INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

Interrogative pronouns (and interrogative adjectives and adverbs) ask about unknown information. To form questions, choose an appropriate interrogative pronoun to replace the unknown item. The interrogative pronoun is placed at the beginning of the question:

Examples:

Verb Question: Do you like (anchovies) on your pizza?

Information Question: What do you like on your pizza?

(anchovies is replaced by the interrogative pronoun what)

Verb Question: Is she working (at that restaurant)?

Information Question: Where is she working?

(at that restaurant is replaced by the interrogative adverb where)

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN	REPLACES ... IN QUESTION:	EXAMPLES	ANSWERS
Who	subject (or object) • for people	-Who is your favourite singer?	Madonna
Whom	object • for people	-To whom did you send your resumé?	to the director
Whose	possessive adjective	Whose book is that?	It's my book
What	subject/object/ad-jective • for things • for verbs	-What would you like to eat? -What colour do you like? -What kind of skis do you have? -What does he do?	a hot dog blue Rossignol He teaches.
Which	subject/object/ad-jective • for things • used for a limited selection	I would like a beer. -Which do you prefer, Molson or Black Label?	w Molson
Where	place adverb	-Where did you go for your summer vacation?	to the Rockies
When	time adverb (Note: What time can also be used to refer to specific times)	-When will you return from N.Y.? (-What time does the exam finish?)	on June 30th at 9:30
Why	reason adverb	-Why were you absent from class last lesson?	because I was sick
How	means adverb	-How do you usually come to school?	by bus (on foot)
How + adjective	degree adverb	-How tall are you?	5'11"
How long	duration adverb	-How long have you lived in Montreal?	for 2 years
How often	frequency adverb	-How often do you visit your grandparents?	once a month
How old	age	-How old is your grandfather?	110 years old
How much	uncountable noun quantity (especially money)	-How much water do you drink? -How much (money) did you spend on the weekend?	a liter a day about $50
How many	countable noun quantity	-How many people are in the class?	25 people

NoNonsense English