Wh- Questions – English Grammar Lessons

Summary

This video explains the two most common types of questions in English: Wh- questions and Yes/No questions. Wh- questions, which ask for specific information, use words like 'who', 'what', 'where', 'when', 'why', and 'how'. It also outlines two common question patterns in the present tense: 'Wh- word + do/does + subject + verb' and 'Wh- word + be + subject'. The video provides examples to demonstrate these patterns and encourages viewers to practice identifying the correct Wh- word for different types of questions.

Takeaways

• 😀 Wh- questions and Yes/No questions are the two most common types of questions in English.
• 😀 Wh- questions use specific words like who, what, where, when, why, and how to gather different types of information.
• 😀 'Who' asks about a person, 'what' asks about a thing, 'where' asks about a place, 'when' asks about time, 'why' asks about a reason, and 'how' asks about manner.
• 😀 Wh- questions are answered with the information they request, e.g., 'What are you doing?' (Answer: I'm studying).
• 😀 There are two common question patterns in the simple present tense for Wh- questions: one with 'do/does' and one with 'be'.
• 😀 The pattern 'Wh- word + do + subject + verb' is used when forming questions in the simple present, e.g., 'Where do you live?'
• 😀 'Does' is used with he, she, it, or singular nouns in Wh- questions, e.g., 'Where does she live?'
• 😀 The pattern 'Wh- word + be + subject' is used when asking questions about states or conditions, e.g., 'How are you?'
• 😀 'Be' changes form according to the subject in questions: e.g., 'How is he?' vs 'How are they?'
• 😀 Examples of Wh- questions include: 'Who do you want to invite?' (person), 'What is your favorite movie?' (thing), 'Where are they from?' (place), 'Why does he like rainy days?' (reason).

Q & A

What are the two common types of questions in English?

The two common types of questions in English are Wh- questions and Yes/No questions.

Can you give an example of a Wh- question and a Yes/No question?

Sure! 'What is your favorite animal?' is a Wh- question, and 'Do you like snakes?' is a Yes/No question.

What are Wh- questions used for?

Wh- questions are used to ask about different types of information, such as a person, thing, place, time, reason, or manner.

What Wh- word is used to ask about a person?

The word 'who' is used to ask about a person.

What Wh- word is used to ask about a thing?

The word 'what' is used to ask about a thing.

How do you form a Wh- question in the simple present tense?

One common pattern is: Wh- word + do + subject + verb. For example, 'Where do you live?'

What changes when the subject of the question is singular in the simple present tense?

When the subject is singular (he, she, it, or a singular noun), we use 'does' instead of 'do'. For example, 'Where does he live?'

What is another common pattern for Wh- questions in the simple present tense?

Another common pattern is: Wh- word + be + subject. For example, 'How are you?'

Can you give an example of a Wh- question with 'why'?

Sure! An example is 'Why does he like rainy days?'

What is the purpose of asking 'how' in a Wh- question?

'How' is used to ask about manner, or the way something is done.