Series ID: EDKS-BVOC-ZH-0011 · Lesson No.011 · Question Words · Pre-A1 → A1 · 简体中文辅助
How to Learn Basic English Vocabulary (Chinese Edition) | Lesson No.011 | Question Words | 英语疑问词
Question words are information keys.
疑问词就是打开信息的钥匙。
← Back to the Basic English Vocabulary Chinese Edition Hub | 返回零基础英语词汇首页
Quick read | 先看最重要的
Do not start by memorising a long grammar chart. First learn what information each question word asks for.
不要一开始就背很长的疑问句语法表。先学：每一个疑问词到底想得到哪一种信息。
| Word | Job | 中文 |
|---|---|---|
| what | thing / information | 什么 |
| where | place | 哪里 |
| who | person | 谁 |
| when | time | 什么时候 |
| why | reason | 为什么 |
| how | way / condition | 怎样 / 如何 |
| which | choice | 哪一个 |
| whose | owner | 谁的 |
Then add high-value combinations:
- how many
- how much
- how old
- what time
- what day
This page is vocabulary, not the full question-grammar owner | 这页不是完整疑问句语法课
The deeper mechanics of inversion, do/does, be, auxiliaries and tense belong to grammar owners. This vocabulary page has one simpler job: make the question words instantly meaningful and usable.
目标不是一次学完所有问句，而是看到 where 就知道“找地点”，看到 who 就知道“找人”。
Research floor | 研究底线
British Council Question Forms uses examples with question words such as why, what, where, when and how, while Cambridge Pre A1 Starters includes beginner question language such as how, how many and how old. The core learning idea here is to attach each word to one information function first.
What | 什么
what asks about a thing, idea or information.
- What is this?
- What is your name?
- What do you want?
- What colour is it?
Beginner answer types:
- This is a book.
- My name is Lin.
- I want water.
- It is blue.
What phrase family | what 短语家族
- what colour
- what time
- what day
- what number
- what name
Do not store what = 什么 only. Store common partners.
Where | 哪里
where asks about place.
- Where is my phone?
- Where is the station?
- Where do you live?
- Where do you work?
Answers contain place information:
- It is on the table.
- The station is there.
- I live in Singapore.
- I work at home.
Where connects strongly to place vocabulary | where 和地点词连接
Every time you learn a place word, make one where question:
- school → Where is the school?
- toilet → Where is the toilet?
- bus stop → Where is the bus stop?
Who | 谁
who asks about a person.
- Who is he?
- Who is she?
- Who is this?
- Who are they?
Answers:
- He is my father.
- She is my teacher.
- This is my friend.
- They are my classmates.
Who vs whose | who 与 whose
who asks which person.
whose asks about ownership.
- Who is he? → He is my brother.
- Whose bag is this? → It is my bag.
中文“谁 / 谁的”也区分这两个信息任务，所以可以直接利用这个意义差异。
When | 什么时候
when asks about time in a broad sense.
- When is the class?
- When do you work?
- When is your birthday?
Answers may use:
- on Monday
- at 8 o’clock
- in September
- tomorrow
When vs what time | when 与 what time
when can ask for a day, date, period or time.
what time usually asks for a clock time.
- When is the meeting? → Monday / tomorrow / at 3.
- What time is the meeting? → 3 o’clock.
Why | 为什么
why asks for a reason.
- Why are you tired?
- Why are you here?
- Why do you learn English?
Beginner reason word:
because
- Because I am tired.
- Because I need English for work.
Do not force long explanations. One short reason is enough at first.
How | 怎样 / 如何
how has a broad job. It can ask about method, condition or manner.
- How are you?
- How do I do this?
- How do you go to work?
Answers differ by question:
- I am fine.
- Like this.
- By bus.
How phrase family | how 短语家族
how becomes much more powerful in combinations.
- how many — 多少个
- how much — 多少 / 多少钱
- how old — 多大年龄
- how long — 多长 / 多久
- how far — 多远
- how often — 多常 / 多久一次
Not all of these need equal priority on Day 1. Start with how many, how much and how old.
How many | 多少个
how many normally asks about countable quantities.
- How many books?
- How many people?
- How many apples?
Answers:
- Two books.
- Three people.
- Five apples.
How much | 多少 / 多少钱
how much can ask about quantity of uncountable things or price.
- How much water?
- How much is this?
Do not turn this page into full countability grammar. Learn the useful lexical contrast:
- how many books
- how much water
- how much money
How old | 多大年龄
- How old are you?
- I am ten years old.
Learn how old as one stable chunk.
How long | 多长 / 多久
how long can ask about length or duration.
- How long is the road?
- How long is the class?
One phrase, two related information types. Let context decide.
How far | 多远
- How far is the station?
- How far is the school?
Useful answer vocabulary later includes metres, kilometres, minutes by walking or transport.
How often | 多常 / 多久一次
- How often do you study English?
- Every day.
- Three times a week.
This connects to frequency vocabulary from Lesson 010.
Which | 哪一个 / 哪些
which asks you to choose from a known or limited set.
- Which one?
- Which book?
- Which bus?
Answer:
- This one.
- The blue book.
- Bus 12.
What vs which | what 与 which
A beginner-friendly distinction:
- what — open information: What is your favourite food?
- which — choose among options: Which one do you want?
Real usage is more nuanced, but this is a strong first boundary.
Whose | 谁的
- Whose phone is this?
- Whose book is this?
- Whose bag is on the table?
Answers:
- It is mine.
- It is my book.
- It is her bag.
Question word → information type | 疑问词 → 信息类型
| Prompt | Think |
|---|---|
| what | thing / information |
| where | place |
| who | person |
| when | time |
| why | reason |
| how | way / condition |
| which | choice |
| whose | owner |
This table should become automatic.
Chinese word order can tempt direct translation | 中文语序可能诱导逐字翻译
English question structures often move or add verbs differently from Mandarin.
Do not solve that problem by rearranging English one Chinese word at a time. First store correct beginner frames:
- What is this?
- Where is it?
- Who is she?
- When is the class?
- Why are you tired?
- How are you?
Grammar analysis can come later.
Question word + be frames | 疑问词 + be
- What is this?
- Where is my phone?
- Who is he?
- When is the meeting?
- Why are you sad?
- How are you?
Learn these as high-frequency whole frames.
Question word + do frames | 疑问词 + do
- What do you want?
- Where do you live?
- When do you work?
- Why do you study English?
- How do you go to work?
This is enough to recognise the pattern; full do/does grammar stays with the grammar owner.
What + noun | what + 名词
- what colour
- what time
- what day
- what number
- what food
These combinations make what more precise.
Which + noun | which + 名词
- which bus
- which book
- which road
- which colour
How + adjective/adverb | how + 其他词
- how old
- how long
- how far
- how often
Store each useful combination as one lexical chunk.
Question words in survival English | 生存英语中的疑问词
- What is this?
- Where is the toilet?
- Who can help me?
- When does it start?
- How much is this?
- Which bus?
These questions give the learner immediate real-world power.
Question words in school | 学校里的疑问词
- What does this mean?
- Which question?
- Where is the answer?
- Who is the teacher?
- When is the test?
- How do I do this?
Question words at work | 工作中的疑问词
- What time is the meeting?
- Where is the file?
- Who is responsible?
- When do we start?
- Which one do you need?
Only learn words relevant to your real needs.
Question words in shopping | 购物中的疑问词
- How much is this?
- Which one is cheaper?
- Where can I pay?
- What size?
Question words in travel | 出行中的疑问词
- Where is the station?
- Which bus?
- What time does it leave?
- How much is the ticket?
- How far is it?
Lesson 012 will build the place/transport vocabulary under these questions.
Answer-type matching | 问词与答案类型配对
| Question | Answer type |
|---|---|
| Where? | at home / in school / on the table |
| Who? | my teacher / Lin / my father |
| When? | Monday / tomorrow / at 5 |
| Why? | because… |
| How many? | three / five / ten |
| How much? | $5 / some water / ten dollars |
This matching task is one of the easiest ways to make question words meaningful.
Wrong answer-type game | 错误答案类型判断
Question: Where is the bus stop?
Answer A: “My friend.”
Answer B: “Near the school.”
Choose B because where asks for place.
This exercise builds semantic control before complex grammar.
Chinese → English retrieval | 中文到英文
- 什么 → what
- 哪里 → where
- 谁 → who
- 什么时候 → when
- 为什么 → why
- 怎样 → how
- 哪一个 → which
- 谁的 → whose
Information → question word retrieval | 信息类型到问词
- person → who
- place → where
- time → when
- reason → why
- choice → which
- owner → whose
This direction is very useful because real speaking begins with an information need.
Question word → one question | 一个问词至少一个句子
- what → What is this?
- where → Where is my phone?
- who → Who is she?
- when → When is the class?
- why → Why are you tired?
- how → How are you?
- which → Which one?
- whose → Whose bag is this?
One question, change one slot | 一个问句只换一个位置
Base:
Where is my phone?
- Where is my bag?
- Where is my book?
- Where is the station?
- Where is the toilet?
This creates flexible vocabulary without rebuilding grammar from zero.
Question chain | 问题链
Use one topic: your school.
- What is the school name?
- Where is the school?
- Who is your teacher?
- When does school start?
- How do you go to school?
Five question words create five information routes around one topic.
Question-word cards | 疑问词卡片
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| place? | where · Where is it? |
| person? | who · Who is she? |
| reason? | why · Why are you here? |
| quantity? | how many / how much |
| choice? | which · Which one? |
Do not learn question words only as a memorised list | 不要只背 what-where-who… 顺序
If you can recite “what, where, who, when, why, how” but cannot choose where when you need a place, the list is not yet functional.
Mix the order and retrieve from the information need.
Random prompt practice | 随机提示
Say the question word:
- I need a place. → where
- I need a person. → who
- I need a reason. → why
- I need a price. → how much
- I need a number of books. → how many
Listening practice | 疑问词听力
Ask someone to say one question. Listen only for the question word first.
Example:
“Where is the station?” → identify where → prepare for place information.
This trains the learner to predict the answer type in real time.
Question-word pronunciation | 疑问词发音
Listen carefully to:
- what
- where
- when
- why
- who
- whose
- which
Do not rely on Chinese characters for pronunciation. The initial sounds and final consonants help distinguish the words.
Who and whose | who / whose 发音与意义
They are related in form but have different jobs:
- who → person
- whose → owner
Use pairs:
- Who is he?
- Whose book is this?
What and where | what / where
These are both frequent and can be confused in fast beginner listening. Tie each to a strong meaning image:
- what → object / information
- where → map / place
When and where | when / where
Use contrast:
- Where is the class? → Room 2.
- When is the class? → Monday at 9.
Same topic, different information dimension.
What time vs where | 时间与地点一起练
- Where is the meeting? → Room 3.
- What time is the meeting? → 2 p.m.
This is a powerful real-world pair for school and work.
Mini reading | 超简单阅读
“Lin is at a bus stop. He wants to go to school. He asks, ‘Which bus?’ A woman says, ‘Bus 12.’ Lin asks, ‘How much is the ticket?’ Then he asks, ‘What time does the bus leave?’”
Find the three question phrases.
Mini writing | 超简单写作
Write one question for each information type:
- thing → What ___?
- place → Where ___?
- person → Who ___?
- time → When ___?
- reason → Why ___?
- method → How ___?
Mini speaking | 一分钟问答
Ask six very simple questions to a partner or imaginary person:
- What is your name?
- Where do you live?
- Who is your teacher?
- When do you study English?
- Why do you learn English?
- How do you go to work?
Use simple answers. The goal is question-word control, not long speaking.
Seven-day question-word plan | 七天疑问词训练
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | what / where |
| 2 | who / whose |
| 3 | when / what time |
| 4 | why / because |
| 5 | how / how many / how much / how old |
| 6 | which + real choices |
| 7 | mixed question-word retrieval |
First weak link check | 第一个卡点
| Symptom | Likely weak link | Repair |
|---|---|---|
| I recite question words but choose the wrong one. | information mapping | person/place/time/reason sorting |
| I confuse how many/how much. | quantity phrase | books vs water examples |
| I know where but cannot make a question. | sentence frame | Where is ___? |
| I confuse when/where. | time-place contrast | same topic, two answers |
| I cannot hear question words. | sound link | audio + answer-type prediction |
For parents and teachers | 给家长和老师
- Teach one information job per question word.
- Accept tiny answers first.
- Use real objects, people, clocks and maps.
- Do not correct every grammar detail during first lexical practice.
- Mix question words after initial teaching.
- Ask learners to create questions, not only answer them.
Connect to deeper owners | 连接更深 owner 页面
- British Council Question Forms
- Questions and Negatives Workshop — deeper school-level owner.
- Vocabulary Learning Hub
This lesson owns only the beginner lexical map of question words.
Final check | 最终自检
Can you:
- match what/where/who/when/why/how to information types?
- use how many and how much?
- use how old?
- ask one simple question with each core word?
- choose where for place and when for time?
- identify the question word when listening?
Final rule | 最后一条规则
Do not learn a question word as a translation only. Learn what information it unlocks.
不要只背疑问词的中文。要知道它打开哪一种信息。
← Lesson No.010 · Hub | 首页 · Next: Lesson No.012 →
Reference floor: British Council Question Forms · Cambridge Pre A1 Starters.
