What Are Interrogative Adjectives?

Definition of Interrogative Adjective

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

What is Interrogative Adjective

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 of Interrogative Adjective/Use of Interrogative Adjectives in the Sentence

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:

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


2. 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?

Interrogative Adjective Exercises for you

Interrogative adjective exercises given below will help you in analyzing your knowledge about interrogative adjective. Just go through all the details given above about the interrogative adjective and check your skill by doing following exercises for interrogative adjective. We have used interrogative adjectives in the following sentences; you need to check your skill by identifying interrogative adjectives in each sentence:

1. Which method is best?


2. What plan is yours?


3. Whose car is this?


4. Whose lunch box is this?


5. What type of gun is this?


6. Which house you have bought?


7. Which team won the cricket match?


8. Whose child is weeping loudly?


9. How many boys are participating in the dance competition?


10. What needs are yours?


11. Which seat do you want to book for movie?


12. What did you eat at home?


13. Whose shirt are you wearing?


14. What percentage of water is available on the earth to drink?


15. How pastries are made?


16. Whose books are you going to refer for the project?


17. Why religious books are not preferred in all schools?


18. How school buses are plying today?


19. Whose videos are these?


20. What problem you suffer?


21. How many shows you are performing?


22. Which author is best to write English grammar?


23. What standards are followed in the schools?


24. What CD do you like most?


25. Which place are you planning to visit this summer?


26. Which direction did she go?


27. Do you know how these things are collected?


28. So Puja what else you do?


29. Which poem is considered to be awarded?


30. What incidents are very touching in the life?


31. How weak are you feeling now?

Answers: 1 – Which, 2 – What, 3 – Whose, 4 – Whose, 5 – What, 6 – Which, 7 – Which, 8 – Whose, 9 – How, 10 – What, 11 – Which, 12 – What, 13 – Whose, 14 – What, 15 – How, 16 – Whose, 17 – Why, 18 – How, 19 – Whose, 20 – What, 21 – How, 22 – Which, 23 – What, 24 – What, 25 – Which, 26 – Which, 27 – how, 28 – what, 29 – Which, 30 – What, 31 – How

What Are Interrogative Adjectives? (with Examples)

The interrogative adjectives are whose, what, and which.



Interrogative adjectives modify nouns and are used in interrogative sentences (i.e., questions).

Examples of Interrogative Adjectives

Here are some examples of interrogative adjectives (shaded):

• Whose car will they give us?


• What car will they give us?


• Which car will they give us?

The difference between what and which as interrogative adjectives is very subtle.

• What car will they give us?

(In this example, the speaker does not know the choice of cars available. So, you can use what when the options are unknown.)

• Which car will they give us?

(In this example, the speaker does know the choice of cars available.)

This is not a definitive distinction, and most of the time you can use which. Also, which is considered more formal. If you're unsure, use which.



Now look at this question:

• Which is the greater?

(This is not an interrogative adjective. It is an interrogative pronoun. It does not modify a noun. It stands alone.)

Related Page:

What Are Adjectives?

What are possessive adjectives?

Descriptive Adjectives

Numeral Adjectives

What are compound adjectives?

Compound Adjectives English Grammar

Demonstrative Adjective

 What Are Interrogative Adjectives?

Enumeration of Adjectives

Definition of Non-coordinate Adjective

What Are Predicate Adjectives?

What Is a Proper Adjective?