Free English Grammar Course

MODULE 01 · LESSON 7 OF 11

Question words: who, what, where, when, why and how

Your goal: Ask for information with a question word and the right word order.

Level: FoundationAbout 10 to 15 minutes6 questions

Grammar words in this lesson

question word: a word that asks for information, such as who, what, where, when, why or how

Question word first, then the question

A question word asks for one piece of information. Put it first. Then use the same order as a yes/no question: helper, subject, main verb.

Question word	Asks about	Example
what	a thing or an action	What do you do?
where	a place	Where does she live?
when	a time	When did they arrive?
why	a reason	Why are you laughing?
who	a person	Who can you see?
how	a way or a condition	How do you get to work?

Do not forget the helper. Say Where do you live?, not Where you live?

Questions with how and what

How much + things you cannot count: How much time do we have?
How many + things you can count: How many languages do you speak?
How often, how long, how far, how old: How often do you travel?
What time, what kind of: What time does the film start?

Use which when the choice is small: Which bag is yours, the red one or the blue one?

When who or what is the subject

Sometimes the question word is the subject of the verb. Then you do not add do, does or did to a positive question, and the verb keeps its normal form: Who opened the door? What happened?

The same is true for a subject such as how many people or which bus: How many people came? Which bus goes to the airport? A negative question still needs the helper: Who didn’t come?

Compare: Who called Priya? asks about the caller. Who did Priya call? asks about the person Priya called.

A small word can come last

In everyday English, a small word such as for, to, from or about stays at the end of the question: Who are you waiting for? Where are you from?

Common mistakes

Not this	Say this
Where you live?	Where do you live?
What means this word?	What does this word mean?
Who did open the door? (as a normal question)	Who opened the door?
How many time do we have?	How much time do we have?

Practice: answer first, then check

Say or write your answer before you open it. Your answers are not sent or saved.

Choose: (How much / How many) eggs do we need?
Show the answer and the reason
Answer: How many
Why: Eggs can be counted, so use how many. Use how much for things you cannot count, such as milk or time.
Choose: Who (made / did make) this cake?
Show the answer and the reason
Answer: made
Why: Who is the subject of the verb here, so the question needs no did. The verb stays in its normal past form.
Complete: ___ does the meeting start? At ten o’clock.
Show the answer and the reason
Answer: Whenor What time
Why: The answer is a time, so the question word is when or what time.
Put the words in order: does / where / work / your sister / ?
Show the answer and the reason
Answer: Where does your sister work?
Why: The order is question word, helper, subject, main verb. Does comes before the subject, and work stays in the base form.
Ask about the place: Lina works in a hospital.
Show the answer and the reason
Answer: Where does Lina work?
Why: Where asks about a place. Lina is the subject, so the question needs the helper does and the base form work.
Correct the mistake: What means “borrow”?
Show the answer and the reason
Answer: What does “borrow” mean?
Why: The subject is the word borrow, and what asks about its meaning. So the question needs does and the base form mean.

Make it yours

Write six questions for a visitor to your town. Use a different question word in each one.

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