which or what

When do we use which and what?

Word	Explanation	Example
which	You have a limited choice of things.	Which lemonade do you like – green or pink?
what	ou have an unlimited choice of things.	What lemonade do you like?

With nouns that refer to people, sometimes which is used – even if there is an unlimited choice.

It is often possible to use what or which, like in the following example.

• What is the largest country in the world?
• Which is the largest country in the world?

BUT – if you choose sth from a group of things, use which.

• Here are three apples. Which would you like?

Word order in English questions

Word order in English questions – Summary

1. Questions without question words and be

Subject and verb change their position in statement and question.

• Sentence: You are from Brazil.
• Question: Are you from Brazil?

We always use the short answer, not only Yes or No. That's why questions without question words are also called YES/NO-questions.

2. Questions with question words and be

Question word	Verb	Subject	Rest	Answer
Where	are	you	from?	I am from London. I'm from London.
What	is	your name?		My name is Peter.
How	are	Pat and Sue?		They are fine. They're fine.

Questions with question words are also called WH-questions.

3. Questions without question words and have

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Have	you	got	a cat?	Yes,	I	have.
Have	you	got	a new car?	No,	we	haven't.
Has	your brother	got	a bike?	Yes,	he	has.
Do	you	have	a cat?	Yes,	I	do.
Do	you	have	a new car?	No,	we	don't.
Does	your brother	have	a bike?	Yes,	he	does.

4. Questions with question words and have

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
Where	have	you	got	your ruler?	I've got it in my pencil case.
Where	do	you	have	your ruler?	I have it in my pencil case.

5. Questions without question words in the Simple Present

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Do	you	read	books?	Yes, No,	I I	do. don't.
Does	Peter	play	football?	Yes,	he	does.

6. Questions with question words in the Simple Present

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	do	you	play	on your computer?	I play games on my computer.
When	does	your mother	go	to work?	She goes to work at 6 o'clock.

7. Questions without question words in the Simple Past

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Did	Max	play	football?	Yes, No,	he he	did. didn't.

BUT:

to be	Subject	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Were	you	in London last week?	Yes, No,	I I	was. wasn't.

8. Questions with question words in the Simple Past

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	did	you	play	yesterday evening?	I played computer games.

BUT:

Question word	to be	Subject	Rest	Answer
Where	were	you	yesterday?	I was at the cinema.

9. Subject question

Question word	Verb	Rest	Subject	Verb	Rest
Who	runs	to the shop?	Peter	runs	to the shop.

10. Object question

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
Who	did	Mandy	phone	last Monday?	Mandy phoned her uncle.

NOTE!

Subject question	Object question
Who phoned John?	Who did John phone?

Yes/No questions – be (am, are, is)

Yes/No questions and short answers with the verb be

Yes/No questions – be (am, are, is)

Subject and verb change their position in statement and question.

• Sentence: You are from Brazil.
• Question: Are you from Brazil?

We always use the short answer, not only Yes or No.

NOTE:

If the answer is Yes, we always use the long form. → Example: Yes, I am.

If the answer is No, we either use the long or the contracted form (short form). → Example: No, I am not → No, I'mnot.

Verb	Subject	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Verb
Are	you	from Brazil?	Yes,	I	am.
Are	you	from Brazil?	No,	I	am not 'm not.
Is	he	your friend?	Yes,	he	is.
Are	Peter and John	from England?	Yes,	they	are.

Prepositions

Prepositions of place

Prepositions of time and place

Prepositions of directions

Prepositions

Prepositions of place and direction

Sentences with prepositions of place and direction

Preposition	Use	Sentences
above	higher than sth.	The picture hangs above my bed.
across	from one side to the other side	You mustn't go across this road here.
		There isn't a bridge across the river.
after	one follows the other	The cat ran after the dog.
		After you.
against	directed towards sth.	The bird flew against the window.
along	in a line; from one point to another	They're walking along the beach.
among	in a group	I like being among people.
around	in a circular way	We're sitting around the campfire.
at*	position at a point	I arrived at the meeting.
behind	at the back of	Our house is behind the supermarket.
below	lower than sth.	Death Valley is 86 metres below sea level.
beside	next to	Our house is beside the supermarket.
between	sth./sb. is on each side	Our house is between the supermarket and the school.
by	near	He lives in the house by the river.
close to	near	Our house is close to the supermarket.
down	from high to low	He came down the hill.
from	the place where it starts	Do you come from Tokyo?
in front of	the part that is in the direction it faces	Our house is in front of the supermarket.
inside	opposite of outside	You shouldn't stay inside the castle.
in*	place seen in three dimensions	We slept in the car.
	larger areas	I was born in England.
into	entering sth.	You shouldn't go into the castle.
near	close to	Our house is near the supermarket.
next to	beside	Our house is next to the supermarket.
off	away from sth.	The cat jumped off the roof.
on*	touches a surface	There is a fly on the table.
	is seen as a point on a line	We were on the way from Paris to Rome.
	by a lake or sea	London lies on the Thames.
onto	moving to a place	The cat jumped onto the roof.
opposite	on the other side	Our house is opposite the supermarket.
out of	leaving sth.	The cat jumped out of the window.
outside	opposite of inside	Can you wait outside?
over	above sth./sb.	The cat jumped over the wall.
past	going near sth./sb.	Go past the post office.
round	in a circle	We're sitting round the campfire.
through	going from one point to the other point	You shouldn't walk through the forest.
to	towards sth./sb.	I like going to Australia.
		Can you come to me?
		I've never been to Africa.
towards	in the direction of sth.	We ran towards the castle.
under	below sth.	The cat is under the table.
up	from low to high	He went up the hill.

Prepositions – in, on, at

The prepositions at, in, on

As there are no rules when at, in or on are used, we recommend to remember phrases with the prepositions.

Preposition	Examples
at	She sits at the desk.
	Open your books at page 10.
	The bus stops at Graz.
	I stay at my grandmother's.
	I stand at the door.
	Look at the top of the page.
	The car stands at the end of the street.
	Can we meet at the corner of the street?
	I met John at a party.
	Write this information at the beginning of the letter.
	Pat wasn't at home yesterday.
	I study economics at university.
	The childen are at gandmother's.
	He's looking at the park.
	He always arrives late at school.
in	We sit in the room.
	I see a house in the picture.
	There are trout in the river.
	He lives in Paris.
	I found the picture in the paper.
	He sits in the corner of the room.
	There is a big tree in the middle of the garden.
	He sits in the back of the car.
	We arrive in Madrid.
	He gets in the car.
	She likes walking in the rain.
	My cousin lives in the country.
	There are kites in the sky.
	He plays in the street. (BE)
	She lives in a hotel.
	The boys stand in a line.
	He is in town.
	I have to stay in bed.
	The robber is in prison now.
	You mustn't park your car in front of the school.
on	The map lies on the desk.
	The picture is on page 10.
	The photo hangs on the wall.
	He lives on a farm.
	Dresden lies on the river Elbe.
	Men's clothes are on the second floor.
	He lives on Heligoland.
	The shop is on the left.
	My friend is on the way to Moscow.
	When she was a little girl people saw unrealistic cowboy films on television.