In the classroom
7. Grammar - Questions (present progressive)
There are two kinds of questions:
1. yes-no questions:
You put am / is / are at the beginning of the sentence:
Man setzt am / is / are an den Anfang des Satzes:
statement: | I | am | watching | TV. |
→ question: | Am | I | watching | TV? |
statement: | He | is | reading | a book. |
→ question: | Is | he | reading | a book? |
statement: | We | are | doing | our homework. |
→ question: | Are | we | doing | our homework? |
You answer to a yes-no question with a short answer. There is NO verb + ~ing in a short answer!
Man beantwortet eine Ja / Nein-Frage mit einer Kurzantwort. Das Verb + ~ing wird in der Kurzantwort nicht wiederholt!
Yes, | I am. |
you / we / they are. | |
he / she / it is. |
(no short forms possible!)
No, | I'm not. |
you / we / they are n't. | |
he / she / it is n't. |
(short forms necessary!)
2. Wh-questions:
Put the question word (who / where / what / why / when) at the beginning of the question:
Setze das Fragewort an den Anfang der Frage:
statement: | I | am | watching | A VIDEO. | |
→ question: | WHAT | am | I | watching | ? |
statement: | He | is | reading | a book IN THE KITCHEN. | |
→ question: | WHERE | is | he | reading | a book? |