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An interrogative pronoun is a word that asks a question by replacing a noun whose identity, properties, or details are unknown. In other words, instead of naming a person, place, or thing, these pronouns enable us to ask questions like: ‘Who is at the door?’ or ‘What happened?’

There are five main interrogative pronouns:

• Who
• Whom
• Whose
• What
• Which

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• Interrogative Pronouns in Use

  • Who is coming to the party?
    
    
  • Whom did you invite to the event?
    
    
  • Whose is that dog on the loose?
    
    
  • What are you ordering for dessert?
    
    
  • Which do you prefer, Chinese food or Indian food?

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  * Interrogative Pronouns

Forms of Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns, like other pronouns, replace nouns in sentences. Which one we use depends on the type of noun it replaces, as the table below shows.

Interrogative Pronoun Forms and Examples

Interrogative Pronouns	Asks Question About	Examples
Who	People (as subjects)	– Who do you want to win?
Whom	People (as objects)	– Whom shall we speak to?
Whose	People, Animals & Things (for possession)	– Whose is this pen?
What	Animals & Things (when there is a large or unlimited number of things in question)	– What is the tallest building in the world?
Which	Animals & Things (when there is a limited number of things in question)	– Which is taller, the Eiffel Tower or Blackpool Tower?

Who

The pronoun who is used as the subject to inquire about an unknown person performing an action (the subject is the person or thing that performs the action or is the main focus of the sentence).

Example:

• Question: Who was that at the door?
  Answer: It was Bill.

The pronoun who replaces the unknown person at the door (later revealed as Bill).

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Whom

The pronoun whom is used as the object in a question to ask about an unknown person who is receiving an action (an object is the person or thing that the action is done to).

Example:

• Whom did you see at the concert?

Here, whom replaces the unknown person or persons who were seen at the concert. It is the object because it receives the action of the verb see.

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Whose

The interrogative pronoun whose is used to inquire about ownership or possession in questions involving people, animals, or things.

Example:

• A laptop was left unattended on the desk. Whose is it?

Here, whose asks about the owner of the laptop. It implies that the owner is unknown and asks who it might belong to.

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What

The interrogative pronoun what is used to ask about an unknown thing, event, or idea.

Example:

• What caused the delay?

Here, what refers to the unknown cause of the delay, whatever that may be.

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Which

The interrogative pronoun which is used when asking a question that requires choosing from a known, limited set of options.

Example:

• We have two slushies available: blue and green. Which would you like?

There are only two slushy flavours available: blue or green. So, the choice is limited to these specific options, which is why we use which and not what.

Inquisitive Statements

So far, we’ve looked at how interrogative pronouns work in straightforward questions, the kind that end with a question mark.

However, these pronouns also appear in inquisitive statements, which are sentences that include an inquiry without using the usual question format.

For instance:

• I’d love to know who the office sandwich thief is.
  
  
• I wonder what caused the delay.
  
  
• I’d like to know which is the quickest. (referring to a route)
  

Notice that none of these examples ends with a question mark, yet each one is still asking something.

We often use inquisitive statements to ask about people or things in a more tactful and friendly way.

Consider the two sentences below:

1. Direct question: What is the matter with him?
   > This sentence begins with the interrogative pronoun what, which makes it clear that a direct answer is expected. In this context, however, this could come across as blunt.
   
   
2. Inquisitive statement: I wonder why he looks upset.
   > Conversely, in this sentence, there’s no expectation of an immediate answer. The phrase ‘I wonder why’ softens the inquiry and makes it feel less direct.

Compound Interrogative Pronouns

In addition to the main interrogative pronouns, there are compound forms.

These are formed by adding the suffix -ever to basic interrogative pronouns. They add emphasis to the inquiry by expressing surprise, disbelief, or seriousness.

They are typically used in rhetorical or emphatic questions, where the speaker isn’t really expecting a straight answer.

Example:

• Why are you covered in mud? Whatever have you done now?

In this sentence, the word whatever refers to an unknown action or situation. It emphasises shock or disbelief about the muddy state of the person.

The table below shows the different compound interrogative pronoun forms and how we use them based on the function of the noun they replace.

Forms and Functions of Compound Interrogative Pronouns

Compound Interrogative Pronouns	Replaces (Noun Type)	Example Sentences
whoever	People – Subjects	– Whoever would say such a thing?
whomever	People – Objects	– Whomever did you just call?
whatever	Things or Ideas (unlimited options)	– Whatever made you think that was a good idea?
whichever	Things or Ideas (limited options)	– Whichever shall I choose, the red one or the blue one?

Who vs. Whom

Who and whom both refer to people. They appear in both questions (interrogatives) and relative clauses.

Choosing between them can be tricky, even for native speakers. However, once we understand their grammatical roles, it becomes much easier to tell them apart.

Below, we look at how who and whom work in questions.

Who

Who is used to replace a noun that refers to people and functions as the subject of a sentence.

Example:

• Who will be joining us for dinner?

Here, the pronoun who acts as the subject because it performs the verb action expressed by the phrase ‘will be joining.’

An easy (ish) way to determine whether to use who or whom is to answer the question. If your answer includes a subject pronoun (such as he, she, or they) then who is the correct choice.

For instance:

• Question: Who is coming to the BBQ later?
  Answer: He/she is coming. (✅)

We would not say:

• Question: Who is coming to the BBQ later?
  Answer: Him/her is coming. (❌)

More examples:

Who: Correct vs. Incorrect Usage

Example	Correct Usage	Incorrect Usage
1. Who left their ID card in the canteen?	– He did. (✅)	– Him did. (❌)
2. Who is in charge here?	– He is. (✅)	– Him is. (❌)
3. Who decided to change the time of the meeting?	– She decided to. (✅)	– Her decided to. (❌)
4. Who directed this film?	– He directed it. (✅)	– Him directed it. (❌)
5. Who ate the last piece of cake?	– He ate it. (✅)	– Him ate it. (❌)

Whom

On the other hand, whom is always used as the object in a sentence.

Example:

• Whom did you invite to the event?

Here, the word whom functions as the object because it receives the action of the verb invite.

We can apply the same test to whom constructions, only this time, whom needs to align with object pronouns.

In other words, if the question can be answered with an object pronoun such as him, her, or them, then we know whom is the right choice.

Let’s put our initial example sentence to the subject/object pronoun test.

• Question: Whom did you invite to the event?
  Answer: I invited them/her/him. (✅)

We would not say:

• Question: Whom did you invite to the event?
  Answer: I invited they/she/he. (❌)

More examples:

Whom: Correct vs. Incorrect Usage

Example	Correct Usage	Incorrect Usage
1. Whom does this pen belong to?	– It belongs to him. (✅)	– It belongs to he. (❌)
2. Whom do you trust the most?	– I trust him the most. (✅)	– I trust he the most. (❌)
3. Whom did you meet at the conference?	– I met her. (✅)	– I met she. (❌)
4. Whom did you donate to?	– I donated to them. (✅)	– I donated to they. (❌)
5. Whom are you going on holiday with?	– I am going on holiday with them. (✅)	– I am going on holiday with they. (❌)

Note: The use of whom in the English-speaking world has become increasingly rare in everyday conversation, often coming across as overly formal or even pretentious. As a result, it’s mostly found in formal writing, academic contexts, and traditional correspondence.

Interrogative Pronoun Words: Multiple Roles

A lot of the words we use for interrogative pronouns can serve different grammatical roles depending on how they are used: they can act as pronouns, determiners, or relative pronouns.

Since these words often look identical, it’s important to focus on their function in each sentence to tell them apart.

The table below highlights the differences between these roles.

W Words: More Than Just Interrogative Pronouns

	Function	Example Sentence
Interrogative Pronouns who, whom, whose, what, which	Replace an unknown noun or noun phrase to form a question.	– Who will be joining us?
Interrogative Determiners what, which, whose	Appear before a noun in a question to identify which one or what kind of thing is meant.	– What time is the meeting?
Relative Pronouns who, whom, whose, that, which	Introduce a clause that provides extra information about an antecedent noun.	– The scientist who made the discovery will receive the Nobel Prize.

Practice Makes Perfect: Interrogative Pronouns

Exercise 1: Identify the Interrogative Pronoun

Identify the interrogative pronoun(s) in each sentence.

1. Who forgot to lock the back door last night?
   
   
2. What are you doing this weekend?
   
   
3. Whose is this? It’s been on my desk all morning.
   
   
4. Which do you prefer, tea or coffee?
   
   
5. Who was that on the phone?
   
   
6. What happened at the meeting yesterday?
   
   
7. Whose are these shoes?
   
   
8. Which would you recommend?
   
   
9. Whatever have you done to your hair?
   
   
10. Who do you think will win the match?

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Exercise 1: Answers [Click]

1. Who
   
   
2. What
   
   
3. Whose
   
   
4. Which
   
   
5. Who
   
   
6. What
   
   
7. Whose
   
   
8. Which
   
   
9. Whatever
   
   
10. Who

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Exercise 2: Choose the Correct Interrogative Pronoun

Choose the correct interrogative pronoun to complete each sentence.

1. ____________ is your favourite film ever? (What / Which)
   
   
2. ____________ left this mess in the kitchen? (Who / What)
   
   
3. ____________ of these chilli sauces is the hottest? (What / Which)
   
   
4. ____________ called while I was out? (Who / Whose)
   
   
5. ____________ are you bringing to the party? (What / Who)

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Exercise 2: Answers [Click]

1. What
   
   
2. Who
   
   
3. Which
   
   
4. Who
   
   
5. Who

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Exercise 3: Who or Whom?

Complete each sentence with who or whom.

1. ____________ did you speak to about it?
   
   
2. ____________ is picking us up from the airport?
   
   
3. ____________ did they hire for the new role?
   
   
4. ____________ are you going with?
   
   
5. ____________ keeps stealing sandwiches from the office fridge?

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Exercise 3: Answers [Click]

1. Whom – I spoke to him/her. ✅
   
   
2. Who – He/she is picking us up. ✅
   
   
3. Whom – They hired him/her. ✅
   
   
4. Whom – I am going with him/her. ✅
   
   
5. Who – He/she keeps stealing them. ✅

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Exercise 4: Interrogative Pronoun or Interrogative Determiner?

Determine whether the underlined word is an interrogative pronoun or an interrogative determiner.

1. What time does the train leave?
   
   
2. What is your name?
   
   
3. Which flavour did you go for?
   
   
4. Which is yours?
   
   
5. Whose car is parked outside?
   
   
6. Whose is this?

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Exercise 4: Answers [Click]

1. Interrogative determiner
   
   
2. Interrogative pronoun
   
   
3. Interrogative determiner
   
   
4. Interrogative pronoun
   
   
5. Interrogative determiner
   
   
6. Interrogative pronoun

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Exercise 5: Rewrite as an Inquisitive Statement

Rewrite each direct question as an inquisitive statement using the phrase provided.

1. Who broke the printer? → I’d like to know…
   
   
2. What caused the power cut? → I wonder…
   
   
3. Which is the quickest? → I’m not sure…
   
   
4. Whose is this? → I wonder…
   
   
5. What happened? → I wonder…

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Exercise 5: Answers [Click]

1. I’d like to know who broke the printer.
   
   
2. I wonder what caused the power cut.
   
   
3. I’m not sure which is the quickest.
   
   
4. I wonder whose this is.
   
   
5. I wonder what happened.

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