9.9.1 Questions

The main question words are: what, which, who, whose, how, where and why.

We use who, how, where and why in ways similar to Catalan, e.g.:

Who did you see? (A qui vas veure?)

How did they do it? (Com ho van fer?)

Where are you going? (On vas?)

Why have they gone to the bank? (Per què han anat al banc?)

We can use what, which and whose with and without a noun, e.g.:

What do you like? (Què t'agrada?)

What music do you like? (Quina música t'agrada?)

Which do you want? (Quin voleu?)

Which film do you want to see? (Quina pel·lícula voleu veure?)

Whose is this coat? (De qui és aquest abric?)

Whose coat is this? (De qui és aquest abric?)

What is for an open choice; which is for a restricted choice, e.g.:

What do you like to drink with your food? (Què t'agrada beure amb el menjar?)

We have wine and beer. Which would you like? (Tenim vi i cervesa. Què voleu?)

Notice that which (but not what or who) can be followed by a phrase with of, e.g.: Which of you has a car? (Qui de vosaltres té cotxe?) Which of the flats has central heating? (Quins dels pisos tenen calefacció central?) Notice that when who is the subject of the sentence, the verb is normally singular, e.g.: Who was there? (Qui hi havia?) Who lives at that house? (Qui viu en aquella casa?) Who comes to work by bus? (Qui ve a la feina en autobús?)

How combines with adjectives, adverbs and with much and many, e.g.:

How big is their flat? (Com és de gran, el seu pis?)

How long does it take? (Quant de temps triga?)

How fast was she driving? (A quina velocitat anava?)

How often do you clean your teeth? (Amb quina freqüència et rentes les dents?)

How much money have you got? (Quants diners tens?)

How many Spielberg films have you seen? (Quantes pel·lícules de Spielberg ha vist vostè?)

Notice the difference between How and What ... like:

A: How is your cousin? (Com està la teva cosina?)

C: What's your cousin like? (Com és la teva cosina?)

What is Moscow like? (Com és Moscou?)

How was your trip to Moscow? (Com va anar el teu viatge a Moscou?)

	For how and what in exclamations and for the use of auxiliary verbs in questions, see main verbs and auxiliary verbs.