LoginInterrogative Pronouns For beginners
In this lesson, beginners will learn about English Interrogative Pronouns with simple explanations, clear examples, and practice exercises.
Who
'Who' is an interrogative pronoun that is used to ask questions about people. For example:
'Who is he?' 'He is Sam.'
'Who ate the last slice of the cake?' 'Angela.'
What
'What' is an interrogative pronoun that is used to ask questions about things. For example:
'What happened?' 'Nothing happened.'
Tip!
Both 'who' and 'what' can be used to ask questions about either subject or object of a sentence, but when asking questions about objects, an auxiliary needs to be used between the interrogative pronoun and the subject of the verb. Look at the examples:
-What did you eat? + I ate a sandwich.
Here, 'sandwich' is the object of the verb and the interrogative pronoun 'what' is asking about it, and the auxiliary 'did' is added.
- Who are you calling? + I'm calling my friend.
Here, 'my friend' is the object of the verb and 'who' is used to ask about it and 'are' acts as an auxiliary.
Which
The interrogative pronoun 'which' is used to ask questions about a specific item or selection from several options. Like 'what' and 'who, 'which' can also be used to ask questions about both subject and object and the rule about adding an auxiliary also works here. For example:
- Which is yours? + The black one is mine.
Here, 'which' asks about the subject. Here, 'is' acts as he main verb, NOT the auxiliary.
- Which do you want, tea or coffee? + I want coffee.
In this sentence, 'which' is asking about the object, so the auxiliary 'do' is used between the interrogative pronoun and the subject.
Quiz:
Which question asks about a person?
Who are you calling?
What are you reading?
Which do you prefer?
Sort the sentence into the correct order.
Match the interrogate pronouns with their correct ending.
Fill in the blanks with the correct interrogative pronoun.
did you eat for lunch?
happened at the meeting yesterday?
can help me with my homework?
is better, football or basketball?
is the problem?
Which sentence is correct?
Which you want, tea or coffee?
What is he eating?
What did she wanted?
Who she called?
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