We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions about someone or something that we do not know about.
Interrogative Pronouns | Usage | Example |
who | person (subject) | Who are you? |
whom | person (object) | Whom did you invite? |
whose | person (possessive) | Whose is this pen? |
what | thing | What did you wear? |
which | person/thing | Which is your brother? |
Who and whom
“Whom” is becoming less and less common, and “who” is taking the place of “whom” as an object pronoun.
- Who did you invite?
- Who are you looking at?
- To whom did you send the letter?
What vs. which
We use “what” when options or possibilities are large or unknown.
- What do you want to eat?
- What color do you like?
We use “which” when we have options to choose from.
- Which do you want to drink, tea or coffee?
- Which color do you like, blue or green?