Take the quiz on question words and check your answers! Then try to make some questions by looking at the table below.
Forming questions with question words
Questions with question words (or sometimes called WH- questions) ask for information as opposed to ‚yes / no‘ questions.
Here are some example questions:
| Why did you go to the store? Why are you here? | Question word + auxiliary verb + subject + base verb + complement (optional) | Question word + to be + subject + complement (optional) |
| When should I call you? When were you in the US? | Question word + auxiliary verb + subject + base verb + complement (optional) | Question word + to be + subject + complement (optional) |
| Where did you go? Where is my phone? | Question word + auxiliary verb + subject + base verb + complement (optional) | Question word + to be + subject + complement |
| How do you say goodbye in French? How are you today? | Question word + auxiliary verb + subject + base verb + complement (optional) | Question word + to be + subject + complement (optional) |
| What do you do for work? What is your name? | Question word + auxiliary verb / verb + subject + base verb + complement (optional) | Question word + to be + subject + complement (optional) |
| Who called you? Who were you with? | Question word + auxiliary verb / verb + subject + complement (optional) | Question word + to be + subject + complement (optional) |
| Which color do you prefer? | Question word + subject + verb | |
| Whose book is this? | Question word + subject + verb + complement (optional) |
Other things about question words
When, where, why, and how function as adverbs and describe a verb or an adjective. They ask about a time, place, reason, or manner.
Who, what, which, and whose are pronouns and ask about people or things. When these words are the subject, the question will not use an auxiliary verb. In ‚Who called you?‘, who is the subject and called is the verb. There is no auxiliary verb.