Interrogative Adjectives | (Easy Definition & Examples 2022)

What are Interrogative Adjectives?

Interrogative Adjectives are used to describe a noun that is used in an interrogative sentence. It is also called Interrogative Determiners. It is one of the types of Adjectives.

In other words, it is used to describe a noun by asking a question. These adjectives are usually located before the noun in the sentence.

Some examples of Interrogative Adjectives are,

• which
• whose
• what
• how
• which
• where

But mostly considered adjectives are of three. Those are which, what and whose.

Now, let us learn when we have to use Interrogative Adjective in a sentence.

Usage of Interrogative Adjectives

The adjectives what and which is often can be used reciprocally (interchangeably) depending on the situation and the adjective (whose) is quite different from these two.

1) What

The adjective (what) is used in the question when the options (guess or answers) are unlimited or not known.

For example: What cars do you like the most?

2) Which

The adjective (which) is used in the question when the options (guess or answers) are limited.

For example: Which bike did you like the most?

Difference between What and Which

1) Let us understand the difference with a common example.

• “What present do you think you’ll get for birthday?
• “Which present do you think you’ll get for birthday?

In the first example, we can observe that the person doesn’t have any idea or guess about the present because it can be anything (unlimited possibilities). So, for this kind of situation, the adjective (what) is used.

But, in the second example, the person can guess and may have an idea about the present because it is limited. So, for this kind of situation, the adjective (which) is used.

2) Let us consider another similar example.

• “What dress do you want to wear for birthday party?”
• “Which dress do you want to wear for birthday party?”

In the first sentence, “what” is used for many options (unlimited) – it can be any type of dress (asking in general).

In the second example, “which” is used for limited options – it can be from the specific dresses (asking in specific).

3) Another similar example is given below to understand this concept well.

• “What help do you need?”
• “Which help do you need?”

Here, in the first example, the person won’t know what help he does and it can be any type of help and in the second example, the person is aware that he/she is offering help from what they know (expect).

3) Whose

The adjective (whose) is used in the question to determine the ownership of the thing (belongings), etc.

For example: May I know whose painting is this?

Also Read: What is Adjective with examples? | Best English Guide 2021

The adjective is a type of word which describes or modifies the noun. It is also defined as, the word which describes the qualities and states of beings of nouns. It measures the qualities like size, shape, colour, duration, behaviour, quantity, etc… (Read More)

Interrogative Adjective Examples

Below are a few easy examples given for each adjective.

• What song do you want to listen to?

Sentence Structure: What (IA) + song (Subject) + do (Verb) + you want to listen to (Object)?

Here, the adjective (what) is used to ask from the unlimited choices of songs. This adjective is used before the noun (song).

• Which book do you recommend for spirituality?

Sentence Structure: Which (IA) + book (Subject) + do you recommend (Verb) + for spirituality? (Object)

In the above example, the adjective “which” is used to ask from the limited choices of books. The noun mentioned here is “book”.

• Whose hat is this?

Sentence Structure: Whose (IA) + hat (Subject) + is (Verb) + this? (Object)

Here, the adjective (whose) is used to ask the belonging (owner) of the hat.

Interrogative Adjective in Indirect Questions

Till now we have considered direct questions as examples for Interrogative Adjectives, but it is also possible to use these adjectives in Indirect Questions too.

Let us look at few examples.

• He told us which restaurant is best for vegetarian dishes.
• My mom asked what dinner to be made tonight.
• She asked what dress should she wear for the party.
• My sister asked me about the chocolates which I like the most.
• I was told not do take the job which I hate doing it.

A common mistake while using Interrogative Adjectives

Mistake 1: People often make mistakes while using “who’s” instead of “whose”. Who’s is the short abbreviation for “who is” and whose is used for determining the ownership of a thing, etc. So, both are different from each other.

Let us take an example.

• Incorrect: Who’s car is this?
• Correct: Whose car is this?

More Interrogative Adjectives Examples

Here are some more examples that you can refer to.

• What dish are you preparing for tomorrow’s breakfast?
• Which type of shirt do you wear the most?
• What is the address of your office?
• Which show did you watched last night?
• Which is the best course to learn Java programming?
• What are the steps you took while starting a new business?
• Which software is best for video editing?
• What are the places you had visited last month?
• Can I know whose car is parked here?
• I want to know whose names are listed for job interview?
• What are the receipies you have learned from Youtube?
• I really liked that house but I don’t know whose it is.
• Which scene did you liked the most in that movie?
• Which school have you joined for higher education?
• Which competition have you took part?
• Which ice-cream flavour do you like the most?

Summary: (What are Interrogative Adjectives?)

Here, is the summary of what we had learnt till now.

• Interrogative Adjective is a type of Adjective which is used in the question type of sentences. It usually modifies the noun and it is located before it.
• For example what, which and whose (which are used more often in the sentence).
• If the options are unlimited or unknown, then the adjective “what” is used.
• If the options are limited or known from a set of options, then “which” adjective is used.
• To know about the possession (ownership) of something, then “whose” adjective is used in the questions.
• This type of Adjective can be used in both Direct and Indirect questions.

If you are interested to learn more, then you can refer to Wikipedia here.

I hope that you understood the topic. If you still have any doubts, then comment down below and we will respond as soon as possible.

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