Question words: who, what, where, when, why, how

Le question words principali

WHO (chi)

• Per persone;
• Domande sul soggetto (chi fa qualcosa).

Esempi

• Who is your boss? (Chi è il tuo capo?)
• Who drove the car? (Chi guidava la macchina?)
• Who are you waiting for? (Chi stai aspettando?)

WHAT (cosa)

• Per oggetti;
• Per azioni generiche.

Esempi

• What is your name? (Come ti chiami?)
• What are you doing? (Cosa stai facendo?)
• What is the address? (Qual è l'indirizzo?)

WHERE (dove)

• Per luoghi.

Esempi

• Where do you live? (Dove vivi?)
• Where is the accident? (Dov'è l'incidente?)
• Where were you yesterday?

WHEN (quando)

• Per il tempo;
• Date, ore, momenti.

Esempi

• When did the accident happen? (Quando è avvenuto l'incidente?)
• When did you arrive? (Quando sei arrivato?)
• When is the meeting?

WHY (perché)

• Per ragioni e motivi.

Esempi

• Why are you here? (Perché sei qui?)
• Why were you driving so fast?
• Why didn't you stop?

HOW (come)

• Per modi;
• Vari composti specifici.

Esempi

• How are you? (Come stai?)
• How did it happen? (Come è successo?)
• How can I help you?

Composti con HOW

HOW MUCH (quanto)

• Per quantità non numerabili: tempo, denaro, acqua, ecc.
• Esempi:
  • How much does it cost? (Quanto costa?)
  • How much time do you have?
  • How much alcohol did you drink?

HOW MANY (quanti)

• Per quantità numerabili: persone, oggetti, ecc.
• Esempi:
  • How many people were there? (Quante persone c'erano?)
  • How many cars did you see?
  • How many years are you working in PL?

HOW OLD (quanti anni)

• Per età.
• Esempi:
  • How old are you? (Quanti anni hai?)
  • How old is your son?
  • How old is the witness?

HOW LONG (quanto tempo)

• Per durata.
• Esempi:
  • How long have you lived here? (Da quanto tempo vivi qui?)
  • How long does it take? (Quanto tempo ci vuole?)
  • How long were you at the bar?

HOW FAR (quanto lontano)

• Per distanza.
• Esempi:
  • How far is the station?
  • How far did you walk?

HOW OFTEN (quanto spesso)

• Per frequenza.
• Esempi:
  • How often do you come here?
  • How often do you drive?

HOW FAST (quanto veloce)

• Per velocità.
• Esempi:
  • How fast were you going? (A che velocità andavi?)
  • How fast can this car go?

WHICH (quale)

Uso

• Per scelta tra alternative specifiche.

Esempi

• Which car is yours? (Quale macchina è la tua?)
• Which one do you prefer? (Quale preferisci?)
• Which day is better, Monday or Tuesday?

Differenza WHAT vs WHICH

• WHAT: scelta libera/aperta;
• WHICH: scelta tra opzioni specifiche.

Esempi

• What is your favorite color? (libera scelta tra tutti i colori)
• Which color do you prefer, red or blue? (tra 2 opzioni)

Costruzione delle domande

Schema

• Question word + ausiliare + soggetto + verb + resto?

Con TO BE (presente/passato)

• Wh-word + am/is/are/was/were + subject + rest?
• Where are you?
• Why was he late?

Con altri verbi (do/does/did)

• Wh-word + do/does/did + subject + verb + rest?
• Where do you live?
• When did he arrive?

Con modali

• Wh-word + modal + subject + verb + rest?
• What can you do?
• Where should I go?

Con tempi composti

• Wh-word + have/has + subject + past participle + rest?
• What have you done?

Per la Polizia Locale

Controllo stradale

Identificazione

• Who are you? — usually inappropriate, prefer:
• What is your name?
• Where do you live?
• What is your address?
• What is your date of birth?

Sul veicolo

• What is your registration number? (numero targa)
• Whose car is this? (di chi è questa macchina?)
• How long have you had this car?
• When did you renew the insurance?

Sinistro stradale

Dinamica

• What happened? (Cos'è successo?)
• When did the accident happen?
• Where exactly did it happen?
• Who was driving?
• Why didn't you stop?
• How fast were you going?
• How did it happen?

Persone coinvolte

• How many people are involved?
• Are there any witnesses?
• Are there any injured?
• Has anyone called an ambulance?

Indagini

Testimonianze

• Who was with you?
• What did you see?
• Where were you at 10 PM?
• What time did you arrive?
• How long were you there?

Assistenza

Turisti

• What is the problem?
• Where are you from?
• How can I help you?
• Do you need an interpreter?

Esempi pratici di dialogo

Controllo stradale tipo

• Officer: "Good morning. May I see your driving licence?"
• Driver: "Yes, here it is."
• Officer: "Where are you coming from?"
• Driver: "I'm coming from Rome."
• Officer: "What time did you leave?"
• Driver: "About 8 AM."
• Officer: "How long did the journey take?"
• Driver: "About 4 hours."

Sinistro stradale

• Officer: "What happened?"
• Driver: "I was hit by another car."
• Officer: "Where were you going?"
• Driver: "To the supermarket."
• Officer: "Was anyone injured?"
• Driver: "Yes, my passenger has a broken arm."
• Officer: "Has an ambulance been called?"
• Driver: "Yes, it's on its way."

Errori comuni

1. Ordine delle parole

• ❌ Where you live? → ✅ Where do you live?
• ❌ What time it is? → ✅ What time is it?

2. Confondere who/whose

• ❌ Who car is this? → ✅ Whose car is this?
• ❌ Whose drove the car? → ✅ Who drove the car?

3. Confondere what/which

• ❌ What car, the red or the blue? → ✅ Which car?

4. Mancanza di ausiliare

• ❌ Where you went? → ✅ Where did you go?
• ❌ When she comes? → ✅ When does she come?

Quiz mentale

Choose the correct question word:

1. _____ are you? (a person) → Who
2. _____ is your name? → What
3. _____ do you live? → Where
4. _____ does it cost? (money) → How much
5. _____ people are there? (counting) → How many

Per il concorso

Domanda tipica

"How do you form questions in English and what are the main question words?"

Risposta:

Question words principali:

• Who (chi - persone);
• What (cosa - oggetti/azioni);
• Where (dove - luoghi);
• When (quando - tempo);
• Why (perché - ragioni);
• How (come - modo);
• Which (quale - scelta tra alternative).

Composti:

• How much (non numerabili);
• How many (numerabili);
• How old/long/far/often/fast.

Costruzione: Question word + ausiliare/verbo TO BE + soggetto + verbo + resto?

Per la PL: domande quotidiane nei controlli (Where do you live?), sinistri (What happened? Who was driving?), indagini (When? Where? Why?).