##  [verb agreement in questions](/writing-tips-plus/verb-agreement-in-questions-)

##  Avertissement

Ce contenu est offert en anglais seulement.

In statements, the usual sentence structure is subject + verb. Questions, however, are arranged a little differently. In a question, at least part of the verb comes before the subject.

In the four examples below, the verbs are in bold. In each case, a helping verb comes before the subject, while the rest of the verb follows the subject. The subject is therefore between the two parts of the verb, and the structure is verb + subject + verb:

- **Has** Karl **been working** on the project? \[verb *has* + subject *Karl* + verb *been working*\]
- **Does** Jan **play** basketball? \[verb *does* + subject *Jan* + verb *play*\]
- **Have** you **seen** the movie? \[verb *have* + subject *you* + verb *seen*\]
- **Do** they **agree** with your decision? \[verb *do* + subject *they* + verb *agree*\]

The entire verb may even come before the subject. (This happens especially when the verb is a simple form of *be: is*, *was, are*, *were*.) Then the structure is verb + subject, as in the examples below:

- **Is** Greta on your team? \[verb *is* + subject *Greta*\]
- **Was** the concert good? \[verb *was* + subject *concert*\]
- **Are** the children ready to go? \[verb *are* + subject *children*\]
- **Were** the keys in your pocket? \[verb *were* + subject *keys*\]

This reversal of the usual subject-verb order is called *inversion*. Despite the fact that questions follow an inverted order, the subject and verb must still agree. In the examples above, the singular verbs *has*, *does*, *is* and *was* agree with their singular subjects *Karl*, *Jan*, *Greta* and *concert*. The plural verbs *have*, *do*, *are* and *were* agree with their plural subjects *you*, *they*, *children* and *keys*.

Remember, when you are asking a question, you need to make the verb agree with the subject that comes after it.

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## Liens connexes

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