Questions · CEFR A1 · Starting
Wh- questions — English questions
The question word first, then the same swap as a yes/no question.
The shape
What / where / when / why / how + helper + subject
Ask for the information you actually need.
In Hindi
पहले सवाल का शब्द, फिर वही उलटफेर जो हाँ/ना वाले सवाल में होता है।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
Where you are going? | Where are you going? "Are" comes before "you", even after "where". |
Wh- questions examples
Easiest first. Every sentence is authored, with the Hindi it comes from.
Who are you?
तुम कौन हो?
Who is he?
वह कौन है?
also correct: Who is she?
What is this?
यह क्या है?
also correct: What's this?
Where are you?
तुम कहाँ हो?
Where do you live?
तुम कहाँ रहते हो?
Where are you going?
तुम कहाँ जा रहे हो?
Where do you work?
तुम कहाँ काम करते हो?
Where are you from?
तुम कहाँ से हो?
What is your name?
तुम्हारा नाम क्या है?
also correct: What's your name?
Where is your house?
तुम्हारा घर कहाँ है?
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
- Who called you?B1Ask who did something without breaking the sentence
- How long? How far? How often?A2Ask about time, distance, price and frequency
Questions people ask
- What is the wh- questions used for?
- The question word first, then the same swap as a yes/no question. In practice: ask for the information you actually need.
- How do you form the wh- questions?
- What / where / when / why / how + helper + subject.
- What is the most common mistake with the wh- questions?
- Saying “Where you are going?” instead of “Where are you going?”. "Are" comes before "you", even after "where".
Where wh- questions fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
Wh- questions is a CEFR A1 structure — the starting band — and it belongs to questions. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
Practise the wh- questions →