WH- Questions

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)

 Who is the best football player in the world?

 Who are your best friends?
 Who is that strange guy over there?

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

 Where is the library?

 Where do you live?
 Where are my shoes?

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

 When do the shops open?

 When is his birthday?
 When are we going to finish?

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

 Why do we need a nanny?

 Why are they always late?
 Why does he complain all the time?

Normally the response begins with "Because..."

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

 What is your name?

 What is her favourite colour?
 What is the time?

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

 Which dish did you order – the pizza or the pasta?

 Which day do you prefer for a meeting – today or tomorrow?
 Which is better - this one or that one?

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

 How do you cook lasagna?

 How does he know the answer?
 How can I learn English quickly?
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 much time do you have to finish the test?

 How much is the jacket on display in the window?
 How much money will I need?

How many – refers to a quantity (countable nouns)

 How many days are there in April?

 How many people live in this city?
 How many brothers and sister do you have?

Read more about How much vs. How many.

How often – refers to frequency

 How often do you visit your grandmother?

 How often does she study?
 How often are you sick?

How far – refers to distance

 How far is the university from your house?

 How far is the bus stop from here?

In today’s blog, we will teach how to use “Wh” question words in the sentences.

1. When

When is used to ask about time.

Examples

a. When did he leave?

b. When will she reach?

2. How

How is used in two ways. First to ask the manner and the second one to ask about
condition or quality.
Examples

a. How does this plan work?

b. How was your practical exam?

How is also used with adjectives/ adverbs to ask about the degree or extent to which
something is done.

Examples

a. How far is the airport from your house?

b. How long will it take to reach there?

c. How many people are coming for the party?

d. How much effort will you take?

3. Why

Why is used to ask a reason or for making a suggestion.

Examples

a. Why are you late?

b. Why don’t you leave early?

4. What

What is used to ask for information about something or for repetition/ confirmation of
the information? It is also used for asking reason. What…for?

Examples

a. What is your concern?

b. What? What are you saying?

c. What did you say?

5. Where

Where is used to ask for the place or location.

Examples

a. Where do you live?

b. Where are they going for their honeymoon?

6. Which

Which is used to ask the choice.

Examples

a. Which one do you want? Blue one or green one?

b. Which one do you prefer?

7. Whose

Whose is used to ask about ownership.

Examples

a. Whose car is this?

b. Whose jacket is that?

8. Whom

Whom is used to ask what or which person or people. It is always an object in a

sentence.

Example

a. Whom do you want to meet?

9. Who

Who is used to ask what or which person or people. It is a subject to a verb in a

sentence.

Example

a. Who was calling me?

Hope the above examples will clear your concepts on the usage of “wh” words. In
order to improve your English, you can join a Spoken English course and learn English
grammar and its usage with ease.

WH questions ask for information. Here are the six questions and their
answers:

Question Answer Example

What Thing What is your name?
When Time When is the party?
Who Person Who is your brother?
Where Place Where is the bank?
Why Reason Why do you like pizza?
How Directions How do you spell your name?

What is used for a thing.

‘What is it?’

Who is used for a person. Whose has the same meaning but it is always followed by a noun.

‘Who were you talking to?’

‘Whose car is that?’

Why is used for a reason.

‘Why were you late?’

When is used for a time or date

‘When did you start working here?’

Which is used for a choice.

‘Which do you prefer, tea or coffee?’

Where is used for a place.

‘Where do you live?’

How is used for an amount or the way.

‘How much does it cost?’

‘How do I get to the station?’

WH Question Words
We use question words to ask certain types of questions (question word questions).

We often refer to these words as WH words because they include the letters WH (for
example WHy, HoW).

question word function example sentence

what asking for information about What is your name?

something
 asking for repetition or confirmation What? I can't hear you.
You did what?

what...for asking for a reason, asking why What did you do that for?

when asking about time When did he leave?

where asking in or at what place or position Where do they live?

which asking about choice Which colour do you want?

who asking what or which person or Who opened the door?

people (subject)

whom asking what or which person or Whom did you see?

people (object)

whose asking about ownership Whose are these keys?

Whose turn is it?

why asking for reason, asking what...for Why do you say that?

why don't making a suggestion Why don't I help you?

how asking about manner How does this work?

asking about condition or quality How was your exam?

how + adj/adv asking about extent or degree see examples below

how far distance How far is Pattaya from

Bangkok?

how long length (time or space) How long will it take?

how many quantity (countable) How many cars are there?

how much quantity (uncountable) How much money do you

have?

how old age How old are you?

how come asking for reason, asking why How come I can't see her?
(informal)
"What" is the most common question word used by children as old as 2 years old. It can
refer to an object, an idea or an action.

What is that?
What time is it?
What’s your name?

"Where" is the question word to use when asking for information about a place.

Where is the park?

Where is the teddy bear?

The information gathered by asking “who” refers always to a person.

Who is she? 
Who is your teacher?

If your little one wants to know about a specific time, "when" is the word to use when
asking.

When are we leaving?

When do you go to school?
Asking “why” is making an inquiry about a reason or purpose of something.

Why are you learning English?

Why are there clouds in the sky?

"Which" is the question word to use when asking about choices.

Which one do you like: a blue car or a green car?

Which one of these dresses is yours?

"Whose' is used when asking someone about possession.

Whose book is this?

Whose house is it?

Even though this question word doesn’t start with wh-, "how" is still is one of the basics. It’s
used to talk about manner, like the way that something happened.

How are you?

How was your lunch?
There are a few more questions that can be asked using “how” as a question words, let’s
check some of them out.

How much? 
We use how much to ask about quantities of things that can’t be easily counted (money,
work, sugar, water)

How much water is in the pool? 

How much money does that bike cost?

How many? 
When we want to ask about the number of things that can be numbered, we used this option,
for example: to count apples, cars or toys.

How many toys do you have?

How many apples did mom buy?

Yes/No Question
However, besides using the questions words to request for information, there is another way
to ask for something, that is through yes or no questions. What what’s the difference
between these and question words? Well, while wh- questions are answered with the
requested info, the other ones can be answered by saying yes or no! 

This type of questions is also called closed questions since the answers can be very simple!

Let’s take a look at some yes or no questions to start a conversation with children that can
be practiced with the little ones, and also some of their possible answers:

Are your siblings older than you? 

Yes, they are. 
No, they aren’t. They are younger than me.

Do you have any pets? 

Yes, I do. I have a dog. 
No, I don’t.

Are you going to school? 

Yes, I am going to school!
No, I’m not. I’m on vacation.
 Do you like apples? 
Yes, I do. I like apples. 
No, I don’t. I prefer peaches.

Do you play with toys? 

Yes, I do. I play with lots of toys. 
No, I don’t. I like to play with my friends.

Are you going to the park later? 

Yes, I am. 
No, I’m not. I am going to the museum.

Use of Wh Questions
We use the Wh questions to elicit information. The various wh question words have their
different functions. Let us see some of them with examples:

We use what for a thing and it is nominal in nature. We use which to refer to choice or

options

 What is it you are holding?

 Which way to the hospital?
 Which colour do you prefer, blue or green?

Whom and who are used for a person and they are pronominal or relative in nature. We

use whose to refer to a person but a noun must follow it.
• Who is the man looking for?
• Whom do you come to see on weekends?
• Whose bag is this?
See the post Whose vs Who’s and Whom for further explanations.

We use why to show the reason for an action and it is adverbial in nature. We use how to
indicate the manner of an action and it is equally adverbial in nature. How also indicates
amount or way/means. The same goes for when which we use to depict the time an action or
event takes place and wherewhich indicates place.
• Why are you shouting?
• How did you solve the equation?
• How much did she pay for the goods?
• When do we take our leave?
• Where were you coming from?
• How do we get to the airport?
TODAY, we will take a look at Section C of the SPM 1119 paper. This section, which carries a substantial 25
marks, is divided into two parts, reading comprehension and summary writing. Ten marks are allocated for
reading comprehension and 15 for summary writing.
READING COMPREHENSION
General guidelines
1.        Read the whole passage through once to get a general idea of what it is about. Do not worry if you come
across unfamiliar words. Sometimes, it is not necessary to understand every word you read.
2.        Do read the passage a second time, if necessary. The second reading helps you take in the details and
improve your understanding.
3.        Read the questions carefully. Use cue words in the questions to help you answer them. These can be the
“wh” words (what, when, where, why, who, whose, how) and action verbs (identify, find, list).
4.        Questions sometimes contain words found in the passage. Use these words to help you identify the part
of the passage where the answer can be found.
5.        You do not have to answer questions in complete sentences (look at the sample answers given).
6.        You can lift words, clauses or sentences from the passage to answer questions. You do not have to use
your own words unless you are told to do so. Be careful not to alter/distort the meaning expressed in the
passage and hence lose precious marks.
7.       For questions on vocabulary, if you are asked for a word, then give only ONE word and
       nothing else. Make sure you spell the word correctly. If you are asked for a phrase, then give the relevant
phrase. If you copy the sentence where the word or phrase are found, you must indicate the chosen word or
phrase by underlining it or putting it within quotation marks.
8.        Some questions require you to use your own words and you must do so.
9.        Do pay attention to the tense (and sometimes, pronoun) used in the questions when formulating your
answers.
Pitfalls to avoid
1.        Do not give more than the required information. Sometimes, students copy chunks from a passage. This
only highlights their weakness €” failure to understand the question and/or text.
2.        Do not give two or more answers to a question. Some students write down all the possible answers to a
question, just to be on the safe side.
3.        Do not waste time paraphrasing answers unless you are asked to do so.
SUMMARY WRITING
The question on summary writing is based on the same text used for reading comprehension. This should be a
boon as you would be familiar with the text after several readings. Despite this, many students are not
comfortable with summary writing. Their fears stem from their inability to identify information relevant to the
answer. Some are also worried that they may not be able to put the information together into a coherent
paragraph. Weak students have an additional problem to grapple with €” language. While these concerns are
genuine, there is no reason to fret as these problems can be easily overcome with proper guidance and help
from teachers.
Remember that summary writing, in the context of this paper, is largely a reading skill (as you are required to
select relevant information in the text), with a bit of writing thrown in (as you have to string the points together
into a unified text).
The task is made easier for you as you do not need to summarise the whole text, only certain aspects.
Therefore, it is crucial that you read the question carefully and consider what information is relevant.
The allocation of marks for summary writing is as follows: 10 for content and five for language. Usually, there are
more than 10 content points but you should be able to identify at least 10. Do not worry too much about
paraphrasing. Instead, focus on getting marks for content, not language.
General guidelines
1.        Read the question carefully. Ask yourself: “What am I required to summarise?”
2.        Mark the first and last lines of the passage you are asked to refer to.
3.        Then select information that is relevant to your answer. To do this, underline the relevant lines or ideas as
you read the text. Always ask yourself: “Is this ...” (For the summary below, you would ask: “Is this a reason
tigers have become extinct?” or “Is this a measure that should be implemented?”
4.        Look through the lines/ideas you have underlined. Sometimes, an idea is repeated in
       another line. Ask yourself: Is this idea a repetition?
5.        Summarise the ideas. You can combine ideas by joining phrases or sentences, or you may want to
paraphrase ideas/sentences. However, make sure your sentences are complete sentences and not fractured
bits and pieces.
6.        If you cannot paraphrase, see if there are words in the text that you can replace without affecting the
meaning. For example, you can use a pronoun to replace a noun.
7.        If you are a weak student, copy the entire sentence. This way, you will not lose marks for content or
language.
8.        Begin the summary with the 10 words given and remember that the three dots after the 10th word mean
you have to complete the sentence with some relevant information from the text.
9.        Organise the ideas/points in the manner in which they are found in the text. Do not waste time trying to
rearrange ideas.
10.        Adhere to the word limit. Writing more than the required number of words will not get you extra marks.
Anything short of the word limit means you lack content.
11.        Pay attention to the tense (and sometimes, pronoun) used in the given 10 words.
12. Write the summary in one paragraph. Some students are in the habit of drawing columns to facilitate
counting of words. This is fine but write your final draft in one paragraph.
Pitfalls to avoid
1.        Do not include information not found in the text.
2. Do not include your own ideas or opinions.
3. Do not spend too much time paraphrasing as you might end up losing marks for content unless you can do so
without altering/distorting meaning.
4. Do not repeat ideas. Sometimes, an idea is repeated in the text and you may not notice it as it may have been
paraphrased.
5. Do not include material from other lines in the text.
Here is a sample reading passage. See if you can answer questions 26 to 31, which are based on the following
passage.
1. The tiger, the largest cat in the world, is one of the most majestic animals on landand is found only in Asia. It
is also one of the most powerful mammals, yet it is onthe brink of extinction. In the 1900s, the tiger population
was more than100,000. Today, the number has dwindled to less than 10,000 worldwide.Nepal has only 200
tigers, India has about 4,000, while Malaysia has less than 500. The reason for the decline in numbers is
poaching.
2. Tigers are hunted not only by human beings but also by other predators such aselephants, bears and large
buffaloes. The only defence tigers have against theirenemies are their razor-sharp claws, their strong teeth and
their sheer weight. Theweight of a tiger, which can range between 200 and 300 kilogrammes, can kill an
10average sized human being.
3. Tigers have fascinated human beings for several reasons. For instance, marks ontheir forehead resemble the
Chinese character wang, which means king. Furthermore,the markings on a tiger’s forehead and the stripes all
over its body are like fingerprints. Experts can tell individual tigers apart by observing the markings and stripes
closely. This is because no two tigers have identical markings. The patterns of theirstripes vary immensely,
especially from one sub-species to another. The Sumatran tigerhas the most stripes and markings while the
Siberian tiger has the fewest. The stripesof a tiger always run at right angles to its body and not along its
bodyline. Otherwise,it would be very conspicuous and find it impossible to camouflage itself.
4. These carnivorous beasts thrive well in areas of dense vegetation with amplesources of water and large
populations of hoofed animals. They instinctively avoidhuman beings and only attack people if they are
provoked, injured or unable to huntfor their usual food.
5. Despite their prowess, tigers are unable to protect themselves from their greatest threat – human beings.
These magnificent creatures have been hunted for hundreds ofyears for sport as proof of one’s strength and
manliness, and for their skin. They havealso been trapped and poisoned by farmers to protect their livestock. As
a result, theCaspian, Javan and Bali tigers have become extinct. In many Asian countries, tigersare killed for
their precious claws. It is believed that wearing a talisman made of a 30tiger’s claw can protect its wearer. It is
almost impossible to ascertain whether atiger’s claw has any supernatural powers, but what is certain is that
many a tiger willlose its life so that someone can profit from it.
6. Other than that, tigers have been hunted for their body organs, which are believed tobe a cure for many
ailments. This superstition may have resulted from the connection 35made with their masculinity and strength.
This has resulted in massive poaching oftigers for their whiskers, eyes, teeth, penises, liver and fat.
7. Hunting of tiger prey has also caused the number of tigers to dwindle. Tigersusually feed on hoofed animals
such as deer, wild boar and buffaloes. The hunting ofthese animals by human beings has caused tigers to starve
to death.
8. Serious action has to be taken to ensure the survival of this majestic creature.Although the tiger has been
labelled an endangered species and the sale of tigerrelatedproducts has been banned in many countries, these
measures have backfired,with illegal poaching of tigers for their fur, bones and other organs becoming
rampant.Some countries, such as India, have allocated millions of dollars to set up tiger reserves to protect
these animals but even these are not safe. Poachers completelywiped out wild tigers in the Sariska Tiger
Reserve in India. To ensure the survival ofthe tiger, conservation efforts need to be improved to reduce threats
to tigers. Effortsmust also be made to improve tiger habitats and to increase tiger prey populations so that they
will not starve to death in the wild. There must be more stringent controls onthe demand for tiger parts. When
there is no demand, there will be no supply. To drivethe message home, poachers should be punished severely.
Otherwise, they will notstop their illegal activities.
26. From paragraph 1:
        a) In which continent are tigers found?
___________________________________________    (1 mark)
       
b) Why is it surprising that the tiger is on the verge of extinction?
____________________________________________  (1 mark)
27.       a) From paragraph 2: How do tigers protect themselves against their enemies?
        ___________________________________________      (1 mark)
       b) From paragraph 3: Why are the markings on a tiger important?
        ___________________________________________(1 mark)
28.       a) From paragraph 4: Provide evidence to show that tigers are only dangerous when their well-being is at
risk.
___________________________________________      (1 mark)
b) From paragraph 5: Find a word which means “valuable”.
___________________________________________(1 mark)
29. From paragraph 8: List two measures that have failed to protect the tiger from being hunted.
       
a) _________________________________________(1 mark)
       
b) ________________________________________ (1 mark)
30. Do you think punishing poachers severely is a good measure to prevent the hunting of tigers? Give a reason.
       _____________________________  (2 marks)
31. Based on the passage given, write a summary on:
> the reasons tigers are becoming extinct.
> the measures that should be taken to protect them.
              Credit will be given for use of own words but care must be taken               not to change the original
meaning. Your summary must:
> be in continuous writing form (not note form)
>   use materials from lines 26 to 54
> not be longer than 130 words including the 10 words given below.
Begin your summary as follows:
The tiger population has suffered a serious decline because tigers ...
Answers to reading comprehension
26.       a)       Asia.
                     b)       Because it is one of the most powerful mammals.
27.       a)       They use their razor-sharp claws, their strong teeth and their  sheer weight.
       b) They enable experts to tell individual tigers apart / Experts can tell individual tigers apart by observing the
markings and stripes closely.
28.       a) They only attack people if they are provoked, injured or unable to hunt for their usual food.
       b) precious.
29.       a) The tiger has been labelled an endangered species.
       b) The sale of tiger-related products has been banned in many countries.
30.               Any logical answer is acceptable. Example: Yes, I believe severe punishment will deter them as
they will not want to take such a risk. Or: No, I don’t think severe punishment will deter them.  They would not
mind taking risks as they stand to gain a lot from the sale of tiger body parts.
Answers to summary writing
Below are the sentences taken from the passage; the summary points are in italics and have been numbered.
>  These magnificent creatures have been hunted for hundreds of years for sport as proof of one’s strength and
manliness (point 1)  and for their skin (point 2).
>  They have also been trapped and poisoned by farmers to protect their livestock (point 3).
> In many Asian countries, tigers are killed for their precious claws. It  is believed that wearing a talisman made
of a tiger’s claw can protect its wearer (point 4).
>  Other than that, tigers have been hunted for their body organs which are believed to be a cure for many
ailments (point 5).
> The hunting of these animals (tiger prey) by human beings has caused tigers to starve to death (point 6).
>  To ensure the survival of the tiger, conservation efforts need to be improved to reduce threats to tigers (point
7).
> Efforts must also be made to improve tiger habitats (point 8) and to increase tiger prey populations so that
they will not starve to death in                      the wild (point 9).
>  There must be more stringent controls on the demand for tiger parts  (point 10).
>  To drive the message home, poachers should be punished severely  (point 11).
Here is a sample summary using phrases and sentences from the passage.
The tiger population has suffered a serious decline because tigershave been hunted for sport as proof of one’s
strength andmanliness and for their skin. Besides, tigers have been killed byfarmers to protect their livestock.
These beasts have also beenkilled for their claws which are believed to protect the wearer.Worse still, tigers are
killed for their body organs, which arebelieved to cure many ailments. Moreover, hunting of tigerprey has caused
tigers to starve to death. Stern measures mustbe taken to protect them. For instance, conservation efforts
andtiger habitats must be improved. To prevent tigers from starving,tiger prey populations must be increased.
Most importantly,there must be more stringent controls on the demand.

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2008/10/12/tips-on-summary-

writing/#9O7wFPOpmb4U346D.99