Wh- Questions
Subject and Object
Wh-Questions - 1
•
Wh-questions (or = information questions) is used to ask for specific
information.
• Wh-questions begin with wh-words such as who, what, where, when, why,
which, whose, how, how many, how much, and how long.
Examples:
A: Who did you see at McDonald’s?
B: Tom Smith
A: When did you go there?
B: On June 13
A: How many people saw you?
B: Two
Wh-Questions - 2
• When you are asking about the subject, use:
• A wh-word in place of the subject, and statement word order: subject
+ verb
Example:
• Someone saw you.  Who saw you?  subject + verb
• Something happened.  What happened?  subject + verb
• For questions beginning with which, whose, how much, and how
many, we often use who-word + noun in place of the subject.
Example:
• Which witness told you the truth?  which + noun
• How many people saw the trial?  how many + noun
Wh-Questions - 3
• When the verb is a form of be (am, is, are, was, were),
use:
Wh-word + be
Example: Harry Adams is the defendant.
Who
is the defendant?
Harry Adams is the defendant.
Who
is Harry Adams?
Wh-Questions - 4
• When you are asking about the object, use:
a wh-word, and the following word order:
auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
• Example: You saw someone. (someone = object)
Who did you see?  auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
He said something. (something = object)
What did he say?  auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
Wh-Questions - 5
• For questions beginning with which, whose, how much, and how
many, we often use wh-word + noun in place of the object.
Example:
• Which witness did you believe?
• How much time did the jury need?
REMEMBER:
• An auxiliary verb is a verb such as do (does, did), have (has, had),
can, or will. Be can be an auxiliary, too.
Example: Who does she defend?
Who is she helping?
Wh-Questions - 7
> USAGE NOTE: In very formal English when asking about people
as object, whom is sometimes used instead of who.
Example:
• Whom did you see?  Very Formal
• Who did you see?  More Common
> BE CAREFUL!
• If the main verb is a form of be, you cannot use whom.
Example:
• Who is the next witness?
NOT X Whom X is the next witness?
Wh-Questions - 8
• Wh-questions with why, when, or where have the following word
order:
Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
• This is the same word order as in wh-questions about the object.
Example:
• Why does she want to defend him?
• When did she arrive?
• Where will she go?