Question Forms
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Choose the missing information first, then build the question you already know.
Who asks about people, what about things or information, where about places, when about time, why about reasons, and how about method. The question word comes before the normal question pattern.
Updated: July 2026
A1 · Question Forms · 8 min
A structured ten-slide lesson for A1 learners. Hear question words in a first conversation, map them to different information types, and place them before familiar question patterns. Then write your own questions and solve five test tasks — no signup required.
Yes-no questions check whether a statement is true. Question words go one step further: they identify the exact information you are missing. With *“Where is the meeting?”* you know the event but not the place. In *“When does it start?”* the missing detail is time. *“Who is Ana?”* seeks a person, while *“Why are you calling?”* requests a reason. The opening word immediately tells your listener what kind of answer is expected. It is then usually followed by the same question pattern you already know: a form of be or the helper do/does before the subject. You therefore do not need a completely new system. You simply add a precise information signal to a familiar frame. This is especially useful in a first workplace conversation. You can ask about tasks, locations, times, people, and procedures without building long sentences. The key habit is to decide first which information is missing, choose the matching question word, and then attach the correct question frame.
Use who mainly for people: *“Who is Ana?”* or *“Who works with the supplier?”* Ask about things, activities, or general information with what: *“What does your company do?”* and *“What is this?”* When the focus is a limited choice, which fits: *“Which file do you need?”* That question assumes a concrete set of files to choose from. Whose asks about possession or belonging: *“Whose bag is this?”* These four words occupy related territory, but each directs attention differently. Who expects a person, what a thing or piece of information, which a selection, and whose an owner. You can use the expected answer as a check. If the answer should be a person’s name, who is probably right. If the listener must select an option, which helps. If the answer explains who owns something, choose whose. After the question word, keep the ordinary question order unless the question word itself is the subject.
The second group asks about circumstances and details. Where requests a place: *“Where is the meeting?”* When asks for a time: *“When does it start?”* Why requests a reason, as in *“Why are you calling?”* How asks about method or manner: *“How do you spell that?”* How can combine with other words too, but at A1 level the basic idea of method is enough. All four question words can precede either familiar question pattern. With be, say *“Where is the meeting?”* or *“Why are you late?”* With ordinary main verbs, use do or does: *“When does it start?”* and *“How do you spell that?”* The question word does not change the choice of helper; it only adds the information category. If you are uncertain, build the yes-no question first, such as *“Does it start at ten?”* Then replace the unknown time with when: *“When does it start?”* This method keeps the familiar frame visible.
In most information questions, the question word comes before a complete inverted question. With be, the order is question word + form of be + subject: *“Where is the meeting?”*, *“Who is she?”*, or *“Why are they here?”* With other verbs, use question word + do/does + subject + base form: *“What does your company do?”*, *“Where do you work?”*, and *“How does it open?”* The third-person rule still applies: does carries the ending and the main verb stays in its base form. The question is therefore *“When does she start?”*, not *“When does she starts?”* A useful construction check is to remove the opening word briefly. Behind what in *“What does your company do?”* you can see the core *“does your company do.”* Behind where in *“Where is the meeting?”* sits *“is the meeting.”* If that core has the shape of a correct yes-no question, the question word is attached in the right place. This procedure prevents direct transfer of German word order.
An important exception appears when who or what performs the action. In *“Who lives here?”* who is the subject of lives, so do or does is not needed. In the same way, *“What happened?”* places the verb directly after what. Compare *“Who do you know?”* Here, you is the subject and who is the object, so the helper do remains. German-speaking learners also meet two direct-transfer traps. German *“Wie ist dein Name?”* can produce *“How is your name?”*, but English asks *“What is your name?”* The second trap follows from German not requiring do with ordinary verbs, which leads to *“What means this?”* Use the familiar frame instead: *“What does this mean?”* First check the meaning of the question word, then its role in the sentence. If who or what is the subject, the verb follows directly. If another subject is present, keep the normal inversion with be or do/does.
In standard speech, prepositions often remain at the end of the question. In both American and British English, *“Who did you give it to?”* is the normal spoken form. *“To whom did you give it?”* belongs mainly to formal writing. You do not need to force a preposition in front of the question word. The spelling of these words also carries a historical trace. In Old English, the words were written with hw-, including hwæt and hwǣr. The letters changed order in Middle English, and some accents still pronounce the h. For your learning path, first secure the forms in *be-present* (A1) and the sentence frames in *basic-question-forms* (A1). This lesson places question words before those frames and adds the subject-question exception. *questions-in-english* (A2) then brings further question types together. Until then, practise short everyday chains: *“Who is she? What does she do? Where does she work? Why is she here?”* Each word becomes connected to a clear information type and a familiar grammatical frame.
What asks openly for a thing or information: "What do you need?" Which points to a limited choice: "Which file do you need?" When concrete options are visible or already known, which is usually more precise.
English uses what to request the name as information: "What is your name?" The version with how transfers German wie directly. In English, how instead asks about manner or method.
Who is the subject performing the action in this question, so the verb follows directly. In "Who do you know?", you is the subject and who is the object, so do is needed.
"Who did you give it to?" is the spoken standard in both American and British English. "To whom did you give it?" is formal and belongs mainly to matching written contexts. Both are grammatical, but their register differs.
*be-present* (A1) provides am, is, and are, while *basic-question-forms* (A1) provides inversion with be and do/does. This lesson adds question words in front. *questions-in-english* (A2) then expands the system with further question types.
In Old English, these words were spelled with hw-, including hwæt and hwǣr. The letters changed order in Middle English. Some accents still pronounce the h in these words today.
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