Asking Questions

After the subject

Step 1: In a telling sentence, we first say who or what the sentence is about – this is the subject. Step 2: Then comes the helping verb (like is, was, are, were). Step 3: For example: 'Nilesh (subject) was (helping verb) absent.' Step 4: In a question, the helping verb moves before the subject. Step 5: So in a telling sentence, the helping verb comes after the subject.

At the beginning of the sentence

Step 1: To change a telling sentence into a question, we change the word order. Step 2: The helping verb (is, was, are, were) moves to the very beginning. Step 3: For example, 'She is writing.' becomes 'Is she writing?' Step 4: The helping verb 'is' has moved to the front. Step 5: This is the key rule for forming simple questions.

were

Step 1: A helping verb helps the main verb to show action or a state. Step 2: In this sentence, 'twinkling' is the main verb (the action). Step 3: 'Were' helps 'twinkling' – it tells us the action was happening in the past. Step 4: 'Stars' is the subject, and 'sky' is a place. Step 5: So 'were' is the helping verb, and it will move to the front to make a question: 'Were the stars twinkling in the sky?'

Were the stars twinkling in the sky?

Step 1: The telling sentence is 'The stars were twinkling in the sky.' Step 2: The helping verb is 'were'. Step 3: Move 'were' to the beginning of the sentence. Step 4: The sentence becomes 'Were the stars twinkling in the sky?' Step 5: 'Are the stars twinkling in the sky?' is wrong because the original uses 'were' (past), not 'are' (present).