Interrogative Adjectives

We have learned about question Interrogative Pronouns such as who, what, which, and whose. It turns out that three of these question words can also function as adjectives!

The three words are: What, Which, and Whose.

When these three words act as adjectives, they are called Interrogative Adjectives. Their function is to ask for more specific information about a noun.

Main Rule for Interrogative Adjectives

Just like the rules for demonstrative and possessive adjectives: A question word can ONLY be called an Interrogative Adjective if it is placed directly in front of a noun.

  • Question Word + Noun (Adjective)
  • Question Word + Verb (Pronoun)

Let’s discuss these three words along with usage examples:

1. What

Used to ask for general information about an object, when the possible answers are unlimited (it could be anything).

  • What color is your new car? (Attached to the noun color).
  • What time is the meeting? (Attached to the noun time).

2. Which

Very similar to what, but which is used when the possible answers are limited or there are specific options presented.

  • Which flavor do you want, vanilla or chocolate? (Attached to the noun flavor).
  • Which road should we take? (There are specific road options to choose from).

3. Whose

Used exclusively to ask about the ownership of an object.

  • Whose shoes are these? (Attached to the noun shoes).
  • Whose phone is ringing? (Attached to the noun phone).

Comparison: Adjective vs Pronoun

To avoid confusion when analyzing sentences, let’s look at the difference in their positions:

Using What

  • What is your favorite color? (Interrogative Pronoun) - Stands alone, followed by the verb is.
  • What color is your favorite? (Interrogative Adjective) - Followed directly by the noun color.

Using Which

  • Which is your car? (Interrogative Pronoun).
  • Which car is yours? (Interrogative Adjective).

Using Whose

  • Whose is this bag? (Interrogative Pronoun).
  • Whose bag is this? (Interrogative Adjective).

Conclusion: If you see what, which, or whose directly next to a noun that it is asking about, then its function in that sentence is as an Interrogative Adjective.