Which, What and who: question words

I. Determiners

  1. We can use which and what before nouns to ask questions about people or things
  • Which teacher do you like best?
  • Which colour do you want – green, red, yellow or brown?
  • What writers do you like?
  • What colour are your girl-friend’s eyes
  1. We usually prefer which when we are choosing between a small number, and what when we are choosing between  a large number.
  2. Before another determiner (for example the, my, these) or a pronoun, we use which of
  • Which of your teacher do you like best?
  • Which of them do you want

II. Pronouns

  1. We can use which, what and who as pronous, without nouns. We use who, not which for people
  • Who won- Smith or Fitzgibbon
  • Which would you prefer – wine or beer?
  • What would you like to eat?
  1. We usually use who , not whom , as an object
  • Who do you like best – your father or your mother?
  • Whom do you like best…? (is very formal)