Adult ESL/ELL High Beginner Quiz: Forming Present And Past Questions
15 questions · exam conditions
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Forming Present And Past QuestionsQuestion 1 of 15

  you   TV last night? No, I  .

Did / watch / didn't
Did / watched / didn't
Were / watch / didn't
Did / watch / don't
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Adult ESL/ELL High Beginner Quiz

Adult ESL/ELL High Beginner Quiz: Forming Present And Past Questions

Practice Forming Present And Past Questions in Adult ESL/ELL High Beginner with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Forming Present And Past Questions, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for Adult ESL/ELL High Beginner.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

  you   TV last night? No, I  .

  1. Did / watch / didn't (correct answer)
  2. Did / watched / didn't
  3. Were / watch / didn't
  4. Did / watch / don't
Explanation: Use Did to form a past simple yes/no question, and the main verb stays in base form: watch. The short negative answer needs the auxiliary did plus not: didn't. The tempting error uses watched after Did, but the base form is required after did.

Question 2

  your parents at the store now? No, they  .

  1. Do / don't
  2. Are / aren't (correct answer)
  3. Is / isn't
  4. Are / don't
Explanation: Your parents are plural, so use are with them: Are your parents at the store now? For a negative short answer, keep the same verb: No, they aren't. Do/don't is the tempting mistake because it looks like a question about action, but at the store is a location, which needs be, not do.

Question 3

  you at the library on Tuesday? Yes, I  .

  1. Did / was
  2. Were / were
  3. Was / was
  4. Were / was (correct answer)
Explanation: Use "were" with "you" in the past tense of be, and "was" with "I." The question asks about location, so the verb is be, not did. The tempting wrong choice is "Was / was": "you" does not take "was" - it always takes "were" in the past.

Question 4

After class yesterday,   you  ? I went home.

  1. Where did / go (correct answer)
  2. Where did / went
  3. Where do / go
  4. Where were / went
Explanation: Yesterday sets the past tense, so the question needs did. After did, use the base form of the verb: go, not went. The most tempting mistake is using went after did, but you cannot use two past forms together. So the question is Where did you go? and the answer is I went home.

Question 5

Every morning,   your brother   tea? Yes, he  .

  1. Do / drink / does
  2. Does / drinks / does
  3. Does / drink / does (correct answer)
  4. Does / drink / do
Explanation: Your brother is third-person singular, so the question word is Does. After Does, use the base form of the verb: drink. The short answer repeats does: Yes, he does. The most tempting error is Does / drinks / does, but drinks cannot follow Does because the auxiliary already carries the third-person -s.

Question 6

A student wants to ask about someone's current job. Which question is formed correctly?

  1. Where does he works right now?
  2. Where he works right now?
  3. Where is he working right now? (correct answer)
  4. Where does he working right now?
Explanation: When asking about something happening right now, English uses the present continuous tense: am/is/are + verb-ing. This structure is also used in questions about current, ongoing actions — like someone's current job. Keep this in mind whenever you see phrases like "right now," "at the moment," or "currently." Choice C — "Where is he working right now?" — is correct because it follows the proper question structure for present continuous: question word + is/are + subject + verb-ing. The helping verb is comes before the subject he, which is how English forms questions (verb before subject, not after). Now let's look at why the other choices fail. Choice A ("Where does he works right now?") mixes two different structures — it uses does (for simple present) but also adds -s to the verb, which is a double error. When you use does, the main verb must stay in its base form: work, not works. Choice B ("Where he works right now?") is missing a helping verb entirely. In English, questions require either do/does/did or a form of be — you cannot simply rearrange the subject and verb. Choice D ("Where does he working right now?") incorrectly combines does with working. The word does belongs to simple present, not present continuous. You cannot mix them. A helpful tip: watch for tense clues in the sentence. Words like "right now" signal present continuous (is working), while words like "every day" signal simple present (does work). Matching the time clue to the correct tense will help you eliminate wrong answers quickly.

Question 7

Marco: "  you go to the store yesterday?" Lisa: "Yes, I did."

Which word correctly completes Marco's question so that Lisa's short answer makes sense?

  1. Do
  2. Did (correct answer)
  3. Were
  4. Are
Explanation: When forming yes/no questions in English, the helping verb (also called an auxiliary verb) must match the time period — or tense — of the action. Here, the clue is the word "yesterday," which tells you the action happened in the past. Lisa's short answer, "Yes, I did," is also a strong clue — she uses "did," which is the past tense helper. This means the question must use "did" as well. In English, yes/no questions in the simple past are formed with did + subject + base verb: "Did you go to the store yesterday?" This structure is correct, and Lisa's answer confirms it perfectly. Looking at the wrong choices: A) Do is a present tense helper used for habits or general facts, like "Do you go to the store often?" It doesn't match "yesterday" or Lisa's past-tense answer. C) Were is also a past tense word, but it works with the verb "to be," not action verbs like "go" — you'd say "Were you tired yesterday?" not "Were you go." D) Are is present tense and also a "to be" verb, so it has the same two problems as C — wrong tense and wrong verb type. A helpful strategy: always look for time words in a sentence — words like yesterday, last week, ago signal simple past, which means your question needs "did." If Lisa's answer uses "did," "was," or "were," your question must match. Train yourself to find these clues first before choosing an answer.

Question 8

Which sentence is a correctly formed present simple question asking about a habit or routine?

  1. Does she studied English every night?
  2. Is she study English every night?
  3. Does she study English every night? (correct answer)
  4. Did she study English every night?
Explanation: When forming a present simple yes/no question in English, you need to follow a specific structure: Does + subject + base verb + ...? This pattern is used for habits and routines happening in the present, and the helping verb "does" does all the grammar work — so the main verb must stay in its base (infinitive) form. Choice C, "Does she study English every night?", follows this structure perfectly. "Does" is the correct helping verb for third-person singular subjects (she, he, it), and "study" is the correct base form of the verb. This is your answer. Now let's look at why the other choices fail. Choice A, "Does she studied English every night?", incorrectly uses the past tense form "studied" after "does." Because "does" already carries the tense, the main verb must be the base form — never add -ed. Choice B, "Is she study English every night?", confuses two different question structures. "Is" is used for present continuous questions ("Is she studying?"), not present simple habit questions. Mixing "is" with the base verb "study" creates an ungrammatical sentence. Choice D, "Did she study English every night?", is actually grammatically correct, but it asks about the past, not the present. "Did" signals simple past tense, so this question would be asking about something that no longer happens. A quick tip to remember: in present simple questions with does, the main verb always stays bare — no -s, no -ed, no -ing. If you see "does" plus anything other than a base verb, it's wrong.

Question 9

Someone wants to find out what time a coworker arrived at work this morning. Which question is formed correctly?

  1. What time does your coworker arrived this morning?
  2. What time your coworker arrive this morning?
  3. What time did your coworker arrived this morning?
  4. What time did your coworker arrive this morning? (correct answer)
Explanation: When asking questions about the past in English, you need to use the simple past tense structure. For wh- questions (who, what, when, where, why, how), the formula is: Wh-word + did + subject + base verb. The helping verb did already carries the past tense, so the main verb must stay in its base form — never add -ed after did. Choice D — "What time did your coworker arrive this morning?" — follows this formula perfectly. Did signals the past, arrive stays in its base form, and the question is grammatically complete. This is your correct answer. Choice A uses does instead of did, which is present tense, not past. It also keeps arrived with -ed, creating a double error — wrong tense for the helper verb and wrong form of the main verb. Choice C is a very common trap. It uses did correctly, but then adds -ed to make arrived. Remember: when did is already doing the work of showing past tense, the main verb must be the base form (arrive), not the past form (arrived). Never use did + arrived together. Choice B has no helping verb at all. In English, questions require an auxiliary (helper) verb like did — you cannot simply rearrange the subject and verb without one. A useful memory trick: think of did as a "past tense carrier." Once did is in the sentence, the main verb goes back to its base form. On questions like these, always check: (1) Is did present? (2) Is the main verb in base form?

Question 10

Read these exchanges and decide which one has both the question AND the short answer formed correctly.

Exchange 1: "Did they eat dinner already?" / "Yes, they did." Exchange 2: "Does he went to school yesterday?" / "Yes, he did." Exchange 3: "Do she speak Spanish?" / "Yes, she does." Exchange 4: "Were they happy yesterday?" / "Yes, they did."

  1. Exchange 1, because 'did' + subject + base verb is correct past simple form and 'Yes, they did' is the correct matching short answer. (correct answer)
  2. Exchange 3, because 'Do' is the correct auxiliary for questions and 'she does' correctly echoes the verb.
  3. Exchange 2, because 'did' makes the question past tense and the short answer 'he did' correctly matches.
  4. Exchange 4, because 'were' is past tense and 'Yes, they did' correctly matches the past tense of the question.
Explanation: When forming yes/no questions in English, you need to match the correct auxiliary verb to the tense, and your short answer must use that same auxiliary — not a different one. This question tests both skills at once. Exchange 1 gets everything right, making A the correct answer. "Did they eat dinner already?" follows the past simple question formula: did + subject + base verb ("eat," not "ate"). The short answer "Yes, they did" mirrors the auxiliary from the question. Both halves are perfectly consistent. Here's why the other exchanges fail. B points to Exchange 3, "Do she speak Spanish?" — but "do" is wrong here. With third-person singular subjects like "she," the correct auxiliary is does: "Does she speak Spanish?" The short answer "Yes, she does" is actually fine, but the question itself is incorrect, so the exchange as a whole fails. C points to Exchange 2, "Does he went to school yesterday?" This mixes two tenses — "does" is present tense, but "went" is past tense. The correct past question would be "Did he go to school yesterday?" Because the question is broken, this exchange is wrong despite having a matching short answer. D points to Exchange 4, "Were they happy yesterday?" — which is a correct question. However, the short answer "Yes, they did" is wrong. When the question uses were, the short answer must echo it: "Yes, they were." Never swap auxiliaries between question and answer. Your strategy: always check that the auxiliary verb in the short answer matches the auxiliary in the question exactly — same verb, same tense.

Question 11

Teacher: "  the students finish the test before the bell rang?" Student: "No, they didn't."

Which option correctly completes the teacher's question and matches the student's short answer?

  1. Do
  2. Did (correct answer)
  3. Were
  4. Have
Explanation: When a question asks you to complete a yes/no question in English, your first job is to identify the verb tense — specifically, look at the time clue in the sentence. Here, the phrase "before the bell rang" tells you the action happened in the past. That means you need a past-tense helping verb to form the question correctly. The correct choice is B) Did. In English, we use "did" to form past-tense yes/no questions with action verbs. The structure is: Did + subject + base verb? → "Did the students finish the test?" Notice that when "did" is used, the main verb ("finish") stays in its base form. The student's short answer — "No, they didn't" — also confirms this, because "didn't" is the contracted negative of "did not," matching "Did" perfectly. As for the wrong answers: A) Do is a present-tense helping verb used for current habits or facts (e.g., "Do they finish on time?"), not past events. C) Were is a past-tense form of "be," used for questions about states or conditions (e.g., "Were they nervous?"), not action verbs like "finish." D) Have forms the present perfect tense (e.g., "Have they finished?"), which describes actions connected to the present — but this sentence clearly refers to a completed past event tied to a specific moment ("before the bell rang"). A useful tip: always scan the sentence for time clue words like yesterday, last week, or before [past event]. These signal simple past tense, and simple past questions always use did.

Question 12

A student wrote this question: "Where did she went after class yesterday?" What is the error, and what is the corrected version?

  1. The error is using 'did'; it should be removed. The correction is: 'Where she went after class yesterday?'
  2. The error is using 'went' after 'did'; 'went' should be changed to the base form 'go.' The correction is: 'Where did she go after class yesterday?' (correct answer)
  3. The error is using 'did'; it should be changed to 'does.' The correction is: 'Where does she go after class yesterday?'
  4. The error is placing the subject 'she' before the main verb; the subject should follow the main verb. The correction is: 'Where did went she after class yesterday?'
Explanation: When forming questions in the simple past tense in English, there's an important rule to remember: when you use the helping verb did, the main verb must return to its base form (the infinitive without "to"). The word did already carries the past tense meaning, so the main verb doesn't need to show past tense again. In the sentence "Where did she went after class yesterday?", both did and went are trying to show past tense at the same time — that's the error. Since did is already doing that job, went must change back to its base form: go. The corrected sentence is "Where did she go after class yesterday?" — which is answer B. Answer A removes did entirely and writes "Where she went after class yesterday?" This creates a different kind of error: in English, yes/no and information questions require an auxiliary (helping) verb. Without did, the question is grammatically incomplete. Answer C swaps did for does, which is present tense. But the sentence includes yesterday, a clear past-time signal — so present tense is wrong here. Answer D rearranges the sentence to "Where did went she after class yesterday?" which places both verb forms together and moves the subject after them. This is not a rule in English and produces a sentence that no native speaker would recognize as correct. A helpful study tip: whenever you see did in a question, immediately check the main verb — it should always be in base form. If you spot past tense on both, that's your error.

Question 13

Ana: "  your parents live in this city?" Ben: "No, they don't. They live in another state."

Which word correctly completes Ana's question based on Ben's short answer?

  1. Did
  2. Are
  3. Were
  4. Do (correct answer)
Explanation: When completing a yes/no question in English, the key is to match the helping verb (also called an auxiliary verb) in the question to the helping verb in the short answer. Ben says "they don't" — and "don't" is the negative form of do, which tells you the question must use "do" as well. D) Do is correct because Ana is asking about a present-tense habit or situation: where her parents currently live. "Do your parents live in this city?" pairs perfectly with "No, they don't." The subject "your parents" is plural, so "do" is the right form. Now let's look at why the other choices don't work. A) Did is past tense — it would mean Ana is asking about something that already happened, like "Did your parents live here before?" But Ben's answer uses "don't" (present tense), not "didn't," so past tense creates a mismatch. B) Are is used for present continuous actions (e.g., "Are they living here right now?"), and its short answer would be "No, they aren't" — not "they don't." C) Were is past tense of "are," used for past states (e.g., "Were they here last year?"), and its short answer would be "No, they weren't" — again, not a match. A reliable strategy: always check the short answer first. The helping verb in the short answer tells you exactly which helping verb belongs in the question. "Don't" → use "Do." "Didn't" → use "Did." "Aren't" → use "Are." This matching trick works every time.

Question 14

Rosa talks to her sister every Sunday. Last Sunday, she called her sister three times.

Which question correctly asks about Rosa's actions last Sunday?

  1. Does Rosa call her sister three times last Sunday?
  2. Did Rosa called her sister three times last Sunday?
  3. Did Rosa call her sister three times last Sunday? (correct answer)
  4. Do Rosa call her sister three times last Sunday?
Explanation: When asking questions about the past, English uses a special helping verb: did. This word already carries the past tense, so the main verb that follows must stay in its base form (the simple, unchanged version). This is the key rule being tested here. Since the passage tells us Rosa called her sister last Sunday — a completed past action — the correct question uses did + the base form call. That makes C ("Did Rosa call her sister three times last Sunday?") the right answer. The structure is: Did + subject + base verb + rest of sentence? Here's why the other choices fail. A uses does, which is a present-tense helping verb — it doesn't match last Sunday, a clear past-time signal. You wouldn't mix a present helper with a past time expression. B gets did right, but then uses called instead of the base form call. Remember, when did is already in the sentence, you never add -ed to the main verb — that would be double past tense, which English doesn't allow. D uses do, another present-tense helper (like does), so it has the same problem as A — wrong tense entirely. A simple tip to remember: "Did" does the past work, so the main verb rests. Whenever you see did in a question, the verb after the subject should always be the bare base form — no -s, no -ed. Watch for answer choices that add -ed after did; that's a very common trap on grammar questions like this one.

Question 15

James works at a hospital. He is on duty right now.

Which question correctly asks about James's current situation using information from the passage?

  1. Is James working at the hospital right now? (correct answer)
  2. Did James work at a hospital right now?
  3. Does James work at a hospital right now?
  4. Does James working at the hospital right now?
Explanation: When a question asks about a current situation — something happening right now — you need to use the present continuous tense (am/is/are + verb-ing). The passage tells us James "is on duty right now," which means his working is happening at this moment, not just as a general habit. Choice A is correct: "Is James working at the hospital right now?" This uses is...working, the present continuous, which perfectly matches the passage's meaning. The question is also grammatically well-formed — the helping verb is comes before the subject James, which is the correct word order for yes/no questions. Choice B uses did, which signals simple past tense. "Did James work at a hospital right now?" is contradictory — right now refers to the present, so combining it with past tense did makes no sense grammatically or logically. Choice C uses the simple present: "Does James work at a hospital right now?" Simple present describes habits or general facts (e.g., "He works at a hospital"), not something happening at this exact moment. Adding "right now" to simple present creates an awkward mismatch — the tense and the time signal contradict each other. Choice D is grammatically broken: "Does James working?" You cannot combine the helping verb does with a gerund (working). When using does, the main verb must be in base form — does he work — not the -ing form. Study tip: Remember this pattern — right now / at this moment = present continuous (is/are + verb-ing). Whenever you spot those time signals, reach for that tense first.