Which question is written correctly?

Use Standard Grammar, Usage, and Spelling to Edit · TELPAS Grades 8–9 writing. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Reporting category 2: find and fix an error in a short text. On the real test some of these are typed answers or sentence rewrites. Here they are multiple choice so they can be checked.

The question

Choose the best answer.

Which question is written correctly?

• AWhere does your brother work after school?Correct answer
• BWhere your brother works after school?
• CWhere does your brother works after school?
• DWhere do your brother work after school?

Why “Where does your brother work after school?” is correct

This tests word order in questions. In English, most questions put a helping verb (do, does, did) before the subject, and the main verb then goes back to its base form. The correct question is "Where does your brother work?" The wrong choices show the three most common mistakes English learners make with this pattern.

Why the other answers are wrong

• Where your brother works after school? — A question with "where" needs a helping verb such as "does" before the subject.
• Where does your brother works after school? — After "does," the main verb stays in its base form, "work."
• Where do your brother work after school? — "Brother" is singular, so it needs "does," not "do."

Practice more of this

More writing practice for Grades 8–9, or see the TELPAS practice test for 8th and 9th grade.