English Grammar Step by Step

1 a She cannot/can't swim; Can she swim? b They cannot/can't help you; Can they help you? c We cannot/can't ride a horse; Can we ride a horse? d He cannot/can't drive a lorry; Can he drive a lorry? e It cannot/can't fly; Can it fly?

2 a It is not snowing/It isn't snowing/It's not snowing; Is it snowing? b They are not working/They aren't working/They're not working; Are they working? c It is not spitting.../It isn't spitting.../It's not spitting...; Is it spitting...? d She is not worried/She isn't worried/She's not worried; Is she worried? e You are not watching.../You aren't watching.../You're not watching...; Are you watching...?

3 a I have not/haven't got a farm/I've not got a farm ; Have I got a farm? b He has not/hasn't got a lot.../He's not got a lot...; Has he got a lot...? c They have not/haven't got my help/They've not got my help; Have they got my help? d It has not/hasn't got three eyes/It's not got three eyes; Has it got three eyes? e We have not/haven't got everything/We've not got everything; Have we got everything?

4 a His sisters do not/don't dust...; Do his sisters dust...? b My friends do not/don't wish to...; Do my friends wish to...? c I do not/don't live in London; Do I live in London? d They do not/don't like singing; Do they like singing? e We do not/don't need more dancers; Do we need more dancers?

5 a She does not/doesn't pay...; Does she pay...? b He does not/ doesn't look like...; Does he look like...? c It does not/doesn't dry soon; Does it dry soon? d It does not/doesn't fly; Does it fly? e She does not/doesn't wash down...; Does she wash down...?

6 a It does not/doesn't take time; Does it take time? b He has not/ hasn't got three parrots/He's not got three parrots; Has he got three parrots? c My car is not being.../My car isn't being.../My car's not being...; Is my car being...? d You cannot/can't mend my watch; Can you mend my watch? e She does not/doesn't love talking...; Does she love talking...? f It does not/doesn't worry him; Does it worry him? g There is not a man.../There isn't a man.../There's not a man...; Is there a man...? h They have not/ haven't got all.../They've not got all...; Have they got all...? i They do not/don't look tired; Do they look tired? j There are not/ aren't two...; Are there two...? k We do not/don't need a teacher; Do we need a teacher? l She cannot/can't speak...; Can she speak...? m I do not/don't work in Bristol; Do I work in Bristol? n You cannot/can't play tennis; Can you play tennis? o They do not/ don't swim...; Do they swim...? p She does not/doesn't buy everything; Does she buy everything? q He does not/doesn't always pay...; Does he always pay...? r They do not/don't want to...; Do they want to...? s Margaret is not very.../Margaret isn't very.../ Margaret's not very...; Is Margaret very...? t There is not a lot.../There isn't a lot.../There's not a lot...; Is there a lot of bread? u They do not/don't keep...; Do they keep...? v I cannot/ can't speak...; Can I speak...? w They have not/haven't got a bad.../They've not got a bad; Have they got a bad...? x She does not/doesn't play...; Does she play...? y We do not/don't hate...; Do we hate...? z She does not/doesn't feel...; Does she feel...?

7 a Mary did not/didn't go to...; Did Mary go to...? b They did not/ didn't make coffee; Did they make coffee? c I did not/didn't see you...; Did I see you...? d My computer did not/didn't break down; Did my computer break down? e They did not/didn't oversleep...; Did they oversleep...?

8 a John and Margaret did not/didn't enjoy...; Did John and Margaret enjoy...? b It did not/didn't rain...; Did it rain...? c They did not/didn't open...; Did they open...? d She did not/didn't pass...; Did she pass...? e He did not/didn't use...; Did he use...?

9 a There were not/weren't two rivers; Were there two rivers? b There was not/wasn't a...; Was there a...? c He was not/wasn't my...; Was he my...? d They were not/weren't dancing...; Were they dancing...? e You were not/weren't very...; Were you very...?

10 a Tim did not/didn't break the window; Did Tim break the window? b Jane does not/doesn't listen to ...; Does Jane listen to...? c It is not bucketing down/It isn't bucketing down/It's not bucketing down; Is it bucketing down? d We cannot/can't park here; Can we park here? e She has not/hasn't got a.../She's not got a...; Has she got a...? f He does not/doesn't deny it; Does he deny it? g They did not/didn't get married...; Did they get married...? h They did not/didn't come here...; Did they come here...? i She did not/ didn't fry two eggs; Did she fry two eggs? j He did not/didn't help her...; Did he help her...? k They did not/didn't want to...; Did they want to...? l They did not/didn't rob me...; Did they rob me...? m They do not/don't take care...; Do they take care...? n There was not/wasn't an...; Was there an...? o They do not/don't look down...; Do they look down...? p I was not/wasn't fast...; Was I fast...? q His grandmother was not/wasn't wide...; Was his grandmother wide...? r I did not/didn't run into...; Did I run into...? s She does not/doesn't always look ahead; Does she always look ahead? t They do not/don't steal...; Do they steal...? u They are not looking.../They aren't looking.../They're not looking...; Are they looking...? v I did not/didn't come across...; Did I come across...? w We did not/didn't run out...; Did we run out...? x She did not/didn't sleep very well; Did she sleep very well? y It did not/didn't fall to pieces; Did it fall to pieces? z There were not/ weren't plenty...; Were there plenty...?

11 a She has not been.../She hasn't been.../She's not been...; Has she been...? b You have not made.../You haven't made.../You've not made...; Have you made...? c He has not arrived/He hasn't arrived/ He's not arrived; Has he arrived? d It has not gone sour/It hasn't gone sour/It's not gone sour; Has it gone sour? e We have not been.../We haven't been.../We've not been...; Have we been...?

12 a He will not get.../He won't get.../He'll not get; Will he get...? b Tom will not/won't drop...; Will Tom drop...? c She will not beat.../She won't beat.../She'll not beat...; Will she beat...? d It will not be.../It won't be.../It'll not be...; Will it be...? e She will not ask.../She won't ask.../She'll not ask...; Will she ask...?

13 a He may not speak...; Do you think (that) he will1 speak...?1 b They may not denounce...; Do you think (that) they will denounce...? c We may not stay...; Do you think (that) we will/ shall stay...? d She may not look...; Do you think (that) she will look...? e He may not forgive...; Do you think (that) he will forgive...?

14 a The sky might not be...; Do you think (that) the sky will be...? b It might not be...; Do you think (that) it will be...? c It might not be your aunt; Do you think (that) it is your aunt?/Do you think (that) it will be your aunt? d She might not pass...; Do you think (that) she will pass...? e They might not win...; Do you think (that) they will win...?

15 a He could not/couldn't take...; Could he take...? b We cannot/ can't take...; Could we take...? c She cannot/can't follow...; Do you think (that) she could/will follow...? d I could not/couldn't swim...; Could I swim...? e It cannot/can't be...; Do you think (that) it could be/is too...?

16 a He is not looking.../He isn't looking.../He's not looking...; Is he looking...? b They did not/didn't put off...; Did they put off...? c She did not/didn't cancel...; Did she cancel...? d We cannot/can't rely...; Can we rely...? e Our plane did not/didn't take off...; Did our plane take off...? f Our plane did not/didn't land...; Did our plane land...? g I do not/don't look...; Do I look...? h You are not a.../You aren't a.../You're not...; Are you a...? i It has not/hasn't got.../It's not got...; Has it got...? j He has not been waiting.../He hasn't been waiting.../He's not been waiting...; Has he been waiting...? k They will not take.../They won't take.../They'll not take...; Will they take...? l He may not be...; Do you think (that) he is/will be working...? m They did not/didn't complain...; Did they complain...? n It did not/didn't bring her...; Did it bring her...? o It cannot/can't work; Do you think (that) it could/will work? p He does not/doesn't mean it; Does he mean it? q The storm did not/didn't weak him up; Did the storm wake him up? r These old shoes are not/aren't worn out; Are these shoes worn out? s She will not dust.../She won't dust.../ She'll not dust...; Will she dust...? t It might not be foggy...; Do you think (that) it will be...? u There is not a spider/There isn't a spider/There's not a spider; Is there a spider? v She is not head.../She isn't head.../She's not head...; Is she head...? w They cannot/can't ruin...; Can they ruin...? x He does not/doesn't bully a...; Does he bully a...? y She does not/doesn't buy...; Does she buy...? z They did not/didn't reach...; Did they reach...?

17 a They need not/needn't come...; Must/Need they come...? b He need not/needn't take...; Must/Need he take...? c We need not/needn't finish...; Must/Need we finish...? d She need not/needn't ring...; Must/Need she ring...? e It need not/needn't be done; Must/Need it be done?

18 a They should not/shouldn't grow...; Should they grow...? b He should not/shouldn't go...; Should he go...? c We ought not/ oughtn't to leave now; Ought we to leave now? d They ought not/ oughtn't to free...; Ought they to free...? e She should not/ shouldn't take...; Should she take...?

19 a He would not/wouldn't2 shut...; Would he shut up...? b He would not/wouldn't leave...; Would he leave...? c They would not/wouldn't call...; Would they call...? d She would not/wouldn't resign...? Would she resign...? e His dog would not/wouldn't eat...? Would his dog eat...?

20 a She had not/hadn't3 eaten...; Had she eaten...? b They had not/ hadn't been...; Had they been...? c The clock had not/hadn't stopped...; Had the clock stopped...? d She had not/hadn't read...; Had she read...? e You had not/hadn't watered...; Had you watered...?

21 a He should not/shouldn't bring...; Should he bring...? b There cannot/can't be...; Do you think (that) there could be/is/will be...? c They cannot/can't be wrong; Do you think (that) they could be/are/will be wrong? d She did not/didn't smash...; Did she smash...? e He will not smash.../He won't smash.../He'll not smash...; Will he smash...? f She is not getting.../She isn't getting.../She's not getting.../Is she getting...? g This is not/ isn't beyond him; Is this beyond him? h He had not/hadn't done...; Had he done...? i She would not/wouldn't forgive...; Would she forgive...? j They do not/don't get...; Do they get...? k They do not/don't drive...; Do they drive...? l She does not/does not drive...; Does she drive...? m They do not/don't detest...; Do they detest...? n He will not be.../He won't be.../He'll not be...; Will he be...? o I did not/didn't step...; Did I step...? p They have not/haven't just released.../They've not just released; Have they just released...? q It did not/didn't collapse; Did it collapse? r She did not/didn't swim across...; Did she swim across...? s You need not/needn't come...; Must/Need you come...? t She cannot/can't repair...; Can she repair...? u He has not/hasn't got a.../He's not got a...; Has he got a...? v It was not/wasn't getting dark; Was it getting dark? w She may not take...; Do you think (that) she will take...? x They might not arrive...; Do you think (that) they will arrive...? y We ought not/oughtn't to stay here; Ought we to stay here? z The man with a pistol did not/didn't scare...; Did the man with a pistol scare...?

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1  Contractions are possible: Do you think (that) he'll speak...?
2  He'd not shut... is much less usual.
3  She'd not eaten... is far less usual.