WH Questions

  

WH- words - Easy Learning Grammar

The WH- words are also called interrogatives. They are used for WH- questions. They can be determiners, adverbs, or pronouns.

WH- determiners

When used as determiners, what, which, or whose can be used to ask questions:

• about nouns

• What book are you reading?
• Which plane is he catching?
• Whose jacket is this?

• or about the pronoun one or ones.

• Which one would you like?
• Which ones did Ruth want?

• The determiner which can be used in questions about selecting. It can also be used together with the preposition of for the same purpose.

• Which colour shall we use?
• Which book sells the most copies?
• Which of these colours shall we use?
• Of all your novels,which of them did you enjoy writing the most?

• The determiner whose asks about possession with reference to a person as the possessor.

• Whose mother did you say she was?
• Whose bag is this?

WH- adverbs

The adverb WH- words, when, where, how, and why, always make the sentence follow the interrogative word order.

• When asks about time.

• When will they arrive?
• When shall I see you again?

• Where asks about place.

• Where are you going?
• Where have you been?
• Where is your coat?

• How asks about manner.

• How did you get here? – We came by train.
• How does this thing work?

• Why asks about reasons and purpose. Questions with why are usually answered with a clause containing because to express reason, or with the to infinitive to express purpose.

• Why is the baby crying? – Because she’s hungry.
• Why are you saving your money? – To buy a bike.

• How much implies reference to a quantity; how many implies reference to an amount or a countable number of things but may leave out the noun referred to.

• How much money did they take? – All of it.
• How much does it cost? – £4.20.
• How many packs do you want? – Twelve, please.
• How many do you want? – Twelve, please.

• How can also be used with adjectives such as old, big, far, or with adverbs such as often, soon, quickly to ask about degree, rate, or timing.

• How far is it to the station? – About five kilometres.
• How often does he come? – Not very often.

WH- pronouns

The pronouns who, whose, which, and what can be the subject or object of a verb.

• Who can help me?
• Whose is the new sports car outside?
• Which was your best subject at school?
• What happened next?
• What have you got to take with you to camp?

The interrogative pronoun whose is used when the question is asked about a person as the possessor of something. See also Pronouns on interrogative and relative pronouns.

• Whose is the motorbike parked outside?
• Whose is this?

• The form whom is used as the object of a verb or of a preposition in very formal or old-fashioned English.

• Whom did you talk to?
• Whom would you rather have as a boss?

Modern English usage prefers who instead of whom in all but the most formal contexts.

• Who did you talk to?
• Who would you rather have as a boss?

When whom is used as the object of a preposition, it normally follows the preposition.

• To whom did you speak?
• With whom did she go?

When who is used, the preposition is placed at the end of the clause.

• Who did you speak to?
• Who did she go with?

The WH- subject pronouns are found in the same sentence order as statements:   WH- subject pronoun + the main verb.

• Who can help me?
• Whose is that motorbike parked outside?
• Which was your best subject at school?
• What happened next?

The WH- object pronouns make the sentence take the word order of a question:   WH- object pronoun + primary or modal auxiliary + subject + base form of the verb.

• What do you have to take with you to camp?
• What has Jonathan done now?

• The exception to this is in informal spoken English, when the speaker wants to show shock or disbelief.

• You did what?