Question Words in English

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Question Words in English

The most common question words in English are the following:


WHO

WHO is only used when referring to people. (= I want to know the person)

WHERE

WHERE is used when referring to a place or location. (= I want to know the place)

WHEN

WHEN is used to refer to a time or an occasion. (= I want to know the time)

WHY

WHY is used to obtain an explanation or a reason. (= I want to know the reason)

Normally the response begins with "Because..."

WHAT

WHAT is used to refer to specific information. (= I want to know the thing)

WHICH

WHICH is used when a choice needs to be made. (= I want to know the thing between alternatives)

HOW

HOW is used to describe the manner that something is done. (= I want to know the way)

With HOW there are a number of other expressions that are used in questions:

How much – refers to a quantity or a price (uncountable nouns)

How many – refers to a quantity (countable nouns)

Read more about How much vs. How many.

How often – refers to frequency

How far – refers to distance




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Question Words 1 and Question Words 2.

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