What vs. Which

2022-06-18

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1
  • Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question from Zehra, a reader of our website, about the difference between using the question words "what" and "which."
  • 2
  • Hello,
  • 3
  • Could you please tell me which one is correct? "What color is missing?" or "Which color is missing?"
  • 4
  • Zehra
  • 5
  • Dear Zehra,
  • 6
  • Thank you for your question! Either of these questions could be correct.
  • 7
  • "What" and "which" can both be used to form a question.
  • 8
  • So, either of these questions could be correct.
  • 9
  • It depends on the situation and the information we are seeking.
  • 10
  • Let us consider each question word more closely.
  • 11
  • When we ask a question using "what," we are asking for information because we do not know the answer.
  • 12
  • The information can be about things or actions.
  • 13
  • For example:
  • 14
  • What is your favorite kind of pizza?
  • 15
  • In this example, the person who asks the question does not know what kind of pizza the other person likes.
  • 16
  • There can be an unlimited number of possible answers.
  • 17
  • This is important when trying to decide between the two question words.
  • 18
  • A person answering the pizza question could say a favorite combination of toppings, like meat and cheese, or even a favorite style of pizza.
  • 19
  • We use "which" to ask questions about specific information or when we are presenting a set of choices.
  • 20
  • We may have some background information that we want to explore more by using a "which" question.
  • 21
  • For example, if I am in a parking lot with my friend and I know she has a car but am unsure which is hers, I could ask a question using "which."
  • 22
  • Which is yours, the blue truck or the red car?
  • 23
  • Here, the question deals with a limited choice. So we use the question word "which."
  • 24
  • We can use an example using geography to easily show the difference between "what" and "which."
  • 25
  • What is the capital of the United States?
  • 26
  • The answer is unknown, and the choices are unlimited.
  • 27
  • Which is the capital of the United States: Philadelphia or Washington, D.C.?
  • 28
  • There are only two choices.
  • 29
  • Using "what" suggest that the questioner does not know the answer and that there is no limit to the number of possible answers.
  • 30
  • If you choose "which" as your question word, you may have prior knowledge and you are asking for information that is more specific.
  • 31
  • You may also be limiting the decision to a few choices.
  • 32
  • Please let us know if these examples and explanations have helped you, Zehra!
  • 33
  • What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
  • 34
  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
  • 35
  • I'm Faith Pirlo.
  • 1
  • Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question from Zehra, a reader of our website, about the difference between using the question words "what" and "which."
  • 2
  • Question:
  • 3
  • Hello,
  • 4
  • Could you please tell me which one is correct? "What color is missing?" or "Which color is missing?"
  • 5
  • Zehra
  • 6
  • Answer:
  • 7
  • Dear Zehra,
  • 8
  • Thank you for your question! Either of these questions could be correct.
  • 9
  • "What" and "which" can both be used to form a question. So, either of these questions could be correct. It depends on the situation and the information we are seeking. Let us consider each question word more closely.
  • 10
  • What
  • 11
  • When we ask a question using "what," we are asking for information because we do not know the answer. The information can be about things or actions.
  • 12
  • For example:
  • 13
  • What is your favorite kind of pizza?
  • 14
  • In this example, the person who asks the question does not know what kind of pizza the other person likes.
  • 15
  • There can be an unlimited number of possible answers. This is important when trying to decide between the two question words.
  • 16
  • A person answering the pizza question could say a favorite combination of toppings, like meat and cheese, or even a favorite style of pizza.
  • 17
  • Which
  • 18
  • We use "which" to ask questions about specific information or when we are presenting a set of choices.
  • 19
  • We may have some background information that we want to explore more by using a "which" question.
  • 20
  • For example, if I am in a parking lot with my friend and I know she has a car but am unsure which is hers, I could ask a question using "which."
  • 21
  • Which is yours, the blue truck or the red car?
  • 22
  • Here, the question deals with a limited choice. So we use the question word "which."
  • 23
  • Summary
  • 24
  • We can use an example using geography to easily show the difference between "what" and "which."
  • 25
  • What is the capital of the United States?
  • 26
  • The answer is unknown, and the choices are unlimited.
  • 27
  • Which is the capital of the United States: Philadelphia or Washington, D.C.?
  • 28
  • There are only two choices.
  • 29
  • Using "what" suggest that the questioner does not know the answer and that there is no limit to the number of possible answers.
  • 30
  • If you choose "which" as your question word, you may have prior knowledge and you are asking for information that is more specific. You may also be limiting the decision to a few choices.
  • 31
  • Please let us know if these examples and explanations have helped you, Zehra!
  • 32
  • What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
  • 33
  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
  • 34
  • I'm Faith Pirlo.
  • 35
  • Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
  • 36
  • Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
  • 37
  • ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________________________________________________
  • 38
  • Words in This Story
  • 39
  • toppings - n. ingredients that are placed on top of a main dish, like on pizza or ice cream
  • 40
  • style -n. a particular way of doing, preparing or designing something
  • 41
  • prior - adj. existing earlier in time