Learn to ask Questions

A.

What is a question?

A question is a request for information. In written English a question should always end with a question mark (?) Asking questions is an excellent way to initiate communication because it shows other people that you’re paying attention and interested in their response.

B.

There are two types of questions you can ask to get more information:

1. Closed Question – can only be answered with a “yes” or a “no”. Closed questions are generally ineffective because they do not allow the speaker to explain his thoughts and feelings. For example:
• “Were you angry when she said those things about you?
• “Did you do that?”

2. Open – ended Questions – cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. Open-ended questions allow the speaker to express himself. For example:

·         “How did you feel about that?”

·         “What happened next?”

·         “What could you do to fix this?”

Open questions leave room for a description or opinion, and are more useful in eliciting information. Open questions are often called Wh... Questions.

C.

There are eight wh-questions – What, When, Where, Which, Who, Whom, Whose and Why and to this list we usually add how as they are all used to elicit particular kinds of information.

#. You use what when you are asking for information about something.

E.g.:

• What is that?

• What kind of person is he?
• What does he do at weekends?
• What time is it?
• What is Mary like?

#. You use when to ask about the time that something happened or will happen.

E.g.:

• When do you like going out?

• When does the bus leave?

# You use where to ask questions about place or position.

E.g.

• Where do you live?
• Where did you go on vacation?

# You use which when you are asking for information about one of a limited number of things.

E.g.:

• Which book did you buy?
• Which boy won the race?

# You use who or whom when you are asking about someone’s identity.

E.g.:

Who do you like?

Whom do you prefer for the assignment?

# You use whose to ask about possession.

E.g.:

Whose book is this?

Whose bag is that?

# You use why to ask for a reason.

E.g.:

Why is this book here?

Why not you paid the bills?

# You use how to ask about the way in which something is done.

E.g.: 

How lengthy was the film?

How much does it cost?

Remember!

Why is used to ask questions about the cause, reason or purpose for something. 

Example:

A: My aunt is buying that old house on Sixth Avenue.

B: Why?

Why questions can usually be answered by giving the reason straightaway. However, this is not acceptable in certain situations.

Example:

A: My aunt is buying that old house on Sixth Avenue.

B: Why?

Why questions can usually be answered by giving the reason straightaway. However, this is not acceptable in certain situations.

Example:

Q: Why is she screaming?

(in conversation)

A: She saw a mouse.

(in a written exercise)

A: She is screaming because she saw a mouse.

Compare the following:

When will you next be in London?

    The week after next.

When are you getting married?

    I’m not sure, next summer or autumn, perhaps.

Where are you getting married?

    In an old church near my village. It’s such a romantic place.’

Where does your fiancée come from?

    She’s from Ecuador.

Why didn’t you get married earlier?

    We've both been too busy, I guess.

How was your holiday?

    Oh, it was great. Just what we needed.

How do you like your coffee?

    With just a dash of milk and two sugars.

How about some cake to go with it?

OK, why not?