We use question words to ask certain types of questions (question word questions). We often refer to them as WH words because they include the letters WH (for example WHy, HoW).
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Wh words
| Wh word | (Usage) | (Example) | |
| Who | (to inquire about person or people) | Who is that? | |
| What | (to inquire about things) | What is this? | |
| When | (to inquire about times) | When will you go? | |
| Where | (to inquire about locations) | Where will you be? | |
| Why | (to inquire about reasons) | Why are you crying? | |
| How | (to inquire about manner) | How did you do that? | |
| Which | (to inquire about a specific member of a group) | Which one was it? | |
| Whom | (formal objective case for persons) | Whom do you seek? | |
| Whose | (to inquire about ownership) | Whose are these? | |
| How much | (to inquire about amount) | How much does it cost? | |
| How many | (to inquire about number) | How many are there? | |
| How long | (to inquire about duration of time) | How long have you been here? | |
| How far | (to inquire about distance) | How far is it to the station? | |
| How often | (to inquire about frequency) | How often do you come here? | |
| How do you | (to inquire about method) | How do you say it in English? | |
| What?do | (to inquire about occupation) | What do you do? | |
| (to inquire about activities) | What did you do last night? | ||
| What...for | (to inquire about reason) | What did you do that for? | |
| How come | (informal: to ask for a reason) | How come (I can't go)? |
Wh- Questions allow a speaker to find out more information about topics. They are as follows:
| When? Where? Who? Why? How? What? | Time Place Person Reason Manner Object/Idea/Action |
Other words can also be used to inquire about specific information:
| Which (one)? Whose? Whom? How much? How many? How long? How often? How far? What kind (of)? | Choice of alternatives Possession Person (objective formal) Price, amount (non-count) Quantity (count) Duration Frequency Distance Description |
The "grammar" used with wh- questions depends on whether the topic being asked about is the "subject" or "predicate" of a sentence. For the subject pattern, simply replace the person or thing being asked about with the appropriate wh-word.
| (Someone has my baseball.) (Something is bothering you.) | Who has my baseball? What is bothering you? |
For the predicate pattern, wh- question formation depends on whether there is an "auxiliary" verb in the original sentence. Auxiliary or "helping" verbs are verbs that precede main verbs. Auxiliary verbs are italicized in the following sentences.
I can do it.
They are leaving.
I have eaten my lunch.
I should have finished my homework.
To make a question using the predicate pattern, first form a yes/no question by inverting the subject and (first) auxiliary verb. Then, add the appropriate wh- word to the beginning of the sentence.
| (You will leave some time.) | ? will you leave |
| (He is doing something.) | ? is he doing |
| (They have been somewhere.) | ? have they been |
If there is no auxiliary and the verb is "be," invert the subject and verb, then add the appropriate wh- word to the beginning of the sentence.
| (He is someone.) | ? is he |
| (The meeting was some time.) | ? was the meeting |
If there is no auxiliary and the verb is not "be," add do to the beginning of the sentence. Then add the appropriate wh-question word. Be sure to "transfer" the tense and number from the main verb to the word do.
| (You want something.) | ? do you want |
| (You went somewhere.) | ? did you go (past tense) |
| (She likes something.) | ? does she like (third person -s) |
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