English Grammar Understanding the Basics - Evelyn P. Altenberg, Robert M. Vago 2010
Lesson 25: Interrogative pronouns
Unit 7: Pronouns
Part I: Kinds of words
What do you notice about the underlined words in the following sentences?
1. Who went first?
2. What was the man carrying?
3. Which did you buy?
You undoubtedly recognize them as question words. They are called interrogative pronouns; we list them in Quick tip 25.1.
Interrogative pronouns are question words. The interrogative pronouns are: how, what, when, where, which, who, whom, whose, why. Look for the question mark to help find them.
You may be wondering why these are considered to be pronouns. Like other pronouns, interrogative pronouns represent something else, often a noun. They represent missing information, information that’s in the answer to a question:
4a. Who went first?
4b. Harry went first.
5a. What was the man carrying?
5b. The man was carrying a camera.
6a. Which did you buy?
6b. I bought the red car.
Since, when we ask a question, we don’t yet know what the answer will be, we have no choice but to use a question word, or interrogative pronoun, to represent the information we are asking about.
To enhance your understanding
Don’t confuse the following - they sound the same:
7a. Who’s (= who is) there?
7b. Whose party are we going to?
Test yourself 25.1
Underline the interrogative pronoun in each of the sentences below.
Sample: Why is his approach so exciting?
Getting started (answers on p.101)
1. To whom did you send the package?
2. Whose is it?
3. What can the producer do about it?
4. How can I believe you are telling the truth?
5. Where have you been?
More practice (answers on the website)
6. When did you come home last night?
7. Why is it so dark in this room?
8. Which do you prefer?
9. Who gave you permission to open that box?
10. From whom did you get this call?
Test yourself 25.2
Decide if each pronoun below is an interrogative pronoun (who, what), demonstrative pronoun (this, these, etc.), object pronoun (me, us, etc.), or reflexive pronoun (myself, ourselves, etc.).
Sample: myself reflexive
Getting started (answers on p. 101)
1. herself
2. which
3. who
4. those
5. him
More practice (answers on the website)
6. itself
7. how
8. what
9. us
10. whom
Test yourself 25.3
Underline the interrogative, possessive, and subject pronouns in each of the sentences below. Label each as interrogative (what, who, etc.), determiner possessive (my, our, etc.), nominal possessive (mine, ours, etc.), or subject (I, we, etc.). Some sentences will have more than one pronoun. (Remember that interrogative pronouns are used in questions, so look for that question mark to help you.)
Sample: What are you looking for? (interrogative; subject)
Getting started (answers on p. 101)
1. Where did your friend hide the ball?
2. Which does Jack like: coffee or tea?
3. Ours was the only entry in the contest.
4. We kept our promise.
5. Your business is yours alone.
More practice (answers on the website)
6. Why didn’t you wash your car?
7. He thought that the brown coat was his.
8. The bicycle is mine, not hers.
9. I mailed my package to Korea.
10. When will he arrive?
Test yourself 25.4
Underline the pronouns in each of the sentences below. Don’t worry about what kind of pronoun each is. Some sentences will have more than one pronoun.
Sample: What will they buy at his store?
Getting started (answers on p. 102)
1. You keep hurting yourself when you go skiing.
2. We should get it to them as soon as possible.
3. Who was Bill thinking of sending them to?
4. She has a great opportunity to advance herself in her company.
5. When will your great novel be finished?
More practice (answers on the website)
6. Our hope is that one day we will find ourselves living it up in style.
7. That will never happen under his watch.
8. Her determination gave her the impetus to improve herself.
9. Where are those new shirts you bought yourself yesterday?
10. Our ball club prides itself on its ability to win most of our games.
To further enhance your understanding
As we discussed at the beginning of this Lesson, interrogatives function as pronouns - they replace nouns. Note, however, that some interrogatives can also function as determiners - they can precede a noun. You can see this in the examples below:
8. Which book did you read last?
9. Whose purse is on the table?
10. What name did they choose for their baby?