Asking Questions of Information

Asking questions takes some thought for the new speaker. It helps to have students organize their questions into two large groups, one type asks for confirmation and the other for information. Asking for details, other than what is supplied in the question, means getting more than a yes or no for an answer as you get when you want to confirm information. Students that translate from their language might confuse the differences between the two, but if you if the teacher can explain himself properly through examples, there should be no problem.

The questions of information are mostly lumped into “Wh”-ones, meaning questions with interrogative words that begin with “wh” and those that use “how”. I am often asked whether one has to reply with a complete answer or just a fragment. Here is where I tell the student just as I use the long form when writing or by stressing something, I will answer with a complete sentence to get my idea across if there are any doubts or I want to be clear.

1. When is used when asking for time related details, such as in: “When does he come for dinner?” This will include questions regarding season and year or ones regarding a sequence of events and not just the time on the clock: “When does it start to snow?”
2. Who requires the identity of the person for an answer. This does not mean you have to answer with a name; you may also give the job title or the person’s description as an answer: “Who are you going to vote for”.
3. Where is used to find a location or the place that someone is referring to. That may be related to an object or a person. It usually is good to learn these questions with basic prepositions that help to describe where things are positioned in reference to one another. So in a question like, “Where did you buy your shoes?” the respondent can reply with “ I bought them at Bata’s”.
4. Why is used to get a reason for an action. Two year olds when trying to find out explanations for occurrences often use it. Usually the answer begins with because. So a question could be an innocent: “Why do I have to study?” and the answer is “because you need to pass your exams”.
5. Which is used if a choice has to be made or if there is a selection a person has to pick out an item from a group: “ Which pair of shoes do you want?”
6. What is used to get information on details and can be used to find out names, details and explanations, as is “What are some causes of pollution?” One can say it is the question word that is often associated with scientific reasoning and asking about likes and dislikes as in: “What do you like doing on weekends?”
7. How is also used to find out causes as in “How does pollution occur?” How is also used before adjectives to ask about information relative to that adjective.” How big is your boat?” will elicit a response, which incorporates a measure.

The student should understand that sometimes using different interrogative words as I did when asking about pollution could lead to the same information. It is up to the teacher to clear up the commonalities as well as the differences of the types of questions and their associated answers.