Exclamations with What and How
Learn to make exclamations with What and How, choose a or an with nouns, and use adjectives, adverbs and statement word order to express strong feelings.
Use What and How to express strong feelings: surprise, pleasure or disappointment. You can react to something with a noun, an adjective or an adverb. The patterns below show when to use a/an and how to put the words in order.
Expressing strong feelings
An exclamation shows a strong feeling. It does not ask for an answer. In writing, it usually ends with an exclamation mark (!).
You see a beautiful beach: What a beautiful beach!
Your friend gives you a present: How kind of you!
You miss the last bus: What bad luck!
These forms are useful in conversation and personal messages. Avoid using too many exclamation marks in formal writing.
What with nouns
Use What before a noun or an adjective + noun. The form depends on the noun.
| Type of noun | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Singular countable noun | What + a/an + adjective + noun! | What a lovely day! |
| Plural countable noun | What + adjective + noun! | What lovely flowers! |
| Uncountable noun | What + adjective + noun! | What lovely weather! |
Use a/an with a singular countable noun. Choose a before a consonant sound and an before a vowel sound in the next word:
- What a great idea!
- What an interesting book!
Do not use a/an with plural or uncountable nouns.
An adjective is not always necessary: What a surprise! and What a mess! are common exclamations.
How with adjectives and adverbs
Use How + adjective to react to a quality. An adjective describes someone or something.
The view is beautiful. → How beautiful!
The tickets are expensive. → How expensive!
Your friend offers to help. → How kind of you!
Use How + adverb + subject + verb to react to the way someone does something. An adverb describes an action.
Mia runs very fast. → How fast Mia runs!
You dance very well. → How well you dance!
Full exclamations such as How well you dance! can sound more expressive than everyday comments such as You dance really well!
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Adding a subject and verb
You can add a subject and verb after the main words of an exclamation. Use statement word order, not question word order.
| Short exclamation | With a subject and verb |
|---|---|
| What a lovely day! | What a lovely day it is! |
| What beautiful flowers! | What beautiful flowers these are! |
| How cold! | How cold it is! |
| How tall! | How tall you are! |
Compare a question and an exclamation:
- How tall is Ben? — I want to know his height.
- How tall Ben is! — I am surprised by his height.
Do not change the word order into a question when you add the subject and verb.
✓ How cold it is!
✗ How cold is it! — For this exclamation, put it before is.
Choosing What or How
Look at the words you want to emphasise.
| With an adjective + noun: What | With an adjective: How |
|---|---|
| What a beautiful garden! | How beautiful the garden is! |
| What expensive shoes! | How expensive these shoes are! |
| What delicious food! | How delicious this food is! |
Both forms can express the same feeling, but their structures are different.
Remember the noun pattern:
✗ What beautiful day!
✓ What a beautiful day! — Day is singular and countable.
✗ What a nice weather!
✓ What nice weather! — Weather is uncountable.
✗ How a lovely room!
✓ What a lovely room! — Use What before a lovely room.
Quick checklist
- With a noun, choose What: What a wonderful meal!
- With a singular countable noun, include a/an. With plural or uncountable nouns, leave it out.
- With an adjective or adverb as the main description, choose How: How wonderful! / How well she sings!
- If you add a subject and verb, keep statement word order: How wonderful it is!
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Last updated October 14, 2026