Interrogative Pronouns
A2 · ElementaryPronounsWho, whose, what, and which ask for exactly the piece of information you're missing — a person, an owner, a thing, or a choice between options. Here's how to use each one naturally.
What you'll learn
- The four main question words — who, whose, what, and which — and what each one asks about
- How to choose which instead of what when there's a specific set of options
- The word order rule for questions, including when the question word is the subject and no extra helper verb is needed
- A brief, clearly-labeled note on the more formal "whom" — and why "who" is fine in everyday English
The core idea
An interrogative pronoun is a question word that stands in for the exact piece of information you don't know yet — a person, an owner, a thing, or a choice — and it usually starts the question.
You'll also see who, which, and whose used a different way in English: to connect two parts of one sentence, as in "the neighbor who called." That's a separate topic from asking questions, which is all this lesson covers.
Who vs. what — person or thing
Who asks about a person: "Who called the office this morning?" asks for a name or an identity.
What asks about a thing, an idea, or an action — never a person: "What did the email say?" asks for information, not an identity.
Which vs. what — and whose
Use which when you're choosing from a specific, known set of options: "Which bus goes downtown, the 12 or the 14?" Use what for a more open question, with no particular options in mind: "What bus goes downtown?"
Whose asks who something belongs to: "Whose phone is this?" asks about ownership, not identity or choice.
Who as an object — and a note on "whom"
Who is also used to ask about the object of a sentence, in everyday spoken and written English: "Who did you call?" is completely standard.
More formal note: some formal writing uses whom instead of who when it's the object — "Whom did you call?" means the same thing. This is optional, not a rule you need to follow in everyday English; "who" is standard even as an object, in both American and British English. Whom shows up a little more in careful, formal writing, but you rarely need to produce it yourself.
Word order with question words
Most questions follow this pattern: question word + auxiliary verb (do/does/did, is/are/was, can...) + subject + main verb — "What does this word mean?"
There's one common exception: when the question word IS the subject, skip the extra auxiliary and go straight to the verb — "Who fixed the printer?" (not "Who did fix the printer?"), because who is the one doing the fixing.
Real English
Watch out
Who's is always short for "who is" or "who has." Asking about ownership needs whose, with no apostrophe.
Questions where the question word is the object still need do/does/did (or another auxiliary) — skip it only when the question word is the subject, like "Who called?"
Use which, not what, when you're choosing from a specific, limited set of options that are already known.
Whom can only replace who in an object role, never as the subject of the verb — and even then, everyday English almost always uses who instead.
Real life — Picking up a delivery order at a café
"Hi, I'm picking up an order. What's the name on it?"
"Sure — who's it under?"
"Jordan Kim."
"Got it — one iced latte, one bagel. Oh, and whose reusable cup is this on the counter? Is it yours?"
"Actually, yes, thank you! I almost forgot it."
Practice
Exercise 1 · Choose the right question word
You hear a knock and want to know who is at the door. Which question word do you need?
Exercise 2 · Choose the right question word
You want to know the name of a dish on the menu. Which question word fits?
Exercise 3 · Choose the correct spelling
Which sentence is spelled correctly?
Exercise 4 · Choose the natural question
A barista points to the two pastries left in the case. Which question sounds most natural?
Exercise 5 · Choose the correctly formed question
Which question is correctly formed?
Exercise 6 · Complete the question
You're writing a formal email and need to ask who you should contact about an invoice. Complete the question with one word (the everyday word or its more formal alternative are both accepted): "___ should I contact about the invoice?"
Exercise 7 · Sort into groups
0 / 6 sorted
Exercise 8 · Build the question
Exercise 9 · Build the question
Exercise 10 · Complete the question
You're at a hotel front desk. A package arrived but no name was given. Complete the question with one word: "___ left this package?"
Exercise 11 · Complete the question
Two coats are hanging by the door and you don't know whose is whose. Complete the question with one word: "___ coat is this, the black one or the gray one?"
Exercise 12 · Complete the question
You found a wallet on a bus seat and want to know who it belongs to. Complete the question with one word: "___ wallet is this?"
Exercise 13 · Fix the mistake
Fix the mistake and type the correct sentence: "Who's turn is it to pay for coffee?"
Exercise 14 · Fix the mistake
Fix the mistake and type the correct sentence: "What you want for lunch?"
Exercise 15 · Real-life scenario
You're filling out a delivery form. There are three units at the same address, and you need to know which one the package should go to. Which question should you ask?
Quick challenge
Five mixed questions to check what stuck.
Question 1 / 5
Score: 0/0
You're at a shoe store and there are two pairs left in your size. Which question should you ask the clerk?
You learned
- Who asks about a person; what asks about a thing, idea, or action.
- Which asks you to choose among specific, known options; what asks a more open question.
- Whose asks who something belongs to.
- Add do/does/did (or another auxiliary) after the question word — unless the question word itself is the subject, like "Who called?"
- Whom is a more formal, optional stand-in for who as an object; who is standard in everyday American English.
Related grammar lessons
Demonstrative Pronouns
Learn how to use this, that, these, and those as pronouns that stand on their own — near vs far, singular vs plural — plus the common mistakes to avoid.
Reciprocal Pronouns: Each Other & One Another
Learn how each other and one another show mutual action between two or more people — plus their possessive forms, and why the old 'each other = 2, one another = 3+' rule is a myth.
Reflexive Pronouns
Learn the eight English reflexive pronouns — myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves — how to use them for reflexive meaning and emphasis, and the overcorrection mistake to avoid.
Indefinite Pronouns
Learn someone, anyone, no one, everyone and something, anything, nothing, everything — how they take a singular verb, and why English never doubles the negative.