In the last video we started looking at questions and looked at how auxiliary verbs are important for asking yes/no question. In this video we are going to look at the question words and how we use them to ask for specific types of information.
There are nine question words and phrases that we are going to look at in this video. They are:
What, where, why, when, how, how many, how much, whose, and which.
Each one is used to ask for a different type of information and needs to be answered with information. They can’t be answered with just a yes or no like the question we looked at in the last lesson.
Question Words: What
“What” is the most general of the question words. We use it to ask for all the types of information that don’t have their own specific question word. For example;
Identity: What is that?
Description: “What kind of music do you like?
Choice: What would you like to drink?
Information: What’s the time?
Opinion: “What do you think about this issue?”
Question Words: Where
“Where” is used to ask about the location of something or someone. The answer to these questions should be a place, like a country, a town, or like a shop or restaurant.
Where are you from?
Where do you live?
Where is the best place to eat around here?
Where do you work?
Where do you usually go to relax?
Where is the next meeting taking place?
Question Words: Why
The question word “Why” is used to ask about the reason for something. For example;
Why did you do that?
Why do you think that happened?
Why do you think that happened?
Why do you want to go there?
Why did you choose that career?
Why are you learning English?
Why did you quit your job?
The answer to why questions should be the reason, for learning English or the reason for quitting your job.
Question Word: When
The question word “When” is used to ask about the time something occurred or will occur.
When were you born?
When do you finish work?
When did you start learning English?
When is your next vacation?
When did you last see your friends?
When is the next meeting?
The answer to this question should be a time. It could be a date, ‘I was born on 1st of November’, or a time, ‘I finish work at 7pm’.
Question Word: How
The question word “How“, on its own, is used to ask about the method or way something is done. For example;
How did you get here?
How did you solve the problem?
How did you learn English?
How do you like your coffee?
You would answer these question with a description of the way the thing was done. “How did you get here? “, “I came by car”. ‘How did you learn English?’, “By subscribing to the English Language Club on YouTube”. You should do that too if you haven’t already.
Sometimes how is used with an adjective to ask what extent an adjective applies. For example;
How old are you? I‘m 40.
How long have you lived here? I’ve lived here for 10 years.
Question Words: How many
“How Many” is used to ask about the number of things. Remember there are two types of nouns, countable and un-countable this can only be used for countable nouns. For example,
-How many siblings do you have?
-How many countries have you visited?
How many languages do you speak?
How many books have you read this month?
How many pets do you have?
How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?
All of these questions could be answered with a number, for example; “How many siblings do you have?”, “I have one brother.” Or “How many languages do you speak?”, “I speak 2 English and Spanish.”
But you can also answer with an expression if you don’t know the number exactly or it is not important. For example: How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?”, “Too many!” Or “How many books have you ready this month?”, “Not enough.”
Question Words: How much
How much can be used in a similar way to how many but when we are asking about the quantity of uncountable nouns.
How much milk do we need?
How much wine did you drink?
How much studying do you do?
How much of this can I take with me?
We can also use it to talk about money.
How much does this cost?
How much do you earn per hour?
Question Word: Whose
The question word “Whose” is used to ask about possession or ownership of something. For example;
Whose book is this?
Whose phone is ringing?
Whose turn is it to do the dishes?
Whose idea was it to go on a trip?
Whose birthday is coming up next?
Whose shoes are these?
The answer to this question should be the person who owns the car or the pen. “It’s John’s book”, “It’s Emma’s phone.”
The question word “Whose” is used to ask about possession or ownership of something. For example;
Whose book is this?
Whose phone is ringing?
Whose turn is it to do the dishes?
Whose idea was it to go on a trip?
Whose birthday is coming up next?
Whose shoes are these?
The answer to this question should be the person who owns the car or the pen. “It’s John’s book”, “It’s Emma’s phone.”
Question Word: Which
The question word “Which” is used to ask about a choice between a limited number of options. For example;
Which one do you prefer, coffee or tea?
Which route do you think is the fastest?
Which color do you like better, red or blue?
Which book do you recommend?
Which day of the week is the busiest for you?
Which school did you go to?
You would respond with one of the options. “I prefer tea.” “Mondays are busiest for me.”
The options aren’t necessarily part of the question, but they would be implied by the context of the conversation.
Pronunciation of Question Words
It’s important to remember that the way you ask a question can change its meaning. In English, we normally have a rising intonation in questions, making the voice go up in pitch. This helps to indicate that you are asking a question.
For example, ask a question but with a flat intonation; “How old are you?”, it doesn’t sound right. Like I am not interested. But a rising intonation conveys interest and curiosity “How old are you?”