ESL Blog: Wh-words and questions with them

Dear students,

Last Thursday we started learning different types of questions and wh-words (or question words). Here is more information to review this grammar. I've also posted some exercises for you to practice it.
I hope you like it.
Good luck and have fun.

Irena

Basic types of questions

There are 3 basic types of question:

Yes/No Questions - the answer to the question is "Yes" or "No"
Wh- Questions - the answer to the question is "Information"
Choice Questions ("or" questions) - the answer to the question is "in the question"; you are given a choice of two or three different things

1. Yes/No Questions

auxiliary verb	subject	main verb		Answer Yes or No
Do	you	work	here?	No, I don’t.
Does	she	read	a lot?	Yes, she does.
Can	you	drive	me home?	No, I can't.
Can	he	help	me?	Yes, he can.
Is	Anne		French?	Yes, she is.
Was	Marc		at home?	No, he wasn't.
Are	you		single?	Yes, I am.
Were	you		at home yesterday?	No, I wasn’t.
Is	he	reading	a book?	Yes, he is.
Are	you	studying	English?	No, I’m not.

2. Wh- Questions

question word	auxiliary verb	subject	main verb		Answer Information
Where	do	you	live?		In Paris.
Where	does	your sister	work?		At the bookstore.
Who	knows			the answer?	I do.
Who	is		calling?		Your friend.
Where	is			Bombay?	In India.
How	was	your day?			Great.
What	are	we	having	for lunch?	Fish and vegetables.

3. Choice Questions ("or" questions)

auxiliary verb	subject	main verb		OR		Answer In the question
Do	you	want	tea	or	coffee?	Coffee, please.
Does	he	run	fast	or	slowly?	Fast.
Is	your car		white	or	black?	It’s white.
Are	these shoes		$15	or	$50?	They are $50.
Is	she	reading	a magazine	or	a newspaper?	A newspaper.

REMEMBER:

What? - it's about a thing or an object.
Who? - it's about a person or people.
When? - it's about time (days, dates, months, years).
Where? - it's about a place or location.
Why? - It's about a reason.
How? - it's about manner.

Let's talk about wh-words again. In class we've already talked about the meaning of each of these words. I'd like you to review all of them and memorize.

As you remember, wh-words start with 2 letters - "wh". That's where their name came from. We use question words to ask certain types of questions. We often call them wh-words because they include the letters wh- (for example why, how).

First, watch this video. It will help you to remember question words.

Here is another video with a lot of wh-questions. Listen and learn how to ask such questions.

Question Word	Function	Example
what	asking for information about something	What is your name?
	asking for repetition or confirmation	What? I can't hear you. You did what?
	asking for additional information o description	What kind of car do your drive?
what...for	asking for a reason, asking why	What did you do that for?
when	asking about time	When did he leave?
where	asking in or at what place or position	Where do they live?
which	asking about choice	Which color do you want?
who	asking what or which person or people (subject)	Who opened the door?
whom	asking what or which person or people (object)	Whom did you see?
whose	asking about ownership	Whose are these keys? Whose turn is it?
why	asking for reason, asking what...for	Why do you say that?
why don't	making a suggestion	Why don't I help you?
how	asking about manner	How does this work?
	asking about condition or quality	How was your exam?
how + adj/adv	asking about extent or degree	see examples below
how far	distance	How far is Washington, DC from New York?
how long	length (time or space)	How long will it take?
how many	quantity (countable)	How many cars are there?
how much	quantity (uncountable)	How much money do you have?
how old	age	How old are you?
how come (informal)	asking for reason, asking why	How come I can't see her?