Question Words

When Who, What or Where is not the subject and the question uses am, is or are, put be before the separate stated subject: What is your name? Where are the keys? Who is that woman?

When Who or What itself is the subject, be follows that question word: Who is calling? What is happening? Who’s, What’s and Where’s are natural conversational contractions when they mean Who is, What is and Where is.

For an ordinary verb in the present simple, when Who, What or Where is not the subject, put do or does before the separate subject. The main verb after do/does takes its base form: Where does Mia work?, not Where does Mia works?

Use do with I, you, we and they; does with he, she, it or a singular person or thing named by a noun phrase. Who can also begin this pattern when it asks about the object: Who do you call?

When Who, What or Where is not the subject and the sentence has can, put can before the separate subject without adding do: Where can I sit? What can we do? The verb after can takes its base form.

Who or What can itself be the subject; can then follows the question word with no separate subject: Who can help? Who identifies the unknown person able to perform the action.

The auxiliary pattern is not universal. If Who or What performs the action itself, it replaces the subject and an affirmative question needs no do/does: Who works here? What happened?

Compare the roles. Who helps you? asks which person helps you: Who is subject. Who do you help? asks which person you help: you is subject, so do is needed.

A useful question matches the conversation’s purpose. If you have lost your phone, you need Where is my phone?, not What is my phone? If you do not know the person by the entrance, ask Who is that?

A short conversation sometimes allows a one-word question: I’m moving next week. — Where? Full Where are you moving? is also correct. An exercise requesting a complete question requires the full form.

This material focuses on Who, What and Where in direct information questions. When, Why, How, Whose and Which have their own meanings and are practised in neighbouring rules. Formal whom and indirect questions such as Can you tell me where it is? are not targets here.

Before forming your question, take three steps: identify the answer type; find the verb and subject; choose the be, do/does, can or subject-question pattern. Then check the question mark and whether the other person can provide the information you need.

One situation may allow different grammatical questions, but they ask for different information. When does the train leave? asks for the departure time. Why does the train stop here? asks for the reason for the stop. How does the train cross the river? asks for a description of the method.

A grammatical question with a different question word is not always wrong. It may simply fail to achieve the intended communicative goal. Therefore, in an exercise, always check exactly what information you need to find out.

The answer because usually explains a reason after Why. Answers to When and How can take many natural forms, so the meaning matters, not just one word.

In the Present Simple, with main verbs such as work, start, travel, and cook, we put do or does before the subject. After do/does, the verb has its base form without -s.

With I, you, we, and they, we use do. With he, she, it, or one name, we use does. The -s ending moves from the main verb to does: Mia travels becomes How does Mia travel?

The complete order is: question word + do/does + subject + base form of the verb + the rest of the question.

When the main verb is am, is, or are, we do not add do/does. We move the form of be before the subject.

The order is: question word + am/is/are + subject + the rest of the question. We use this to ask about the time of an event, the reason for a state, or someone’s condition.

How are you? is a common question about a person’s condition. Here, How does not ask you to describe transportation or a technical method.

If a sentence contains the modal can, it comes before the subject. We do not use do/does together with can.

After can, we always use the base form of the verb. The order is: question word + can + subject + verb.

This pattern is useful when we ask about a possible time, the reason something is possible, or the method of carrying out an action.

A good question must not only have the correct word order but also fit the situation. To find out how someone travels to work, ask How do you get to work? To find out the arrival time, ask When do you get to work? If the answer has already been given, ask about what is still unknown.

We often answer Why with a sentence containing because, but shorter natural reasons are also possible: I’m tired or The bus is late. We can answer When with at eight, on Monday, or after work. We can answer How with by bike, on foot, or a complete description.

In a short dialogue, it is not necessary to repeat every word from the previous line. It is important to keep the participant, the action, and the required type of information.

This material practises direct questions with When, Why, and simple How. Constructions such as How old, How much, How many, and other combinations of How with an adjective or quantity belong to related rules.

When can also mean “when” inside a statement, and Why and How can introduce indirect questions. The word order there is different, but we do not practise those constructions here.

To apply the skill in speech, first identify the purpose: time, reason, or method. Then look at the verb: with a main verb, use do/does; with be, use inversion; with can, put the modal verb before the subject.

Whose asks who something belongs to. It can come before a noun: whose coat, whose phone, whose books. The noun immediately identifies the item being asked about.

Whose can also stand alone when the item is visible or already mentioned: Whose is this? Whose are these? A natural answer names the owner or uses a possessive pronoun: It’s Amir’s; They’re ours.

Do not confuse whose with who’s. Who’s contracts who is or who has, while whose asks about possession.

Which asks for a choice from a limited set. The options can be named in the question, displayed on a menu or board, or already understood from the conversation.

Which can come before a noun: Which train? Which colour? It can also stand alone when the items are clear: Which is yours? Which do you prefer?

What more often opens a general set of answers that has not been limited in advance. What colour do you like? is not ungrammatical; it simply does not restrict the choice to two colours. In a real situation, both what and which may be possible if the speaker frames the set differently.

How before an adjective asks about degree or requests a measurement. Particularly useful common A1 combinations are how old for age, how tall for height, how far for distance, how long for duration or length, and how big for size.

The adjective determines the kind of answer. How old calls for an age, how far for a distance, and how long for a duration or length depending on the object and context.

Not every combination of how with an adjective is equally common. Learn frequent combinations first, and check whether the expected answer really measures that property.

There is no single universal formula for all these questions. With be, place it before the subject: How old is Mia? Which is yours? With other verbs in Present Simple, do or does is often needed: Which bus do we need? How long does the film last?

Whose or which plus a noun can itself be the subject. In that case, do not add do: Whose phone is ringing? Which bus goes to the airport? Identify the phrase’s role before inserting an auxiliary.

Use a question mark in a direct question. Indirect-question word order is a separate topic and is not practised here.

Whose expects an owner: Sara’s, mine, theirs. Which expects a selection: the small one, bus 7, this one. How + adjective expects the relevant measure: twelve years old, about two kilometres, forty minutes.

Conversation does not always require a full sentence, but the answer must be sufficient and clear. In a written exercise, follow any explicit requirement about the number of sentences or turns.

This lesson does not practise how much or how many for quantity, or how much for prices. They have separate rules. Relative whose and which in subordinate clauses are also outside the scope.

To use the skill in conversation, imagine the expected answer. An owner’s name points to whose, one of several options to which, and a measurement of a property to how + the appropriate adjective.

When a task asks for your own example, you may use real or invented facts. Preserve any facts supplied in the prompt. Check an open response for meaning, the target form, word order and naturalness. The model is not the only acceptable wording.