Practice
Interrogative pronouns: rules and examples
Someone left a notebook on the table. Whose is it? The word whose asks for the owner and takes the place of the answer, such as Maya's notebook.
Use who, whom, whose, what, and which to ask for the missing person, thing, owner, or choice, and recognize when a question word is followed by a noun.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
whose /huːz/
The short answer
Use who for a person, what for a thing or information, whose for an owner, and which when the choices are limited. Use whom for the object of a verb or preposition in formal English. A question word is a pronoun when it stands without a following noun.
Which is the correct file?
Why it works: Which stands alone and asks the listener to identify one file from a known set.
5 more examples
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Who is waiting outside?
Who asks for the identity of a person. It is the subject of is waiting.
Not this:
Whichvisitor is waiting outside? What changes: Which comes before visitor, so it introduces a noun rather than standing alone. -
What changed after the update?
What asks for the thing or information that changed.
Not this:
Whatsetting changed after the update? What changes: What comes before setting and asks for the specific setting. -
Which do you prefer, the early train or the late train?
Which stands alone and points to a limited choice between two trains.
Not this:
Whichtrain do you prefer? What changes: Which introduces the noun train in this question. -
Whose are these gloves?
Whose asks who owns the gloves and stands without a following noun.
Not this:
Whosegloves are these? What changes: Whose comes before gloves, so it introduces the noun. -
Whom did the manager thank?
Whom is a formal object form. The manager thanked the person named in the answer.
Not this:
Whothanked the manager? What changes: Who is the subject here because that person performs the action.
Read the full guide
First, decide what information is missing. Are you asking about a person, an owner, a thing, or one choice from a small set? Then check whether the question word stands alone or introduces a noun.
Ask for the missing noun
A pronoun can take the place of a noun. An interrogative pronoun does that job in a question. The answer supplies the missing person or thing.
Who called after lunch?
The answer might be Lina called after lunch. Who takes the place of Lina in the question.
What kind of answer does who usually ask for?
It usually asks for a person.
Choose who or whom
Use who when the person does the action. In everyday English, people also often use who when the person receives the action. Use whom for that object role in formal writing, especially after a preposition.
Who approved the schedule?
Who is the subject because that person approved the schedule. In Whom did the director thank?, whom is the person receiving thanks.
Complete the formal question: To ___ should I send the form?
Use whom: To whom should I send the form?
Use whose for an owner
Whose asks about possession. It can stand alone when the noun is already clear, or it can come before a noun. Do not confuse whose with who's. Who's means who is or who has.
Whose is the blue bicycle?
Whose replaces an owner phrase such as Jordan's. In Whose bicycle is outside?, whose comes before the noun bicycle.
Which word asks about ownership: whose or who's?
Use whose to ask about ownership. Who's is a short form of who is or who has.
Choose what or which
Use what when you are asking for information from a broad range. Use which when the possible answers are limited or visible in the situation. The difference is about the choice the question presents.
Which seat suits you, the window seat or the aisle seat?
The question gives two seats, so which fits. What time does the store open? asks for information without presenting a short list.
Choose the better word: ___ of these folders is yours?
Use which because the question names a limited set of folders.
Notice the noun after the question word
What, which, and whose can be interrogative pronouns when they stand alone. They can also introduce a noun. This lesson's rule stays simple: look at the next word. If a noun follows, the question word is working with that noun.
Which is your coat? Which coat is yours?
In the first question, which stands alone. In the second, which comes before coat. Both questions ask the listener to identify a coat.
Does which stand alone in Which report did you read?
No. Which comes before the noun report.
Before you go
Remember this
Choose the question word by the missing information. Who asks about a person, whom is the formal object form, whose asks about possession, what asks about a thing or information, and which asks the listener to choose from a limited set. If what, which, or whose has a noun after it, read the pair together.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Interrogative pronouns: rules and examples"
What are the main interrogative pronouns?
The main interrogative pronouns are who, whom, whose, what, and which. They begin questions that ask for a person, an owner, a thing, or a choice. What, which, and whose can also come before a noun, so check the words that follow them.
Who is waiting outside?
Is which always an interrogative pronoun?
No. Which is an interrogative pronoun when it stands alone, as in Which do you prefer? In the question Which option do you prefer?, it comes before the noun option. The question still asks the listener to choose, but which is working with the noun.
Which visitor is waiting outside?
When should I use whom instead of who?
Use whom for the object of a verb or preposition in formal English. For example, a formal letter may ask To whom should I reply? In ordinary conversation, who is common in the same position: Who should I reply to?
What changed after the update?
What is the difference between whose and who's?
Whose asks about possession: Whose notebook is this? Who's is a contraction of who is or who has: Who's joining the meeting? The apostrophe in who's does not show ownership. Check whether the sentence needs an owner or the words who is.
What setting changed after the update?
How do I choose between what and which?
Use what when you ask for information from a broad range, as in What time does the flight leave? Use which when the question presents a limited set of choices, as in Which gate should we use, A or B? The situation can make the limited set clear too.
Which do you prefer, the early train or the late train?