teach2talk - WH Questions! Volume 1 - Where?

Beatles - Tell Me Why

5WH

In 1902, the famous British writer Rudyard Kipling wrote: I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. The 5WH, as they are known, are the open question words in English. With them you can get any information about anything that you want or need. Open questions are questions that cannot be answered by a simple yes or no. Yes or no answers are given in response to closed questions. Closed questions begin with verbs like do, have, and be. Do you have a dog? Yes. Have you eaten? No. Are you tired? No. Closed questions don't get you much information. Open questions, on the other hand, cannot be answered by yes or no, and get you a lot of information. Ask all of the 5WH questions and you get virtually all the information you need about anything. What can ask about anything. What colour is it? What time is it? What do you call this? What kind of...? Why asks for a reason. Why did you do that? Why am I doing this? Why would I want to? When asks for a time in the future or the past. When will we get there? When were you born? When does the party start? Where asks for a location. Where are you? Where am I? Where is the party going to be? Where was the battle fought? Who asks about the people involved. Who are you? Who am I? Who is going to the party? Who is the prime minister of England? How asks for the manner or the way of doing something. How did you know that? How could I have known? How will we get there? How can also be used to ask about a state. How hot is it now? How are you? By asking appropriate 5WH questions you can make sure that you have not overlooked anything. You can use the 5WH questions to analyse any decision you are going to make. Imagine you are planning on starting a business. What kind of business do we want to set up? Why will this business be successful? When will we start the business? Where will we operate our business from? Who will be responsible for what in the business? How will we raise the finances needed for the business? By working your way through each of the 5WH questions, you ensure that you don't miss anything important. You can use these open questions for any decision you have to make in any area of your life. I hope you enjoyed this Daily Dose of English and I'll see you again soon for another one. Goodbye for now.

Yes or no answers are given in response to closed questions. Closed questions begin with verbs like do, have, and be: Do you have a dog? Yes. Have you eaten? No. Are you tired? No. Closed questions don't get you much information.

Open questions are questions that cannot be answered by a simple yes or no.

What can ask about anything: What colour is it? What time is it? What do you call this? What kind of dog do you like?

Why asks for a reason: Why did you do that? Why am I doing this? Why would I want to go?

When asks for a time in the future or the past: When will we get there? When were you born? When does the party start?

Where asks for a location: Where are you? Where am I? Where is the party going to be? Where was the battle fought?

Who asks about the people involved: Who are you? Who am I? Who is going to the party? Who is the prime minister of England?

How asks for the manner or the way of doing something: How did you know that? How could I have known? How will we get there? How can also be used to ask about a state: How hot is it now? How are you?

You can use the 5WH questions to analyse any decision you are going to make. Imagine you are planning on starting a business. What kind of business do we want to set up? Why will this business be successful? When will we start the business? Where will we operate our business from? Who will be responsible for what in the business? How will we raise the finances needed for the business?

English Grammar Lesson - Wh questions

1Jak daleko to je? 2Kde je divadlo? 3Jaké barvy to je? 4Co chceš? 5Proč ne? 6Proč tam chodíš? 7Proč jsi tady? 8Kdy to začíná? 9Kdy se ona narodila? 10Kdy to bylo? 11Kde to bylo? 12Kdo je on? 13Jak to víš? 26-nx2