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10 What Are WH Question

Wh- questions are questions that use words starting with 'wh' like 'who', 'when', and 'what' to request information. The most common wh- words in English are 'who', 'what', 'where', 'when', 'why', 'which', 'whose', and 'how'. Each wh- word is used to ask about a specific type of information such as a person, thing, place, time, reason, choice, possession, or method.

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Amir Said Husein
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38 views

10 What Are WH Question

Wh- questions are questions that use words starting with 'wh' like 'who', 'when', and 'what' to request information. The most common wh- words in English are 'who', 'what', 'where', 'when', 'why', 'which', 'whose', and 'how'. Each wh- word is used to ask about a specific type of information such as a person, thing, place, time, reason, choice, possession, or method.

Uploaded by

Amir Said Husein
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What are Wh- questions and examples?

Wh- questions are questions that use specific words starting with the letters “wh,”
like “who,” “when,” and “what.” “How” is also often included in this list. These words
are often used when we want to request information from someone.

The most common Wh- question words in English are: “who,” “what,” “where,”
“when,” “why,” “which,” “whose,” and “how.”

Let’s take a closer look at each Wh- word with examples for context!

Who

Use “who” to ask about a person.

Examples:

Question Answer
Who is that? It’s our new teacher.
Who did you invite to your party? I invited Maria, Lee, and Abdul.
What

Use “what” to ask about a thing.

Examples:

Question Answer
What is your favorite movie? I love The Shawshank Redemption.
What did you do last night? I did my homework.

“What” is often used with another word such as time (to ask about clock time).

Examples:

Question Answer
What time is it? It’s 4:30.
What time does the show start? It starts at 8:00 pm.

“What” is also used before another noun to talk about a choice. It’s usually
interchangeable with “which.”

Examples:
Question Answer
What movie do you want to watch? Let’s watch the new Star Wars.
Which movie do you want to watch? Let’s watch the new Star Wars.
What kind of ice cream do you want? I would like chocolate, please.
Which kind of ice cream do you want? I would like chocolate, please.
Where

Use “where” to ask about a place.

Examples:

Question Answer
Where do you live? I live in California.
Where is your school? It’s on Somerset Street.
When

Use “when” to ask about time. When asking about clock time, it's usually
interchangeable with "what time."

Examples:

Question Answer
When do you start your new job? I start next month.
When does the class start? It starts at 9:00 am.
What time does the class start? It starts at 9:00 am.
Why

Use “why” to ask about a reason.

Examples:

Question Answer
Why do you like reading so much? I like it because I can learn new things.
Why did you call me? I called you to invite you to my party.
Which

Use “which” to ask about a choice.

Examples:
Question Answer
Which do you prefer, chicken or steak? I prefer chicken.
Which dress did you decide to wear? I decided to wear the black one.
Whose

Use “whose” to ask about possession.

Examples:

Question Answer
Whose book is this? It’s mine.
Whose car did you borrow? I borrowed my friend’s car.
How

Use “how” to ask about a method/way.

Examples:

Question Answer
How do you turn on this computer? You have to hold down the power button.
How did your presentation go? It went well.

Questions with “how” also often involve the way someone is feeling.

Examples:

Question Answer
How are you? I’m fine.
How do you feel? I’m nervous.
How are you feeling? Not great. I caught a cold.

“How” is often used with another word such as “often” (to ask about frequency),
“much” (to ask about cost), or “many” (to ask about an amount).

Examples:

Question Answer
How often do you brush your teeth? I brush my teeth twice a day.
How much does this jacket cost? It costs $75.00.
How many dogs do you have? We have two.
Print this cheat sheet to help your English language learners remember the meaning
of each Wh- question word.
How to form Wh- questions using patterns
There are two basic patterns you can use to form Wh- questions in English.

1. With no auxiliary

Wh- word + be + subject

Examples:

 Who is that?
 How are you?

2. With auxiliary

Wh- word + auxiliary + subject + verb

Examples:

 What do you want?


 Why did you quit?

What’s an auxiliary verb?

In questions, an auxiliary verb uses words like “do,” “does,” or “did.” It can also be a
modal like “can” or “should.” For different tenses, it can be “will” (future), “have”
(present perfect), etc.

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