wh-? words and how?
54 Interrogative adjectives and pronouns
For persons: subject who (pronoun)
object • whom, who (pronoun)
possessive whose (prvioun and adjective)
For things: subject/object what (pronoun and adjective)
For persons or things when the choice is restricted:
subject/object which (pronoun and adjective)
The same form is used for singuiat and plural.
what can also be used for persons (see 58 D).
55 Affirmative verb after who, whose etc. used as subjects
who, whose, which, what when used as subjects are normally followed by an affirmative, not an interrogative, verfc>:
Who pays the bills? (affirmative verb)
Whose/rWhich horse won? (affirmative verb)
What haj>pened?/What went wrong? (affirmative verb; possible
answers: We missed the train/had an accident) But with who, whose etc. + be -t- noun or personal/distributive pronoun, an interrogative verb is used:
Who are you? Whose is this? What is that noise? With who, whose etc. used as objects of a verb or preposition an interrogative verb is, of course, necessary.
56 Examples of the use of who, whom, whose, which and what
A who, whom, whose
who as subject:
Who keeps the keys? (affirmative verb) Who took my gun? (affirmative verb) Who are these boys? (interrogative verb)
who, whom as objects of a verb:
Normal English: W’MI did you see?
Very formal Engush: Whom did the committee af>p(»ni?
whose as subject:
Whose car broke daum* (affirmative verb) Whose (books) are these?.(interrcgativs verb)
whose as object of a verb:
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i v”^;?-vi^
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6 Interrogatives
B which
which as subject:
Which pigeon arrived first? (affirmative verb)
Which of then is the eldest? (affirmative verb) which as object of a verb:
Which hand do you use? Which of these dates would you prefer?
C what
what as subject:
What caused the explosion? (affirmative verb)
What kind of tret is that? (interrogative verb) what as object of a verb:
What paper do you read? What did they eat?
37 who, whom, which and what as objects of prepositions
A who, whom
In formal English we use preposition + whom:
With whom did you go? To whom were you speaking? But in ordinary English we usually move the preposition to the end of the sentence. The whom then normally changes to who:
Who did you go with? Who were you speaking to?
B which, what
In formal English we use preposition + which7what:
To which address did you send it?
On what do you base your theory? In informal English we move the preposition to the end of the sentence:
Which address did you send it to?
What do you base your theory on?
58 Uses of what
A what is a general interrogative used for things: What bird is that? What makes that noise? What country do you come from? What did he say?
B what. . . for? means ’why?’:
What did you do that for? – Why did you do that?
C what H- be … like? is a request for a description and can be used for things or people:
What was the exam like? – It was very difficult.
What was the weather like? ~ It was very windy.
What’s the food like in your hostel? ~ It’s quite good. Used of people it may concern either appearance or character:
He’s short and fait and wears glasses.
He ’5 a very talkative, friendly man.’ what does he/she/it took like? concern appearance only, and can
6 Interrogative*
. ateo mean’What does he/she/it resemble?’:
What does she look like? ~ She is tall and glamorous. She looks like
a/Urn star.
What does it look like? ~ It’s black and shiny. It looks like coal.
D what ia he? means ’What is his profession?’:
What is his father? ~ He is a tailor.
what (adjective) used for persons is not common: What students are you talking about? is possible, but Which students . . . ? would be much more usual.
B what and how in questions about measurements
We can use what + age/depth/height/length/width but in
conversation it would be more usual to say how old/deep/high/tall/
long/wide?
what size/weight? is usual when an exact answer is required,
though how big/heavy? is also possible.
What age are you?/What’is your age?/How old are you?
What height is he?/What is his height?/How tall is he?
What is the weight of the parcel?/How heavy is it?
What size do you take in shoes?
58 which compared with who and what
A Examples of which and what used for things: What will you have to drink? There’s gin, whisky and sherry: which will you have? What does it cost to get to Scotland? ~ It depends on how you go. ~ Which (way) is the cheapest or Which is the cheapest (way)? I’ve seen the play and the film. – What did you think of them? Which (of them) did you like best?
B Examples of which and who used for people:
Who do you want to speak to? – / want to speak to Mr Smith. We have two Smiths here. Which (of them) do you want? which (pronoun) of people is not used alone as subject of a verb:
Which of you knows the formula? (’of you” is essential.) Who knows the formula? would also be possible.
C which (adjective) can be used of people when there is only a very slight idea of restriction:
Which poet (of all the poets) do you like best? what would be possible here and would be more logical, but what (adjective) for people is normally avoided.
60 Interrogative adverbs: why, when, where, how
why? meant ’for what reason?’: Why awJWtato? – He^mm
0*t~.
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6 Interrogatives
B when? means’at what time?’:
When do you get up? ~ 7 a.m.
C where? means ’in what place?’:
Where do you live? ~ In London.
D how? means ’in what way?’:
How did you come? ~ 1 came by plane.
Hour do you start the engine? ~ You press this button.
how can also be used:
1 With adjectives (see 25 C):
Haw strong are you? How important is this letter? (For how + old/high etc., see 58 E.)
2 With much and many:
How much (money) do you want? How many (pictures) did you buy?
3 With adverbs:
How fast d>es he drive? How often do you go abroad?
How badly was he hurt? How soon can you come? Note that How is she? is an enquiry about her health, but What is she like? is a request for a description. (See 58 C.) Do not confuse How are you? with How do you do? When two people are introduced each says How do you do? This is a greeting rather than a question. (See 126.)
61 ever placed after who, what, where, why, when, how
Where ever have you been? I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Who ever told you I’d lend you the money? I’ve no money at all!
ever here is not necessary in the sentence but is added to emphasize
the speaker’s surprise/astonishment/anger/irritation/dismay. It has the
same meaning as on earth/in the world.
Such sentences are always spoken emphatically and the intonation will
convey the speaker’s emotion:
Why ever did you wash it in boiling water? (dismay) Who ever are you? (The other person is presumably an intruder.) Who ever left the door open? (What stupid person left it open?) Where ever have you put my bnefcase? (I can’t find it anywhere.) What ever are you doing in my car? (astonishment/annoyance) When ever did you leave home? (You must have left very early.) How ever did he escape unhurt? (The car was a complete wreck.)
Note also why ever not? and what ever for?:
You mustn’t wear anything green.- ~ Why ever not? (1 can’t
understand the reason for this prohibition.)
nw«<r n kmfi ta rkL« tomorrow. ~ What ever for? (I can’t