WH WORDS-WH
QUESTIONS Unit 1
2: WH WORDS – WH QUESTIONS
WH Questions are information questions which are used in order
to get specific information about person, place or thing.
WH Question shouldn’t be answered with Yes/ No but longer
specific answer is needed to be given.
WH WORDS
What Thing, person, job
Where Place
Who/ Whom Person
When/ What time time
Which Choice
Whose Owner
How Condition/ situation
Why Reason/ cause
WH QUESTIONS
What: (Job, time, thing)
What is your job? | What time is it? | Q. What is this? A. It’s a car.
Where: (Place)
Where do you live?
Who/ Whom: (Person)
Who is he? Who are they? Who is she? Who painted the wall?
Whom did you visit last night? Whom did you call this morning?
WH QUESTIONS
How: (Condition/ Situation)
How is the weather today in Kabul? How do you come to Kardan
University?
When / What time: (Time)
When does your class start? / What time does your class start?
Which: Choice
Which color do you like? A. I like black color.
Which book do you love to read? A. I love to read novel books.
WH QUESTIONS
Why: (Reason/ Cause)
Why do you study English? A. I study English language because it is an
international language.
Whose: Owner/ possessor
Whose is this book? / Whose book is this? A. This is Ahmad.
Whom: Whom is used to get information about a person. Specially, it is used
when object is unknown in the sentence.
e.g: I called Ali. / I called… Q. Whom did you call?
A. I called Ali.
WH PHRASES
WH Phrases are used in order to get specific information about person, place
or thing.
How many Number
How much Quantity
How far Distance
How old Age
How long Duration of time
How often Repetition of an action
How wide Size
How deep Size
How tall Size
WH PHRASES
How many: (Number)
e.g: How many brothers do you have? A. I have three brothers.
e.g: How many cars do you have? A. I have one car.
How much: (Quantity)
e.g: How much sugar do you need? A. I need one kg of sugar. / I need
a spoon of sugar.
e.g: How much rice is in the jar? A. There is 7 kg of rice in the jar.
Note: exception is there for money and time. We use how much instead of how
many when we ask a question.
How much time is left? How much money do you have in your pocket? A. I
have $400 in my pocket.
How far: (Distance)
e.g: How far is it to Liasa-e-Maryam? / How far is it from here to Liasa-e-Maryam?
How far is it to Shara-e-Now? A. It takes an hour by car/ bus/ train/ foot.
How old: age
e.g: How old are you?
How long/ How much time: Duration of time
e.g: How long do you watch TV every night? A. I watch TV for two hours every night.
e.g: How long do you play cricket every Friday?
A. We play cricket for three hours every Friday.
e.g: How much time do you play cricket every Friday?
A. We play cricket for three hours every Friday
How often/ How many times: (Repetition of an action)
e.g: How often do you pray in a day? A. I pray five times in a day.
How often do you drink tea in a day? / How many times do you drink tea in a
day?
A. I drink four times in a day.
Note: We can answer how often with: Once, twice, thrice, four times, five times and
so on.
Q. How often do you wash your teeth in a day?
A. I wash my teeth thrice a day.
How deep: (depth)
e.g: How deep is this pool?
A. It’s 2 meter deep.
How high: (Height)
Note: Information question can’t be answered with Yes/ No, but instead
we have to give a complete answer.
Ex.
Where do you live?
Yes, I do / No, I don’t. (Incorrect)
STRUCTURE: DIRECT
QUESTIONS
Wh/How + Auxiliary+ Subject+ Verb+ Complement?
Where did you buy this book?
How do you practice English?
WH/HOW + AUXILIARY + SUBJECT +
VERB + COMPLEMENT
Ex.
1.Where do you live? I live in Kabul.
2.What did she buy last week? She bought a car.
3.When do you go to class? I go to class at 6:00 am
CONTINUED…
4.Whose book is this? That is my book.
5. What has she bought? She has bought a book.
6. Whom did you visit yesterday? My friends.
7.How often will they go to class? Twice a week.
8. How deep is this pool? It is four meters deep.
INTONATION
Intonation: The rise and fall of voice is called
intonation.
Note: with information questions intonation
falls at the end of the question.
EXAMPLES
What’s your name?
Where are you?
See page 5 for more examples.
WHEN YOU DO NOT
UNDERSTAND
There are many words and sentences we can use
when we do not understand somebody and we want
them to repeat themselves.
EXAMPLES – FORMAL
WORDS/ PHRASES
Sorry?
Excuse me?
Pardon?
Pardon me?
EXAMPLES – INFORMAL
WORDS/ PHRASE
What?
Come again? informal
Huh?
POLITE QUESTIONS
When you meet somebody for the first time, it
is important to ask polite questions and not
ask impolite questions.
EXAMPLES OF POLITE
QUESTIONS
What is your name?
Where do you study English?
What is your favorite restaurant?
How much time do you spend online?
EXAMPLES OF SOME
IMPOLITE QUESTIONS
How old are you?
What is your salary?
How many children do you want to have?
Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?
When do you want to get married?
Note: Generally speaking, very personal questions are considered impolite
questions in The English culture, But is better to do some research about what
is polite and not polite in the country you want to visit.
THANK YOU!
THE END
