WH-questions with "had"

[Unwritten]

When the tense is "past simple" with "had" like:

"I had an exam yesterday at 6 o`clock"

We need to ask about the following:

1. I
2. had
3. exam
4. yesterday at 6 o`clock

I think it is like this:

1. Who did have an exam yesterday ...?
2. What did I do yeasterday..?
3. What did I have yesterday?
4.When did I have an exam?

I`m most unsure about the 2nd sentence


And another question:

Do we only put "s" to the verbs in the present simple tense when using the word "who" in WH-questions?
I mean in the other tenses like past, we put "did" after the "who", like:

"Who did travel to America last week?"

But sometimes we say: "Who moved this book"?

Why don`t we use "did" in some cases??

 

[emsr2d2]

Do we only put an "s" to the verbs in the present simple tense when using the word "who" in WH-questions?
Who travels to America?
Who travelled to America?
Who will travel to America?
You're right that the third person singular "s" is only relevant in the present tense.


I mean in the other tenses like past, we put "did" after the "who", like:

"Who did travel to America last week?"
This is incorrect. The question should be "Who travelled to America last week?" Why do you think "to travel" takes "did" in the past tense?
I think you are confusing this with other WH- questions, which do take the "did" construction:
What did he do when he travelled to America?
When did he travel to America?
Why did he travel to America?
Where did he go when he was in America?
BUT:
Who travelled to America?

But sometimes we say: "Who moved this book"?

Why don`t we use "did" in some cases?

See above.

 

[a_vee]

"Who" is capable of being a subject in the example you gave. "Who" in "Who had an exam yesterday?" basically equals "I" in "I had an exam yesterday."

This is not the same thing that happens in this sentence:

"When did I have an exam?" "When" cannot "have". "I" can "have". When you change "Did I have an exam yesterday?" to ask about the time, "when" goes in front of the whole construction and the time-marker disappears like this : "When did I have an exam?"

However, when you ask about the subject person, here is what happens:

Did I have an exam yesterday?
Who had an exam yesterday?

The same thing happens here even when there are two people in the sentence:

Kelly saw Julie at the store yesterday.
Who saw Julie at the store yesterday? (Subject person in question--the person connected to "saw")

Look at this, though:

Kelly saw Julie at the store yesterday.
Who(m) did Kelly see at the store yesterday? (The object person is removed here--not the one connected to "did see".)
("Whom" used to be the correct word in this kind of construction, but it is going out of fashion for informal English.)


If I say, "Who did travel to America?" as a native speaker, I'm being emphatic. There really needs to be some strong context to do this trick.

 

[Unwritten]

"When did I have an exam?"

So we use did with "had" in wh-questions, don`t we?

And what about asking about "had", how do we form the wh-question??

Kelly saw Julie at the store yesterday.
Who(m) did Kelly see at the store yesterday? (The object person is removed here--not the one connected to "did see".)
("Whom" used to be the correct word in this kind of construction, but it is going out of fashion for informal English.)

So when we ask about the "object" we use did in the wh-question?
And when asking about the subject we don`t use "did"?

If I say, "Who did travel to America?" as a native speaker, I'm being emphatic. There really needs to be some strong context to do this trick.

So you say this form is not wrong in some cases ?

emsr2d2 + a_vee , Thank you very much !

I am sorry for asking more questions, I just need to make sure : )

 

[a_vee]

I don't want to go to the point of overloading you...

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Here's a major guideline:

"have" is the base form

When an auxiliary is cooperating with verb in a structure, the verb will not be "conjugated". Below is a list of incorrect formations. "Do" is acting as an auxiliary in this case.

She does not has a car.
He does not has a dog.
She did not had a lemonade.

Corrected:
She does not have a car.
He does not have a dog.
She did not have a lemonade.

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• The answer to question number one is no. Auxiliary plus base verb is the correct form: "did have" not "did had".

• About question number two... There's more than one kind of "WH" question or "WH" structure. It depends on what the "WH" word is trying to substitute for. (Master the Present Simple and Past Simple ones before attempting the other tenses.)

Here are some Past Simple examples:

Who had cereal for breakfast? (Who is asking for the person we don't know. That person is the owner of the action, so "who" is the subject.)

(Context: The trashcan had a red lid.) What had a red lid?
(What is asking for the "thing" we don't know. That thing is the owner of the verb, so "what" is the subject.)

Where did Lisa have her party? (Lisa is the owner of the action here, not "where". Where is holding the place for an object.)

• About the last question... This is not something I recommend studying. It's not very important, and it could be confusing at this point. It's just something to know about. Basically, don't do it, because it has another "special effect". Maybe I should not have mentioned it. I'm sorry for the overload.

 

[Unwritten]

Thank You, now I get it better. Don`t worry no harm in overloading sometimes ,,

And I meant by "had", in sentences which contain "had", I get the point of transforming "had" into "have/has" when asking the questions.

About question number two... There's more than one kind of "WH" question or "WH" structure. It depends on what the "WH" word is trying to substitute for. (Master the Present Simple and Past Simple ones before attempting the other tenses.)

I know all the tenses past / present / future simple and the perfect as well. The reason I am asking about "had" is that I gave a sentence that contains "had" to 7th grade students and I myself wasn`t sure about it, specially asking about the word "had" itself, and I need somebody to tell me how can I form it.
If anybody knows how it should be please tell me.

 

[5jj]

The reason I am asking about "had" is that I gave a sentence that contains "had" to 7th grade students and I myself wasn`t sure about it, specially asking about the word "had" itself, and I need somebody to tell me how can I form it.
If anybody knows how it should be please tell me.

I think I am merely repeating what has already been said before, but this may work.

Had is the past tense form of HAVE, just as have and has are the present tense forms. This is the case whether HAVE is used as a lexical verb or as an auxiliary:

I have breakfast at eight o'lock every morning. I had breakfast at eight o' clock this morning.
Peter has left for Germany. Peter had left when I arrived.

When the lexical verb HAVE is used with a modal or with auxiliary DO, we use the base form have:


I don't/he doesn't normally have breakfast.
I/he didn't have breakfast yesterday.
You must/should/ought to have a proper breakfast every day.

Used with the auxiliary verbs BE or HAVE, other forms of HAVE are required.

I was having breakfast when my sister phoned.
I haven't had breakfast yet.

Note that the second form (past simple tense) and the third form (past participle) of the verb HAVE have the same form - had.

 

[Unwritten]

Thanks a lot 5jj, it is more clear now. (Or clearer?)
But I am afraid you both don`t understand what I aim for :S

In the sentence that I gave: " I had an exam yesterday"

I need to ask about "had" using WH-questions, I want to know how to form a WH-question that asks about the lexical verb "had".

Is there any possibility to ask such a question, I tried but I cannot imagine a way to ask about "had" in this sentence. I mean in other sentences we ask about the verbs by "what do they do ...etc" or "What did I do ...etc".
What about "had" or "have/has" .. ??

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks a lot 5jj, it is more clearer now.
But I am afraid you both don`t understand what I aim for :S

In the sentence that I gave: " I had an exam yesterday"

I need to ask about "had" using WH-questions, I want to know how to form a WH-question that asks about the lexical verb "had".

Is there any possibility to ask such a question, I tried but I cannot imagine a way to ask about "had" in this sentence. I mean in other sentences we ask about the verbs by "what do they do ...etc" or "What did I do ...etc".
What about "had" or "have/has" .. ??

I'm not sure I'm understanding your question either but I'll have a go! Are you asking about such questions as:

What have I done?
What has he had to eat this week?
Where had he been on holiday?
Who had he been to visit?
Why has he got such a red face?

OR

What does he have for breakfast?
What did he have for dinner?

OR, rather unnaturally...

Why had he no money?
What had they in common?

(Note: the final two would more commonly be "Why did he have no money?" and "What did they have in common?")