Wh-Words
Wh-words are a special group of English words that almost all start with ‘wh-’. They help us ask questions, give extra info about things, or express surprise/emphasis.
The main ones are
Who, what, where, when, why.
Whose, whom, which, & how.
#. Important
How counts as a wh-word even though it doesn't start with "wh"!
Wh-words can do different jobs depending on how they're used. Think of them as belonging to three "teams"
Wh-adverbs = how, when, where, why
Wh-pronouns = who, whom, what, which, whose (they stand in place of a noun)
Wh-determiners = what, which, whose (they go in front of a noun e.g. “which book?”)
But don't worry too much about the team names right now — the important thing is understanding what they actually doin sentences.
Here are the main jobs wh-words have
#1. Asking questions (interrogative clauses) Examples
Where do you live?
Who is coming?
Which shirt do you like?
Why are you laughing?
How did you do that?
#2. Showing strong feelings / surprise (exclamations) Examples
How beautiful this is!
What a crazy day!
#3. Giving extra information about a noun (relative clauses — like describing something)
Example
“This is the house where I grew up”.
The girl who won the prize is my sister”.
That's the man whose dog bit me”.
“I like the dress which you wore yesterday”.
#4. Acting like a whole noun phrase (nominal relative clauses — answering "the thing that…")
Example
“I don't know what to wear”. (I don't know the thing to wear)
“Whoever arrives first gets the best seat”.
“Wherever you put it is fine”.
#.5 Making conditional / "no matter" sentences (wh-conditional clauses)
Example
“Whatever happens, stay calm”. (= no matter what happens)
“Whoever you invite, I'll be happy”.
“Wherever you go, take your phone”.
Quick summary
Wh-words are super useful because they help you ask, describe, point to unknown things, and express emotion. Once you get used to seeing them in these different situations, they become much easier to understand and use. It just takes practice and experience.
Practice by turning normal sentences into questions or descriptions using wh-words — that's one of the best ways to get comfortable with them!
