In these wh-questions exercises, you will practise using what, when, where, who, whom, which, whose, why and how to form interrogative sentences. Answers and a PDF worksheet are also available.
Exercise 1: wh-question in the present simple tense
Complete each wh-question with the present simple form of to be.
1. Who you?
Who are you?
2. Where you?
Where are you?
3. Who there?
Who is there?
4. Whyhe late?
Why is he late?
5. Whose child that?
Whose child is that?
6. Where my car?
Where is my car?
7. Which dog yours?
Which dog is yours?
8. Whoin charge here?
Who is in charge here?
9. What you afraid of?
What are you afraid of?
10. Why all these people late?
Why are all these people late?
Exercise 2: multiple-choice questions
Choose the correct verb form to complete each sentence.
1. Which keys ______ yours?
Which keys are yours?
2. Whose jacket ______ on the floor?
Whose jacket is on the floor?
3. Which one ______ yours?
Which one is yours?
4. Who ______ I?
Who am I?
5. Whose child ______ crying outside?
Whose child is crying outside?
6. Which one ______ your girlfriend?
Which one is your girlfriend?
7. When ______ his birthday?
When is his birthday?
8. What ______ I doing here?
What am I doing here?
9. What ______ you doing?.
What are you doing?
10. Who ______ winning?
Who is winning?
Exercise 3: scrambled wh-questions
Rewrite the scrambled words to make meaningful sentences.
1. why / he / is / not / here / ?
Why is he not here?
2. not / which / book / is / mine / ?
Which book is not mine?
3. why / you / are / not / working / ?
Why are you not working?
4. not / cat / whose / is / vaccinated / ?
Whose cat is not vaccinated?
5. why / it / is / not / working / ?
Why is it not working?
6. why / she / is / not / invited / ?
Why is she not invited?
7. us / not / why / are / you / coming / with /?
Why are you not coming with us?
8. who / is / joining /not / us / ?
Who is not joining us?
9. not / happy / who / is / ?
Who is not happy?
10. understanding / are / what / they / not / ?
What are they not understanding?
4. Wh-questions worksheet
This worksheet includes 15 sentences to be completed using the correct wh-words.
- 1. Whose phone is this?
- 2. How does it work?
- 3. What kind of support do you need?
- 4. What makes you say that?
- 5. Why are you crying?
- 6. Who do you want to talk to?
- 7. Where are you going?
- 8. When are you coming?
- 9. Which of these keys are yours?
- 10. Who told you I was sick?
- 11. What is your problem?
- 12. What have you done?
- 13. Where should I put my bag?
- 14. How was your day?
Exercise 5: who, whom, or whose
Choosing between who and whom can seem difficult at first; the trick is to replace the question-word with he or him (or she or her). If he or she fits, then who is the right choice. If him or her fits, then you should use whom. In spoken English, we rarely use 'Whom'.
For example:
- [Who/Whom] do you admire? — "Do you admire him?" (not "Do you admire he?") → so, whom is correct.
- [Who/Whom] makes the decisions? — "He makes the decisions." (not "Him makes the decisions.") → so, who is correct.
If the first trick doesn’t work for you, try this method:
- Identify all the verbs in the sentence.
- Determine which subject goes with each verb.
- If who or whom functions as a subject (the one performing the action), use who.
- If who or whom serves as an object (the one receiving the action), use whom.
Example:
Consider this sentence: Who will drive the car, and to whom should I hand the keys?
- The verbs are drive and hand.
- The subjects are who and I.
- Since who is the subject in the first clause (performing the action of driving), who is correct.
- In the second clause, whom is correct because it is receiving the keys, with I as the subject.
Complete each question with who, whom, or whose.
1. book is this?
Whose book is this?
2. should I vote for?
Whom should I vote for? This is more formal, but 'Who' is also widely accepted in modern English.
3. ate my chocolate?
Who ate my chocolate?
4. wants to play?
Who wants to play?
5. did you call?
Whom did you call?
6. is the new manager?
Who is the new manager?
7. turn is it?
Whose turn is it?
8. talked with you on the phone?
Who talked with you on the phone?
9. do you trust the most?
Whom do you trust the most?
10. did you invite to the party?
Whom did you invite to the party?
6. More question words worksheet
In this worksheet, there are 13 sentences to fill in using the correct question words. Check the answers by clicking the toggle arrow below.
- 1. Where did you go yesterday?
- 2. What do you like to do in your free time?
- 3. Who wants chocolate?
- 4. What are you up to?
- 5. Why is she crying?
- 6. How can I help you?
- 7. What is your favourite food?
- 8. How did you know my number?
- 9. Who do you think you are?
- 10. What do you prefer: tea or coffee?
- 11. Where is the nearest bus stop?
- 12. Whom did you buy that gift for?
- 13. Where are you planning to travel next year?
- 14. How can you say that to me?
