What Are Interrogative Pronouns ? Ielts Exams Preparation
What are interrogative pronouns
What are interrogative pronouns,when they are used and what places they are used.
1-In the following sentences which and what are used as Interrogative Adjectives:-
• Which book are your reading?
• Which way shall we go?
• What books have you read?
2-In the following sentences the Interrogative Pronouns are used in asking indirect
questions.
I do not know who is there.
I asked who was speaking.
3-Again consider the following sentences: –
Whom did you see? Who did you see?
Who gave you that knife? (Nominative)
Whose is this book? (Possessive)
Who were you speaking to? (Accusative)
To whom were you speaking?
4-Who is used of persons only.
Who spoke?
Who says so?
Who goes there?
Who made the top score?
Who is knocking at the door?
5-Which is used of both persons and things. It implies selection, that is, it implies a
question concerning a limited number.
Which are your books?
Which is your friend?
6-What is used of things only.
What have you found? (We expect the answer to be the name of a thing.)
What did you say?
What do you want?
7-Consider the following sentences :-
Which do you prefer, tea or coffee?
About whom you are thinking?
Who is there?
Which is the house?
Who are you thinking about?
Whose is this book?
Who are you?
8-In such expressions as, ‘What are you?’ ‘What is he?’ What is this man?’ the word
(Today it is more
usual to say, ‘What do you do?’ etc).
What are you? — I am a doctor.
What is he? — He is an engineer.
9-In the following sentences the words in italics are used as Compound Interrogative
Pronouns :-
Whatever are you doing?
Whoever told you so?
10-A Pronoun used as an exclamation is called an Exclamatory Pronoun ; as,
What! You don’t know Rama?
Note.- The forms whoever, whichever, whatever, are intensive.
Exercise of interrogative pronouns ?
Correct them using exact form of the Interrogative Pronoun in the following:-
1. — , do you consider, is right?
2. — did you speak to?
3. — is life worth?
4. —do you think I am?
5. — of our dogs is ill?
6. — do you think they are?
7. — did you find there?
8. — was that speaking to you?
9. — came here yesterday?
10. — do you consider in the right?
