Wh-questions begin withwhat, when, where, who, whom, which,whose,whyandhow. We use them to ask for information. The answer cannot beyesorno:
A:Whendo you finish college?
B:Next year.
A:Whois your favourite actor?
B:George Clooney for sure!
Formingwh-questions
With an auxiliary verb
We usually formwh-questions withwh-+ an auxiliary verb (be, doorhave) + subject + main verb or withwh-+ a modal verb + subject + main verb:
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Without an auxiliary verb
Whenwhat, who, whichorwhoseis the subject or part of the subject, we do not use the auxiliary. We use the word order subject + verb:
Whatfell off the wall?Whichhorse won?
Whobought this?Whosephone rang?
| Whois the subject of the sentence andthis bagis the object. We use no auxiliary verb. |
| Whois the object of the sentence andyouis the subject. We use the auxiliary verbdo. |
Responding towh-questions
Wh-questions ask for information and we do not expect ayes-noanswer to awh-question. We expect an answer which gives information:
A:Where’s the coffee machine?(We expect an answer about the location of the coffee machine.)
B:It’s in the room next to the reception.
A:How old is your dog?(We expect an answer about the age of the dog.)
B:She’s about five. I’m not very sure.
Adding emphasis towh-questions
We can add emphasis towh-questions in speaking by stressing the auxiliary verbdo. We usually do this when we have not already received the information that we expected from an earlier question, or to show strong interest.
When thewh-word is the object of the sentence, thedoauxiliary is stressed to make it more emphatic:
A:How was your weekend in Edinburgh?
B:I didn’t go to Edinburgh.
A:Really. Wheredidyou go?
B:We decided to go to Glasgow instead.
When thewh-word is the subject of the sentence, we can add the auxiliarydoto make it emphatic. We stressdo:
A:Ronald Price lives in that house, doesn’t he?
B:No. He moved out.
A:So whodoeslive there?(non-emphatic question:So who lives there?)
B:Actually, his son is living there now.
See also:
Intonation andwh-questions
Negativewh-questions
When we ask negativewh-questions, we use the auxiliary verbdowhen there is no other auxiliary or modal verb, even when thewh-word is the subject of the clause:
Affirmative with no auxiliary | Negative with auxiliarydo |
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Adding awh-word at the end of a statement to make a question
In speaking, we can sometimes turnwh-questions into statement questions:
What’s today’s date? or Today’s date is what?
We do this especially when we are checking information that we have already been given or when we want to quickly check a particular detail. These are less formal than fullwh-questions:
A:So we’re all going to be there at eight?
B:Right, I’m travelling with Larry.
A:You’re travelling with who?(more formal:Who are you travelling with?)
B:With Larry. We’re actually going on our bikes.
A:Is your sister here too or just your mother?
B:Just my mother.
A:And she’s here until when?(more formal:And when is she here until?or even more formal:Until when is she here?)
See also:
Questions: statement questions (you’re over 18?)
Questions: echo and checking questions
Intonation andwh-questions
The intonationofwh-questions is normally falling. The falling intonation is on the most important syllable:
Where are the keys to the backdo↘or?
Why are the lightsre↘d?
When we askwh-questions to check or clarify information that has already been given, we may use rising or fall-rising intonation:
Wh↗atdid you say the time was?(I know you’ve told me before but I’ve forgotten.)
Wh↘op↗aid for the meal?
See also:
Adding emphasis towh-questions
Prepositions and particles withwh-questions
We can usewh-words and phrases after prepositions in more formal questions:
Wherewill the money comefrom?
Fromwherewill the money come?(formal)
In informal styles, especially in speaking, the preposition may be separated and placed at the end of the question clause:
Whatwill I talk to herabout?
Whoshould we send the invitationto?(informal)
Whomshould we send the invitationto?(formal)
To whomshould we send the invitation?(more formal)
For what reasondid she leave him?(formal: preposition +wh-phrase)
When we make questions shorter, we usually put the preposition and its complement together:
A:We’re all meeting up tonight.
B:At whattime?
Not:What time at?
See also:
Questions: short forms
When we ask questions using verbs consisting of a main verb + particle, e.g.get up, set out(phrasal verbs), we do not separate the verb from the particle or preposition:
When did youwake upthis morning?
Not:Up when did you wake?
See also:
Verbs: multi-word verbs