Collins Cobuild English Grammar (103 page)

Wh
-questions

5.21
    When you ask someone a
wh
-question, you want them to specify a particular person, thing, place, reason, method, time, or amount. You do not expect them to answer
yes
or
no
.

wh
-words

5.22
    
Wh
-questions begin with a
wh
-word.

Wh
-words are a set of pronouns, adverbs, and determiners which all, with the exception of
how
, begin with
wh-
. Here is a list of the main
wh
-words:

how

what

when

where

which

who

whom

whose

why

wh
-word as subject

5.23
    When a
wh
-word is the subject of a verb, or when it forms part of the subject, the word order of the clause is the same as that of a clause in the declarative, i.e. the subject is put first, followed by the verb.

Who invited
you?
And then
what happened
?
Which mattress is
best?

wh
-word as object or adverb

5.24
    When a
wh
-word is the object of a verb or preposition, or when it forms part of the object, or when it is an adverb, the position of the subject is the usual one in the interrogative form; that is, it comes after the first verb in the clause.

What
am I
going to do without you?
Which graph
are you
going to use?
Why
would Stephen
lie to me?
When
would you
be coming down?

If you are using the
present simple
or the
past simple
of any verb except
be
, you put
do
,
does
, or
did
in front of the subject.

What
do you
really think?
Which department
do you
want?
Where
does she
live?
How
do you
know what it’s like?
When
did you
last see John Cartwright?

If you are using the present simple or the past simple of
be
, the main verb goes in front of the subject. You do not use
do
,
does
, or
did
.

Where
is the station
?
How
was your meeting
?
When
was the last time you cleaned the garage
?

questions without a verb

5.25
    In conversation, a
wh
-question sometimes consists of a
wh
-word on its own.

For example, if you say to someone
I’m learning to type
, they might say
Why
?, meaning
Why are you learning to type
?

‘He saw a snake.’ – ‘
Where
?’
‘I have to go to Germany.’ – ‘
When
?’
‘I knew you were landing today.’ – ‘
How
?’

A
wh
-question can also consist of a noun phrase containing a
wh
-word. For example, if you say to someone
I gave your book to that girl
, they might say
Which girl
?, meaning
Which girl did you give my book to
?

‘He knew my cousin.’ – ‘
Which cousin
?’
‘Who was your friend?’ – ‘
What friend
?’

who
and
whom

5.26
    The pronoun
who
is used to ask questions about a person’s identity.
Who
can be the subject or object of a verb.

Who
discovered this?
Who
were her friends?
Who is
Michael Howard?
Who
did he marry?

In more formal English,
whom
is sometimes used instead of
who
as the object of a verb.

Whom
shall we call?
Whom
did you see?

Who
and
whom
can also be the object of a preposition. When
who
is the object of a preposition, the preposition is put at the end of the clause.

Who
did you dance
with
?
Who
do I pay this
to
?

When
whom
is the object of a preposition, the preposition is put at the beginning of the clause, in front of
whom
.

For whom
was he working while in Baghdad?
To whom
is a broadcaster responsible?

In informal spoken English,
who
is sometimes used after a preposition.

So you report
to who
?

This use is especially common when you leave out part of the question.

‘They were saying horrible things.’ – ‘Really?
To who
?’
‘It could be difficult.’ – ‘
For who
?’

whose

5.27
    
Whose
is used as a determiner or pronoun to ask which person something belongs to or is associated with.

Whose children
did you think they were?
Whose coat
was it?
Whose
is that?

which

5.28
    
Which
is used as a pronoun or determiner to ask someone to identify a specific person or thing out of a number of people or things.

Which
is the best restaurant?
Which
is her room?
Which
do you like best?
Which doctor
do you want to see?

When
which
is a determiner, it can be part of the object of a preposition. The preposition is usually put at the end of the question.

Which station
did you come
from
?
Which character
did you like most?

when
and
where

5.29
    
When
is used to ask questions about the time something happened, happens, or will happen.

When
did you find her?
When
do we have supper?
Ginny,
when
are you coming home?

Where
is used to ask questions about place, position, or direction.

Where
does she live?
Where
are you going?
Where
do you go to complain?

why

5.30
    
Why
is used to ask a question about the reason for something.

Why
are you here?
Why
does Amy want to go and see his grave?
Why
does she treat me like that when we’re such old friends?

Why
is sometimes used without a subject and with the base form of a verb, usually to ask why an action is or was necessary.

Why wake
me up?
Why bother
about me?
Why make
a point of it?

Why not
can be used with the base form of a verb, in order to make a suggestion or to ask why a particular action has not been taken.

Why not end
it now?
Why not read
a book?
If you have money in the bank,
why not use
it?

how

5.31
    
How
is usually used to ask about the method used for doing something, or about the way in which something can be achieved.

How
do we open it?
How
are you going to get that?
How
could he explain it to her?
How
did he know when you were coming?

How
is also used to ask questions about the way a person feels, about the way someone or something looks, or about the way something sounds, feels, or tastes.

How
are you feeling today?
‘
How
do I look?’ – ‘Very nice.’
How
did you feel when you stood up in front of the class?

how
with other words

5.32
    
How
can be combined with other words at the beginning of questions.