We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions. They are:who, which, whom, whatandwhose. These are also known aswh-words. Questions using these are calledwh-questions:
Whocalled last night?
Whichkeys are yours?
Whomdo I ask for at the desk?
Whatdid you do when the electricity failed?
Whosewatch is this?
Interrogative pronouns: uses
We usewhoandwhomon their own:
Whopaid?
Whomdid you speak to?
We can usewhose,whichandwhateither on their own (as pronouns) or with a noun head (underlined):
As pronouns | With a noun head |
|
|
|
|
|
|
We can usewho, whose, whichandwhatboth as subject and object:
Whois the best footballer in the world?(whoas subject)
Whodid you meet?(whoas object)
Whathappened next?(whatas subject)
Whatdid you buy?(whatas object)
Whoorwhom?
We usewhomas an object in formal styles. When we use a preposition beforewhom, it is even more formal. We don’t normally use it in speaking:
Whomdid you give the book to?(formal)
To whomdid you give the book?(very formal) Or, less formally:Whodid you give the book to?
Whatorwhich?
We usewhatwhen we ask about specific information from a general range of possible answers:
What’s the tallest building in the world?
Whatdid you say? I couldn’t hear you.
What’s your address?
We usewhichwhen we ask for specific information from a restricted range of possible answers:
[looking at a list of addresses]
A:Whichis your address?
B:This one here.
Whichhand do you write with?
[looking at a photograph of three women]
Whichone is your sister?
Whichairport do we leave from, Heathrow or Gatwick?
See also:
Questions:wh-questions