There are two main types of questions: Yes/No questions and WH- question. WH-questions are questions starting with WH-words including: what, when, where, who, whom, which, whose, why and how.
Question words are used to ask about specific qualities, times, places, people and so on. Below is a list of question words and example sentences:
Question words | Usages | Examples |
|---|---|---|
What | Used to ask about things | - What are you doing? - What do you think about the movie? |
When | Used to ask about time | - When will the meeting start? - When are you leaving? |
Where | Used to ask about places | - Where’s my bag? - Where do you live? |
Who | Used to ask about people | - Who do you love the most in your family? - 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. - 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? - Of all the drinks in the menu, which one would you like? |
Whose | Used to ask about possession | - Whose pencil is this? Is it yours? - Whose books are these? |
Why | Used to ask about reasons/ causes | - Why did it happen? I didn’t understand. - Why is he crying? |
How | Used to ask about manner/ process | - How can you explain this problem? Please tell us. - How can you get here? |
I. How to form WH-questions?
1. with an auxiliary
WH-WORD + AUXILIARY + SUBJECT + MAIN VERB …?
- Auxiliary verbs are helping verbs (not main verbs).
- Common auxiliary verbs include be, do, have. Others are will, shall, would, can, could, must, should, may, might, etc.
- What do you do for a living?
- Why should we read books?
- When is she coming?
2. without any auxiliary
(when WH-words replace subjects already)
WH-WORD + MAIN VERB …?
- What happened to Peter?
- A bad accident happened to him today.
- Who won the game?
- Tio won the game.
- Who gave you this present?
- My cousin gave me this present.
II. 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.
Wh Questions Test
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