WH-Questions: Learn How to Ask and Respond

In English, there are two main types of questions: Yes/No questions and WH-questions. WH-questions begin with question words such as what, when, where, who, whom, which, whose, why, and how.

Question Words and Their Usages:

• What
• Used to ask about things:
  What are you doing?
• Used to ask about opinions:
  What do you think about the movie?
• When
• Used to ask about time:
  When will the meeting start?
• Used to ask about plans or schedules:
  When are you leaving?
• Where
• Used to ask about places:
  Where's my bag?
• Used to ask about locations:
  Where do you live?
• Who
• Used to ask about people:
  Who do you love the most in your family?
• Used to ask about the subject of an action:
  Who told you that story?
• Whom
• Used to ask about people (object of verb):
  Whom did you see in the morning? I saw Mr. Mark, my English teacher.
• Used to ask about the recipient of an action:
  Whom was Jim talking to? He was talking to Jack, his new roommate.
• Which
• Used to ask about choices:
  Which one do you choose? The left or right?
• Used to ask about preferences:
  Of all the drinks on the menu, which one would you like?
• Whose
• Used to ask about possession:
  Whose pencil is this? Is it yours?
• Used to ask about ownership:
  Whose books are these?
• Why
• Used to ask about reasons/causes:
  Why did it happen? I didn't understand.
• Used to ask about motivations:
  < b>Why is he crying?
• How
• Used to ask about manner/process:
  How can you explain this problem? Please tell us.
• Used to ask about means or methods:
  How can you get here?

How to Form WH-Questions

1. With an auxiliary

Wh-word + auxiliary + subject + main verb ... ?

• What do you do for a living?
  What do you do for a living?
• Why should we read books?
  Why should we read books?
• When is she coming?
  When is she coming?
2. Without any auxiliary

(when WH-words replace subjects already)

• What happened to Peter?
  What happened to Peter?
• Who won the game?
  Who won the game?
• Who gave you this present?
  Who gave you this present?

Responding to WH-Questions

1. What
• What is it?
  It's a table.
• What color is your dress?
  It's purple.
• What is your mom doing?
  She's cooking in the kitchen.
• What do you think about the party?
  Well, it's fun. I like the music best.
• What will happen if our team loses this time?
  We'll be out of the game.
2. When
• When will the train arrive?
  The train will arrive in 30 minutes.
• When does she get up?
  She gets up at 6 am.
• When did the party end?
  It ended before 8 pm.
• When are you going to visit James?
  I'm going to see him tomorrow.
3. Where
• Where do you live?
  I live in Washington D.C.
• Where are you going?
  I'm going to the zoo.
• Where's the coffee bar?
  It's between the supermarket and the cinema.
• Where did you leave my jacket?
  I left it in my bedroom.
• Where have you been?
  I've been in the library reading books.
4. Who
• Who's this?
  She's my new roommate.
• Who wants to be a scientist in the future?
  My sister does. I don't.
• Who would you like to travel with?
  I would like to travel with my best friend, Kim.
• Who told you that secret?
  Jenny did. She told me everything.
• Who do you like the most in this class?
  I like Henry. He's so friendly.
5. Whom
• Whom should we talk to?
  We should talk to the principal. She's responsible for student issues.
• Whom did you see yesterday?
  I saw Kevin and his girlfriend.
• Whom would you like to interview?
  I would like to interview Mr. Patrick, the director.
• Whom do we have to contact?
  We have to contact the representative of that company.
• Whom did you meet in front of the building last week?
  That was Annie, my secretary.
• Whom do you know in this class?
  I only know Danny.
• Whom are you going to invite?
  I'm going to invite all of my classmates.
• With whom do you agree?
  I agree with Henry's team.
6. Which
• Which shirt do you like?
  I like the one with the big yellow star on it.
• Which color do you choose?
  I choose red.
• Which part do you like the most in this story?
  I love the 2nd part when the prince came and proposed to the princess.
• Which is the longest river in the world?
  That's the Nile.
• Which one is yours?
  Mine is the biggest one.
7. Whose
• Whose jacket is this?
  It's my mom's.
• Whose birthday is today?
  It's Jenny's.
• Whose pencil is on the floor?
  That's mine.
• Whose team is better?
  Will's team is much better.
8. Why
• Why don't we visit him now?
  It's a good idea.
• Why did you leave so early?
  Because I didn't enjoy the party.
• Why do you think that he loves you?
  Because he's given me lots of chocolate on Valentine's day.
• Why do people celebrate Thanksgiving?
  Because it's a special day.
• Why can't I go to the cinema now?
  Because you haven't done your homework.
• Why are you so late?
  Sorry, teacher. I missed the bus.
9. How
• How's the weather?
  It's sunny and hot.
• How do you feel?
  I feel much better now.
• How did you know him?
  We were old friends.
• How's your new job?
  It's interesting. I enjoy it.
• How often do you go to the movie theater?
  I sometimes go there. I'm quite busy.
• How far is it from your house to school?
  Not too far. I walk to school every day.
• How much did it cost?
  It cost $4.
• How many people are there in your class?
  There are 30 of them.
• How come you lost the game?
  I couldn't answer the first question well enough.

Grammar Lab