O21 Question Words Orange Level Lesson Twenty-one Question Words This page lists all the question words that you need to know when asking a question for information. Click here for a video for the word "how." How: method / manner / situation Q: How do you know her? A: I know her from school. Her name is Nella. Nella Q: How did you figure out that problem? A: I worked it out on the blackboard. Q: How do I get to Lake Street from here? A: Go straight and take a left. Q: How did you make the crust for this pie? A: I used flour, shortening, salt, and ice water. Q: How do you like your coffee? A: I like it with a little bit of cream. How about: Do you want to…..? John: How about going to a movie later? (Do you want to go to a movie) Ying: Okay. What do you want to see? John: How about an action movie? Ying: No, I don’t want to see that. How about a comedy instead? John: Okay. John Ying How about: What is your opinion of ____? Q: How about those Twins? (What do you think about the team?) A: Yeah, they’re doing great this season. How about this weather? (What’s your opinion on the weather?) How come: why Sandra: How come you didn’t call me? Javier: I was busy. or Sandra: Why didn’t you call me? Javier: I was busy. Sandra Javier A: Norbert didn’t show up at the party. B: How come? A: He had tickets to a basketball game. Norbert How far: distance / extent Q: How far is it to the nearest town? A: It’s about 20 miles. Q: How far is it from the earth to the moon? A: It’s about 240,000 miles away. How high: height Q: How high is that mountain A: It’s about half a mile high. How long: length Q: How long is the ski trail? A: It’s about five miles long. Q: How long was the movie? A: It was about 90 minutes long. film reel Q: How long is her hair? A: It goes down to her shoulders, but she usually wears it in a pony tail. How tall: height Q: How tall are you, Caner? A: I’m six feet tall. Caner A: How tall is that building? B: It’s 15 stories high. How old: age Q: How old are you? A: I’m 31 and she’s 29. Q: How old is your baby? A: She’s nine months old. How many: amount (count nouns) Q: How many knives are in that knife block? A: There are ten knives. How much: amount (noncount nouns) Q: How much lettuce do we need to get? A: Not very much. We just need one head. What: general information Q: What time is it? A: It’s ten minutes before two. Q: What’s that? A: It’s a marshmallow. Q: What are those? A: They’re tortilla chips. What about: consider this Mother: What are you going to do this afternoon? Daughter: I’m going to go play basketball. Mother: What about your homework. Daughter: I’ll do it later. Mother: No, you should do it now and play basketball later. Daughter: Okay. What…for: purpose / reason Q: What do you use this for? A: You use it for cutting the grass. It’s a lawnmower. What kind of: type / category Q: What kind of a musical instrument is that? A: It’s an accordion. Q: What kind of fruit do you like to eat? A: I like to eat kiwi. When: time / date Student: When were you born? Teacher: I was born in 1963. Where: location Paul: Where did you go yesterday? Daniya: I went to a coffee shop to meet some friends. Daniya Which: choice of two or more Q: Which do you prefer, red peppers or green peppers? A: I like them both, but I prefer red peppers because they’re sweeter. Who: subject for a person Q: Who is she? A: Her name is Natalia. She’s my classmate. Natalia Whom: object for a person Q: Whom did you go fishing with last week? A: I went fishing with Michael. (Note: Although "whom" is the correct choice, many Americans use "who" instead.) Michael Whose: possessive form for a person Q: Whose motorcycle is that? A: It belongs to Luiz. Why: reason Q: Why does she look so sad? A: Her dog died. Why not: reason Q: Why doesn’t he hire someone to paint his house? A: He can’t afford it. Next: Lesson Twenty-two
