Interrogative Pronouns
Learn Interrogative Pronouns in English and start asking clear questions about people, things, and possession.
Interrogative pronouns are question words. They stand for a person or a thing that we do not know. In this module, the main words are who, whom, whose, what, and which.
Who asks about people. It can ask about the subject of a question, and in everyday English it also often asks about the object. In common speech, who is more usual than whom.
| Rule |
|---|
| Use who for a person when the answer is not known 👤. |
| Use who for the subject of a question 👥. |
| In everyday English, many speakers also use who for the object 👂. |
Whom also asks about people. It is the object form, but it is mostly used in formal English. Many speakers do not use it in daily conversation, so both who and whom can be possible.
| Rule |
|---|
| Use whom in formal questions about a person as the object 🏛️. |
| Whom is less common than who in everyday English 🗣️. |
| Some speakers avoid whom completely, but it still appears in formal style 📄. |
Whose asks about possession. It asks which person has something. It can stand alone as a pronoun, and it can also come before a noun.
| Rule |
|---|
| Use whose to ask who owns something 🔑. |
| Whose can replace a possessive person in a question 👤. |
| Whose can also come before a noun to ask about possession 📘. |
What asks about things, information, or identity. It is used when the answer is open and not chosen from a small known set. It can stand alone as an interrogative pronoun, and it can also come before a noun.
| Rule |
|---|
| Use what to ask about a thing or an idea 💡. |
| Use what to ask for information that is open, not limited 🌍. |
| What can also ask about identity or meaning 📛. |
Which asks about a choice from a limited set. The set can be said directly or understood from the situation. In some questions, speakers may choose what or which differently, but which often shows a smaller known group.
| Rule |
|---|
| Use which when the answer comes from a limited set 🧩. |
| The set can be named in the question or known from the situation 👀. |
| Speakers sometimes vary between what and which, but which often marks a choice 🎯. |
An interrogative pronoun stands alone and replaces the unknown person or thing. An interrogative adjective comes before a noun and describes that noun in the question. Some words, such as whose, what, and which, can do both jobs.
| Word or Phrase | Definition |
|---|---|
 pronoun | It stands alone and replaces the unknown person or thing in the question. |
 adjective | It comes before a noun and asks about that noun in the question. |
 both forms | Some interrogative words can be pronouns or adjectives, depending on their place in the question. |
In English questions, the interrogative pronoun usually comes first. After it, English often uses the normal question order with an auxiliary verb before the subject. When the interrogative pronoun is the subject, there is no extra auxiliary before the verb.
| Rule |
|---|
| The interrogative pronoun usually comes at the start of the question 🚪. |
| If it is not the subject, English often uses auxiliary verb plus subject order 🔄. |
| If it is the subject, the verb follows it directly ➡️. |
You can now choose an interrogative pronoun to ask about people, things, possession, and limited choices. You can also see when English varies, especially with who and whom and with what and which. You can build these questions with the usual English question order.