Word order in questions in English is something people usually get used to very fast, but it may become confusing in connection with subordinate clauses. There are two types of questions in English:
The yes–no questions
These questions are most commonly of the following form:
and its variants in different tenses, such as
Has Peter finished the essay?
Are you watching porn?!
Whenever there’s an auxiliary verb in a sentence that is not a question and just carries information (so called declarative sentences, for example “will” in “she will go to the cinema”), the auxiliary verb takes the first place in the corresponding yes-no question. However, when there is no auxiliary verb in the declarative sentence, we still use the verb “do” in a question:
Yes–no questions are phrased differently for the verb “to be”:
that is, we never use the auxiliary verb “do”:
However, in tenses where there is an auxiliary verb, it is still there in questions:
Has it been prepared?
Are you being served?
Why, where, when questions
The second class of questions are of the following form:
where, of course, “Why” can be replaced by “Where”, “When”, “How” etc. In fact, these questions look exactly the same as yes–no questions; the only difference is the one word at the beginning:
However, in tenses where there is an auxiliary verb, it is still there in questions:
How has it been prepared?
By whom are you being served?
Again, don’t forget the auxiliary verb “do”:
What killed him?