Questions (wh) (A1)

1. WH Questions

WH questions begin with a special question word and ask for specific information — not just "yes" or "no". In this lesson, you will learn the common WH question words (who, what, where, when, why, which, and how) and how to use them to ask about people, places, things, and actions. Examples: "What is your name?" or "Where do you live?"

2. Common WH Question Words

Who – asks about a person

"Who is your teacher?" → "My teacher is Ruth."

What – asks about a thing or an action

"What is your favorite color?" → "My favorite color is blue."

Where – asks about a place

"Where do you live?" → "I live in London."

When – asks about time

"When is your birthday?" → "My birthday is in May."

Why – asks about reason

"Why are you tired?" → "Because I went to bed late."

Which – asks to choose from options

"Which shirt do you want?" → "I want the red shirt."

Which is often followed directly by a noun: "Which bus?", "Which book?" This helps you ask about a specific choice.

How – asks about the way something is done or someone's condition.

"How are you?" → "I am fine."

"How much is this?" → "It is five dollars."

"How often do you go to the library?" → "I try to go every weekend."

3. How to Make WH Questions

WH questions usually follow a clear structure. The pattern changes depending on the verb.

3.1 WH questions with do/does

Use this structure for most WH questions. The WH word asks about information, and the subject (the person or thing doing the action) comes after do/does.

The subject can be a pronoun (I/you/he/she/it/we/they) or a name/thing (Tom, my mother, the bus).

Special case: 'Who' as the subject

Sometimes who is the person doing the action in the sentence. In this case, do NOT use do/does — just use who + verb directly.

Ask yourself: is who doing the action, or is someone else doing it?

"Who called you?" → Who is doing the calling. No do/does needed.
"Who do you like?" → You are doing the liking. Use do.
:::

For all other WH questions, use do/does as normal:

:::example
"Who do you like?" (You are doing the action — liking.)

Structure: WH word + do/does + subject + main verb + rest of sentence?

"What do you eat for breakfast?"

"Where does she live?"

"When do they go to school?"

Remember these rules:

Use does for he, she, it
Use do for I, you, we, they
Notice: The main verb is without -s after does!
- Correct: "Where does he live?"
- Incorrect: "Where does he lives?"

3.2 WH questions with be (am/is/are)

The verb be works differently.

Structure: WH word + be (am/is/are) + subject + rest of sentence?

"Who is your teacher?"

"Where is the bus?"

"How are you?"

The subject comes after be in WH questions: "Where is the bus?" (subject = the bus). No do/does is needed with be.

When the WH word is the subject (for example, "Who" in "Who is your teacher?"), the WH word comes first and replaces the subject.

4. Answers to WH Questions

WH questions ask for specific information, not yes/no. So the answer gives information (a person/place/time/thing).

Q: "Where do you live?"

→ A: "I live in London."

Q: "Who is your friend?"

→ A: "My friend is Ruth."

Q: "What do you eat for breakfast?"

→ A: "I eat bread and eggs."

5. Common Mistakes

Incorrect: "Where you live?" → missing do

Correct: "Where do you live?"

Incorrect: "What she likes?" → missing does

Correct: "What does she like?"

Incorrect: "Who your teacher?" → missing is

Correct: "Who is your teacher?"

6. Recap

With be: WH + am/is/are + subject + ...? → "Where is the bus?"
With other verbs: WH + do/does + subject + verb + ...? → "Where do you live?"
Special case — WH word is the subject: WH + verb (no do/does) → "Who called you?"

Questions (wh)