WH- questions (Question Words)

There are two main types of questions: Yes/No questions and WH-
questions. 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
Usages Examples
words
- What are you doing?
What Used to ask about things
- What do you think about the movie?
- When will the meeting start?
When Used to ask about time
- When are you leaving?
- Where’s my bag?
Where Used to ask about places
- Where do you live?
- Who do you love the most in your
Who Used to ask about people family?
- Who told you that story?
- Whom did you see in the
morning? I saw Mr. Mark, my
Used to ask about people
Whom English teacher.
(object of the verb)
- Whom was Jim talking to? He was
talking to Jack, his new roommate.
- Which one do you choose? The left
or right?
Which Used to ask about choices
- Of all the drinks on the menu, which
one would you like?
Used to ask - Whose pencil is this? Is it yours?
Whose
about possession - Whose books are these?
Question
Usages Examples
words
- Why did it happen? I didn’t
Used to ask about reasons/
Why understand.
causes
- Why is he crying?
- How can you explain this problem?
Used to ask about manner/
How Please tell us.
process
- 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, and 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.
 Who/whom
•
• What
• When
• Where
• Which
• Why
• Whose
• How
1. Who / Whom

The words ‘Who’ and ‘whom’ is used to obtain information about a

person or people behind the action.

• Who is at the door?

• Who left the door open?
• Whom did you give your bag to?
2. What

The English word What is used to request information about somebody

or something.

• What are you doing here?

• What did your mom say?
3. When

The word ‘When’ is used to obtain information about the period in

which an action occurs.

• When did you wake up?

• When can I see you again?
4. Where

The English word ‘Where’ is used to obtain information about the

location of a person or thing.
 • Where are your shoes?
• Where do you live?
5. Which

The English word ‘Which’ is used to obtain information to make a

comparison between two or more similar things or people.

• Which is your pen?

• Which author do you enjoy?
6. Why

The English word ‘Why’ is used to obtain information about the reason
something happens, or the reason somebody does something.

• Why are you sad?

• Why is the university off?
7. Whose

The word ‘Whose’ is used to obtain information about who something

belongs.

• Whose idea it was?

• Whose book is on the table?
8. How

The English word ‘How’ is used to obtain information about the way
something happens or the manner or way somebody behaves or does
something.

• How has the weather been?

• How was the tea?
List of Wh- Question Words with Examples

To make things simpler to understand and clear our concepts of question

words we have got a nice table for you guys.
 Question Example
Word Meaning / Function sentence
used asking for gathering data What is your age?
about person, place, or thing; What? She can’t
asking for repeating or hear you.
what confirming You did what?
used for asking reason and What did she do
what…for asking why that for?
When did she
when used for asking about time leave?
to know about a place or Where do you
where position live?
Which food do
which asking about someone’s choice you want?
asking about what or which Who opened the
who person or people (subject) door for you?
asking about what or which Whom did she
whom person or people (object) see?
Whose are these
used for asking about toys?
whose ownership Whose car is it?
asking for a reason, asking Why does he say
why what…for that?
usually used for making a Why don’t they
why don’t suggestion help you?
 asking about manner or How does this
process; asking about thing work? How
how condition, quality or result was your race?
how + we use it for asking about the see following
adj/adv extent or degree examples
How far is
to get information about Varanasi from
how far distance New Delhi?
How long will it
take to reach
how long length (time or space) Chennai?
to know the quantity How many cars
how many (countable) do you have?
How much money
how much quantity (uncountable) do they have?
how old to get age data How old is she?
how come asking for a reason, asking why How come I can’t
(informal) about something see him?
Wh- questions (open questions)
Essentially, there are two types of questions: Yes / No questions and Wh–
questions. Wh– questions are so called because except for the question
word how all the question words begin with the letters Wh. They are
also called open questions because the number of possible responses is
limitless. This means they must be answered with more information than
just a simple “yes” or “no.”
Here are the Wh- English question words.
who, whom

what

when

where

why

how

which

whose
Who and whom are used to obtain information about a person or people.
question response

Who is at the door? Tom is at the door.

Who wants an apple? I want an apple.

 Whom is he dating? He is dating Anna.
(Who is he dating?)
Learn more about the difference between who and whom.
What is used to request information about somebody or something?
question response

What is this? This is a bird.

What did she say? She said to be quiet.

What have they done? They’ve broken the window.

When is used to obtain information about the period in which an action
occurs?
question response

When does Anna arrive? She arrives at 10:30.

When can I see you again? I don’t know.

When was the race? The race was yesterday.

Where is used to obtain information about the location of a person or
thing?
question response

Where does Natasha live? She lives in Miami.

Where were the keys? The keys were in the car.

Where have you been? We have been at the bank.

Why is used to obtain information about the reason something happens,
or the reason somebody does something?
question response

Why is the street closed? They are repairing it.

Why did Alex leave? He had a meeting.

Why haven’t you called? I lost my cell phone.

In informal American English, "How come?" is sometimes used in place
of "Why?"
Why is she late? = How come she’s late?

Why did he stay? How come he stayed?

Why can’t you go? How come you can’t go?

How is used to obtain information about the way something happens, or
the manner or way somebody behaves or does something?
question response

How does this work? Push the red button.

How was your mother? She was much better.

How has the weather been? It’s been very rainy.

How will he win the race? By training every day.

Which is used to obtain information to make a comparison between two
or more similar things or people.
 question response

Which of these pens is the best? The black one.

Which author do you enjoy? I enjoy reading

Borges.

Which river is longer, the Nile or the The Nile.

Amazon?

Which street leads downtown? The street is on the

left.
Whose is used to obtain information about who something belongs to?
question response

Whose book is on the table? That’s Tom’s book.

Whose idea was that? It was her idea.

Whose child is this that has a cough? He is my child.

Warning! Do not confuse whose with the contraction who’s (who is). In
spoken English, these words sound the same, but in writing, they are
very different.
We use some specific words to ask questions. Wh-words are some of
such words that usually begin with “W” and “H.” The questions that we
produce with wh-words are called wh-questions. They are very
commonly used in our everyday conversation. In this post, I’ll share the
structure of wh-questions and how you can respond to such questions.
Interrogative sentences or questions that begin with wh-words:
what, when, where, who, whom, which, whose, why, and how are
called wh-questions. We use wh-questions to ask about specific
qualities, manners, reasons, processes, things, times, places, choices,
possessions, people, etc. Here are some examples of such sentences:

1. What do you want?

2. Where do you come from?
3. When will you go to bed?
4. Who is that man?
5. Whose book is this?
6. Why are you crying?
7. Who do you like most?
8. Which dress do you prefer?
9. How are you?
Note: Although “How” does not begin with “W” and “H,” it is
considered to be a wh-word. The letters “W” and “H” are present in
“How” but in a different order.
There are nine wh-words in English. Each of them has its specific use in
interrogative sentences. In this part, I’ll discuss the structure of wh-
questions and provide examples of all the nine wh-words in sentences.
Moreover, later in this post, I’ll show how to respond to wh questions.
Let’s go!
A Table of Contents hide
1) Structure of WH Questions
1.1) Structure 1: Wh-word + Helping verb + Subject + Main verb + …?
1.2) Structure 2: Wh-word + Main verb + …?
2) What: Used to Ask for Information about Things or Action
3) Where: Used to Ask about Places
4) When: Used to Ask about Time
5) Who: Used to Ask about People
6) Whose: Used to Ask about Possession
7) Why: Used to Ask for Reasons
8) Whom: Used to Ask about People
9) Which: Used to Ask for any Specific Information
10) How: Used to Ask about Manners or Quantity
11) How to Respond to WH-questions
Structure of WH Questions
We can make wh-questions in two ways. One is with a helping verb, and
another is without any helping verb.
Structure 1: Wh-word + Helping verb + Subject + Main verb + …?
• What do you prefer for dinner?
• Why should they go there too early?
• When will they leave for the station?
Structure 2: Wh-word + Main verb + …?
 • What happened to Samuel?
• Who called you?
• Who bought you this car?
Now, let’s look at the uses of all the wh-words in wh-questions.
What: Used to Ask for Information about Things or Action
The word “What” is one of the common wh-words used to ask for
information about something or any action. For example:
• What are you doing now? (Action)
• What are you looking for? (Thing)
Remember! “What” is also used in indirect questions. For example:
• The teacher asked the students what their preferences regarding
the exam date were.
• Jim wonders what his brother does nowadays.
Where: Used to Ask about Places
“Where” is used to ask for information about places. For example:
• Where did you get this?
• Where have you been for the last couple of years?
• Where do you find such beautiful showpieces?
Note: “Where” is also used in indirect questions. For example:
• I asked my students where they wanted to go for an excursion.
• He called me to know where I was yesterday morning.
When: Used to Ask about Time
We use the word “when” to ask for information about the time of any
action. Let’s see some examples.
 • When will you go to the gym?
• When did they meet you?
• When do you wake up?
Remember! “When” is also used in indirect questions. For example:
• John asked us when we would be there.
• The client wonders when we will be able to
Who: Used to Ask about People
“Who” is a wh-word used to ask for information about people.
• Who is the captain of the team?
• Who do you talk to about your problems?
• Who helps you most?
Note: We also use “Who” in indirect questions & statements.
• Please tell me to who I should send the parcel.
• I can’t tell you who gave it to me.
Whose: Used to Ask about Possession
We use “Whose” to ask for information about one’s possession. For
example:
• Whose car is this?
• Whose computer is ok?
• Whose are these books?
Remember! We can use “Whose” in indirect questions.
• The stranger wondered whose the phone was.
• He asked me whose flat is this.
Why: Used to Ask for Reasons
The wh-word “Why” is used to ask for reasons or explanations. Let’s see
some examples.
• Why do you like this place most?
• Why are they so weak?
• Why did he call you?
Note: “Why” is also used to make indirect questions & statements.
• They asked me why I missed the last class.
• I don’t know why he did it.
Whom: Used to Ask about People
“Whom” is also used to ask for information about people as we use
“Who.” However, we use “Whom” as the object of “Who.”
• Whom do you work with?
• Whom did they finally hire for the project?
• Whom will you select for the job?
Remember! We also use “Whom” in indirect questions or statements.
• He didn’t meet the man whom I sent.
• They asked me with whom I visited India.
Which: Used to Ask for any Specific Information
We use “Which” to ask for any specific information about anything.
Some examples can be:
• Which one is yours?
• Which bike would you like to buy?
• Which teacher is your favorite?
Note: We also use “Which” in indirect questions & statements.
• Let them decide which one to buy.
• She knows which machine is not working.
How: Used to Ask about Manners or Quantity
“How” is a wh-word used to ask for information about the manner,
degree, or quantity of anything. Examples are:
• How do you go to the office?
• How hot is the coffee?
• How old are you?
Remember! “How” is also used to make indirect questions or
statements.
• I have no clue how fit he is now.
• Did you know how difficult the situation was?
How to Respond to WH-questions
As we use wh-questions to ask for information about people, things,
places, etc., we cannot answer them with “Yes” or “No.” We are
expected to provide specific information in response to wh-questions.
Let’s see some examples.

Wh-
Question Response
word

What What is your favorite meat? My favorite meat is beef.

Where Where did you go yesterday? I went to my hometown.

When When will you arrive? I will arrive by 6 pm.

Who Who is your favorite poet? Tennyson is my favorite poet.

Whose Whose movie do you like most? I like Satyajit Ray’s films.

Why Why are you here? I’m here to give you the file.

Whom do you like most in I like my English

Whom
school? teacher most.

Which tea do you think is

Which I think green tea is better.
better?

How much do you pay for the

How I pay $1000 every month.
flat?