Interrogative Pronouns - Definition, Usage and Examples

Here are the interrogative pronouns most commonly used in English: who, whom, what, which, whose. Interrogative pronouns in English to ask questions. Go through the entire article to learn more about interrogative pronouns: definition, uses and examples.

This article covers:

Interrogative Pronouns: Definition and Meaning
Interrogative Pronouns Examples
Examples of Interrogative Pronouns in Sentences
Interrogative Pronouns List
Interrogative Pronouns Exercises with answers
Fill in the Blanks with Interrogative Pronouns
FAQs - Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative Pronouns: Definition and Meaning

Interrogative pronouns in English are employed to ask questions as in Who is this boy?, Whom did you beat?, What is the richest city in the world?, Which is your notebook? and Whose is this book?.

These interrogative pronouns are called WH family question words. Learn more about wh question words here.

Interrogative Pronouns Examples

Who
Whom
What
Which
Whose

Examples of Interrogative Pronouns in Sentences

a. Who are you?

b. Whom did you talk to?

c. What are you looking at?

d. Which is your book?

e. Whose is this pen?

Uses of Interrogative Pronouns in English

Use of Who

We use "who" for people both as subject and object. That is, "who" refers to and is used for people and can be the subject or object of a sentence.

Example of "who" as subject

Who told you that the class would not be conducted?

Example of "who" as object direct

Who were you beating when I came here?

Example of "who" as an object of a preposition

Who are you talking to at the moment?

Use of Whom

Like "who", we use "whom" for people, but only as object. That is, we use "whom" only as object to refer to people.

Example of "whom" as direct object

Whom did you beat? (formal)

Example of "whom" as an object of a preposition

To whom did you send the letter? (more formal)

Use of What

We use "what" to refer to things both as subject and object. That is, "what" is used for things as subject and object. Remember that "what" is a general interrogative pronoun.

Use of "what" as subject

What is approaching you?

Use of "what" as object

What do I need to do?

Use of Which

We use "which" to refer to things both as subject and object. Remember too that "which" is a restricted or specific interrogative pronoun.

Example of "which" as subject

Which, you think, will help you?

Example of "which" as object

Which are you going to buy?

Use of Whose

We use "whose" to ask questions about people or things showing possession or ownership.

Example of "whose" for people

Whose is this baby? (also whose baby is this?)

Example of "whose" for things

Whose is this pen? (also whose pen is this?)

Who or whom?

Cambridge Dictionary states, "We use whom as an object in formal styles. When we use a preposition before whom, it is even more formal. We don't normally use it in speaking." which means that we can use whom as an object in all the situations in which we use who as an object.

The main difference between who and whom is that whom as an object is used in formal situations, while who as an object is used in informal situation.

Look at the below given sentences very carefully. All the following sentences are grammatically fine.

Who did you beat?
Whom did you beat?
Who are you talking to?
Whom are you talking to?
To whom are you talking?

What or which?

Both what and which are used for asking questions about things, but the main difference between what and which is that what is a general interrogative pronoun, and which is a specific interrogative pronoun.

That is, What is used to ask "for specific information about a general range of possible answers", while which is used to ask "for specific information about a restricted range of possible answers".

Look at the below-given examples carefully.

(What = a general range of possible answers)

"What's the tallest building in the world?"

(Which =a restricted range of possible answers)

"Which is your address?" (looking at a list of addresses)

Whose or who's?

Both whose and who's may sound alike, but there is a great difference in their usage. The main difference between whose and who's is that whose is used to show possession or ownership, and who's is the contracted form of "who is/was or who has".

Look at the examples carefully.

a. Whose bag is this? (ownership)

b. Who's coming? (who is)

Interrogative Pronouns Exercises with answers

Select the appropriate interrogative pronouns in the below-given sentences from the amongst the options mentioned against them.

a. ........is your father's name?

b. ........is this book?

c. .........is coming today?

d. ..........is your address?

e. ..........did John beat?

Answer keys:

a. What

b. Whose

c. Who

d. Which

e. Whom/who

FAQs - Interrogative Pronouns

What is a simple example of interrogative pronoun?

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions about people, places, things or ideas. Here are the main interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which and whose.

Interrogative pronoun definition and examples

An interrogative pronoun is used to ask a question about a person, place, thing or idea in English as in "who is this boy?".

Examples of interrogative pronouns