There are two main types of questions: Yes/No questions and WH- questions.
WH-questions are questions starting with WH- words including: where, when, why, what, who, whom, which, whose and how.
Let’s have a look at the different types of question words:
WHERE:
WHERE is used when asking about a place or location.
Examples:
- Where did you buy that book?
- Where were you born?
- Where are you going this weekend?
WHEN:
WHEN is used when asking about time, an occasion or a moment.
Examples:
- When will I see you again?
- When did they get married?
- When does your bus leave?
WHY:
WHY is used when asking for a reason or explanation.
Examples:
- Why are you always late?
- Why are you so fabulous?
- Why is the receptionist so shy?
WHY DON’T … is used for making a suggestion.
Examples:
- Why don’t we go play outside?
- Why don’t I help you with that?
- Why don’t you do something about it?
WHAT:
WHAT is used when asking information about a specific thing or object.
Examples:
- What is she wearing to the concert?
- What do we need to buy at the supermarket?
- What did the doctor say is wrong with you?
WHAT is also use when asking for a confirmation or repetition.
Examples:
- What did you say?
- What was that? Please repeat.
- What? Are you sure?
WHAT … FOR? Is used when asking for a reason, explanation or asking why.
Examples:
- What will you use the camera for?
- What is Sarah looking for?
- What did Ben ask for?
WHO:
WHO is used when asking about a person or people (often the subject of the answer)
Examples:
- Who is the best teacher in the world? Sally is the best teacher.
- Who should work harder? All the employees should work harder.
- Who will cook dinner tonight? My cousin will cook dinner tonight.
WHOM:
WHOM is used when asking about a person or people (the object of the answer)
Examples:
- Whom are they going to visit? They are going to visit their grandparents.
- Whom is she looking after? She is looking for the nurse.
- Whom did you see at the party last night? I saw Jane at the party last night.
WHICH:
WHICH is used when asking about a choice or decision between different alternatives or options.
Examples:
- Which restaurant did you eat at?
- Which colour do you prefer – red or blue?
- Which house is yours, the big one or the small one?
WHOSE:
WHOSE is used when asking about ownership or who something belongs to.
Examples:
- Whose car is parked in my parking space?
- Whose money was that on the table?
- Whose house did you have the party at?
HOW:
HOW is used to ask about the way, manner, condition or quality.
Examples:
- How was the class yesterday?
- How did you go to the park without your car?
- How is the magician doing that?
HOW COME: (Informal) is informally used when asking why or asking for a reason.
Examples:
- How come Jack is the only person with blue eyes in his family?
- How come Karen didn’t complain about the bad service?
HOW + (ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB):
HOW + (Adjective or Adverb) is used to ask about different expressions or specific qualities of many different things.
Here are some examples:
- HOW MUCH (Uncountable Quantity)
- How much water is in the Mediterranean Sea?
- HOW MANY (Countable Quantity)
- How many brothers does your father have?
- HOW FAR (Distance)
- How far is the hotel from the beach?
- HOW LONG (Time Duration or Space)
- How long did you take to get home from work yesterday?
- HOW OLD (Age)
- How old was she when she got married?
- HOW OFTEN (Frequency)
- How often does he go to the theatre?
