Wh Questions in English (Plus Example Sentences)

In English, one type of question is the “Wh question.” These questions begin with who, what, where, when, why, which or whose. How is often included in this list as well, even though it doesn’t begin with “wh.” 

You can use Wh questions to find out information about people, places, ideas or things. Read on to learn how to ask Wh questions in English, with many examples to support your understanding.

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Overview of Wh Questions in English 

Wh questions are called “open questions” because there are many possible answers (as opposed to just “yes” or “no”).

For example, your answer to the question “Where are you from?” may be different from your friend’s answer to this question. You can’t say “yes” or “no” because the answer must be a place, like “China” or “Mexico City.”

Here’s an example for each of the Wh question words, along with the type of information they ask about: 

For a more in-depth overview of Wh questions, check out this video lesson from Ellii: 

What…?

“What” is a very common question word. Use “what” to ask about a thing or idea. Usually, the answer to a “what” question is a noun (a person, place, thing or idea).

For example:

You can also use “What?” to ask someone to repeat something, or use a longer phrase link “What did you say?”

When…?

We use “when” to ask about a time or date.

For example:

To ask about a specific time, you can replace “when” with “what time.”

What time does the movie start?

Where…?

We use “where” to ask about a place.

For example:

Why…?

We use “why” to ask for a reason or explanation. The answer will usually include the word “because.”

For example:

Who…?

We use “who” to ask a question about a person or people.

For example:

“Whom” is another question word like “who.” However, “whom” is not very common. Technically, “whom” asks about the direct object of the sentence. For example:

A: To whom should we send the letter?
B: We should send it to my mom.

In English, saying “whom” is formal. You can just use “who” in your conversations.

Whose…?

To find out who owns something, start the question with “whose.”

For example:

Which…?

Use the word “which” to ask about a specific choice.

For example:

How…?

“How” doesn’t start with “Wh,” but it works the same as the Wh question words. We use “how” to ask about the way something happened or the way to do something.

For example:

You can also use “how” to ask about the condition, quality or state of something. That means you want to know if something is good or bad.

To ask for specific information, you can add an adjective or adverb after the word “how.”

Here are some common examples:

“How far” asks about distance.

How far is the shopping mall?

“How long” asks about time.

How long did you cook the turkey?

“How many” asks about a countable noun.

How many rooms are in your house?

“How much” asks about an uncountable noun.

How much water do you drink every day?

“How much” also asks about money.

How much did you pay for your car?

“How old” asks about age.

How old is your son?

“How come” is an informal way to ask “why.”

How come you didn’t come to school yesterday?

How to Form Wh Questions in English

Here’s how to form a Wh question in English:

1. Start with the Wh- question word: Choose the appropriate question word (who, what, where, etc.) based on the information you want to ask about.

2. Follow with the auxiliary verb or modal verb (if needed): Depending on the tense and verb structure, you might need to include an auxiliary verb (do, be or have) or a modal verb (e.g., can, could, will, would, should, etc.).  

3. Add the subject (if needed): Include the subject of the sentence (the person or thing that does the action of the verb), if it’s not represented by the question word.

4. Finish with the main verb (if needed): Include the main verb of the question (the action word) when needed. It can be in its base form (ex: “eat”) or conjugated depending on the tense and structure (ex: “eating”).

5. Add any other necessary elements (if needed): If the question is more complex, you might need to add extra information (objects, adverbs, adjectives, etc.).

Here are a few examples to illustrate:

Why are you upset?

This question uses the auxiliary verb “to be,” conjugated as “are.” “Are” is also the main verb of the question. “You” is the subject and “upset” is an adjective. 

What are you reading?

This question also uses “are” as the auxiliary verb. “You” is the subject and “reading” is the main verb, conjugated in the present continuous tense. 

Where did they go on vacation?

This question uses “to do” as the auxiliary verb, conjugated as “did” because it’s asking about the past tense. “They” is the subject and “go” is the main verb. 

When will the concert start?

This question asks about the future tense, so it uses the modal verb “will.” Next, we add the subject (“the concert”) and then the main verb (“start”). 

Who ate the cake?

In this question, “who” represents the subject of the question. That means we don’t need to use an auxiliary or modal verb or add the subject. We just put our main verb in the past tense (“ate”) and then add the object (“the cake”).

Quiz on Wh Questions

Practice makes perfect! Choose the best word or phrase to complete each question in the quiz below. Just refresh the page if you want to start over or retake it.

How to Practice Wh Questions

You will need to practice to really get the hang of (become good at) Wh questions in English. There are many places you can practice Wh questions online.

• Take this simple fill-in-the-blank quiz for Wh questions from ProProfs.
• FluentU has movie trailers and other fun videos so you can see native English speakers using Wh questions and more.

  FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

  You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

  P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

   

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• Agenda Web has different activities to practice Wh questions. You can fill in the blanks, put the sentences in the correct order or write your own Wh questions.
• Use Anki or Quizlet to make your own Wh question flashcards. Review them regularly to get better at forming Wh questions in English.

Wh questions will help you have many different conversations in English. You will feel more confident during small talk, job interviews and more!

But don’t stop there: how far will your English take you?

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

And One More Thing...

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