Interrogative Pronouns | Examples, Definition & List
Interrogative pronouns (“what,” “which,” “who,” “whom,” and “whose”) are pronouns that refer to the missing piece of information in a question.
Interrogative pronouns are often question starters, but they can also go in the middle or at the end of a question. Some questions even have two or more interrogative pronouns.
Like all pronouns, interrogative pronouns have antecedents–the nouns that they represent. Unlike other pronouns, the antecedent for an interrogative pronoun isn’t known until someone answers the question.
Each interrogative pronoun asks about a specific type of antecedent, which can be a thing, animal, or person.
| Pronoun | Asks about… | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| What | A thing or animal from a large or unlimited number of options | What is your favorite Rolling Stones song? | “No Expectations” is my favorite Rolling Stones song. |
| Which | A thing or animal from a narrow range of options | Which is Jake’s favorite musical instrument? | The dobro is Jake’s favorite instrument |
| Who | A person who performs the action in the answer or is described | Who lives in that giant Victorian mansion on the hill? | The Kauffman family has lived in that mansion for decades. |
| Whom | A person who receives the action in the answer | Whom did Terry interview on the podcast this week? | Terry interviewed Trey Parker and Matt Stone. |
| Whose | The owner of something | Whose is that white van in the driveway? | That van is Tom’s. |
Interrogative pronouns in indirect questions
Interrogative pronouns can be used in direct questions and indirect questions.
- A direct question ends in a question mark (e.g., “Which film won Best Picture in 2024?”).
- An indirect question doesn’t end with a question mark because it’s not a complete sentence. Rather, it’s a noun clause that’s part of a statement. It implies a question, reports a question that someone asked, or states whether someone knows the answer to a question.
Marc asked me what I wanted for my birthday.
Thanh doesn’t know who got the promotion.
The correct end punctuation for a sentence with an indirect question is a period or (in rare cases) an exclamation mark.
- The students are wondering what the next assignment will be?
- The students are wondering what the next assignment will be.
- Do you know what the next assignment will be?
- What will the next assignment be?
If the indirect question is part of a direct question (e.g., “Do you know what the next assignment will be?”), the direct question should end with a question mark.
Who vs whom
Who and whom are both interrogative pronouns that refer to a person, but they are not interchangeable in academic writing.
- Use “who” when the antecedent will be the subject or the predicate nominative of a sentence. As a subject pronoun, “who” performs the action or is described or renamed.
- Use “whom” when the antecedent will be a direct object, indirect object, or an object of a preposition. As an object pronoun, “whom” receives the action.
| Part of speech | Examples |
|---|---|
| Subject | Who hosted Saturday Night Live last weekend? |
| Predicate nominative | Who is the main character in the short story? |
| Direct object | Whom should we invite to the dinner party? |
| Indirect object | For whom did the bartender make this mocktail? |
| Object of a preposition | With whom did Dr. Yu attend the conference? |
As a general rule, “who” works best when you could also say “he” or “she,” but “whom” is correct when you could also say “him” or “her.”
Whose and who’s are commonly confused, but they’re not interchangeable.
The interrogative pronoun “whose” is a possessive pronoun with an antecedent that’s a possessive noun.
- Whose cooking dinner tonight?
- Who’s cooking dinner tonight?
- Who is cooking dinner tonight?
- Whose recipe is this? (It’s Nigella Lawson’s recipe.)
What vs which
What and which are sometimes interchangeable, but they have slightly different meanings.
- What is the best interrogative pronoun in questions with a wide range of answers.
- Which is correct when there are only a few possible answers and especially when the question includes the possible answers
Which do you like better, hummus or guacamole?
Compound interrogative pronouns
You can add the suffix “-ever” to the end of any interrogative pronoun to form the compound interrogative pronouns whatever, whichever, whoever, whomever, and whosever.
Compound interrogative pronouns are more common in everyday conversation and informal writing rather than academic writing. They have three main purposes:
- To add emphasis
- To show that the person asking the question is perplexed
- To criticize the very notion of the question in a facetious way
Someone left a bunch of presents under our tree! I wonder whoever did such a thing!
Whomever this car belongs to better hurry up and move it!
Other interrogative words (adverbs and determiners)
There are two other types of interrogatives besides interrogative pronouns:
- Interrogative adverbs (“when,” “where,” “why,” and “how”)
- Interrogative determiners, also known as interrogative adjectives (“what,” “which,” and “whose”)
All three types of interrogatives help to form questions even though they’re technically different parts of speech.
“What,” “which,” and “whose” can be either interrogative pronouns that replace nouns or interrogative determiners that modify nouns in questions. If either of these words goes before a noun, it’s probably an interrogative determiner (e.g., “Which” is a determiner that modifies “dress” in the question “Which dress are you wearing to Lily’s wedding?”).
| Interrogative adverbs | Interrogative determiners |
|---|---|
| When do hummingbirds usually lay eggs? | What movie have you seen the most often? |
| Where did wooly mammoths used to live? | Whose phone is ringing? |
| Why does it rain so often in Carna? | Which jewelry stores in Santa Fe have the best prices? |
Interrogative vs relative pronouns
All interrogative pronouns can also work as relative pronouns, which are words that introduce relative or adjective clauses. A relative clause provides additional information about a noun or noun phrase that goes right before it in a sentence.
Sam Vasta, who is originally from Italy, makes custom cowboy boots in rural Kansas.
My paternal grandmother, whom I never met, emigrated from Sweden in the 1900s.
Frequently asked questions about interrogative pronouns
- Is who a verb?
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Who is not a verb. “Who” is a pronoun that represents another noun, which is called the antecedent.
“Who” can be an interrogative pronoun or a relative pronoun.
As an interrogative pronoun, “who” is part of a question (e.g., “Who won Best Actress in 2024?”). The antecedent is the answer to the question (e.g., “Emma Stone won Best Actress in 2024”).
As a relative pronoun, “who” begins an adjective clause (which is also known as a relative clause). An adjective clause gives more information about a noun in a sentence, which is the antecedent (e.g., “Emma Stone, who won an Oscar in 2024, is one of the world’s highest paid actors”).
“Who” is also classified as a subject pronoun (versus the object pronoun “whom”). When deciding between “who” and “whom,” use “who” as a subject that performs the action or a predicate nominative that is described or renamed (e.g., “Who holds the world record for longest hair?”).
Use “whom” as a direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition (e.g., “Whom did you meet at the gala last week?”).
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use “who” and other interrogative and relative pronouns correctly.
- What is an interrogative adverb?
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The interrogative adverbs are “when,” “where,” “why,” and “how.” They are used to ask questions about time, location, reason, or manner (e.g., “Where do you want to go for dinner?”).
These words are known as interrogative adverbs because the answers they prompt are adverbs, adverb phrases, or adverb clauses.
Interrogative adverbs are part of a larger group of words referred to as “interrogatives.” These words (typically starting with “wh-”) are used to form questions.
- Is where an adverb?
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Where is an interrogative adverb that’s used to form questions about location. The answer to a “where” question is a location or place (e.g., “Where is St. George’s Castle located?”).
The other interrogative adverbs include “when,” “where,” and “how.”
Two additional types of interrogatives form questions:
- The interrogative pronouns “what,” “which,” “who,” “whom,” and “whose” (e.g., “Who wants the last piece of cheesecake?”)
- The interrogative adjectives “what,” “which,” and “whose” (e.g., “Which restaurant should we try on Friday?”)
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use “where” and other interrogative words correctly.
- What does the word interrogative mean?
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The word interrogative has two meanings.
- “Interrogative” can be a noun that means “a word that forms a question.” The three types of interrogatives include interrogative pronouns (“what,” “which,” “who,” “whom,” and “whose”), interrogative adverbs (“where,” “when,” “how,” and “why”), or interrogative determiners (“what,” “which,” and “whose”).
- “Interrogative” can also be an adjective that means “inquisitive” (e.g., “The reporter’s interrogative approach intimidates people sometimes”). In this context, “interrogative” has a similar connotation to “interrogate,” which is a verb that means “to interview someone aggressively.”
QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can help you use “interrogative” and its synonyms correctly.
- What is an interrogative adjective?
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Interrogative adjectives (also called interrogative determiners) are words that modify a noun or pronoun to form a question (e.g., “Which shirt do you like?”). The three interrogative adjectives are “which,” “what,” and “whose.”
Interrogative adjectives belong to a larger class of words, sometimes referred to as “interrogatives.” When “which,” “what,” and “whose” are used to stand in for a noun, rather than modifying it (e.g., “Which do you like?”), they are known as interrogative pronouns.
