How to use English question words to make good conversation

Life is full of questions. Who, what, where, when, why, and how - these simple words hold the key to unlocking information and communicating with people in English.

We ask questions in a variety of situations, such as when looking for directions, wanting to know more about an event, or trying to find out what happened to a friend.

Asking questions is a skill that all of us need to learn. In our native languages, asking questions may seem easy and intuitive. However, in a foreign language, it may seem way more complicated.

So, how do you ask questions in English? The answer is: with the help of interrogative words (also known as question words).

To help you learn how to ask grammatically correct, relevant questions for every situation in English, we’ve covered everything you need to know about English question words in this article.

What are interrogative pronouns/words?

An interrogative pronoun is a pronoun used to ask a question in English. It replaces the noun in a question and is usually the first word in a sentence ending with a question mark.

In English, these interrogative pronouns are also called wh-words because most start with “wh.” The most common interrogative pronouns are:

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Which?
• How?

How to ask questions in English

Now that you know what interrogative words are (aka, question words), you may be asking yourself how to form grammatically correct questions in English.

In English, forming questions follows a pretty simple formula:

question word - auxiliary verb - subject- verb - complement

To illustrate this, here’s a great example of this formula in use: “Who did you see yesterday at the party?”

This formula sometimes implements the additional noun or adjective between the question word and the auxiliary verb. We’ll go over this in detail when discussing each interrogative pronoun separately.

What’s more, not every question you formulate will require you to use the entire formula. So, think of it as a guide rather than a strict mathematical question!

The second formula you can use to form questions in English is without an auxiliary verb:

question word - main verb - subject- complement

For example, in the question “Who ate the cake at the party?” there’s no auxiliary verb.

For now, take a look at the example sentences in the table below.

Who?

“Who” is a word used to ask for information about a person and their identity. This question verb doesn’t have a plural form, so if you’re asking about multiple people, it’ll just be followed by a plural verb instead of a singular one.

The main use cases for this question word include asking about a person’s identity and the performer of an action. The main variation of this question word is “whose,” which is used when asking about the possession of a certain object.

Take a look at these examples:

What?

“What” is probably the first question word you learn in English. In your first English class, the teacher asks, “What’s your name” to get everyone’s names.

It is a question word used to ask about the identity of a thing or the nature of an action. This interrogative word can also be used with additional nouns to ask more detailed questions about someone or something.

Another use case of “what” is asking about the description of a person, object, or place. In this case, “what” questions need to include the phrase “look like.” It follows the formula:

what - auxiliary verb - subject- look like?

It can also be used in combination with “like” to ask about someone’s character or the nature of a place. The formula, in this case, is:

what- verb "to be" - subject-like?

To illustrate this, take a look at the examples in the table below.

When?

“When” is a pretty simple interrogative pronoun with just one use case: to ask about the time of an event. In other words, it’s used to ask about a point in time when something happens.

Where?

Just like “when,” “where” is a pretty straightforward question word to use. The main and only use case for this interrogative pronoun is asking about the location of a place, the place of an action or event, or a destination.

Essentially, it’s used to ask about the point in space where something is located. Not much detail to go into here!

Why?

“Why” is most commonly used to ask about the cause of something or the reason behind it. The answer to a question starting with “why” is usually introduced with the word “because.”

But “why” is a pretty versatile word, and it has a few more use cases, such as:

• Asking for an explanation: Why did you do this?
• Expressing annoyance with something: Why should we pay taxes?
• Making suggestions: Why don’t we hurry up?
• Showing agreement: - Do you want to go to the cinema? - Why not? Let’s go!

Which?

When it comes to “which,” it’s a quite particular interrogative word. We use “which” to ask for more information about something when there are limited options to choose from.

For example, in the question “Which dress do you prefer?”, we’re asking the recipient of the question about their specific preferences between a given number of options.

“Which” can also be used with “of” when there are other determiners (the, those, your) or pronouns used in the questions. The question “Which of the following features do you use the most?” is an excellent example of how to use this.

How?

We use “how” in questions to ask about the way something is done. As an adverb, “how” means “in what way” or “to what extent.”

Here are the main use cases for “how” in questions:

• Asking about the way to do something: How do you bake a chocolate cake?
• Asking about the state of something or a particular experience: How was the movie?
• Asking about a specific measurement: How old is your brother?
• Making suggestions: How about a movie night?

One who never asks either knows everything or nothing

Knowing how to ask questions in English is essential to communicate properly with others. It’ll help you find your way in difficult situations, ask for the necessary details of an event, or simply have a chat with a friend.

We hope that you’re now ready to use the knowledge on how to use English question words in the real world. And if you’d like to further expand your English knowledge, we invite you to learn English online with us or read other helpful articles on our English blog.