Common questions words

HOW • . . asks about manner
HOW…LIKE asks for an opinion
HOW + ADJECTIVE OR ADVER
HOW COLD (fast, oLd, and so on)
HOW FAR • . asks about distance
HOW LONG • . . ask about length of time
HOW MANY - asks about quantity (count nouns)
HOW MUCH • asks about quantity (noncount nouns)
HOW OFTEN asks about frequency
WHAT • . - asks about things
WHAT … BE (LOOK LIKE) • asks for a description ( WHAT IS DANIELA LIKE?)
WHAT + NOUN • . . asks for specific details
WHAT COLOR ( country, kind of, size, and so on)
WHAT TIME • asks for a specific time
WHEN • asks about time (specific or general)
WHERE • ask about place
WHICH + NOUN asks about a specifie person, place, and so on
WHICH BOOOK (City, one, person, and so om)
WHO (M) • asks about people
WHOSE asks about ownership or possession
WHY • - . asks for reasons
WHY … NOT • . . gives suggestions
Information Questions
Information questions ask When? Where? Why? How? How often? and so on. As in yes/no questions, an auxiliary verb normally precedes the subject in information questions.
QUESTION WORD AUXILIARY VERB + NEGATIVE SUBJECT


WHEN DO


DID
YOU TAKE CLASS?

YOU HAVE CLASS LAST SEMESTER?




WHERE
WILL

ARE

HAVE

HAD
YOU TAKE CLASSES?
YOU GOING TO TAKE CLASSES?
YOU TAKEN CLASSES?
YOU TAKEN CLASSES?

WHY
ARE
WEREN’T
YOU LATE?
YOU ON TIME YESTERDAY?


Information questions with who, whose, which, and what
In some information quesitons, the questions Word place part or all of the subject . Auxiliary verbs are not used , and the order of the subject and verb does not change.

EXAMPLE
NOTES
QUESTION
RESPONSE


WHO teaches that class?
HUMBERTO
WHO is used only with people . it normally takes a singular verb, even if the answer is plural.
QUESTION


RESPONSE
WHOSE class has a lot of reading?

HUMBERTO’S CLASS
WHOSE replaces a possessive noun or pronoun.
QUESTION





RESPONSE
WHICH art class has most work?

WHICH (one) has the most work?

Art. 205
WHICH can be used with or without a noun. It normally refers to one or more people , places, or things familiar to the speaker.
QUESTION





RESPONSE
WHAT makes the class so difficult?




The amount of homework.
WHAT is generally more informal than which, and it usually efers to one or more people, places , or things unifamiliar to the speaker.

EXERCISE: Complete the following twelve questions by adding appropriate question words.
example: Why are you leaving?
Because I have to study.
study.
1. did you leave home this morning?
At 8:30.
2. ______________ did you get to school today?
By bus.
3. ___________ did you take?
The express bus.
4. ______________ are you going later?
To the library.
5. ________________ don’t you study at home?
Because it’s too noisy
6. _________________ roommates do you have?
Three
7. ________________ do your roommates make noise?
Almost every night.
8. ________________ do you live with?
Two americans and one foreign student
9._________________ do you pay for rent?
$ 2000 a month
10. ________________ is your apartment like?
It’s large but it’s old.
11. ____________ is it to campus from there?
Three blocas.
12. ____________ does it take to get there?
About fifteen minutes.

EXERCISE : Complete the following questions by using who, what, which, or whose.

example: Who is your roommate this semester?
I have three. Miki, Mary, and Anni. One is from Canada, one is from Spain, and one is from Poland.

1. _______________is the Canadian?
Mary is.
2. ______________ roommate is from Spain?
Anni is.
3. _______________ is the most difficult thing about foreign roommates?
The problems with language. We speak four different ones.
4. ______________ accent gives you the most difficulty?
Mike’s accent. It’s very strong.
5. ______________ roommate brought that great stereo?
Anni did.
6. mother carne to visit last week?
Miki’s mother, Bakka.

Exercise:
In pairs, aliernate asking appropriate questions and giving the following answers.
example: Q: How often do you study at the library?
A: I usually study there once or twice a week.

1. Q:___________________________________________
A: After school, from about 3:30 to about 5:00.
2. Q:____________________________________________________
A: Walk down three blocks, turn right, and you will see it on the Ieft.
3. Q:____________________________________________________
A: Because it is quieter than my apartment.
4. Q:_____________________________________________
A: It’s about five blocks from my apartment to campus.
5. Q:________________________________________________
A: I have three roommates right now.
6. Q:__________________________________
A: He is the tall one with the glasses.
7. Q:
A: My other roommate has brown curly hair and a moustache.

8. Q:_________________________________________________
: He usually rides his motorcycle.