English Grammar : Interrogative Adverbs
 
INTERROGATIVE ADVERBS : Why?, When?, Where? & How?

Uses of Interrogative Adverbs in English Grammar

What are Interrogative Adverbs?

"Adverbs that are used to ask questions are called Interrogative Adverbs."

They are usually placed at the beginning of a question.

Interrogative adverbs are used to ask different types of questions. For example,

» Why? : for what reason? ('why' is used to ask about reasons.)

    • Why don't you like her?

» When? : at what time?. ('when' is used to ask about time-related matters.)

    • When does the play begin?

» Where? : at what place?. ('where' is used to ask about place-related matters.)

    • Where can I find him?

» How? : in what way?. ('how' is used to ask about matters related to manner, time, quantity, amount and degree.)

    • How was the experience?

Uses of Interrogative Adverbs "Why" - "When" - "Where" - "How":
Uses of 'Why':

'WHY': Interrogative adverbs of reason.

Examples:
  • Why did you quit?
  • Why are you crying?
  • Why do you hate her?
  • Why are you so late?
  • Why do you want to go there?
  • Why were you absent yesterday? (because of illness).
Uses of 'When':

'WHEN': Interrogative Adverbs of Time.

Examples:
  • When can I see you next?
  • When will this movie end?
  • When does the bus arrive?
  • When will you finish this job?
  • When is he going on tour? (Tomorrow).
  • • Since when have you started shaving?
Uses of 'Where':

'WHERE': Interrogative adverbs of Place.

Examples:
  • Where do you live?
  • Where is my laptop?
  • Where is my passport?
  • Where is the shopping mall?
  • Where do we have to go tonight?
  • Where is your bother? (at home).
Uses of 'How':

'How' can be used to form questions in four different ways.

1. Uses of "How" as an interrogative adverb of manner.
'How' can be used by itself to mean "in what way". (i.e., the manner in which the verb occurs).

Examples:
  • How are you?
  • How are you doing?
  • How did you do it?
  • How did you reach here?
  • How do you start the bike?
  • How is he now? (He is well).
  • How can I reach your office?
  • How did you make the decission?
  • How did you make this punjabi dish?
  • How was the movie you saw last night?
  • How does he speak? (He speaks clearly).

 

2. Uses of "How" as an interrogative adverb of number or amount.
'How' can be used with much and many to ask about quantity. Much is used with uncountable nouns and many is used with countable nouns.

Examples:
  • How many people came?
  • How much flour do I need?
  • How many of them can dance?
  • How much are these mangoes?
  • How much money have you got?
  • How often do you go to Canada?
  • How many drinks would you like?
  • How many eggs are in this cake?
  • How many people are coming to the party?
  • How many students are there in the class?

 

3. Uses of "How" as an interrogative adverb of degree or quantity.
'How' can be used with adjectives to ask about the degree of an attribute.

Examples:
  • How tall are you?
  • How far can he run?
  • How angry is mother?
  • How old is your house?
  • How long is it to the hotel?
  • How much do you know him? (a little).
  • How far can we travel into this forest?
  • How hot is the milk? (Very hot, quite hot).
  • How long did you stay in Nigeria? (for a month).

 

4. Uses of "How" as an interrogative adverb of frequency or degree of an action.
'How' can be used with other adverbs to ask about the frequency or degree of an action.

Examples:
  • How quickly can you read this?
  • How quickly can you get home?
  • How often have you been here?
  • How often do you go to London?
  • How often do you go to the cinema?
  • How loudly does your brother scream?
  • How often do you meet him? (only sometimes).
Related Topics :
Types of Noun in English Language
Types of Pronoun in English Language
Types of Verb in English Language
Types of Adverb in English Language
Types of Adjective in English Language
Kinds of Preposition in English Language
Types of Conjunction in English Language
Uses of Interjection words in English Language

Navigation

Social Media