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REET L1+L2 · English (Language I/II)

Framing Questions & Question Tags: Forming Questions and Tag Rules

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This page covers the rules for turning a statement into the right question (Yes/No and Wh-question), the difference between questioning the subject and the object, and every important rule for question tags, all with examples. REET 2024 carried 6 questions on this topic — 5 on framing questions and 1 on a question tag.

  • 6 questions in REET 2024
  • Class 5–10 grammar level
  • 8-minute read
Verified 17 September 2026 · Source: Question tags — LearnEnglish, British Council

How REET asks this topic

REET 2024 gave a sentence and asked for the 'correct question': 'Rani went to Delhi by bus' → Did Rani go…?, 'The merchant left the shutter opened yesterday' → When did the merchant leave…?, 'The angry neighbours had killed the mad dog' → Who had killed…?, 'They will not help their needy neighbour' → Who will they not help?, and 'He has given a pen to Radha' → To whom has he given a pen? One question asked for the tag on 'I am sick' (aren't I?). The wrong options are deliberately built around traps — V2 after did (did…went), a shifted tense, and who/whom/whose swapped for each other. In short, the exam is testing whether you can pick the right auxiliary verb, keep the tense steady, and choose the correct question word.

How to Build Yes/No Questions

A question that can be answered with Yes or No is called a Yes/No (general) question. Rule: bring the auxiliary verb before the subject and put a question mark at the end. He is reading → Is he reading? They have finished → Have they finished? She can drive → Can she drive?

When a sentence has no auxiliary verb (Simple Present and Simple Past), you add do/does/did, and the main verb returns to its base form (V1). Rani goes to school → Does Rani go to school? Rani went to Delhi by bus → Did Rani go to Delhi by bus? The most common mistake is 'Did Rani went…?' — did has already marked the sentence as past, so went must become go. Framing a question never changes the tense of the sentence: a sentence with had killed forms its question with had, not do/did.

The structure for building Wh-questions

What the question is aboutQuestion wordExample (statement → question)
Subject (a person)Who + verb (no do/did)The angry neighbours had killed the mad dog. → Who had killed the mad dog?
Object (a person)Whom/Who + aux + subject + VThey will not help their needy neighbour. → Whom (Who) will they not help?
A person after a prepositionTo whom / With whom …He has given a pen to Radha. → To whom has he given a pen?
Object/thingWhatShe bought a new bag. → What did she buy?
TimeWhenThe merchant left the shutter opened yesterday. → When did the merchant leave the shutter opened?
PlaceWhereThey live in Jaipur. → Where do they live?
ReasonWhyHe was absent because he was ill. → Why was he absent?
Manner/meansHowRani went to Delhi by bus. → How did Rani go to Delhi?
PossessionWhoseThis is Mohan's book. → Whose book is this?
Number/quantityHow many / How muchHe has three cows. → How many cows does he have?
Choice between optionsWhichI like the red pen. → Which pen do you like?

Formula: Wh-word + auxiliary + subject + main verb + the rest of the sentence? — except that a question about the subject puts Who/What directly before the verb.

Subject Questions vs Object Questions

This is REET's favourite trap. When a question is about the subject, Who/What itself becomes the subject; the word order of the sentence doesn't change, and do/does/did is never added in Simple Present/Past — Ram broke the glass → Who broke the glass? (not Who did break…). The angry neighbours had killed the mad dog → Who had killed the mad dog?

When a question is about the object, Whom (or, informally, Who) is used, followed by the auxiliary verb + subject — Ram broke the glass → What did Ram break? They will not help their needy neighbour → Whom will they not help? Notice that 'Whom had the mad dog killed?' flips the meaning entirely (who did the dog kill?), which is why such options are wrong. Right after a preposition, it is always whom, never who — To whom has he given a pen?

Rules for Question Tags

SituationRuleExample
GeneralPositive sentence → negative tag; negative sentence → positive tag; the tag's verb and pronoun echo the sentence'sShe is a teacher, isn't she? / They can't swim, can they?
Simple Present/Past (no auxiliary)Tag built with do/does/didHe plays well, doesn't he? / You went there, didn't you?
I amPositive sentence gets the tag 'aren't I?'I am sick, aren't I?
Let'sTag is 'shall we?'Let's go for a walk, shall we?
ImperativeTag is 'will you?' (also won't you / would you, for politeness)Shut the door, will you? / Don't be late, will you?
Negative wordsA sentence with never, hardly, seldom, scarcely, no, nobody, nothing is treated as negative → positive tagHe never tells lies, does he? / Nobody came, did they?
There is/areTag uses 'there'There is a problem, isn't there?
Everyone/somebody/nobodyPronoun 'they'Everyone was present, weren't they?
Nothing/everything, this/thatPronoun 'it'Nothing happened, did it? / This is your pen, isn't it?
The tag's formNegative tags are usually contracted; the subject in the tag is always a pronounRadha is tall, isn't she? (not isn't Radha?)

How to Teach This to Children

Classes 4–5: Question-word chart

Put up a picture story on the board and hand out cards for Who, What, Where, When, Why, How. Whichever child holds a card asks a question about the picture, and another answers.

Classes 6–8: Hot seat

One child sits in the 'hot seat' as a character from a lesson (say, a merchant), and the rest of the class asks them Wh-questions. This brings correct question-forming into speech.

Practising question tags

An 'Agree with me' game: the teacher says 'It is hot today, …?' and children complete the tag; then focus on intonation — a falling tone for a real confirmation, a rising tone for genuine doubt.

Teaching aids

Wh-word flash cards, auxiliary-verb cards (is, are, did, has), and sentence strips that can be cut up and rearranged in the right order.

Common misconceptions

V2 after did (Did he went?), adding did to a subject question (Who did break the glass?), who after a preposition, and tags like 'I am…, am not I?'

Assessment idea

Give a paragraph and have students frame questions on the underlined parts (subject, object, time, place), and write tags for 5 sentences; when an answer is wrong, ask the child to state the rule themselves.

Memory trick / exam tip

Run three checks before choosing a question: (1) is the tense unchanged? (2) is there V1 after did/does? (3) if it's a subject question, is there no do/did in the middle? For tags, remember 'flip it, shorten it, pronoun it' — and lock in three exceptions: I am → aren't I, Let's → shall we, imperative → will you.

Questions asked in REET 2024 (solved)

Question 44

‘They will not help their needy neighbour.’ The correct question for the sentence is

  1. AWhat did he do ?
  2. BWhy will the neighbour not help ?
  3. CWho will they not help ?
  4. DWhat did the neighbour do ?

Explanation

वाक्य में ‘their needy neighbour’ object है और क्रिया ‘will not help’ है। object के बारे में प्रश्न बनाने पर ‘Who(m) will they not help?’ बनता है, जिसमें सहायक क्रिया ‘will’ और कर्ता ‘they’ यथावत रहते हैं। (A) और (D) में tense (did) बदल गया है तथा (B) में कर्ता ही बदल गया है।

Question 59

‘I am sick.’ The correct question tag for this sentence is

  1. AAren’t I ?
  2. BAre you ?
  3. CAm I ?
  4. DAm you ?

Explanation

‘I am’ वाले सकारात्मक वाक्य का negative question tag मानक अंग्रेज़ी में ‘aren’t I?’ होता है (‘amn’t I’ प्रचलित नहीं है)। सकारात्मक वाक्य के साथ negative tag आता है, इसलिए ‘Am I?’ गलत है और ‘you’ कर्ता बदल देता है।

Question 43

Select the correct question for : The merchant left the shutter opened yesterday.

  1. AWhen did the merchant left the shutter opened ?
  2. BWhen had the merchant leave the shutter opened ?
  3. CWhen did the merchant leave the shutter opened ?
  4. DWhen does the merchant left the shutter opened ?

Explanation

वाक्य past simple ('left') में है। प्रश्न बनाते समय 'did' लगाया जाता है और मुख्य क्रिया अपने पहले रूप (V1) में आती है: 'When did the merchant leave the shutter opened?'। विकल्प A में 'did' के साथ 'left' गलत है, B में 'had leave' और D में 'does ... left' गलत हैं।

Question 56

The correct question for this sentence is : ‘The angry neighbours had killed the mad dog.’

  1. AWhy do the angry neighbours kill the mad dog ?
  2. BWhy was the mad dog killed ?
  3. CWhom had the mad dog killed ?
  4. DWho had killed the mad dog ?

Explanation

वाक्य 'The angry neighbours had killed the mad dog.' में कर्ता (subject) 'the angry neighbours' है। कर्ता के बारे में प्रश्न 'Who' से बनता है और वाक्य का tense (had killed) वही रहता है: 'Who had killed the mad dog?'। विकल्प A में tense बदल गया है और C का अर्थ ही उल्टा है।

Question 32

Choose the right question for ‘Rani went to Delhi by bus’.

  1. ADoes Rani go to Delhi by bus ?
  2. BDid Rani go to Delhi by bus ?
  3. CDid Rani went to Delhi by bus ?
  4. DDo Rani go to Delhi by bus ?

Explanation

वाक्य 'Rani went to Delhi by bus' Simple Past में है; इसका प्रश्नवाचक रूप Did + subject + V1 से बनता है: 'Did Rani go to Delhi by bus ?'. (C) में did के साथ went (V2) गलत है, और (A)/(D) Present tense में हैं।

Question 35

Choose the right question for ‘He has given a pen to Radha’.

  1. ATo whom has he given a pen ?
  2. BTo who has he given a pen ?
  3. CTo whose has he given a pen ?
  4. DTo what has he given a pen ?

Explanation

'He has given a pen to Radha' में Radha (व्यक्ति) के बारे में प्रश्न बनाना है; preposition 'to' के बाद object रूप 'whom' आता है — 'To whom has he given a pen ?'. 'who' subject रूप है, 'whose' स्वामित्व और 'what' वस्तु के लिए है।

Practice questions

Question 1

Choose the correct question tag: ‘She plays the sitar well, ______?’

  1. Aisn’t she
  2. Bdoesn’t she
  3. Cdoes she
  4. Ddidn’t she

Explanation

The sentence is Simple Present (plays) and positive, so the negative form of does gives the tag 'doesn't she?'

Question 2

Choose the correct question tag: ‘Let’s start the class, ______?’

  1. Ashall we
  2. Bwill you
  3. Cdon’t we
  4. Dshan’t we

Explanation

A suggestion sentence beginning with Let's takes the tag 'shall we?'

Question 3

Choose the correct question tag: ‘He hardly ever comes late, ______?’

  1. Adoesn’t he
  2. Bdoes he
  3. Cisn’t he
  4. Ddidn’t he

Explanation

'hardly' carries a negative meaning, so the sentence is treated as negative and the tag is positive — 'does he?'

Question 4

Choose the correct question for: ‘They moved to Ajmer in 2019.’

  1. AWhen did they moved to Ajmer?
  2. BWhen they moved to Ajmer?
  3. CWhen did they move to Ajmer?
  4. DWhen do they move to Ajmer?

Explanation

A Simple Past sentence forms its question with 'did + subject + V1'; option A has V2 after did, B has no auxiliary, and D shifts the tense.

Question 5

Choose the correct question for the underlined part: ‘The dog bit the postman.’ (underlined: The dog)

  1. AWhat the dog bit?
  2. BWhom did the dog bite?
  3. CWhat bit the postman?
  4. DWhat did the postman bite?

Explanation

A question about the subject (The dog) puts What itself in the subject's place, with no did — so 'What bit the postman?' is correct. A has the wrong word order, B questions the object, and D reverses the meaning.

Question 6

Choose the correct question for: ‘This is Meena’s bicycle.’

  1. AWho is this bicycle?
  2. BWhose bicycle is this?
  3. CWhom bicycle is this?
  4. DWhich is this bicycle?

Explanation

A question about possession (Meena's) is formed with Whose — Whose bicycle is this?

Question 7

Choose the correct question tag: ‘Nobody called me yesterday, ______?’

  1. Adid they
  2. Bdidn’t they
  3. Cdid he
  4. Ddidn’t anybody

Explanation

Nobody carries a negative meaning, so the tag is positive; for nobody/everyone the tag uses the pronoun 'they' — did they?

Question 8

Choose the correct question for: ‘She has lived here for ten years.’

  1. AHow long has she lived here?
  2. BHow long she has lived here?
  3. CHow long did she lived here?
  4. DHow much has she lived here?

Explanation

Duration is asked about with 'How long', followed by auxiliary has + subject + V3; the tense stays Present Perfect.

Question 9

A Class 6 learner writes ‘Did you went to the fair?’. The most suitable feedback from the teacher is to:

  1. Across out the sentence and give zero marks
  2. Bhelp the learner notice that ‘did’ already shows past time, so the verb returns to its base form
  3. Cask the learner to avoid questions with ‘did’
  4. Dmake the learner copy the rule ten times

Explanation

Constructive feedback helps the learner notice the mistake themselves — did already marks past time, so the verb returns to its base form. Crossing it out or making the child copy the rule as punishment doesn't support learning.

Question 10

Choose the correct question tag: ‘Open the window, ______?’

  1. Ado you
  2. Bwill you
  3. Cshall we
  4. Daren’t you

Explanation

The standard tag for an imperative sentence is 'will you?'; 'shall we?' belongs to sentences with Let's.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the question tag for 'I am'?+

The standard tag for a positive 'I am…' sentence is 'aren't I?', as in I am late, aren't I? The negative 'I'm not late' takes the tag 'am I?'

What is the question tag for a sentence with Let's?+

Suggestion sentences beginning with Let's take the tag 'shall we?' — Let's play, shall we?

What is the difference between Who and Whom?+

Who is used for the subject (Who called you?); whom is used for the object or after a preposition (Whom did you call? / To whom did you write?).

What verb form follows Did?+

Did is always followed by the base form (V1) of the verb — Did Rani go? 'Did Rani went?' is wrong.

How many questions come from Question Tags and Framing Questions in REET?+

REET 2024 carried 6 questions on this topic — 5 on choosing the correct question for a sentence and 1 on the tag for 'I am sick'.

Read next

Direct & Indirect Speech

Rules for the reporting verb, tense shifts and pronoun changes, with examples.

Phonetics & Sounds

Vowel-consonant sounds, stress, intonation and phonetic symbols.

REET Syllabus 2026

The complete subject-wise syllabus and exam pattern for Level 1 and Level 2.

REET 2024 Solved Paper

Official questions from every shift, with the BSER answer key and explanations.

Official Sources

  1. Question tags — LearnEnglish, British Council
  2. Questions — English Grammar Today, Cambridge Dictionary
  3. BSER — REET 2024 official question papers and final answer keys (original PDFs; no longer hosted on the board portal)

Change Log

  • 17 September 2026 — English page published — mirrors the fact-checked Hindi page, independently bilingual-accuracy checked