1. A question word identifies the missing information
A question with a question word asks for specific information. Where seeks a place, when a time, who a person, and what a name, thing or other information. Why asks for a reason. The answer is usually more than yes or no: the listener fills a gap in your knowledge.
Start by imagining the answer rather than translating an isolated word. If the answer will be an address, ask about place; if a day or an hour, ask about time. A short phrase such as On Monday can be a natural answer; a full sentence is not always necessary.
Where is the lift? — Next to the stairs.
Where is the lift? — Next to the stairs.
The answer names a place, so the question uses where.
When is the lesson? — On Tuesday.
When is the lesson? — On Tuesday.
The lesson is already identified; the missing information is its time.
Who is your neighbour? — Marta.
Who is your neighbour? — Marta.
Who asks for the person's identity, not their location.
2. Word order with am, is and are
In an ordinary direct question about an identified subject, put the question word or whole question phrase first, then am/is/are before the subject. The office is upstairs becomes Where is the office? The subject determines the form of be: I → am; he/she/it and one thing → is; you/we/they and plurals → are.
In these questions, be is the main verb: it describes a condition, location, identity or characteristic. Do not add do/does. You requires are whether it refers to one person or several. The subject's length makes no difference: my new work phone refers to one phone, so use is.
Question word / phrase + am/is/are + subject + rest of the question?
- subject / S —
- The grammatical subject: who or what the clause is about; the verb agrees with it. In The book was written, the book is the subject, although someone else does the action.
Where are your glasses?
Where are your glasses?
Glasses is plural in form; are comes before your glasses.
Why am I last?
Why am I last?
The subject I requires am even when it follows the verb.
What time is our next meeting?
What time is our next meeting?
What time is one question phrase. Do not split it with is.
3. When the subject itself is unknown
In Someone is ready, the unknown information is the person. Replace someone with who: Who is ready? Who already occupies the subject position, so do not add he, she or it. Similarly, What is in the box? asks which thing is in the box; what is already the subject.
Do not mechanically apply question word + be + another subject to every question. Compare Who is here? and Where is he? The first seeks a person; the second already identifies the person as he and seeks a place. Use is in basic questions such as Who is ready? / What is inside? This does not mean every who-question always has is: Who are those people? contains plural those people.
Who is next?
Who is next?
Who replaces the unknown person's name; a separate he is unnecessary.
What is on the floor?
What is on the floor?
We are asking about an unknown object, not the location of an identified one.
Where is he?
Where is he?
He remains the subject, while where asks for his location.
4. How: condition, age, distance, quantity and price
How does not only express manner. With be, it often asks about condition or impressions: How is your soup? Adding old, far or long produces questions about age, distance or duration. The whole phrase precedes be: How old is…?, not How is … old?
How many + plural noun asks how many separate items there are. How much can ask about an uncountable quantity or a price. In a price question, is/are agrees with the item being priced, not with much: How much is this cup? and How much are these cups? Asking about price does not mean much can replace many before chairs.
How old is this building? — About fifty years old.
How old is this building? — About fifty years old.
How old can ask about a building's age, not only a person's.
How many seats are free? — Three.
How many seats are free? — Three.
Seats are counted individually; many precedes plural seats.
How much are these apples? — Two euros.
How much are these apples? — Two euros.
How much asks about price; plural apples agrees with are.
5. What or which: an open field or a choice
What is useful when the possible answers are not restricted: What is your address? Which highlights a choice among known options: Which address is yours? The list may appear in the conversation, on a screen or simply be understood by both people.
This is a difference in how the choice is presented, not a ban on what when there are few options. In some situations, What colour is your bag? and Which colour is your bag? are both grammatical; the second points more strongly to a known set of colours. If an exercise specifically practises which, the prompt will say so. Do not label another grammatical phrase an error simply because it frames the choice differently.
What is your room number?
What is your room number?
We ask for information without displaying a list of room numbers.
Which room is yours, 4 or 6?
Which room is yours, 4 or 6?
Two options are explicitly named, so which naturally highlights the choice.
6. Whose and who's sound the same but mean different things
Whose asks who owns something: Whose bag is this? It can precede a noun or stand on its own: Whose is this bag? Both structures are possible. In our questions, who's means who is: Who's outside?
Try expanding the contraction. If who is gives the intended meaning, the apostrophe belongs there. If you want to identify an object's owner, use whose without an apostrophe. In other topics, who's can also mean who has; here we practise only present questions with be. Where's, What's and Who's are common in conversation when used in a suitable complete construction.
Whose keys are these?
Whose keys are these?
We are looking for the keys' owner; whose does not contain the verb is.
Who's at the door?
Who's at the door?
Who's expands to who is; the question asks about a person.
Whose is this coat?
Whose is this coat?
The version without a noun immediately after whose is also correct.
7. Context determines meaning, not the frame alone
___ is your room? has no single answer without context. Where is your room? asks for location; How is your room? asks about its condition or your impression. What is your room? can also work in a special context, for example when identifying its role in a game. The exercises name the information required so that you do not have to guess the author's intention.
Different forms can be grammatical while doing different jobs. Is the room ready? checks readiness, while Why isn't the room ready? seeks the reason it is not ready. Negation matters: Why is the room ready? asks a different question. When rebuilding a sentence, do not change the number of objects, the participant, or today to tomorrow.
Where is your room? — On the second floor.
Where is your room? — On the second floor.
The answer names a floor, so the question concerns location.
How is your room? — It's warm and quiet.
How is your room? — It's warm and quiet.
The assessment of the room answers a question about condition or impressions, not its address.
Why are the rooms not ready?
Why are the rooms not ready?
Not preserves the lack of readiness; Why aren't the rooms ready? is also possible.
8. Direct questions, echo questions and embedded questions
This lesson targets neutral direct questions: Where is the café? In conversation, The café is where? can be a surprised echo question. It is not a grammatical error, but it does not replace the neutral form in a task that explicitly requires one.
Do not carry inversion inside another sentence. In I know where the café is, the order after where is the café is. In Do you know where the café is?, the outer question has its own structure, while the inner part still remains the café is. This is only a boundary note, not a requirement to master all indirect questions already. For independent practice, imagine a real gap in your knowledge, ask a short question and check that it can elicit exactly the type of answer you need.
Where is the café?
Where is the café?
A neutral direct question: is precedes the café.
The café is where?
The café is where?
A grammatical conversational echo question serving a different communicative purpose.
I know where the café is.
I know where the café is.
The embedded part where the café is has no inversion.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:Where are the station?
Correct:Where is the station?
The station refers to one station; it requires is, not are.
Incorrect:Why do you are late?
Correct:Why are you late?
In a question about being late, be itself moves before you; remove the extra do.
Incorrect:Whose ready?
Correct:Who's ready?
This asks who is ready, so it requires who is. Whose identifies an owner and does not replace a verb.
Incorrect:How much chairs are free?
Correct:How many chairs are free?
Chairs is a countable plural. Use many for the number of chairs; a price question would be How much are the chairs?
Incorrect:What is is inside?
Correct:What is inside?
What already names the unknown subject; a single occurrence of is is enough here.