INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVE

Definition

We can define interrogative adjective as “Interrogative Adjectives are adjectives which modify a noun (like all adjectives do) and also ask a question.”

Explanation

The interrogative adjectives are used to modify the noun and ask questions too. They are used with nouns to ask questions such as what, whose, where, why, how and which.

These are words specify the sentence from the questioning point of view. They accompany or modify the noun or noun phrases and placed before them in a sentence. Such as:

Which lunch box is yours? (“which” word is an interrogative adjective that modifies lunch box)

What movie you are seeing to? (“what” word is an interrogative adjective that modifies movie)

Which fruits should be taken every day? (“which fruits” is the subject of verb phrase “should be taken”)

What program are you planning? (“what program” is the direct object of the verb phrase “are planning”)

List of Interrogative Adjectives

Following words are used as interrogative adjectives:

What  / Whose / Where / Why / How / Which

Examples and Use

Following are the examples showing the proper use of interrogative adjectives in the sentence:

Whose pen will they give us?

What pen will they give us?

Which pen will they give us?

What exactly are you planning for?

What kind of answer is this?

What a beautiful flower is this.

What a nice shape this pear has.

Whose turn is this?

Whose lunch box is this?

Whose car are we planning to ride?

Whose school bag is this?

Where are all the friends have gone? 

Where do you go from here?

Where could I find the next petrol pump?

Why are they gone there?

Why on the beach we are still waiting her?

Why there are so many dogs wandering?

Why did he go there early morning?

How many times doctor visited the patients?

How many times you have watched this movie?

Which one is the delicious food in this hotel?

Which is the tallest tower of the world?

Which is the smallest airport in India?

Which one of the following is the best teacher to learn music?

How was pollution spread on the earth?

Difference between Interrogative Pronoun and Interrogative Adjective

Some of the interrogative words act both as pronouns and adjectives however the ways of using them in the sentence are different. Following are some examples showing the use of such interrogatives as both, pronoun and adjective which will help you to clarify the differences between both, interrogative pronoun and interrogative adjective:

Interrogative pronouns can stand alone whereas interrogative adjectives cannot stand alone as they modify a noun or pronoun.

Interrogative pronouns generally follow a verb whereas interrogative adjectives generally follow a noun.

Examples of Interrogative Pronoun:

Which is your book?

What is your task?

Who do you want to win the game?

What is the color of your hair?

What are you doing this weekend?

Which is your mother?

Examples of Interrogative Adjective:

Which book is yours?

What task is yours?

What color is your hair?

Which mother is yours?

Use of ‘what’ and ‘which’ as interrogative adjective:

What gift will you give us? (In this example, the speaker does not know the choice of gifts available. So, you can use ‘what’ when the options are unknown.)

Which gift will you give us? (In this example, the speaker knows well about the choices of gifts available. So, you can use ‘which’ when the options are known.)

Which book in the library do you recommend? (Interrogative adjective ‘which’ stand for the thing we do not know.)

What project are you working for? (Interrogative adjective ‘what’ stands for the thing we do not know.)

Which cricket team scored the highest points at district level competition? (Interrogative adjective ‘which’ stand for the thing we do not know.)

Which coat is Deepa’s?

What CD Sarah likes most?

Which recipe do you prefer?

Whose shirt are you selling?

Which book are we going to read in library today?

Use of ‘what’ and ‘which’ as interrogative pronoun:

Which is the greater part? (This is not an example of interrogative adjective. In this sentence, ‘which’ is used as an interrogative pronoun as it does not modify a noun and stand alone.)

What is your favorite color?