Interrogative Pronoun
If you want to know whether a pronoun is an interrogative pronoun, just ask. No, really! An interrogative pronoun is used when asking questions. The trick is, they can actually be only used in a question. Even if they can be used as different kinds of pronouns in different contexts, you can only call them interrogative pronouns if they are being used in a question format. Keep reading to learn more about these pronouns and to discover if you are an interrogative pronoun in a particular sentence.
Definition of an Interrogative Pronoun
What is an interrogative pronoun? An interrogative pronoun often stands for something that we are not aware of yet, because we are asking about it. We use these pronouns specifically to ask questions. These pronouns are special because they all start with “Wh”, which makes them easy to remember.
Do not confuse them with what most elementary school teachers call the “5 W’s – who, what, where, why, and when,” because in reality, these are not all interrogative pronouns. Keep reading to learn which question words are in fact interrogative pronouns.
Interrogative Pronoun
Here are the interrogative pronouns that most English speakers are aware of: whom, whose, who, what, which. These are the pronouns that help English speakers find out information. The words “whatsoever” and “whichever” are also used sometimes, and they are considered interrogative pronouns as well.
Wait – not so fast! As aforementioned, these pronouns can be used in sentences that are not questions. In those cases, these pronouns are not interrogative. Make sure to understand this distinction before moving on with understanding the grammatical structures involved with interrogative pronouns.
There are several other words that start with a W – but watch out! They are not interrogative pronouns just because they are words that start with W and are in questions!
For example, “when” is not an interrogative pronoun. Neither is “why.” Also remember that unlike other pronouns, sometimes interrogative pronouns do not have antecedents because you are not yet sure what they really are!
Examples of Interrogative Pronouns
Below are a few examples of interrogative pronouns being used correctly in questions. Make sure you understand why these examples in particular are correct.
- What is your favorite color?
- Whose shirt is this?
- Whatsoever do you mean by that?
- Whom were you speaking with last night?
- Which of these two do you prefer?
These are a few examples that are incorrect:
- When do you have to wake up tomorrow?
- I don’t know what she was talking about.
Exercises Involving Interrogative Pronouns
In the following short paragraph, see if you can identify all of the interrogative pronouns. Check with your teacher to see if you have selected the right words as interrogative pronouns.
Today, I was getting ready to go to the movie theatre. I thought to myself, “What is playing at the movies this afternoon?” What I wanted to see was a comedy, and I was glad to see that the movie which was playing was one of my favorites. When was the movie? Three o’clock. What time did I get there? I actually arrived a half hour late, which I was not very happy about. Who did I go with? My sister – who was running a bit late. Whatever!
In reality, only a very few interrogative pronouns were used in the above example. It may have looked like more were used, but be careful: just because it starts with a W does not mean it is an interrogative pronoun! Make sure that it was used in a question – and also make sure that it is one of the seven “W question words” that actually function as interrogative pronouns. This exercise was designed to trip you up!
For more exercises, speak with your English teacher or look through a grammar book, and see if your understanding of what an interrogative pronoun is improves over time.