Question Words + 100 Example Questions

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Learning question words is very important for asking questions in English!

Question words and when to use them

• who – ask about people
• what – ask about things
• when – ask about times
• where – ask about places
• why – ask about motives/reasons
• how – ask about methods, ways of doing something
• whose – ask about possession
• which – ask about a choice
• how many – ask about quantity (countable nouns)
• how much – ask about amount (uncountable nouns)

100 examples of questions in English

Now let’s see how we use these question words in real examples of questions!

Learn how to form questions easily and correctly in English grammar.

Questions with WHO:

1. Who is your best friend?
2. Who ate the last piece of pizza?
3. Who is the author of that book?
4. Who will be attending the meeting?
5. Who is responsible for this project?
6. Who is your favorite actor?
7. Who discovered penicillin?
8. Who is the current President of the United States?
9. Who is the CEO of Apple Inc.?
10. Who can I contact for technical support?

Questions with WHAT:

1. What is your favorite movie?
2. What time is it?
3. What can I do to help?
4. What is the purpose of this meeting?
5. What are you thinking about?
6. What has he been doing recently?
7. What should we do this weekend?
8. What do you hope to accomplish this year?
9. What is your favorite hobby?
10. What do you do for a living?

Questions with WHEN:

1. When is your birthday?
2. When does the sun rise in the morning?
3. When will the new restaurant open?
4. When did World War II end?
5. When is the next lunar eclipse?
6. When is the best time to plant tomatoes?
7. When was the last time you visited the dentist?
8. When are you going on vacation?
9. When will the project be completed?
10. When did you start your current job?

Questions with WHERE:

1. Where do you live?
2. Where is the nearest coffee shop?
3. Where did you go on your last vacation?
4. Where can I find a gas station?
5. Where was the movie filmed?
6. Where did I put my sunglasses?
7. Where have you been?
8. Where is your favorite place to relax?
9. Where did you buy that jacket?
10. Where would you like to eat tonight?

Questions with WHY:

1. Why did you choose this career?
2. Why is the sky blue?
3. Why do people procrastinate?
4. Why should we recycle?
5. Why is my car engine making that funny noise?
6. Why did you move to this area?
7. Why can’t you come to the party?
8. Why wasn’t the project done on time?
9. Why haven’t you done your homework?
10. Why not?

The question “why not?” can be used in two ways:

• When someone makes a negative statement (ex. “I wouldn’t want to live in New York City.”) and you want to know the reason (“Why not?”)
• As a way of saying “yes” or “there is nothing preventing this” – for example, someone asks “Would you like a glass of wine?” and you reply, “Sure, why not?” = yes

Questions with HOW:

1. How do you tie a knot?
2. How can I improve my time management skills?
3. How do you take your coffee?
4. How does that machine work?
5. How can I learn a new language?
6. How do you make chocolate chip cookies?
7. How can I cook a perfect steak?
8. How do you change a flat tire?
9. How can I reduce stress in my life?
10. How will he get around with a broken leg?

Questions with WHOSE:

1. Whose book is this?
2. Whose car is parked in my driveway?
3. Whose idea was it to have a picnic?
4. Whose turn is it to clean the kitchen?
5. Whose dog is barking loudly?
6. Whose signature is on the contract?
7. Whose responsibility is it to fix the leak?
8. Whose phone keeps ringing during the meeting?
9. Whose decision was it to cancel the event?
10. Whose house are we visiting tonight?

Questions with WHICH:

1. Which color do you prefer, red or blue?
2. Which restaurant serves the best pizza in town?
3. Which route should we take to get there?
4. Which movie should we watch tonight?
5. Which book are you reading right now?
6. Which team won the Super Bowl last year?
7. Which car should I buy, the sedan or the SUV?
8. Which flower is your favorite, roses or daisies?
9. Which school did you graduate from?
10. Which option is the most cost-effective?

Questions with HOW MANY:

1. How many books did you read last year?
2. How many people attended the conference?
3. How many days were you out sick?
4. How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?
5. How many countries are there in Africa?
6. How many students are in your class?
7. How many hours of sleep do you get on average?
8. How many planets are in our solar system?
9. How many siblings do you have?
10. How many gifts do you give at Christmas?

We use “how many” with countable nouns.

Questions with HOW MUCH:

1. How much does a gallon of milk cost?
2. How much is a plane ticket to Europe?
3. How much time do you spend on social media each day?
4. How much coffee do you drink?
5. How much butter do we need for this recipe?
6. How much experience does he have in this industry?
7. How much homework do your kids have?
8. How much research has been done in this area?
9. How much damage was caused by the earthquake?
10. How much luggage are you taking to the airport?

We use “how much” with uncountable nouns.

Can you create your own example questions with each of these question words?

Learn more: Thousands of discussion questions on hundreds of topics