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Negative Sentences and Questions in English

The rules for forming negative and interrogative sentences using auxiliary verbs in English

Forming negative sentences and forming questions in English may seem complicated at first. The relatively many English verb tenses use different auxiliary verbs that take part in the changes needed when expressing negation and interrogation. Despite having seemingly different grammar rules for each verb tense, there are actually a few simple grammar rules which are applied systematically across all tenses and verb forms. To know more, read these sections of our review on negation and question formation in English.

1. Auxiliary Verbs
2. Negative sentences
3. Yes \ No questions
4. Wh questions
5. Wh Subject questions
6. Summary

1. Auxiliary Verbs

The verb forms used as auxiliary verbs in English are:
1. to be

am,is,are

was,were

be,been,being

2. to do

do,does

did

3. to have

have,has

had

having

4. The modal verbs

can,could	shall,should	must
may,might	will,would

Keep these verbs in mind, as you encounter their uses in our English grammar articles.

2. Negative Sentences

A negative sentence (or statement) states that something is not true or incorrect. A negative adverb has to be added in order to negate or “cancel” the validity of the sentence. This “negation” element is created according to the following general rule.

The Negation Rule: In English, in order to claim that something is not true, you form a negative sentence by adding the word not after the first auxiliary verb in the positive sentence. If there is no auxiliary verb in the positive sentence, as in the Present Simple and Past Simple tenses, then you add one (in both these cases, the auxiliary verb do).

Watch out:
• When an auxiliary verb (including modals) is used, the main verb is not inflected (no s or ed ending), meaning that either the base form or past participle is used.

• The verb to be uses a different negation pattern. Click here for more information.

Review the following table for examples of negation in English. Some examples use the contracted forms more used in informal writing and speech, and some others use the full forms.

Tense	Negative Element + contracted forms	Example
Present Simple	do+not = don’t does+not = doesn’t	I do not play. She doesn’t play.
Past Simple	did+not = didn’t	I didn’t play.
Present Progressive	am + not (*no amn’t) is+not = isn’t are+not = aren't	I am not playing. He is not playing. We aren’t playing.
Past Progressive	was+not = wasn’t were+not = weren’t	I wasn’t playing. They were not playing.
Present Perfect	have+not = haven’t has+not = hasn’t	You haven’t played. She has not played.
Present Perfect Progressive	have+not+been= haven’t been has+not+been = hasn’t been	I have not been playing. She hasn’t been playing.
Past Perfect	had+not = hadn’t	You hadn’t played.
Past Perfect Progressive	had+not+been = hadn’t been	She hadn’t been playing.
Future Simple	will+not = won’t	I won’t play.
Future Perfect	will+not+have = won’t have	He will not have played.
Conditional	would+not	She wouldn’t play.
Conditional perfect	would+not+have	She wouldn’t have played.
Modals	can + not = can’t or cannot (formal) should+not = shouldn’t	I can’t play. I cannot play. We shouldn’t play.

Note:
In informal writing settings, you can contract the auxiliary verb with either the sentence subject or the word not. In formal writing settings, refrain from contracting any words.
She is not playing. [formal]
She isn’t playing. = She’s not playing. [informal]

Questions

A question (interrogative sentence) asks about some missing information the speaker would like to have. There are 3 types of questions in English, each asking about a different kind of requested information, and having a different formation rule. Questions usually use a rising intonation towards the end of the sentence, also in positive sentences used as questions.
You like ice-cream ?
[positive sentence intonated as a question]

Do you like ice cream ?
[yes/no question]

3. Yes / No questions

A Yes/No question is a closed question, meaning that it has one of two answers, yes or no. It asks whether something is true or not, i.e., whether the original positive sentence is valid. A question element needs to precede the subject in order to form this question. The “question element” is formed according to the following rule:

The Y/N Question Rule: To form a yes/no question in English, transfer the first auxiliary verb that appears before the main verb in the positive sentence to the position before the subject. If there is no auxiliary verb, as in the Present Simple and Past Simple, then you add one (in both these cases, the auxiliary verb do).

Watch out:
• When an auxiliary verb (including modals) is used, the main verb is not inflected (no s or ed ending), meaning that either the base form or past participle is used.

• The verb to be uses a different yes/no question pattern. Click here for more information.

Review the following table for examples of yes/no questions in English.

Tense	Question Element	Examples
Present Simple	Do Does	Do I play ? Does she play ?
Past Simple	Did	Did I play ?
Present Progressive	Am Is Are	Am I playing ? Is he playing ? Are we playing ?
Past Progressive	Was Were	Was I playing ? Were they playing ?
Present Perfect	Have Has	Have you played ? Has she played ?
Present Perfect Progressive	Have+Subject+been Has+Subject+been	Have you been playing ? Has she been playing ?
Past Perfect	Had	Had they played ?
Past Perfect Progressive	Had+Subject+been	Had she been playing ?
Future Simple	Will	Will I play ?
Future Perfect	Will+Subject+have	Will he have played ?
Conditional	Would	Would she play ?
Conditional perfect	Would+Subject+have	Would she have played ?
Modals	Can Should	Can I play ? Should I play ?

4. Wh questions

A Wh question is an open question, meaning that it can have any number of answers. It asks about some missing information the speaker needs. This corresponds to the different sentence elements, such as the verb, objects, manner, place, time, purpose, etc. Questions about the subject have a special form (see the next section). A question element needs to precede the subject in order to form this question. The “question element” is formed according to the following rule.

The Wh Question Rule: To form a Wh question in English, add a Wh question word before the corresponding yes/no question.

Watch out:
• When an auxiliary verb (including modals) is used, the main verb is not inflected (no s or ed ending), meaning that either the base form or past participle is used.

• The verb to be uses a different Wh question pattern. Click here for more information.

Review the following table for examples of Wh questions in English.

Tense	Question about:	Example
Present Simple	Place	Where does she play ?
Past Simple	Time	When did they play ?
Present Progressive	Manner	How is he playing ?
Past Progressive	Direct object	What was he playing ?
Present Perfect	Indirect object	With whom have you played ?
Present Perfect Progressive	Choice	Which game have you been playing ?
Past Perfect	Reason	Why had they played ?
Past Perfect Progressive	Frequency	How often had she been playing ?
Future Simple	Number	How much will I play ?
Modals	Possession	Whose role can he play ?
Conditional	Duration	How long would it take ?
Conditional perfect	Age	How old would he have been ?

5. Wh Subject questions

A Wh Subject question is an open question, meaning that it can have any number of answers. It asks about missing information the speaker needs about the subject of the sentence (performer of the action). A question element needs to precede the subject in order to form this question. The “question element” is formed according to the following rule.

The Subject Wh Question Rule: To form a subject Wh-question in English, replace the subject with a question word, using who (for people) or what (for non-people) ? The word order is that of a positive sentence.

Watch out:
• There is no auxiliary verb in Wh Subject questions in the Present Simple and Past Simple tenses. The question word simply replaces the subject.

• In the present tenses, the verb is always in the third person singular, using the appropriate verb form.

Review the following table for examples of Wh Subject questions in English.

Tense	Question about:	Example
Present Simple	People	Who plays there every week ?
Past Simple	Non-people	What made all that noise ?
Present Progressive	People	Who is playing today ?
Past Progressive	Non-people	What was making all that noise ?
Present Perfect	People	Who’s written this essay ?
Modals	People	Who can help me ?

6. Summary

As this review has shown, the rules for negation and question formation are very systematic in English. Each verb tense uses its specific auxiliary verbs and follows the same rules. Reviewing grammar rules is not enough to make you use them properly. The more you pick them up in your reading, and more importantly, use them in your English writing, the better you will use them. The WhiteSmoke English grammar and writing software is an excellent solution to check up on your grammar, powered by a highly advanced contextually-based grammar engine.