The interrogative adverbs why, where, how, & when are placed at the beginning of a question. These questions can be answered with a sentence or a prepositional phrase. After an interrogative adverb in a question, you must invert the subject and verb so that the verb comes first.
Examples
- Why are you so late? There was a lot of traffic.
- Where is my passport? In the drawer.
- How are you? I'm fine.
- When does the train arrive? At 11:15.
Uses of how
How can be used to form questions in four different ways. How can be used by itself to mean "in what way".
Examples
- How did you make this sauce?
- How do you start the car?
- How can I get to your house?
How can be used with adjectives to ask about the degree of an attribute.
Examples
- How tall are you?
- How old is your house?
- How angry is mother?
How can be used with much and many to ask about quantity. Much is used with uncountable nouns and many is used with countable nouns.
Examples
- How many people are coming to the party?
- How much flour do I need?
- How much are these tomatoes?
How can be used with other adverbs to ask about the frequency or degree of an action.
Examples
- How quickly can you read this?
- How often do you go to London?
- How loudly does your brother scream?