Question Words in English
Question words with examples
Nearly all question words in English start with the same two letters – WH. That’s why questions with question words are also called WH-questions.
Question word | Purpose | Example |
---|---|---|
where | Asking about places | Where are you from? |
who | Asking about people | Who are you?* |
Who did you phone?** | ||
when | Asking about time | When did you arrive? |
what | Asking about things or activities | What does he do at weekends? |
Asking about specific things or characteristics | What type of car do you drive? | |
why | Asking the reason for something | Why are you here? |
whose | Asking about ownership | Whose book is this? |
which | Asking to specify a number of things or people | Which bus do you take to school? |
how | Combined with many words to ask about characteristics, qualities, quantities, etc. For example: How much (price), How long (length), How often (frequency) | How old are you? |
* This is a subject question.
** This is an object question.
For more information see: Questions with who and what see: Subject – Object Object Questions in English