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Interrogative Pronouns
What Are Interrogative Pronouns?
Interrogative pronouns replace a noun in a question. They’re ALWAYS used in a question
The most commonly used ones include: Who? Whom?, Whose?, What?, Which?, Whomever?, Whichever?
They can all be singular or plural depending on the noun that they are replacing.
How Do I Use Interrogative Pronouns?
You use them to ask questions when seeking a specific type of noun as an answer.
| How Used in a Question | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| who | Answer is a person used as a subject | Who left their towel on the floor? |
| whom | Answer is a person used as an object | To whom did you give the note? |
| whose | Referring to ownership, possessions, or a relationship | I love these shoes. Whose are they? |
| whoever | Emphasis in “who?” questions, used as a subject | Will whoever leaves last please crate the dog? |
| whomever | Emphasis in “who?” questions, with surprise or confusion, as an object | I will hire whomever you recommend. |
| what | Answer is an object or abstract concept | What will we do tomorrow? |
| which | Multiple choices as an answer | Which do you like best? |
| whatever | Refers to a nonspecific thing | Put whatever in the bag for lunch. |
| whichever | Refers to a specific thing | Whichever you want is fine by me! |
QUICK TIP!
Don’t confuse these with Relative Pronouns, which introduce relative clauses within a sentence. Interrogative means they’re asking a question.
Interrogative pronoun - Who wrote this note?
Relative pronoun - I’m curious to know the person who wrote this note.
Who introduces the relative clause who wrote this note that identifies the particular
person someone is curious about.
Don’t confuse them with Interrogative Adjectives as well. Those modify nouns and aren’t used by themselves as a subject or an object within a sentence.
Here’s an example:
Interrogative pronoun - Which is yours?
Interrogative adjective - Which doll is yours?
Which modifies the noun doll in this sentence.
