Special Questions. (Wh-questions)

Wh-questions begin with a question word (who, what, where, why, when, whose, which, how etc. ).

Whose cat is this? – It’s Ted’s.

Where did you stay? – At the Park Hotel.

When there is a preposition, it usually goes at the end of the question, though in formal English it can be put before the question word.

Who does this car belong to?

To whom does this car belong? (formal)

We normally use the following question words to ask about:

people	things/ animals/ actions	place	time	quantity	manner	reason
Who Whose Which What	What Which	Where	When How long What time How often	How many How much	How	Why

v Who is used without a noun to ask about people:

Who is your friend?

Who speaks English?

v Whose is used to express possession:

Whose gloves are these? – They’re Peter’s.

v Which is used for people, animals or things before nouns, one/ones, of or alone:

Which car is yours?

There are two newspapers here. Which one do you want to read?

Which of the students will come on the school trip?

Which is your bag?

v Which is normally used when there is a limited choice.

Which is your favourite writer – Charles Dickens or Mark Twain? (there are only two writers to choose from - limited choice)

v Which can also be used with the comparative and superlative.

Which is faster, a Porsche or a Fiat?

Which is the best composition of all?

v What is used before a noun or alone to ask about things.

What day is it today?

What did he say?

What’s this?

v What is also used for people, animals and things when there is an unlimited choice.

What books do you prefer reading? (there are many books to choose from - unlimited choice)

v What can also be used in these patterns:

What... like?, What... for?, What colour?, What size?, What time?, What is he like?, What is it used for? etc.

What’s the weather like today?

v What and which are sometimes both possible.

What/Which day did he leave?

The word order in special questions:

question word

the auxiliary or modal verb

the subject and it’s attribute

the main verb

other parts of the sentence

What	do	you	do	every day?
Where	did	he	go	yesterday?
When	will.	your sister	return	home?
Where	are	you	waiting	for me?

If who, which, what are the subject of the question, the word order is the same as in statements. If they are the object of the question, the verb is in question form.

Questions about the subject	Questions about the object
Who was talking to you?	Who were you talking to?
Which computer will work best?	Which computer will you use?
What makes you feel happy?	What do you make with nuts?
How many pupils came to us?	How many pupils did you see?
Whose son is fond of music?	Whose son are you fond of?

Дата добавления: 2014-12-29