Interrogation and Negations — Complete Grammar Guide
What are Interrogative and Negative Sentences?
Interrogative sentences are questions. They are used to ask for information or confirmation.
Negative sentences express the opposite of an affirmative statement. They usually contain words like not, no, never, nobody, nothing, etc.
In Grade 10 SEE English, students are often asked to change affirmative sentences into negative and interrogative forms (and sometimes the opposite).
Why Do We Learn Interrogation and Negations?
Forming correct questions and negatives is essential for speaking and writing English. In the SEE examination, this topic appears in transformation of sentences, fill-in-the-blank questions and error correction. Students must know how to use auxiliaries (is, are, do, does, did, will, can, etc.) correctly.
- To ask questions correctly
- To make negative statements
- To transform sentences as required in SEE
- To improve accuracy in grammar and communication
1. Forming Negative Sentences
To make a sentence negative, we usually add “not” after the auxiliary verb. If there is no auxiliary, we use do / does / did + not.
Negative with the Verb “Be” (am / is / are / was / were)
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| She is a teacher. | She is not a teacher. / She isn’t a teacher. |
| They are students. | They are not students. / They aren’t students. |
| He was late. | He was not late. / He wasn’t late. |
| I am ready. | I am not ready. / I’m not ready. |
Negative with “Have / Has / Had” (as auxiliary)
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| She has finished the work. | She has not finished the work. / She hasn’t finished the work. |
| They have arrived. | They have not arrived. / They haven’t arrived. |
| He had left. | He had not left. / He hadn’t left. |
Negative with Modal Verbs (can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must)
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| She can swim. | She cannot swim. / She can’t swim. |
| They will come. | They will not come. / They won’t come. |
| He should study. | He should not study. / He shouldn’t study. |
| You must finish it. | You must not finish it. / You mustn’t finish it. |
Negative with Ordinary Verbs (no auxiliary) — Use do / does / did
| Tense | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | She likes coffee. | She does not like coffee. / She doesn’t like coffee. |
| Present Simple (plural) | They play football. | They do not play football. / They don’t play football. |
| Past Simple | He went to school. | He did not go to school. / He didn’t go to school. |
Important: After do / does / did, always use the base form of the verb (V1).
2. Forming Interrogative Sentences (Questions)
Yes/No Questions
Yes/No questions can be answered with “Yes” or “No”. We put the auxiliary verb before the subject.
Yes/No Questions with “Be”
| Statement | Yes/No Question |
|---|---|
| She is a teacher. | Is she a teacher? |
| They are students. | Are they students? |
| He was late. | Was he late? |
| I am ready. | Am I ready? |
Yes/No Questions with “Have / Has / Had”
| Statement | Yes/No Question |
|---|---|
| She has finished the work. | Has she finished the work? |
| They have arrived. | Have they arrived? |
| He had left. | Had he left? |
Yes/No Questions with Modals
| Statement | Yes/No Question |
|---|---|
| She can swim. | Can she swim? |
| They will come. | Will they come? |
| He should study. | Should he study? |
Yes/No Questions with Ordinary Verbs — Use Do / Does / Did
| Tense | Statement | Yes/No Question |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | She likes coffee. | Does she like coffee? |
| Present Simple (plural) | They play football. | Do they play football? |
| Past Simple | He went to school. | Did he go to school? |
Important: After do / does / did, always use the base form (V1).
WH Questions
WH questions begin with question words: What, Where, When, Why, Who, Whom, Whose, Which, How, How many, How much, How often, etc.
Structure: WH word + auxiliary + subject + main verb + ... ?
| Statement | WH Question |
|---|---|
| She lives in Kathmandu. | Where does she live? |
| He went to school by bus. | How did he go to school? |
| They are playing football. | What are they playing? |
| She has finished the work. | What has she finished? |
| He will come tomorrow. | When will he come? |
| She can swim very well. | How well can she swim? |
Special Cases
1. Questions with “Who” as Subject
When “Who” is the subject, we do not use do/does/did.
- Who lives here? (Not: Who does live here?)
- Who broke the window? (Not: Who did break the window?)
- Who is coming?
2. Negative Questions
Negative questions are formed by adding “not” (usually in short form) to the auxiliary.
- Isn’t she a teacher?
- Don’t you like coffee?
- Hasn’t he finished?
- Won’t they come?
3. Negative with “Never”, “Nobody”, “Nothing”, “No one”
These words already make the sentence negative. We do not use “not” with them.
- She never comes late. (Not: She does not never come late.)
- Nobody knows the answer.
- Nothing is impossible.
- No one was present.
Important Rules
- 1To make a negative sentence, put “not” after the auxiliary. If there is no auxiliary, use do/does/did + not.
- 2After do/does/did, always use the base form of the verb (V1).
- 3In Yes/No questions, put the auxiliary before the subject.
- 4In WH questions, put the WH word first, then the auxiliary, then the subject.
- 5When “Who” is the subject, do not use do/does/did.
- 6Never use double negatives (e.g., don’t never, not nobody).
- 7The verb form must agree with the subject in questions and negatives as well.
Common Mistakes
- 1Wrong: She does not likes coffee. Correct: She does not like coffee. Reason: After does, use V1.
- 2Wrong: Did he went to school? Correct: Did he go to school? Reason: After did, use V1.
- 3Wrong: Where she lives? Correct: Where does she live? Reason: Need auxiliary “does”.
- 4Wrong: Who does live here? Correct: Who lives here? Reason: “Who” as subject needs no auxiliary.
- 5Wrong: She doesn’t never come late. Correct: She never comes late. Reason: Avoid double negative.
- 6Wrong: Is she not a teacher? (possible but less common in short form) Prefer: Isn’t she a teacher?
- 7Wrong: He not is happy. Correct: He is not happy. Reason: “Not” comes after the auxiliary.
Remember (Memory Tricks)
- No auxiliary → use do / does / did for negatives and questions
- After do / does / did → always V1
- Auxiliary goes before the subject in questions
- WH word + auxiliary + subject + verb
- Who as subject → no do/does/did
- Never + not = wrong (double negative)
- is/are/am/was/were + not → negative with “be”
SEE Exam Tips
- 1First identify the tense and the auxiliary verb in the given sentence.
- 2For negatives: add “not” after the auxiliary, or use do/does/did + not if there is no auxiliary.
- 3For Yes/No questions: move the auxiliary before the subject.
- 4For WH questions: put the WH word first, then the auxiliary, then the subject.
- 5Always check that the main verb is in the correct form (especially after do/does/did).
- 6Avoid double negatives.
- 7Practise changing affirmative → negative and affirmative → interrogative regularly.
How Interrogation and Negations Appear in SEE
- Change the following sentences into negative
- Change the following sentences into interrogative
- Change the following sentences into negative interrogative
- Rewrite as directed
- Fill in the blanks with the correct auxiliary
Quick Revision
- Negative: auxiliary + not or do/does/did + not + V1
- Yes/No Question: Auxiliary + subject + ... ?
- WH Question: WH word + auxiliary + subject + ... ?
- After do/does/did → always base form (V1)
- Who as subject → no auxiliary needed
- Avoid double negatives
- Match the auxiliary with the tense and subject