Question Words: Who, What,Where,When, Why, How
What are question words?
In Part 1 you learned how to ask questions that need a yes or no answer. But what if you want to find out a name, a place, a time or a reason? For this you need question words.
A question word comes at the beginning of the question. The answer is not yes or no. It is real information.
Here are the main question words and what they ask about:
- Who asks about a person.
- What asks about a thing or an activity.
- Where asks about a place.
- When asks about time.
- Why asks about a reason.
- How asks about the way, the state or the degree.
- Whose asks who owns something.
- Which asks about a choice from a small group.
How to build a question with a question word
Good news: you already know the hard part. Take a yes/no question and put the question word in front.
| Yes/No question | Question with a question word |
|---|---|
| Are you from Spain? | Where are you from? |
| Is she tired? | Why is she tired? |
| Do you live here? | Where do you live? |
| Does he work on Monday? | When does he work? |
| Can she drive? | When can she drive? |
There are three patterns:
- With to be: question word + am / is / are + subject + …? Example:
- With other verbs: question word + do / does + subject + base verb + …? Example:
- With can: question word + can + subject + base verb + …? Example:
Remember: the word order after the question word is the same as in a yes/no question. The helper verb (am / is / are / do / does / can) always comes before the subject.
Question words one by one
Who: people
Use who to ask about a person: someone’s name, job or relationship to you.
He’s my cousin. Mr Brown. I live with my parents.
What: things and activities
Use what to ask about a thing, an idea or an action.
It’s a pencil case. I’m a nurse. (This means: What is your job?) -
You can put a noun after what to ask for more specific information:
It’s five o’clock. It’s Monday. It’s black. I like rock.
Where: places
Use where to ask about a place or a position.
I’m from Italy. I live in Madrid. She works at a hospital.
When: time
Use when to ask about a time, a day or a date.
In May. At nine o’clock. On Saturdays.
Tip: use at with clock times (at 9:00), on with days (on Monday) and in with months (in May).
Why: reasons
Use why to ask for a reason. The answer usually starts with because.
Because the bus was late. Because I want to travel. Because the water is cold.
How: the way, the state, the degree
Use how to ask in what way something is done, or how someone feels. It is also a very common greeting.
I’m fine, thanks. I boil it for ten minutes. By bus.
Put an adjective or an adverb after how to ask about size, age, distance and more:
I’m twenty-five. He’s 1.80 m. It’s ten minutes on foot. It’s one hour. Every day.
How much and how many
Both ask about quantity. The choice depends on the noun that follows.
- How many + countable nouns (things you can count, in the plural):
- How much + uncountable nouns (water, money, time, milk):
- How much also asks about price:
It’s twenty pounds.
Whose: belonging
Use whose to ask who something belongs to.
It’s Anna’s. They’re mine. It’s Tom’s.
Which: a choice
Use which when you choose from a small, known group of things or people.
Number 12. Blue. The white one.
What and which are close, but not the same. Use what when the choice is open: What is your favourite colour? (any colour). Use which when the choice is limited: Which colour do you prefer, red or blue?
Careful: when “who” or “what” is the subject
Sometimes who or what is the subject of the sentence. It does the action itself. In this case there is no do or does, and the verb stays in its normal form (with -s for he/she/it).
| Asking about the object | Asking about the subject |
|---|---|
| Who do you like? (You like someone.) | Who likes pizza? (Someone likes pizza.) |
| What do you want? (You want something.) | What happens next? (Something happens.) |
Examples:
Anna lives here. Music.
How to answer question words
Don’t answer with yes or no. Give the information that the question word asks for:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who is that? | That’s my brother. |
| Where do you live? | I live in Berlin. |
| When is the lesson? | At 5 o’clock. / On Monday. |
| Why are you late? | Because I missed the bus. |
| How are you? | I’m fine, thanks. |
| How much is the ticket? | It’s ten euros. |
You can answer with a full sentence (I live in Berlin.) or a short one (In Berlin.). Both are correct.
Mini dialogue: meeting someone new
Read the dialogue and click any question to hear it.
- Anna:
- Tom: I’m Tom. Nice to meet you.
- Anna:
- Tom: I’m from Canada.
- Anna:
- Tom: I live in London.
- Anna:
- Tom: Because I study English here.
- Anna:
- Tom: At nine o’clock. Oh, I’m late! Bye!
Question Words
Quick summary
- Who = person, what = thing or action, where = place, when = time, why = reason, how = way or state, whose = owner, which = choice.
- A question word goes first, then the helper verb, then the subject: Where do you live?
- With to be: Where are you? With other verbs: Where do you live?
- After do / does the main verb stays in the base form: Where does she live?
- How many + countable nouns, how much + uncountable nouns and prices.
- If who / what is the subject, don’t use do / does: Who lives here?
- Answer with information, not with yes / no. For why, start with because.
