WH- Question Words
Our Main Question Words
Who
- Asks about: a person or people
- Example: Who is your teacher?
What
- Asks about: a thing, an idea, or an action
- Example: What is your favorite color?
Where
- Asks about: a place or location
- Example: Where is the library?
When
- Asks about: a time or date
- Example: When is your birthday?
Why
- Asks about: a reason or purpose
- Example: Why are you studying English?
How
- Asks about: the way something is done or the condition of something
- Example: How do you spell your name?
Which
- Asks about: a choice between two or more options
- Example: Which book do you want to read?
Whose
- Asks about: possession or who something belongs to
- Example: Whose bag is this?
The Basic Structure
In English, when you use a "Wh-" question word, it almost always comes at the very beginning of the sentence.
- Where do you live?
- What is your name?
- When does the movie start?
Expanding Your Questions with "How"
The word "How" is very flexible and can be combined with other words to ask for more specific information:
- How many...? asks about a quantity that you can count.
- Example: How many students are in your class?
- How much...? asks about a quantity that you cannot count (like liquids or concepts) or the price of something.
- Example: How much water do you drink every day?
- Example: How much does this shirt cost?
- How often...? asks about frequency (how many times something happens).
- Example: How often do you go to the cinema?
- How far...? asks about distance.
- Example: How far is it from your home to the school?
