Questions with Question Words: Be, Other Verbs, What, and How

Question words help you ask for specific information: a place, a time, a person, a reason, or a method. To build a question, decide what information you need and which verb structure to use.

1. Common Question Words

Question word	Information requested	Example
where	A place	Where is the meeting room?
when	A time or period	When does the meeting start?
who	A person	Who is your manager?
what	A thing, action, or information	What do you need?
which	A choice from a limited set	Which do you prefer, email or a phone call?
whose	The owner of something	Whose laptop is this?
why	A reason	Why is the office closed today?
how	A method or condition	How do you get to work?

When asks about time in general. Use what time to ask specifically about a clock time, what day to ask about a day such as Monday, and what date to ask about a calendar date.

2. Questions with Be

For basic questions about a location, condition, or identity, use question word + be + subject? Use am / is / are in the present and was / were in the past.

Pattern	Example	Possible answer
Where is / are …?	Where are the invoices?	They are in the shared folder.
When is / are …?	When is the next meeting?	It is on Tuesday.
Who is / are …?	Who is the new team leader?	The new team leader is Maria.
How is / are …?	How is your new job?	It is going well.
What is / are …?	What is the Wi-Fi password?	It is on the noticeboard.
Why is / are …?	Why are you busy today?	Because I have several deadlines.

How is your new job? asks about your experience or the situation. To ask about a method, use a structure such as How do you ...?.

Present: Where is the meeting?
Past: Where was the meeting?

Do not add do / does / did to these questions with be.

3. Questions with Other Verbs

In the present simple, when the question word does not replace the subject, use question word + do / does + subject + base form of the verb? In the past simple, use did.

Subject and tense	Auxiliary	Example
I / you / we / they, or a plural subject; present simple	do	Where do you work?
he / she / it, or a singular subject; present simple	does	When does the store open?
Any subject; past simple	did	How did you solve the problem?

After does or did, use the base form of the main verb.

Incorrect	Correct
When does the meeting starts?	When does the meeting start?
Where did you went yesterday?	Where did you go yesterday?

Where / When / How Do …?

Information requested	Example	Possible answer
A place	Where do you usually have lunch?	At a café near the office.
A time	When do you usually take a break?	Around three in the afternoon.
A method	How do you book a meeting room?	Through the company app.

Who: Subject Questions and Object Questions

When you ask who performs the action, who is the subject. In a basic affirmative subject question, use Who + verb …?, without do / does / did.

Type	Question	Answer showing the structure
Subject: Which person manages it?	Who manages this project?	Maria manages this project.
Subject: Which person made the call?	Who called the client?	Alex called the client.
Object: Which person did you call?	Who did you call?	I called Alex.

In a basic subject question where the number of people is unknown, who usually takes a singular verb: Who manages ...?. In the past simple, use the past form: Who called ...?.

The same principle applies when what or which + noun is the subject.

What caused the delay? → A technical problem caused the delay.
Which train goes to the airport? → The express train goes to the airport.

4. What + Noun, Which + Noun, and Whose + Noun

Keep the whole question phrase together at the beginning of the question. Then follow the appropriate word order for be, another verb, or a subject question.

Expression	Information requested	Example
what time	A clock time	What time do you go to bed?
what day	A day, often a day of the week	What day do you have your weekly team meeting?
what date	A calendar date	What date is the conference?
what kind of + noun	A type or category	What kind of work do you do?
which + noun	A choice from known options	Which plan do you recommend, A or B?
whose + noun	The owner	Whose umbrella is this?

Use what for an open question without a clearly limited set of choices. Use which when the options are given or understood from the context.

What time is the meeting? asks for its scheduled time. What time does the meeting start? asks specifically for its starting time.

5. How + Adjective or Adverb

On its own, how can ask about a method or condition. With an adjective or adverb, it can ask about a measurement, duration, frequency, or degree.

Expression	Information requested	Example	Possible answer
how tall	Height of a person or something such as a building	How tall is the office building?	About 80 meters.
how old	Age	How old is this building?	About 20 years old.
how far	Distance	How far is the station from your office?	About 500 meters.
how long	Duration or length	How long does the meeting last?	About an hour.
how often	Frequency	How often do you work from home?	Twice a week.
how soon	Time from now until something happens	How soon can you send the estimate?	In about an hour.

How tall? can work as a short follow-up when the context is clear. For a full question, say something like How tall is the building?.

How Many + Plural Noun / How Much + Uncountable Noun

Expression	Use	Example
how many + plural countable noun	A number of items or people	How many copies do you need?
how many + plural countable noun	A number of items or people	How many people work in your department?
how much + uncountable noun	An amount	How much time do we have?
how much	A price	How much does this ticket cost?

In How many people work in your department?, the whole phrase how many people is the subject, so there is no do. In How many copies do you need?, the subject is you, so use do.

Not every question with a verb other than be needs do. If a sentence already has auxiliary be, auxiliary have, or a modal such as can or will, move that word before the subject. These examples ask about information other than the subject.

Structure	Example
Present continuous	What are you working on?
Present perfect	Where have you saved the file?
can	How can I update my address?
will	When will the package arrive?

7. Indirect Questions

You can make a polite request for information with Could you tell me ...?. Inside that request, use question word + subject + verb word order.

Direct question	Polite indirect question
Where is the meeting room?	Could you tell me where the meeting room is?
What time does the meeting start?	Could you tell me what time the meeting starts?

Do not keep direct-question word order inside the indirect question. For example, avoid Could you tell me where is the meeting room?.

8. Practice: Build the Question

Cover the answer column and say each question aloud. Use the cue and the information requested to choose the question phrase and verb structure.

Cue	Information requested	Model answer
The invoices are in the shared folder.	The location of the invoices	Where are the invoices?
The next meeting is on Tuesday.	The time of the next meeting	When is the next meeting?
The store opens at nine.	The opening time	What time does the store open?
You get to work by train.	Your method of travel	How do you get to work?
Maria manages this project.	The person managing it	Who manages this project?
Alex called the client.	The person who made the call	Who called the client?
You called Alex.	The person you called	Who did you call?
A technical problem caused the delay.	The cause	What caused the delay?
You need ten copies.	The number of copies	How many copies do you need?
Twelve people work in your department.	The number of people	How many people work in your department?
The meeting lasts an hour.	Its duration	How long does the meeting last?
You work from home twice a week.	The frequency	How often do you work from home?

9. A Checklist for Building Questions

Choose the information you need: place, time, person, reason, method, or amount.
Keep phrases such as what time and how many people together.
With main verb be, normally put be before the subject.
With other main verbs in the present or past simple, use do / does / did plus the base form when asking about something other than the subject.
If the question phrase is the subject, do not add do / does / did in a basic affirmative question.
Inside an indirect question, use subject–verb order.