Question Words & Question Forms
who, what, where, when, why, how + word order.
We use question words (also called wh- words) to ask for specific information instead of just 'yes' or 'no': 'who' asks about a person (Who is your teacher?), 'what' asks about a thing (What is this?), 'where' asks about a place (Where do you live?), 'when' asks about a time (When does the film start?), 'why' asks about a reason (Why are you late?) and 'how' asks about the way or manner (How do you go to school? - By bus). We use 'how many' before countable nouns (How many books do you have?) and 'how much' before uncountable nouns (How much water is there?). In most questions the word order is: question word + auxiliary (do/does/did or be) + subject + main verb (Where does she work? When did you arrive?), and we choose 'do/does' for the present and 'did' for the past, always keeping the main verb in its base form. When the question word is the subject of the sentence, we do NOT use do/does/did and we keep normal word order (Who broke the window? - Tom broke it), but when it is the object we need the auxiliary (Who did you see?). We often answer with short answers (Yes, I do / No, she doesn't) or with the exact information asked for. For example: 'How many students are there in your class, and where do they sit?'
Key terms
| Question word | Asks about | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who | a person | Who is your teacher? |
| what | a thing | What is this? |
| where | a place | Where do you live? |
| when | a time | When does the film start? |
| why | a reason | Why are you late? |
| how | the way / manner | How do you go to school? |
| how many | quantity (countable nouns) | How many books do you have? |
| how much | quantity (uncountable nouns) | How much water is there? |
| Type | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Wh- question (do/does/did) | wh- word + auxiliary + subject + base verb | Where does she work? |
| Wh- question (be) | wh- word + be + subject | Why are you late? |
| Yes/No question | auxiliary + subject + base verb | Did you arrive? |
| Subject question | wh- word (subject) + verb (normal order) | Who broke the window? |
- 1Choose the wh- word: We are asking about a place, so we use 'where'.
- 2Add the auxiliary: The sentence is present and the subject is 'she' (he/she/it), so the auxiliary is 'does'.
- 3Put the subject after the auxiliary: Order so far: Where + does + she ...
- 4Add the main verb in the base form: After 'does' the verb has no -s, so it is 'work', not 'works'.
- 5Full question: Where does she work?
- 1Object question: 'Who did you see?' - here 'who' is the object, so we need the auxiliary 'did' before the subject 'you'.
- 2Subject question: 'Who broke the window?' - here 'who' is the subject (the doer), so we use NO auxiliary.
- 3Keep statement order in the subject question: We do not say 'Who did break the window?'; the verb stays in normal order: Who broke the window? - Tom broke it.
In questions the auxiliary comes BEFORE the subject, not after it. Say 'Why are you late?' and 'Where does she live?', not 'Why you are late?' or 'Where she lives?'.
After do/does/did the main verb stays in its base form (no -s, no past ending): 'Where does she work?' (not 'works') and 'Where did your friends go?' (not 'went').
When the wh- word is the SUBJECT, do not add do/does/did - keep normal statement order: 'Who lives here?' (not 'Who does live here?').
Do not mix 'do' with 'be'. With be, just put be before the subject: 'Why are you late?', never 'Why do you are late?'. And use 'how many' with countable nouns, 'how much' with uncountable nouns.
Rules
- 1Match the wh- word to the answer: who = person, what = thing, where = place, when = time, why = reason, how = way/manner.
- 2Use 'how many' with countable nouns (how many apples?) and 'how much' with uncountable nouns (how much money?).
- 3Word order in most questions: question word + auxiliary (do/does/did or be) + subject + base verb: 'Where does he live?', 'When did they leave?'.
- 4Use 'do/does' for the present and 'did' for the past, and always keep the main verb in its base form after them.
- 5When the wh- word is the SUBJECT, do not use do/does/did: 'Who lives here?' (subject) vs 'Who do you know?' (object).
Practice
10 easy · 10 medium · 10 hard
10 random questions per test