Wh questions – English grammar courses
In this lesson, we will talk about something called “wh questions”. These are question words that start with the letters “wh”. Those questions are: who, what, when, where, why and which. These words are used in the beginning of sentences to express an interrogative situation.
- Who
Who is used to ask about a person as a subject. For example:
-Who is this man?
-Who are you?
-Who wants to go to school?
-Who is going to come tonight?
-Who will it be?
-Who are you going with?
You use “whom” if you’re asking about people as an object although this rule isn’t followed strictly. For example:
-Whom did you talk to?
-Whom did you see?
You can use “whose” to talk about ownership. For example:
-Whose is this?
-Whose is that?
- What
“What” is used to ask about a thing or an action. For example:
-What is this?
-What are you doing?
-What time is it?
-What does the weather look like?
-What happened?
-What’s going on?
You can also use the formula “what … for?” to ask about the reason for something. For example:
-What are you waiting for?
-What are you doing that for?
- When
When is used to ask about the time. For example:
-When will you visit London?
-When does that happen?
-When are you going home?
-When can we meet again?
-When did she come?
-When is the concert?
- Where
Where is used to ask about a place. For example:
-Where are you going?
-Where is my book?
-Where did mom go?
-Where will you be in five hours?
-Where do you want to meet?
-Where can we read some books?
- Why:
Why is used to ask about the reason for something. For examples:
-Why are you going to school?
-Why did you cry?
-Why is the door open?
-Why can’t we go outside?
-Why won’t you help me?
-Why does he always wake up so late?
You can use “why don’t …” to suggest something. For example:
-Why don’t you call her?
-Why don’t you go outside?
-Why don’t we meet up?
- Which
You can use Which to talk about choice. For example:
-Which dress do you like?
-Which cinema should we go?
-Which car should we buy?
-Which company should I work in?
-Which meal do you want?
-Which person did you talk to?
Let’s do some exercises with what we have learned already. Make new questions using the following words: who are, who is, what is, what does, when will, when did, where did, where can, why are, why does.