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Using who, whom, whose, which and what in questions.
Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions about people, things, choices and possession.
The main interrogative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which and what.
Who is calling?
Кто звонит?
"Who" asks about a person who is the subject of the question.
Who did you invite?
Кого ты пригласил?
"Who" asks about a person who is the object of "invite".
Whose phone is this?
Чей это телефон?
"Whose" asks about possession.
What is that?
Что это?
"What" asks about a thing, object, or idea.
Which do you prefer?
Что ты предпочитаешь?
"Which" asks the listener to choose from a known or limited set.
Whom did you speak to?
С кем ты разговаривал?
"Whom" is the formal object form referring to a person.
What happened here?
Что здесь произошло?
"What" asks about an event or situation.
Which is the best option?
Какой вариант лучший?
"Which" asks the listener to select from a particular set of options.
Who asks about people and normally functions as the subject or object of a question.
Examples include Who called? and Who did you meet?
Who called you?
Кто тебе позвонил?
"Who" is the subject of the question, so no do-support is needed.
Who lives in that house?
Кто живет в том доме?
"Who" is the subject of "lives".
Who broke the window?
Кто разбил окно?
"Who" is the subject of "broke".
Who did you meet at the airport?
Кого ты встретил в аэропорту?
"Who" is the object of "meet", so do-support is used.
Who did Sarah invite to dinner?
Кого Сара пригласила на ужин?
"Who" is the object of "invite".
Who are you waiting for?
Кого ты ждешь?
"Who" is the object of the preposition "for" in everyday English.
Who wants some coffee?
Кто хочет кофе?
"Who" is the subject of "wants".
Who did you see at the meeting?
Кого ты видел на собрании?
"Who" is an object question even though "who" has the same form for subject and object in everyday English.
Whom asks about people when functioning as the object.
Whom is mainly used in formal English and is often replaced by who in everyday speech.
Whom did you invite?
Кого ты пригласил?
"Whom" is the formal object form of "who".
Whom did the manager call?
Кому позвонил менеджер?
"Whom" is the object of "call".
Whom are you waiting for?
Кого ты ждешь?
"Whom" is formally the object of the preposition "for".
To whom did you send the email?
Кому ты отправил письмо?
"Whom" follows the preposition "to" in formal English.
With whom did you travel?
С кем ты путешествовал?
"Whom" follows the preposition "with" in a formal construction.
Whom should I contact about the problem?
С кем мне следует связаться по поводу проблемы?
"Whom" is the formal object of "contact".
Whom did you speak to yesterday?
С кем ты вчера разговаривал?
"Whom" is possible in formal English, although everyday American English usually uses "who".
Whom does the company plan to hire?
Кого компания планирует нанять?
"Whom" is the formal object form after "to hire".
Whose asks about possession or relationships.
Examples include Whose is this? and Whose jacket are you wearing?
Whose jacket is this?
Чья это куртка?
"Whose" asks about the owner of the jacket.
Whose car is parked outside?
Чья машина припаркована снаружи?
"Whose" modifies the noun "car".
Whose keys are these?
Чьи это ключи?
"Whose" asks about possession of the plural noun "keys".
Whose idea was that?
Чья это была идея?
"Whose" can ask about a person associated with an idea.
Do you know whose bag this is?
Ты знаешь, чья это сумка?
"Whose" can introduce an indirect question about possession.
Whose phone are you using?
Чьим телефоном ты пользуешься?
"Whose" identifies the owner of the phone.
Whose turn is it?
Чья очередь?
"Whose" can ask about possession or association with an abstract noun such as "turn".
Whose responsibility is this?
Чья это ответственность?
"Whose" asks which person or group is responsible.
What asks about things, actions, ideas, occupations and descriptions.
Its exact meaning depends on the context.
What is that noise?
Что это за шум?
"What" asks about the identity or nature of something.
What do you want for dinner?
Что ты хочешь на ужин?
"What" asks about a thing or choice.
What happened at work?
Что произошло на работе?
"What" asks about an event or situation.
What do you do for a living?
Кем ты работаешь?
"What do you do for a living?" is a common question about someone's occupation.
What is your favorite movie?
Какой твой любимый фильм?
"What" asks for information about the thing being identified.
What are you thinking about?
О чем ты думаешь?
"What" asks about an idea or subject of thought.
What kind of music do you like?
Какую музыку ты любишь?
"What" can ask about a type or category.
What happened to your car?
Что случилось с твоей машиной?
"What" asks for information about an event affecting the car.
Which asks the listener to choose from a limited or known set of options.
Compare Which book do you want? with What book are you reading?
Which book do you want?
Какую книгу ты хочешь?
"Which" suggests a limited or known set of books.
Which color do you prefer, blue or green?
Какой цвет ты предпочитаешь — синий или зеленый?
"Which" is used because the speaker offers a limited choice.
Which car is yours?
Какая машина твоя?
"Which" asks the listener to identify one option from a known group.
Which restaurant should we try?
Какой ресторан нам стоит попробовать?
"Which" implies a particular set of restaurants under consideration.
Which one do you like better?
Какой тебе нравится больше?
"Which one" asks the listener to choose from identifiable options.
Which of these shirts fits you best?
Какая из этих рубашек подходит тебе лучше всего?
"Which of" is used with a clearly limited set.
Which bus goes downtown?
Какой автобус идет в центр?
"Which" asks the listener to identify one bus from the available choices.
Which option is cheaper?
Какой вариант дешевле?
"Which" is natural when the alternatives are already known.
Interrogative pronouns may function as either the subject or the object of a question.
Subject questions do not normally require do-support, while object questions often do.
Who called you?
Кто тебе позвонил?
"Who" is the subject, so the verb follows directly without "did".
Who did you call?
Кому ты позвонил?
"Who" is the object, so do-support with "did" is used.
What happened?
Что произошло?
"What" is the subject of "happened", so there is no do-support.
What did you buy?
Что ты купил?
"What" is the object of "buy", so "did" is required.
Which student won the prize?
Какой студент выиграл приз?
"Which student" is the subject of "won".
Which student did the teacher call?
Какого студента вызвал учитель?
"Which student" is the object of "call", so "did" is used.
Who wants some coffee?
Кто хочет кофе?
"Who" is the subject, so no auxiliary is added before "wants".
Who did Sarah invite?
Кого Сара пригласила?
"Who" is the object, while "Sarah" is the subject.
Prepositions may appear before or after interrogative pronouns.
Compare To whom did you speak? with Who did you speak to?
Who did you speak to?
С кем ты разговаривал?
In everyday English, the preposition "to" commonly remains at the end.
To whom did you speak?
С кем ты разговаривал?
This is a more formal construction with the preposition before "whom".
Who are you talking about?
О ком ты говоришь?
"About" is stranded at the end in the common conversational form.
About whom are you talking?
О ком ты говоришь?
Moving "about" to the front produces a formal construction.
Who are you going with?
С кем ты идешь?
"With" commonly stays at the end in everyday American English.
With whom are you going?
С кем ты идешь?
The preposition-fronted form is formal and grammatical.
Who did you send the package to?
Кому ты отправил посылку?
The preposition "to" remains at the end in normal conversation.
To whom did you send the package?
Кому ты отправил посылку?
This version is more formal and places "to" before "whom".
Interrogative pronouns also introduce indirect questions.
Examples include I wonder who called and Tell me what happened.
I wonder who called.
Интересно, кто звонил.
The indirect question keeps normal statement word order: "who called", not "who did call".
Tell me what happened.
Скажи мне, что произошло.
The indirect question uses statement order after "what".
Do you know who she invited?
Ты знаешь, кого она пригласила?
The indirect question uses "who she invited", not "who did she invite".
I don't know what he wants.
Я не знаю, чего он хочет.
The subject comes before the verb in the indirect question.
Can you tell me which train we should take?
Можешь сказать, на какой поезд нам сесть?
"Which train we should take" uses statement word order.
She asked whose car was parked outside.
Она спросила, чья машина была припаркована снаружи.
The indirect question begins with "whose" and keeps normal clause order.
I want to know who you spoke to.
Я хочу знать, с кем ты разговаривал.
The preposition remains at the end in this natural conversational form.
Do you remember what happened yesterday?
Ты помнишь, что произошло вчера?
"What happened" is already a normal subject question inside the indirect question.
Formal English favors whom and preposition-fronting, while informal English usually prefers who and stranded prepositions.
Modern spoken English generally avoids whom except in fixed or formal expressions.
Who did you speak to?
С кем ты разговаривал?
This is the common conversational form.
To whom did you speak?
С кем ты разговаривал?
This is a more formal construction.
Who did you send the letter to?
Кому ты отправил письмо?
Everyday American English commonly leaves the preposition at the end.
To whom did you send the letter?
Кому ты отправил письмо?
The preposition-fronted form is more formal.
Who are you waiting for?
Кого ты ждешь?
Using "who" as an object is normal in everyday spoken English.
For whom are you waiting?
Кого ты ждешь?
This formal version places the preposition before "whom".
Whom should I contact?
С кем мне следует связаться?
"Whom" is appropriate in formal or careful writing.
Who should I contact?
С кем мне связаться?
"Who" is much more common in contemporary spoken American English.
What appears in many idiomatic and exclamatory expressions.
Examples include What for?, What if...?, Guess what! and What a surprise!
What for?
Зачем?
"What for?" is an informal way to ask about purpose.
What if it rains tomorrow?
А что, если завтра пойдет дождь?
"What if...?" introduces a possible situation and asks about its consequences.
Guess what! I got the job.
Угадай что! Я получил работу.
"Guess what!" is a common expression used to introduce surprising news.
What a surprise!
Какая неожиданность!
"What a + singular countable noun" forms an exclamation.
What a beautiful day!
Какой прекрасный день!
"What a..." is used to express strong feeling about a singular countable noun.
What on earth are you doing?
Что же ты делаешь?
"What on earth" adds strong emphasis or surprise.
What do you mean by that?
Что ты имеешь в виду?
"What do you mean?" asks for clarification of someone's meaning.
What else do we need?
Что еще нам нужно?
"What else" asks for additional information beyond what has already been mentioned.
Choose the interrogative pronoun according to meaning and grammatical function.
Common mistakes include confusing what and which, using whom incorrectly and applying question word order to indirect questions.
Which book do you want?
Какую книгу ты хочешь?
Use "which" when choosing from a limited or known set.
What book are you reading?
Какую книгу ты читаешь?
"What" asks for general information, without necessarily implying a limited set.
Who did you meet?
Кого ты встретил?
"Who" is widely used as the object question word in everyday English.
Whom did you meet?
Кого ты встретил?
"Whom" is the formal object form; it is not normally required in everyday speech.
Who called you?
Кто тебе позвонил?
Do not use do-support when "who" is the subject.
Do you know who called?
Ты знаешь, кто звонил?
Do not use question word order inside the indirect question.
What happened?
Что произошло?
"What" is the subject, so no "did" is used.
What did you see?
Что ты увидел?
"What" is the object, so "did" is required.