At Question Words are interrogative pronouns used to ask questions in English.
They are used before auxiliary and modal verbs.
With the exception of the how, all words start with -wh and therefore, they are called wh-words.
Check out a table below with each of the question words, the translation and some examples.
| Question Words | Translation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Who (subject role) | who | Who are you? (Who are you?) |
| Whom (object function) | who | Who did you call? (Who called you?) |
| whose | from who | Whose pens and books are these? (Whose pens and books are these?) |
| why | why | Why do you say that? (Why you say that?) |
| Which | which, which | Which do you want? (Which one do you want?) |
| what | what, what, what | What do you do? (What do you do?) |
| Onde | Where | Where is Jonah? (Where is Jonah?) |
| when | When | When do you arrive? (When do you arrive?) |
| how | like | How are you? (How are you?) |
Pay Attention! (Heads up)
It is important to note that the how may be accompanied by some words, for example
| Expression | Translation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| how old | how many years | How old is he? (How old is he?) |
| how many | how many, how many | How many cats do you have? (How many cats do you have?) |
| how much | how much | How much money do you need? (How much money do you need?) |
| how long | how much time | How long will it take? (How long will this last?) |
| how far | how far | How is the hotel from hospital? (How far is the hotel from the hospital?) |
Note: O how many is used for countable nouns. already the how much, for uncountable nouns.
know more about countable and uncountable nouns, who and who and what and what.
Exercises
1. (USF) The question below refers to the dialogue presented below:
A: I didn’t pay the bill
B: _________ not ?
C: Because ________ was incorrect
a) which - you
b) where - we
c) how - they
d) why – it
e) who - me
Alternative d: why – it
2. (PUC - PR) " _________ did you buy that book?" “I bought that book two weeks ago”
a) how
b) where
c) why
d) what
e) when
Alternative e: when
3. (FAC. CURITIBA RIGHT – PR) One of the alternatives correctly fills in the blanks. Tick it:
I. ______ did you stay here? six hours
II. ______ milk do you drink a day? 4 glasses
III. ______ is your house? It’s six miles from here.
IV. ______ glasses of water do you drink a day? Eleven glasses
a) How far – how long – how much – how often
b) How long – how many – how far – how often
c) How often – how many – how far – how long
d) How long – how much – how far – how many
e) How many – how far – how long – how much
Alternative d: How long – how much – how far – how many
Read too:
- English pronouns
- English personal pronouns
- Simple Past Exercises