A mini-lesson for my ESL 502 class about wh- question words.

1. WH- QUESTIONS
By Gina Radosta

2. Goals for today:
 I can…
 Ask and answer questions using wh- question
words.
 Describe basic details about something I
observed by answering wh- questions.

3. Wh- Questions and Yes/No
Questions
Yes/No Questions Wh- Questions
 Only two possible  Specific piece of
answers (yes or no) information, based on
the question being
 Formed by adding the asked.
verb “do” or switching  Question word
the subject and the replaces the piece of
first auxillary verb. information you are
 Examples: looking for.
 Are you from  Examples:
Pennsylvania?  Where are you from?
 Do you like to read?  What do you like to
do?

4. Wh- Question Words
 Who - person
 What - thing
 Where - place
 When – date or time
 Why – reason or explanation
The wh- in “who” is
pronounced like the letter
/h/, but the rest are
pronounced like the letter /w/

5. Who and What
 Who: a person or people
 Ex. My mom, Miss R., John, the boys
 What: thing or things
 Ex. The book, the food, some clothes
 Both of these can be the subject of a
sentence.
 Who is your teacher?  Miss R. is my teacher.
 What is your favorite color?  Purple is my
favorite color.

6. Where and When
 Where: a place
 Ex. At home, in Pennsylvania, outside
 When: a date or time
 Ex. On April 1st, on Sunday, at night, at 2:00
 Remember: most places and times need a
preposition (at, on, to, in, etc.) before them to
describe where they are.
 Where is Miss R.?  Miss R. is at school.
 When is your game?  My game is on Saturday.

7. Why
 Reason or explanation
 No “right” answer – you have to think!
 Answer a “why” question with the word
“because” and the reason.
 When writing, or in a formal situation, restate the
second part of the question before the word
“because” and your explanation.
 Why do you have an umbrella?  (I have an
umbrella) Because it is raining.
 Why do you have good grades?  (I have good
grades) Because I study.

8. Can you pick the right answer?
1. Who watches TV?
a. TV b. Dad c. the living room d. because Spongebob is on
2. What do you have for lunch?
a. A sandwich b. at 12:00 c. because I’m hungry d. the cafeteria
3. Where are you?
a. Miss R. b. a student c. Tuesday d. In English class
4. When is English class?
a. Because I need to learn b. a class c. 1:30 d. in room 202
5. Why are you crying?
a. The baby b. because I’m sad c. in my room d. at night

9. How to ask a Wh- question
 The wh- question word always replaces the
information that it’s asking for.
I live in Pennsylvania.  Where do you live?
 When the question word replaces the subject,
like “who” or “what,” the sentence order
doesn’t change.
 My mom is nice.  Who is nice?

10. How to ask a Wh- question
 When the question word replaces information
in the predicate, the word order changes like a
yes/no question, with the question word at the
beginnng.
 Auxillary
verb: switch the order of the subject and
aux. verb
 The party is at 7:00.  When is the party?
 Noauxillary verb: add the word “do” or “does”
before the verb
 She reads many books.  What does she read?

11. Try to form Wh- questions
Sara is my best friend. Who is your best friend?
_______________________
I like comedy movies. What do you like?
_______________________
Mom is at the store. Where is Mom?
_______________________
We eat dinner at 5:00. When do you eat dinner?
_______________________
Why are you eating a snack?
I am eating a snack because _______________________
I am hungry.

12. Tell me about this picture!
 Who is the woman
in the red sweater?
 What is on the desk
in the back of the
room?
 Where are the
students?
 When is the class?
 Why are there
crayons on the
table?

13. Great job!
 Wh- questions are essential for asking for and
providing information.
 You will use these skills both in class and in
everyday conversation.
 Keep practicing and pay attention to how
common these questions are in the world
around you!