Question words help you ask for a particular kind of information: a place, a reason, a person or a time. Choosing where instead of when is only the first step, because the rest of the sentence needs the right order too. This lesson shows the main patterns and gives you questions to practise.
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Choose the information you need
| Question word | Information requested | Example and answer |
|---|---|---|
| what | A thing, action or general information. | What do you need? A pen. |
| where | A place. | Where is the classroom? Upstairs. |
| when | A time or occasion. | When does the course start? In October. |
| who | A person. | Who is your tutor? Ms Khan. |
| why | A reason. | Why are you waiting? Because the door is locked. |
| how | A method, condition or way of doing something. | How do you get here? By train. |
| which | A choice from a known or limited set. | Which bag is yours, the red one or the blue one? |
| whose | Possession. | Whose coat is this? It’s mine. |
What and which sometimes overlap. “What would you like?” leaves the possibilities open, while “Which would you like?” often points to options already available. Whose asks about ownership; who’s is a contraction of who is or who has.
Questions with be
Put am, is or are before the subject. “The keys are on the desk” becomes “Where are the keys?” The question word appears first, followed by the verb and then the subject.
| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| She is tired. | Why is she tired? |
| They are in room six. | Where are they? |
| The lesson was yesterday. | When was the lesson? |
Do not add do when be already forms the question. Say “Where is the station?”, not “Where does the station is?” The same ordering principle works with was and were in past questions.
Questions with do, does and did
Most present simple main verbs need do or does in an ordinary question. Use does with he, she or it, and return the main verb to its base form. “She works here” becomes “Where does she work?”, not “Where does she works?”
For the past simple, use did followed by the base form. “They arrived on Monday” becomes “When did they arrive?” Do not mark the past twice by saying “did they arrived.”
A: Where do you live?
B: Near the station.
A: How does your sister get to school?
B: She walks.
A: When did you move here?
B: Last year.
Questions with can and other auxiliaries
When the statement already contains an auxiliary or a modal, move it before the subject. “You can park behind the building” becomes “Where can I park?” Similarly, “They are waiting for Sam” becomes “Who are they waiting for?”
Compare “What do you do?” with “What are you doing?” The first usually asks about a regular activity or occupation; the second asks about an activity happening now. The question word stays the same, but the verb structure changes the meaning.
Who called? Subject questions
If the question word itself is the subject, an ordinary positive question does not need do, does or did. “Mina called Ben” gives two possible questions: “Who called Ben?” asks about Mina, while “Who did Mina call?” asks about Ben. Keep the normal verb form in the subject question.
Build useful questions with how
How many goes with plural countable nouns: “How many students are here?” How much can ask about an uncountable quantity or a price: “How much water do we need?” and “How much is this?” Use how often for frequency and how long for duration.
Practice
Try the questions before reading the answers. Use the sentence or situation to explain your choice.
- ______ are you late? Because I missed the bus.
- Put these words in order: does / where / work / Ali.
- Correct: “When did they arrived?”
- Ask about the person in “Nora broke the cup.”
- Choose: How much / How many books do you need?
- Choose: Who’s / Whose notebook is this?
Answers and explanations
| Question | Answer and explanation |
|---|---|
| 1 | Why asks for a reason. |
| 2 | Where does Ali work? Put does before the subject and use work. |
| 3 | When did they arrive? The base form follows did. |
| 4 | Who broke the cup? Who is the subject, so no did is needed. |
| 5 | How many, because books is plural and countable. |
| 6 | Whose, because the question concerns ownership. |
For additional practice, use the British Council’s question forms lesson. Write three questions you could ask a new classmate, then answer each yourself to check that it asks for the information you intended.
