something happens
► Why - used to ask about the reasons or motives behind something
► How - used to ask about the manner or method in which something is done
► How many - used to ask about quantity

Rules for forming questions with question words

1. When the question word takes the place of the subject
If the question word (from the list above) replaces the subject of the sentence, you don't change the word order. The subject is the person or thing that performs the action of the verb (it usually comes before the verb).

      Question
      Who is in the house?

      Answer
      Brenda is in the house.

In this case, the order is not changed because the subject is the unknown information. Who takes the place of the unknown subject.

2. When the question word takes the place of part of the predicate
If the question word replaces a part of the predicate (the verb or any element other than the subject), the question is formed following the rules for Yes/No questions.

Question What do they teach?           Answer They teach English.

Question Where does Scott work? Answer Scott works at the university.

Explanation:

• What and Where represent the unknown information that will be answered.
• In the first question we use do because the subject is they (third person plural).
• In the second question we use does because the subject is Scott (third person singular).

 

Exercise - Question Words

Select the question word that can be used to replace the underlined information when forming a question.

example
Ann works at the restaurant. 
(We use "Who" because Ann is a person.)

1.  Ann works at the restaurant. 
       Who How Where When Why What How many
      

2.  Frank walks in the park on Sundays. 
       How What Where When Why Who How many
        

3.  The book is on the table. 
       Who Why Where When How What How many
        

4.  The book is on the table. 
       Who How Where When Why What How many
        

5.  Larry works in the school. 
       Where What How When Why Who How many
         

6.  Twenty two students are in the class. 
       Who How Where When Why What How many
        

 

Exercise - Subject or predicate?

Using the same sentences as above, we will now determine whether the underlined information is part of the subject (performs the action of the verb and is usually before the verb) or part of the predicate (not part of the subject). When we form questions with these sentences in the following exercise, we will not change the word order in the sentences where the question word takes the place of the subject or part of the subject. In the sentences where the question word takes the place of part of the predicate, we will change them according to the rules we studied in the Yes/No Questions section.

example
Ann works at the restaurant. 
("Susan," the underlined word, is the subject because it performs the action of the verb and comes before the verb.)

1.  Ann works at the restaurant. 
       subject predicate
      

2.  Frank walks in the park on Sundays. 
       subject predicate
      

3.  The book is on the table. 
       subject predicate
      

4.  The book is on the table. 
       subject predicate
      

5.  Larry works in the school. 
       subject predicate
      

6.  Twenty two students are in the class. 
       subject predicate
      

 

Exercise - Questions with question words

Write the question. The underlined information is the information that will be replaced with the question word (What, Where, etc.)

examples

Question

Answer
Sam teaches at the university.    
("Sam" is the subject)

Question

Answer
Sam teaches at the university.  
("at the university" is the object)

1.
Question

 
Answer
Ann works at the restaurant. (Who?)

 

2.
Question

 
Answer
Ann works at the restaurant. (Where?)

 

3.
Question

 
Answer
Sue walks in the park on Sundays. (When?)

 

4.
Question

 
Answer
The paper is on the table. (Where?)

 

5.
Question

 
Answer
The paper is on the table. (What?)

 

6.
Question

 
Answer
Larry works in the school. (Who?)

 

7.
Question

 
Answer
Twenty two students are there. (How many?)

 

Exercise - The interview

You are a reporter for "Hollywood Magazine." You have to interview the famous actor Bart Slick. Write the questions for the interview.

REPORTER - (Where work?) Example

BART SLICK- I work at Star Studios in Hollywood.

REPORTER - (Where live?)
 

BART SLICK - I live in a mansion in Beverly Hills, California.

REPORTER - (What do weekend?)
 

BART SLICK - I fly my airplane or swim in my pool on the weekends. 

REPORTER - (Where wife?)
 

BART SLICK- My wife is in Paris shopping.

REPORTER - Thank you for the interview Bart.

 

Instructions Identify the error in the following sentences and write the corrected version.       example       He are a student. → He is a student.  1. Where he is?     2. This is book of Ronda.    3. Does he walks to school?     4. They have thier books.     5. This is me computer.

 

Writing

Write three questions.

Example: 
Where do you live?
Does he speak English?
How many books do you have?

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Listening Exercise

 

Beginning English - Lesson 5 - Family
Vocabulary - Grammar - Listening - Dialogue - Reading - Pronunciation - Dictation - Game

 

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