Interrogative Pronouns
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Interrogative Pronouns
An interrogative pronoun introduces a question that seeks information. If the pronoun is not part of a question, it is not an interrogative pronoun.
There are five interrogative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, and what.
Examples
Who is the new park commissioner?
Of whom are we speaking?
Whose are the shoes by the door?
Which is the right way to go?
What is the radio station we’re listening to?
Each of the interrogative pronouns can also function as a relative pronoun, which in turn can be a subject pronoun, an object pronoun, or a possessive pronoun.
The following sentences compare each of the five interrogative pronouns with their relative or possessive form.
Who
Interrogative: Who gave you the apple pie?
Relative: The apple pie was baked by Sally, who lives next door. (subject)
Whom
Interrogative: To whom shall we give the message?
Relative: Robert is the one to whom we’ll give the message. (object)
Whose
Interrogative: Whose is that?
Relative: That book belongs to Timothy, whose knowledge of literature is greater than mine.
Which
Interrogative: Of the kitchen tables, which do you like best?
Relative: I would like that kitchen table, which is more my style. (subject)
What
Interrogative: What is the theory of relativity?
Relative: The theory of relativity is what we will study. (subject meaning “the thing that”)
Although less common and considered by some to be archaic, words such as whatever, whichever, whoever, and whomever can serve as interrogative pronouns:
It’s pouring outside. Whatever shall we do now?
Whoever would bring snakes in a can to an insurance seminar?
Interrogative Pronouns vs. Determiners
An interrogative pronoun replaces a noun, as shown in the previous examples:
Who gave the apple pie? Sally gave the apple pie. (Sally replaces Who.)
To whom shall we give the message? We shall give the message to Robert. (Robert replaces whom.)
An interrogative determiner, also known as an interrogative adjective, looks the same as an interrogative pronoun, but it modifies rather than replaces a noun. It does not stand alone; it depends on the noun it describes to complete its function.
Which brand is your favorite?
Whose hockey gloves can I use?
If the interrogative words are pronouns and not determiners, they will not modify a noun:
Which is your favorite?
Whose can I use?
Interrogative Pronouns vs. Adverbs
In understanding interrogative pronouns, we will also want to recognize how they differ from interrogative adverbs such as where, when, why, and how.
The answer to a question with an interrogative pronoun will be a noun:
Who gave the apple pie?
Sally (noun) gave the apple pie.
The answer to a question with an interrogative adverb will be an adverbial that addresses an action:
When are you leaving for Michigan?
We are leaving for Michigan tomorrow morning. (The answer is an adverb phrase that addresses the action of leaving.)
English includes several different types of pronouns, such as personal, demonstrative, relative, indefinite, reflexive, and possessive pronouns. In this review, we’ve examined what interrogative pronouns are.
Related Topic
Pop Quiz
Identify the interrogative pronouns that appear in the following sentences.
1. Whom shall we ask to bake the beans?
2. What is the color of fun?
3. Where are we going for dinner?
4. That’s a complex problem. What is the solution?
5. Which drawer do you keep your socks in?
Pop Quiz Answers
1. Whom shall we ask to bake the beans?
2. What is the color of fun?
3. Where are we going for dinner? no interrogative pronoun
4. That’s a complex problem. What is the solution?
5. Which drawer do you keep your socks in? no interrogative pronoun
If the article or the existing discussions do not address a thought or question you have on the subject, please use the "Comment" box at the bottom of this page.
Which drawer do you keep your socks in? How come it’s not an interrogative pronoun?
In that sentence, the word which is not a noun standing alone but rather an adjective modifying the noun drawer. The article identifies such usage as an interrogative adjective.
Which is correct:
It is he or it is him?
As our post I Subject, Your Honor indicates, if the sentence construction is a subject, a form of be (e.g., is, was, were), and a subject complement, we use the subjective case. Therefore, “It is he” is formally correct.