3️⃣Interrogative Pronouns
🔻What Are #Interrogative_Pronouns?
The main #interrogative_pronouns are what, which, who, whom, and whose. #Interrogative_pronouns are used to ask questions. The other, less common #interrogative_pronouns are the same as the ones above but with the suffix -ever or -soever (e.g., whatever, whichever, whatsoever, whichsoever).
➖What is that?
➖Which is yours?
➖Who done it?
➖Whom shall we ask?
➖Whose is this?
➖Whatever did you say?
➖Whomsoever did you find?
➖Whosever is this?
The suffix -ever and -soever are used for emphasis or to show surprise. (The suffix -soever is less common as it considered old fashioned.)
➖What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. (William Shakespeare)
(Here, the word which is not an interrogative pronoun. (It's actually a #relative_pronoun.) Remember that most words can play several different roles (or "functions" as grammarians like to say). In other words, which is only an #interrogative_pronoun when it's functioning as one!)
✨#Interrogative_pronouns can also be used to create indirect questions.
➖Do you know what this is?
(Here, the #interrogative_pronoun what is being used in an indirect question (bold), which is part of a wider question.)
➖I want to know what this is.
(Indirect questions can also feature in statements, i.e., in non-questions.)
✨⚠️#Do_not confuse:
🔸#interrogative_pronouns with interrogative determiners (called "interrogative adjectives" in traditional grammar), which look the same as interrogative pronouns.
➖Which feat is the greater?
(This is not an #interrogative_pronoun. It is an #interrogative_determiner. The word Which modifies feat. Therefore, it's a determiner.)
🔸#interrogative_pronouns with #interrogative_adverbs (how, when, why, where), which are also used to ask questions.
➖🅰️:Who are you and how did you get in here?
🅱️:I'm a locksmith. And...I'm a locksmith.
(from the 1982 TV series "Police Squad!")
(In this example,
✨the answer to the #interrogative_pronoun who is the noun phrase a locksmith.
✨The answer to the #interrogative_adverb how is the unstated adverbial phrase by virtue of being a locksmith.
✨The answer to a question starting with an #interrogative_pronoun will be a noun (typically a person, place, or thing).
✨The answer to a question starting with an #interrogative_adverb (how, when, why, where) will be an adverb (typically a manner, a time, a reason, or a term linked to place, e.g., in the city.)
#Grammar
#Pronouns
#interrogative_pronouns
@PMPerfect1
🔻What Are #Interrogative_Pronouns?
The main #interrogative_pronouns are what, which, who, whom, and whose. #Interrogative_pronouns are used to ask questions. The other, less common #interrogative_pronouns are the same as the ones above but with the suffix -ever or -soever (e.g., whatever, whichever, whatsoever, whichsoever).
➖What is that?
➖Which is yours?
➖Who done it?
➖Whom shall we ask?
➖Whose is this?
➖Whatever did you say?
➖Whomsoever did you find?
➖Whosever is this?
The suffix -ever and -soever are used for emphasis or to show surprise. (The suffix -soever is less common as it considered old fashioned.)
➖What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. (William Shakespeare)
(Here, the word which is not an interrogative pronoun. (It's actually a #relative_pronoun.) Remember that most words can play several different roles (or "functions" as grammarians like to say). In other words, which is only an #interrogative_pronoun when it's functioning as one!)
✨#Interrogative_pronouns can also be used to create indirect questions.
➖Do you know what this is?
(Here, the #interrogative_pronoun what is being used in an indirect question (bold), which is part of a wider question.)
➖I want to know what this is.
(Indirect questions can also feature in statements, i.e., in non-questions.)
✨⚠️#Do_not confuse:
🔸#interrogative_pronouns with interrogative determiners (called "interrogative adjectives" in traditional grammar), which look the same as interrogative pronouns.
➖Which feat is the greater?
(This is not an #interrogative_pronoun. It is an #interrogative_determiner. The word Which modifies feat. Therefore, it's a determiner.)
🔸#interrogative_pronouns with #interrogative_adverbs (how, when, why, where), which are also used to ask questions.
➖🅰️:Who are you and how did you get in here?
🅱️:I'm a locksmith. And...I'm a locksmith.
(from the 1982 TV series "Police Squad!")
(In this example,
✨the answer to the #interrogative_pronoun who is the noun phrase a locksmith.
✨The answer to the #interrogative_adverb how is the unstated adverbial phrase by virtue of being a locksmith.
✨The answer to a question starting with an #interrogative_pronoun will be a noun (typically a person, place, or thing).
✨The answer to a question starting with an #interrogative_adverb (how, when, why, where) will be an adverb (typically a manner, a time, a reason, or a term linked to place, e.g., in the city.)
#Grammar
#Pronouns
#interrogative_pronouns
@PMPerfect1