Primary English — Interrogatives

Subtopic: Creating Questions With Interrogatives (Age 11, Kenya)

Interrogatives are question words used to ask for information. In English the main interrogative words are:

• Who — asks about people (Who is that?).
• What — asks about things or ideas (What is this?).
• When — asks about time (When is the match?).
• Where — asks about place (Where is the market?).
• Why — asks for a reason (Why are you late?).
• Which — asks to choose (Which book do you want?).
• Whose — asks about possession (Whose pen is this?).
• How — asks about manner, condition or amount (How are you? How many?).

1. Basic word order with interrogatives

Use this order for most questions that start with an interrogative word:

Interrogative + Auxiliary (or verb) + Subject + Main verb + (rest) + ?

Examples (Kenyan context):

• Who is the class teacher? 📚
• Where did you buy the matatu ticket? 🚌
• When does the football match start? ⚽
• Why are we studying this poem? (asks for reason)
• Which shirt will you wear to assembly?
• How do you make ugali? (asks for method)
• How many students are in class 6B? (countable)
• How much sugar is in the tea? (uncountable)

2. Using auxiliaries: do / does / did

For simple present or past where there is no other auxiliary or "be" verb, we use do/does/did.

• Present (I/you/we/they): What do you want?
• Present (he/she/it): What does she like?
• Past (all subjects): Where did they go yesterday?

3. Questions with the verb "be" or modals

If the sentence uses the verb be (am/is/are/was/were) or a modal (can, will, should), put the verb before the subject.

• Who is your headteacher?
• Where are the books?
• How can I get to the market?
• When will the exam start?

4. Short answers

After a question, short answers are common:

• Q: Do you like reading? — A: Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.
• Q: Is she your sister? — A: Yes, she is. / No, she isn’t.
• Q: Did they go to Nairobi? — A: Yes, they did. / No, they didn’t.

5. Choosing between which and what

- Which = choose from a known group: Which uniform will you wear?
- What = ask for general information: What is your favourite subject?

6. Common mistakes to avoid

• Don’t put two verbs together without an auxiliary: Wrong — What you want? Correct — What do you want?
• Remember subject-verb order after question words: Wrong — Where you are going? Correct — Where are you going?
• Use did for past simple: Wrong — What you ate? Correct — What did you eat?
• Use how many (countable) vs how much (uncountable).

7. Practice — change the statements into questions

1. Statement: The teacher will mark the tests. — Question: ____________________? (When / who / where)
2. Statement: He eats ugali every day. — Question: ____________________? (What / how many / where)
3. Statement: They visited Mombasa last year. — Question: ____________________? (When / who / which)
4. Statement: The book belongs to Samuel. — Question: ____________________? (Whose / which / what)
5. Statement: She can play the guitar. — Question: ____________________? (How / can / where)

8. A few helpful tips

• Start practice by asking simple questions about classroom life (Who, What, Where, When).
• Use Kenyan examples: school, market, matatu, family, favourite games.
• Always end an interrogative sentence with a question mark (?).
• Read questions aloud — it helps with word order.

Quick visual: question-making flow

Keep practising by turning statements you find around school into questions. Good luck! 😊