Wh- Questions
Wh-questions are questions that begin with one of the 'wh-' words. In order to learn about them and to know how to form a wh- question, read this article!
What Are Wh- Questions?
Wh- questions are a type of question that start with wh-words. Wh- questions are used to gather information about a topic or situation. So, you cannot answer wh- questions with 'yes' or 'no.'
Wh-words
Common wh-words used to form wh-questions in English include:
Tip
'How' does not start with 'wh-'. Nonetheless, it is considered a wh-word.
Wh- Questions: Structure
Using "how many" to ask a question
1. With an Auxiliary Verb
Wh- Questions can be formed with these structures:
wh- word + an auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
When
Where
What
or
wh- word + a modal verb + subject + main verb
Who
What
2. Without an Auxiliary Verb
Some wh-words can function as either the object or the subject of the question. When this is the case, we do not need an auxiliary verb. These wh- words are:
- what
- who
- which
- whose
In such cases, the structure of the question would be as follows:
- wh-word + main verb + rest of the sentence
How to Answer Wh- Questions?
We ask wh- questions to receive information. Thus, they cannot be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no'; rather, some relevant information must be provided in the answer. Pay attention to the examples:
- '
- '
Negative Wh- Questions
We can form a negative wh- question using the negative form of the auxiliary verbs 'be,' 'do', and 'have'. For example:
Tip
Even when the wh-word is the subject of the clause, we can still form negative questions. For example:
Wh- Questions: Adding Emphasis
Sometimes, we might want to put emphasis on a question; either because we have not received the answer or information we wanted, or because we want to show strong interest.
When we want to put emphasis on wh- questions, we can stress the auxiliary verb 'do'.
Where did you go?
When the wh-word is the object of the sentence, the auxiliary 'do' is stressed to make it more emphatic.
So who does live there?
The non-emphatic version of the question would be: 'So who lives there?'
Wh- Questions: Intonation
Typically, Wh- questions are spoken with a falling (↘) intonation, which emphasizes the most important syllable.
To Ask About the Subject or Object
When we are asking a question about the subject, there is no need for an auxiliary verb. But when the object is asked about, an auxiliary is required to form the question properly.
Who drinks tea?
Who do you drink tea with?
In this example, we mean 'with whom do you drink tea?'
Interrogative Words
Interrogative words are divided into three groups:
- Interrogative determiners
- Interrogative pronouns
- Interrogative adverbs
Interrogative Determiners
Determiners are words that give us information about the noun or noun phrase that follows them. Interrogative determiners ask questions. In English there are three interrogative determiners: What, Which, and Whose. Whose is the only possessive interrogative in English. These interrogative determiners can both form direct and indirect questions. They can also form exclamations.
- Interrogative determiner "what"
We can use 'what' to ask for information about subjects (no inversion) or objects (with inversion).
Object
Subject
- Interrogative determiner "which"
We use 'which' to ask questions about choices or possibilities. For example:
- Interrogative determiner "whose"
We use 'whose' to ask about ownership or possession. For example:
Tip!
Do not confuse 'whose' with 'who's' which is the contracted form of 'who is' or 'who has'.
Interrogative pronouns
An interrogative pronoun is a type of pronoun that seeks an answer. The common and main interrogative pronouns in English are: What, Which, Who, Whom, and Whose. Some of the less common interrogative pronouns are similar to the main interrogative pronouns but with an added suffix: whatever, whichever, and whatsoever. Like the interrogative determiners, the answer to interrogative pronouns always functions as a noun.
- Interrogative pronoun "which"
We use 'which' to ask questions about choices or possibilities, and the answer is expected to be a choice or possibility too. For example:
- Interrogative pronoun "what"
We use 'what' to ask for information about subjects (no inversion) or objects (with inversion). The answer can be an abstract or concrete object.
- Interrogative pronoun "whose"
We use 'whose' to ask about possession and ownership.
Here is a phone,
- Interrogative pronouns "who" and "whom"
We use these pronouns to ask about a person. We can use 'who' as a subject (like he, she, you, I) and 'whom' as an object (like him, her, you, me). Let's see how they are used in sentences:
Here we could replace 'who' with 'he'. So it is the subject.
Here, we need to change the order of the words to find out whether 'he' or 'him' can be used: 'did you call him?'. So, 'whom' is correctly used as the object.
Warning!
Be careful not to confuse interrogative pronouns with interrogative determiners. They may look similar but serve different grammatical functions.
When the 'wh-words' precede a noun or pronoun and modify it, they are interrogative determiners. When they appear on their own, they are pronouns. Let's see some examples:
'Which' as an interrogative determiner
'What' as an interrogative determiner
'Which' as an interrogative pronoun
'Whose' as an interrogative pronoun
Interrogative Adverbs
Interrogative adverbs are used to ask questions, and when a question starts with one, the following word is typically the verb. The interrogative adverbs include 'where', 'why', 'when', and 'how'. When answering these types of questions, the response should always be an adverb, whether it is a single-word adverb or an adverbial phrase or clause.
- Interrogative adverb of 'place'
We use the interrogative adverb 'where' to form questions about places and locations. For example:
- Interrogative adverb of 'reason'
We use the interrogative adverb 'why' to form questions related to reasons and causes. For example:
- Interrogative adverb of 'time'
We use the interrogative adverb 'when' to form time-related questions. We can also use 'how' to ask these questions.
- Interrogative adverb of 'manner'
We use the interrogative adverb 'how' to form questions about manner. For example:
- Interrogative adverb of 'quantity and amount'
We use the interrogative adverb 'how' to form questions about quantity and amount. For example:
amount
quantity
- Interrogative adverb of 'degree'
We use the interrogative adverb 'how' + attributive adjective to form a question about 'degree'. For example:
As you can see 'how' can be a bit tricky. First of all, it is the only wh-question word that does not start with a 'wh', and secondly, it can be used to ask about different things.
Review
Wh- questions are used to ask for information about something. The answers to these questions are not 'yes' or 'no.'
Here are some wh-words that are used to ask wh-questions.
| what | when | where |
| who | whom | which |
| whose | why | how |
The general structure for wh-questions is to put the wh-word at the beginning of a sentence followed by a yes/no question. Look at the following examples:
What are you doing?
Who eats chicken?
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