This document provides a summary of wh- questions and their functions: 1) Wh- questions ask for specific information that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. They include who, what, where, when, why, and how. 2) Questions using "who" ask about people, "what" asks about things, "where" asks about places, and "why" asks for a reason. 3) Contractions are often used in wh- questions in informal speech, such as "Where's" instead of "Where is." Answers to wh- questions are usually short but can also be longer explanations.

1. 2 Wh- Questions
A Friendly Visit
Focus on Grammar 2
Part II, Unit 7
By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ Wells
Copyright © 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. A Friendly Visit 1
Dad, I think
I don’t know. Why Who kind,they’re
Oh,
Be are son.
we have heads so
are their they? human
Their brains
visitors.
small? beings.
aren’t very big.

3. A Friendly Visit 2
Greetingsspaceship broke
Our from
Welcome to What is
our
Earth. down. Where are Why are you
Our language far
planet.
your language? You are very is
we? here?
₪. But
Would you like from home.
some iced tea? I want to practice
my English.

4. Function
Wh- questions ask for information. They cannot be
answered with a yes or no.
Where are you We are from
from? Yes.
Earth.

5. Singular and Plural
Use is for singular subjects and are for
plural subjects.
singular
Where is your spaceship?
plural
What are your plans?

6. Who
Who asks about people.
person
Who are you?
person
Who is your leader?

7. What
What asks about things.
thing 
What is your language?
things
What are your names?

8. Where
Where asks about places.
Where is your spaceship?
Where are we?

9. Why
Why asks for a reason.
Why are you here?
Why are their heads so small?

10. With a partner, read the
Practice 1 answers and ask
wh-questions.
Example: Why areare they?
What isis hehobby?
Where they from?
Who his happy?
The United States.the moon.
BecauseThey’rehobbyon soccer.
they landed is
His aliens.

11. Contractions
We often use contractions for wh- questions with is
in speaking and informal writing.
Where’s the mustard?
Where is
What’s
What is on TV?

12. Answers
We usually give short answers to wh-
questions. We can give long answers too.
short
long My skin is Igreen
Because eat a
Why is your
answer
answer because I eat a
lot of broccoli.
skin green?
lot of broccoli.

13. Use the clues to ask and
Practice 2 answer wh- questions with a
partner.
Example: Who is he? He is a doctor.
1. spaceship 2. firefighter
Where is she?
She is in a spaceship. Who is he?
He is a fire fighter.
3. alien 4. he sees a spaceship
What is he? Why is he scared?
He is an alien. doctor He sees a spaceship.

14. References
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education and
its licensors. All rights reserved.