Information Questions (#1)

The answers for simple questions in English are "Yes,", "No," or "I don't know" (or its equivalent). The answers for
information questions are varied--because they are used to ask about specific kinds of information.
Information questions are also called "Wh-" questions because many of the words that are used to ask this type of
question begin with Wh-.

Information Questions: Common Question Words

Use this question word To ask about

Who* people (names and other identifying information) used as subjects*
Whom* people (names and other identifying information) used as objects*
What things (subject or object)
Whose* (+ noun) ownership
Where locations (places)
When time (general)
What time time (specific)
What . . . do actions (verbs)
Why* reasons
What (+ noun) one part of a group (when all of the parts are not known)
Which (+ noun) one part of a group (when the parts are known)
What kind of (+ noun) descriptive names for categories
What color colors
How manner; methods
How many (+ noun) number (used with countable nouns)
How much (+ noun) quantity (used with uncountable nouns)
How long* duration (periods of time); length
How far* distance
How old age
How (+ adjective or adverb) degree or extent

Special Notes

In careful writing and speaking, who is used for subjects and whom is used for objects, but in "relaxed" (casual)
speech, who is often used for both subjects and objects. The difference in meaning is clear, however, because
the grammar for subject and object questions is different (to be treated later).
Whose (for ownership) sounds the same as Who's ( = Who is or Who has), but their meanings are quite
different.
Two idiomatic "Why" questions are very commonly heard in everyday conversation: How come? and What for?
How come does not use question grammar: it's followed by a statement.
What for can be used alone or with What at the beginning and for at the end. Except for this requirement, it
uses question grammar.

How far is normally used in this way: How far is it . . . . .?

How is also common with adjectives used in measurements:
How tall / How heavy / How long (length) / How wide / How big, etc.

Information Questions (#2): Form

There are six basic forms used in making information ("Wh-") questions: two if the verb is BE, two if there is an auxiliary
verb and a main verb, and two if there is only a verb (not BE and not with an auxiliary).

Forming Information Questions with BE

If the verb is BE, there are two forms for information questions. If the question asks about the subject (or part
of the subject), the form is wh + BE + other words?
Examples:

??? is in the kitchen. ---> Who is in the kitchen?

The ??? man is Bob's father. / The man ??? is Bob's father. ---> Which man is Bob's father?

???'s brother was with us yesterday. ---> Whose brother was with us yesterday?
???'s books are on the coffee table. ---> Whose books are on the coffee table?

??? is in the oven. ---> What is in the oven?

??? people were at the meeting. ---> How many people were at the meeting?
(What kind of people were at the meeting?)
??? sugar is in this cake. ---> How much sugar is in this cake?

The car ??? is Bill's. ---> Which car is Bill's?

If the verb is BE and if the question asks about words that are after the subject, the form is
Wh + BE + subject + other words?

Examples:

Bill is ??? --->Where is Bill?

The party was ??? ---> How was the party? (When was the party? / Where was the party?)

The party was at ???'s house. ---> Whose house was the party at? [informal] /

At whose house was the party? [formal / careful]

This is ???'s book. ---> Whose book is this?

Nancy was upset ??? ---> Why was Nancy upset? (How come Nancy was upset? / What was Nancy upset for?)

There were ??? people at the concert. ---> How many people were there at the concert?

Mr. Soto's office is on the ??? floor. ---> Which floor is Mr. Soto's office on? [informal] /
On which floor is Mr. Soto's office? [formal / careful]
The meeting was ???. ---> How was the meeting? / Where was the meeting? / When was the meeting? / What
time was the meeting?
Yasuhiro was ??? angry. ---> How angry was Yasuhiro?
The twins were ??? on their last birthday. ---> How old were the twins on their last birthday?

The lecture was ??? long. ---> How long was the lecture?

Special Notes

Contractions of "Wh- words" and is are very common, especially in speaking:

Where is ---> Where's
When is ---> When's
What is ---> What's
Who is ---> Who's
Why is ---> Why's
How is ---> How's

In informal conversation, you will also hear contractions of "Wh- words" and are, but these contractions are
not usually written:
Where are ---> (Where're)
 When are ---> (When're)
What are ---> (What're)
Who are ---> (Who're)
How are ---> (How're)

For formal (careful) writing and speaking, many people believe that questions or statements with a preposition
at the end are not beautiful (not good style). Questions and statements ending with a preposition are
common in speaking, but for careful writing, combine the preposition with the question word:

The papers are in the ??? room. ---> Which room are the papers in? [informal]
In which room are the papers? [formal / careful]

That paragraph is from the ??? page. ---> Which page is that paragraph from? [informal]
From which page is that paragraph? [formal / careful]

Their house is near ??? Street. ---> Which street is their house near? [informal]
Near which street is their house? [formal / careful]

Information Questions #3: Auxiliary Verbs + Main Verbs

There are six basic forms used in making information ("Wh-") questions in English: two if the verb is BE, two if there is
an auxiliary verb and a main verb, and two if there is only a verb (not BE and not an auxiliary and a verb).

English verbs often have two or more parts and include combinations such as these:
am / are / is / was / were giving
can / could / may / might / must / shall / should / will / would give
have / has / had given
has / have / had been giving
am / are / is / was / were given
am / are / is / was / were being given
have / has / had been given
have / has / had been being given
could / may / might / must / should / would have given
could / may / might / must / should / would have been given
could / may / might / must / should / would have been being given

In all the combinations above, the first item is an auxiliary verb and the last item is a main verb.
If the complete verb has more than one part (for example, had been giving or would have been given), the complete
verb has more than one auxiliary.

If a sentence has an auxiliary verb, there are also two forms for "Wh-" questions. If the question asks about the subject
(or part of the subject), the form is wh + complete verb + other words?

Examples:
??? is sitting beside Chiharu. -----> Who is sitting beside Chiharu?
??? might be here tomorrow. -----> Who might be here tomorrow?

??? was given to Bill. -----> What was given to Bill?

??? has happened. -----> What has happened?

??? could have done this. -----> Who could have done this?
???'s brother is working in New York. -----> Whose brother is working in New York?

???'s books were left in the classroom. -----> Whose books were left in the classroom?
??? people will be coming to the party. -----> How many people will be coming to the party?
The ??? house has been bought by Julia's family. -----> Which house has been bought by Julia's family?
 (What house has been bought by Julia's family?)
??? sugar was used to make these cookies. -----> How much sugar was used to make these cookies?

If the sentence has an auxiliary verb and if the "Wh-" question asks about words that are after the subject, the form is
Wh + first auxiliary + subject + rest of the verb + other words?

Examples:
Bill will ??? tomorrow. -----> What will Bill do tomorrow?

The party was held ??? -----> When was the party held? Where was the party held?
The party is being held at ???'s house. -----> Whose house is the party being held at? [informal] /
At whose house is the party being held? [formal / careful]
I've found ???. -----> What have you found?

Nancy can speak ??? languages -----> How many languages can Nancy speak?
Jae-Hoon has lived in ??? countries.-----> How many countries has Jae-Hoon lived in? [informal] /
In how many countries has Jae-Hoon lived? [formal / careful]
You have been eating ???. -----> What have you been eating?

Lucinda has gone ???. -----> Where has Lucinda gone? / Why has Lucinda gone?
He had worked ??? before he stopped. -----> How long had he worked before he stopped?
Yasuhiro can run ??? fast. -----> How fast can Yasuhiro run?

The twins will celebrate their ??? birthday. -----> Which birthday will the twins celebrate?
They have been working ???. -----> How long have they been working? Where have they been working?
How much have they been working?
You would gone ??? if you had had enough time. -----> Where would you have gone if you had had enough
time?
They might have been being punished ???. -----> Why might they have been being punished? /
What might they have been being punished for? / How come they might have been being punished?*

Special Notes:

For formal (careful) writing and speaking, many people believe that questions or statements with a preposition
at the end are not beautiful (not good style). Questions and statements ending with a preposition are
common in speaking, but for careful writing, combine the preposition with the question word:
The party is being held at ???'s house.
casual / speaking:
Whose house is the party being held at?
careful / writing:
At whose house is the party being held?

Questions with "How come" do not follow the normal rule for word order in questions: "How come" is
followed by words with statement word order, not by words with question word order.
The party has been canceled ???.
Compare the word order with Why and How come:
Why has the party been canceled?
How come the party has been canceled?

Information Questions with Verbs Only (Not with BE, Not with Auxiliaries + Verbs)

There are six basic forms used in making information ("Wh-") questions: two if the verb is BE, two if there is an
auxiliary verb and a main verb, and two if there is only a verb (not BE and not a verb plus an auxiliary).
To make "Wh-" questions for sentences with a verb (but not BE) and no auxiliary verb, something strange happens: an
"artificial" auxiliary (do, does, or did) is used. Do and does are used for simple present tense and did is used for past
tense.

These "artificial" auxiliary verbs have a grammatical function, but they do not have a real meaning, so they cannot
really be translated.

There are two forms for "Wh-" questions for sentences with verbs (but not BE) and no auxiliaries. One of them doesn't
use the "artificial" auxiliaries do, does, or did. The other one does.

FORM: Verbs Only--Questions about the Subject

If an information question is about the subject (or part of the subject), the form is Wh + verb + other words?

Examples (note that do, does, and did are not used):

??? has a new car. -----> Who has a new car?

??? does the dishes at Bill's house. -----> Who does the dishes at Bill's house?

??? happened. -----> What happened?

???'s brother has a new car. -----> Whose brother has a new car?
???'s students do the most homework. -----> Whose students do the most homework?

??? people came to the party. -----> How many people came to the party?
The ??? house belongs to Julia's family. -----> Which house belongs to Julia's family?
(What house belongs to Julia's family?)
??? money remained after you paid the bills. -----> How much money remained after you paid the bills?

FORM: Verbs Only--Questions about the Verb or Words After the Verb

If an information question is about the verb or words that the verb, the form is different: it uses do, does, or did:
Wh + do / does / did + subject + main verb + other words?

Examples:

He has ???. ---> What does he have?

They ??? last night. ---> What did they do last night?

They had ??? food last night. ---> What kind of food did they have last night?
Bill went ???. -----> Where did Bill go? / Why did Bill go?

The meeting begins ??? -----> When does the meeting begin? / What time does the meeting begin?
He saw ??? at the party. -----> Whom did he see at the party? [formal / careful]
Who did he see at the party? [informal]
She likes ??? books. -----> What kind of books does she like?/ What books does she like?
Ya-Wen studied ??? in Taiwan. -----> What did Ya-Wen study in Taiwan? /
How long did Ya-Wen study in Taiwan? Where did Ya-Wen study in Taiwan?
Jae-Hoon traveled to ??? countries. -----> To how many countries did Jae-Hoon travel? [formal / careful]
How many countries did Jae-Hoon travel to? [informal]
They eat ??? for breakfast. -----> What do they eat for breakfast?
Lucinda works ???. -----> How often does Lucinda work? / Where does Lucinda work?/
How much does Lucinda work?
 He likes his job ??? well. -----> How well does he like his job?
Pablo brought ??? food to the picnic. -----> How much food did Pablo bring to the picnic? / What kind of
food did Pablo bring to the picnic?

The twins celebrated their ??? birthday. ----->
Which birthday did the twins celebrate?

She becomes upset ???. ----->

When does she become upset? /

Why does she become upset? /

What does she become upset for? /

How come she becomes upset? / *

She wrote a letter to ???. ----->

To whom did she write a letter? [formal / careful]
Who did she write a letter to? [informal]

Slvia made that cake for ???. ----->

For whom did Slvia make that cake? [formal / careful]

Who did Slvia make that cake for? [informal]

* Questions with "How come" do not use normal word order.

Special Notes:

1.
Notice that do may be both a main verb and
an auxiliary verb:

Does Bob always do his homework?

Bob doesn't always do his homework.
What do you do on weekends?
Why did you do that?

2.
In formal, careful writing and speaking, the
"Wh-" word who is used to ask about subjects.
For questions about subjects, the "artificial"
auxiliaries do, does, and did not used:

??? likes Bill. ----->

Who likes Bill?
(not *Who does like Bill?)

??? talked to Bill. ----->

Who talked to Bill?
(not *Who did talk to Bill?)

??? married Rosanna. ----->

Who married Rosanna?
(not *Who did marry Rosanna?)

??? has nine brothers. ----->

Who has nine brothers?
(not *Who does have nine brothers?)

3.
In formal, careful writing and speaking, the
"Wh-" word whom is used to ask about objects.
For questions about objects, the "artificial"
auxiliary do is used:

Bill likes ???. ----->

Whom does Bill like?

Bill talked to ???. ----->

Whom did Bill talk to?

Rosana married ???. ----->

Whom did Rosanna marry?

4.
In informal, friendly speaking (and sometimes
writing), the "Wh-" word who is used to ask about
both subjects and objects. It may seem strange
that who can be used in such different ways,
but the two uses are always clear because of
differences in grammar.

Who lives with Bill? (subject)

Who does Bill live with? (object)

Who loves Junichi? (subject)

Who(m) does Junichi love? (object)

Who did a favor for Ahmed? (subject)

Who(m) did Ahmed do a favor for? (object)

5.
In formal, careful writing, ending a question (or
a statement) with a preposition is considered
awkward (though ending with a preposition is,
in fact, very common in speaking. In careful
written work, ending with a preposition should,
therefore, be avoided.

Examples:

better in writing:
To whom were you speaking?
common in speaking:
Who(m) were you speaking to?

better in writing:
To which page were you referring?

common in speaking:
Which page were you referring to?

better in writing:
In whose class are you studying?

common in speaking:
Whose class are you studying in?

6.
When prepositions are combined with "Wh-"
words, whom must be used:

not this:
*To who did Mariam write a letter?

but this:
To whom did Mariam write a letter?

not this:
*Beside who does Hyun-sook sit?

but this:
Beside whom does Hyun-sook sit?

not this:
*With who does Shu-Wen study?

but this:
With whom does Shu-Wen study?

not this:
*For who did the injured man ask?

but this:
For whom did the injured man ask?

not this:
*From who do they take piano lessons?

but this:
From whom do they take piano lessons?
Note: Questions such as these are very formal
and careful.

Information Questions (#5):

Answers for Questions about the Subject

There are are several different ways to answer "Wh-"

questions. One way is to give a complete answer. In
a complete answer for "Wh-" questions about the
subject (or part of it), the sentence is often repeated:

Q:
A: Who's in the kitchen?
Bob's in the kitchen.

Q:
A: Which man is Bob's father?
The tall man in the red jacket is Bob's father. /
Bob's father is the tall man in the red jacket.

Q:
A: Whose brother was with us yesterday?
Mei-Li's brother was with us yesterday.

Q:
A: What was given to Bill?
A $10,000 prize was given to Bill.

Q:
A: How many people will come to the party?
About 40 people will come to the party?

Q:
A: How much sugar was used in these cookies?
Two cups of sugar were used in these cookies.

Q:
A: Who bought a new car?
Masha and her husband bought a new car.

Q:
A: Whose students do the most homework?
Mrs. Sato's students do the most homework.
Note: Complete answers are correct, but short answers
(see below) are more common.

Short answers are also common for "Wh-" questions

about the subject (or part of it). One way to answer
(which is very common in everyday conversations) is
to say the subject:

Q:
A: Who's in the kitchen?
Bob.

Q:
A: Which man is Bob's father?
The tall man in the red jacket is Bob's father. /
The tall man in the red jacket.

Q:
A: Whose brother was with us yesterday?
Mei-Li's brother.

Q:
A: What was given to Bill?
A $10,000 prize.

Q:
A: How many people will come to the party?
About 40.

Q:
A: How much sugar was used in these cookies?
Two cups.

Q:
A: Who bought a new car?
Masha and her husband.

Q:
A: Whose students do the most homework?
Mrs. Sato's students.

Another type of short answer consists of the subject +

BE / auxiliary / do, does, or did:

Q:
A: Who's in the kitchen?
Bob is.

Q:
A: Who's sitting beside Chiharu?
Amel is.

Q:
A: Who has already finished?
We have.

Q: Who drank the last of the milk?

A: Joe did.

Q:
A: Who might know the answer?
Ahmed might.
Note: Answers of this kind are common for questions
about the complete subject.

Information Questions (#6):

Answers for Non-Subject Questions
There are are several different ways to answer "Wh-" questions. One way is to give a complete answer. In a complete
answer for "Wh-" questions that are not about the subject (or part of it), the sentence is often repeated (just as it is for
questions about the subject):

Q:
A: Where's Bob?
Bob's in the kitchen.

Q:

A:

Which man is Bob with?

(With which man is Bob?)

Bob's with the tall man in the red jacket .

Q:
A: When was Mei-Li's brother here?
Mei-Li's brother was here yesterday.

Q:
A: What is Bill doing?
Bill's trying to fix his bicycle.

Q:
A: Where will Zahra's party be?
Zahra's party will be at the community center.

Q:

A:

How much sugar did you use in

these cookies?

I used two cups of sugar in these cookies.

Q:

A:

Why did Masha buy a new car?

Masha bought a new car because she

wrecked her old one.

Q:
A:
Who did Mrs. Sato get angry with?
(Whom did Mrs. Sato get angry with? /
With whom did Mrs. Sato get angry?)

Mrs. Sato got angry with her students.

Q:
A: How often has Shahnaz missed class?
Shahnaz has never missed class.

Q:

A:

What time does Marie-Claire

do her homework?

Marie-Claire does her homework

at 8:00 PM every single evening.

Note: Complete answers are correct, but short answers

(see below) are more common.

Short answers are also common when "Wh-" questions

are not about the subject (or part of it). One common
type of short answer consists of the subject (usually
replaced by a pronoun) + verb + answer:

Q:
A: Where's Bob?
He's in the kitchen.

Q:

A:

Which man is Bob with?

(With which man is Bob?)

He's with the tall man in the red jacket .

Q:
A: When was Mei-Li's brother here?
He was here yesterday.

Q:
A: What is Bill doing?
He's trying to fix his bicycle.

Q:
A: Where will Zahra's party be?
It'll be at the community center.

Q:

A:

How much sugar did you use in

these cookies?

I used two cups.

Q:

A:

Why did Masha buy a new car?

She bought a new one because she

wrecked her old one.

Q:

A:
Who did Mrs. Sato get angry with?
(Whom did Mrs. Sato get angry with? /
With whom did Mrs. Sato get angry?)

She got angry with her students.

Q:
A: How often has Shahnaz missed class?
She's never missed class.

Q:

A:

What time does Marie-Claire

do her homework?

She does it at 8:00 PM every single evening.

An even more common way to answer is to say the

phrase in which the answer appears or only the answer
if it is not in a phrase:

Q:
A: Where's Bob?
In the kitchen.
Q:

A:

Which man is Bob with?

(With which man is Bob?)

The tall man in the red jacket. /

With the tall man in the red jacket.

Q:
A: When was Mei-Li's brother here?
Yesterday.

Q:
A: What is Bill doing?
Trying to fix his bicycle.

Q:
A: Where will Zahra's party be?
At the community center.

Q:

A:

How much sugar did you use in

these cookies?

Two cups.

Q:
A: Why did Masha buy a new car?
Because she wrecked her old one.

Q:

A:
Who did Mrs. Sato get angry with?
(Whom did Mrs. Sato get angry with? /
With whom did Mrs. Sato get angry?)

With her students. / Her students.

Q:
A: How often has Shahnaz missed class?
Never.

Q:
A:

What time does Marie-Claire

do her homework?

At 8:00 PM every single evening.