Do you want to learn to speak English fluently?
Feeling embarrassed of using school-level English? Or are you repeating the same old vocabulary and sentence structures in your daily conversations? Are you struggling to speak confidently at work or while replying to an office email?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’ve come to the right place. At English with Janet, we offer an in-depth 1-to-1 English speaking course online to help you become fluent and confident in the language. As part of our online courses, we offer this blog to assist ESL (English as a Second Language) learners like you improve your fluency and add variety to your conversations.
In this post, we introduce three powerful and versatile words in English – What, Where and When. Though super easy, these three words can be used in several different ways. Whether you want to ask questions, express your opinions or share information, you need to add the “Wh” trio of what, where and when to your arsenal. By learning how to use these words effectively, you can enhance your spoken English skills and boost your confidence.
Continue reading to level up your English reading and speaking skills!
We can divide questions into two main types:
Yes or no questions usually require a one–word answer, which is – yes or no. In contrast, wh-questions provide you with more specific answers. These questions usually begin with the words – what, where, when, who, which, whose, why, whom, and how.
Depending on the answer you require, you can use any one of these question words. Here’s a quick overview of the question words, their usages and example sentences.
| Question Words | Usage | Example |
| What | To ask questions about specific things | What are you going to order at the restaurant? |
| Where | To ask questions about specific places | Where is Suzy’s home? |
| When | To ask questions about specific time | When will the meeting start? |
| Which | To ask questions about choices | Which one do you like? Work from home or in-office roles? |
| Who | To ask questions about people | Who is your idol? |
| Whose | To ask questions about possessions | Whose books are these? |
| Whom | To ask questions about people (as an object of a verb) | Whom did you meet at the client meeting? |
| Why | To ask questions about reasons or causes | Why is the meeting delayed? |
| How | To ask questions about manner or processes | How do you plan to execute this project? |
Now, that we’ve seen the usage of wh-words, let’s turn our attention to,
Here are a few grammatically correct ways to use Wh-words:
This is the easiest way to ask questions in English. Start with the right wh-word, add ‘do’ or ‘does’, the subject, the base form of the verb and then complete it with the rest of the sentence. It might seem a bit complicated, but it’s quite easy once you begin using wh-words in sentences.
| When | Did | He | Ask | You to meet him? |
| Wh-word | do/does/did | Subject | Base form of the verb | Rest of the sentence |
Here are a few more examples:
The sentence structure in this pattern is:
Wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + rest of the sentence?
An auxiliary verb is a helping verb and is not a main verb. Common auxiliary verbs include do, have, be, will, would, can, could, should, may, might and must. Here are a few examples:
The sentence structure in this pattern is:
Wh-word + main verb + rest of the sentence?
Here are a few examples:
Now, let’s look at a few questions using the three powerful words – What, Where & When, and sample responses.
What
Where
When
Here are a few other examples using the rest of the wh-words.
That’s it! You have now mastered the grammatical rules to ask questions in English. It’s time to put your knowledge into action. Enrol in our English-speaking course and practise your skills and improve your day-to-day conversations!
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