Interrogative Determiners
Board Exam Notes
What Are Interrogative Determiners?
Look at these sentences carefully:
Which book did you read last week?
What colour do you prefer?
Whose pen is lying on the table?
The words in bold — which, what, whose — are interrogative determiners. They are placed before a noun to ask a question about that noun. They make us wonder about something specific.
An interrogative determiner is a word placed directly before a noun to introduce a question. It asks for information about the noun — which one, what kind, or whose it is. The three interrogative determiners in English are: which, what, and whose.
Key rule to remember: An interrogative determiner always comes before a noun. If the same word stands alone without a noun after it, it becomes an interrogative pronoun, not a determiner.
Which book is yours? → “which” + noun “book” = Interrogative Determiner
Which is yours? → “which” stands alone = Interrogative Pronoun
The Three Interrogative Determiners
There are exactly three interrogative determiners in English. Each one asks a different type of question.
| Determiner | What It Asks | Used With | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which | Asks to choose from a limited, known set of options | Singular & plural nouns | Which team won the match? |
| What | Asks about type, kind, or identity — open-ended | Singular & plural nouns | What subjects do you study? |
| Whose | Asks about ownership or possession | Singular & plural nouns | Whose bag is this? |
Important: All three interrogative determiners can be used with both singular and plural nouns. The determiner itself does not change — only the verb changes to match the noun.
Which book is yours? | Which books are yours?
Whose pen is this? | Whose pens are these?
Rules in Detail — Each Determiner Explained
When to use WHICH: Use “which” when the choices are limited and already known to both the speaker and the listener. There is a specific, defined set of options in mind.
Which film did you watch — the Hindi one or the English one? (limited, known options)
Which of the three pens is yours? (specific group of three)
When to use WHAT: Use “what” when the question is open-ended — there is no known, limited group of options. The answer could be anything.
What book are you reading? (any book in the world — open)
What subject do you like? (no specific set — open question)
When to use WHOSE: Use “whose” whenever you want to ask who something belongs to. It shows possession. The answer to a “whose” question is always a person’s name or a possessive phrase.
Whose pen is this? → Answer: “It is Ravi’s pen.” or “It is mine.”
Special Uses and Structures
Interrogative determiners are not only used in direct questions. They are also used in indirect (reported) questions — also called embedded questions. In these cases, the word order changes to normal subject-verb order.
| Direct Question | Indirect Question |
|---|---|
| Which book did she choose? | I do not know which book she chose. |
| What time does the train leave? | Can you tell me what time the train leaves? |
| Whose turn is it? | He asked whose turn it was. |
| Which team won the match? | She wanted to know which team had won. |
In indirect questions: The interrogative determiner still comes before the noun, but the sentence is no longer a question — it is a statement. Notice that the question mark disappears and the verb order returns to normal (subject before verb).
What (and occasionally which) can also be used in exclamatory sentences to express strong feeling or surprise. In this role, it is called an exclamatory determiner — but it is still classified as a type of interrogative determiner in grammar.
- What a beautiful painting this is!
- What a brave soldier he was!
- What terrible weather we are having!
- What wonderful news this is!
- What an amazing performance!
- Which a pity it is that he left!
- Which team played brilliantly!
- (Rare — “what” is almost always preferred)
- In CBSE, focus mainly on what for exclamations
How to identify an exclamatory sentence: It ends with an exclamation mark (!) and expresses strong emotion. “What” before a noun + exclamation mark = exclamatory use.
What a day this has been! → “what” + noun “day” + exclamation = exclamatory determiner
In CBSE Class 10, students must also know that whose is used as a relative determiner in complex sentences. When it links two clauses to describe possession, it is functioning as a relative determiner — not an interrogative one.
| Function | Example | How to Identify |
|---|---|---|
| Interrogative Determiner | Whose notebook is on the desk? | It asks a question. There is a “?” at the end. |
| Relative Determiner | The student whose answer was best won the prize. | It connects two clauses. No “?” — it is a statement. |
Memory Tricks
YES → It is an interrogative Determiner
Which book did you read? ✓ Determiner
NO → It is an interrogative Pronoun
Which did you read? → Pronoun
Which dish would you like? (the menu is in front of you)
If the options are known and limited → use which
What food do you like? (any food at all — open)
If the options are unlimited and unknown → use what
If you can replace the blank with “who owns this ___?”, then the answer is whose.
_______ pen is this?
= “Who owns this pen?” → use Whose pen ✓
Which day is it? → Direct question (?)
Tell me which day it is. → Indirect (no ?)
What a day it has been! → Exclamatory (!)
Whose book is this? ✓
who’s (with apostrophe) = “who is” or “who has”
Who’s coming to the party? = Who is coming ✓
Quick test: Can you replace it with “who is”? → use who’s. If not → use whose.
Common Mistakes Students Make
Which food do you eat for breakfast every day?
What food do you eat for breakfast every day?
There is no limited set of breakfast foods in mind — it is an open question. Use what for open-ended questions. Use “which” only when options are known and limited.
What of the two candidates do you prefer?
Which of the two candidates do you prefer?
There are exactly two candidates — a limited, known group. Whenever there is a fixed, known set of options, use which, not what.
Who’s bag did you find on the playground?
Whose bag did you find on the playground?
“Who’s” means “who is” — “Who is bag…” makes no sense. Whose (without apostrophe) is the possessive form asking about ownership. This error is very commonly tested in CBSE error correction.
Which did you borrow from the library?
Which book did you borrow from the library?
Without a noun after it, “which” becomes a pronoun. For it to be an interrogative determiner, a noun must follow it directly.
I do not know which book did she choose.
I do not know which book she chose.
In indirect (embedded) questions, the word order is normal — subject before verb (she chose), NOT inverted like in a direct question (did she choose).
What beautiful day it is!
What a beautiful day it is!
In exclamatory sentences, when the noun is singular and countable, what must be followed by “a” or “an” before the adjective + noun. What + a/an + adjective + singular noun + subject + verb!
Commonly Confused Concepts
| WHICH | WHAT | |
|---|---|---|
| Options | Limited and known (specific group) | Open and unlimited (any possibility) |
| Context clue | Speaker has choices in mind | Speaker has no specific choices in mind |
| Example 1 | Which hand do you write with? (left or right — 2 options) | What games do you play? (any game — unlimited) |
| Example 2 | Which subject scored the highest? (from your timetable) | What subject do you like? (any subject at all) |
| Example 3 | Which route shall we take? (two known roads) | What route did they follow? (open — any route) |
One-line test: Is there a noun immediately after the interrogative word?
YES → Interrogative Determiner | NO → Interrogative Pronoun
| Interrogative Determiner | Interrogative Pronoun |
|---|---|
| Comes before a noun | Stands alone — no noun follows |
| Which book did you choose? | Which did you choose? |
| What colour is your bag? | What is the colour of your bag? |
| Whose pen is this? | Whose is this? |
| WHOSE | WHO’S |
|---|---|
| Possessive — shows ownership | Contraction of “who is” or “who has” |
| Interrogative determiner / relative determiner | Not a determiner — it is a pronoun + verb |
| Whose notebook is this? (ownership) | Who’s calling at this hour? (= Who is) |
| Whose idea was it? (possession) | Who’s already finished the test? (= Who has) |
| Type | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Question | Interrogative Det. + Noun + Auxiliary + Subject + Verb + ? | Which book did she borrow? |
| Indirect Question | Main clause + Interrogative Det. + Noun + Subject + Verb (no ?) | I wonder which book she borrowed. |
| Direct Question | Interrogative Det. + Noun + Auxiliary + Subject + Verb + ? | Whose pen is this? |
| Indirect Question | Main clause + Interrogative Det. + Noun + Subject + Verb (no ?) | She asked whose pen it was. |
Board Exam Tips
Always look for the noun. Before identifying or choosing an interrogative determiner, check whether a noun follows the word. No noun = pronoun, not a determiner. This test alone answers most identification questions.
Which vs What — ask about the options. Are the choices known and limited? → which. Are the choices open and unlimited? → what. This distinction is tested heavily in fill-in-the-blank and error correction questions.
Whose vs Who’s — the apostrophe trap. Examiners love testing whose vs who’s. Do the quick replacement test: if “who is” or “who has” fits, use who’s. If not, use whose (no apostrophe).
Indirect questions — normal word order. In reported/embedded questions, the subject comes before the verb (no inversion). “I know which book she chose” — NOT “which book did she choose” inside the sentence.
Exclamatory What — remember “a/an”. In exclamatory sentences, “what” before a singular countable noun must be followed by “a” or “an”: What a day! What an idea! Missing the “a/an” is a common error in editing exercises.
Whose in relative clauses. When “whose” connects two parts of a sentence (not asking a question), it is a relative determiner. Spotting this distinction between interrogative and relative use is tested in higher-order grammar questions.
Number agreement. The interrogative determiner itself does not change, but the verb must agree with the noun that follows. Which student IS…? Which students ARE…? The determiner stays the same; the verb changes.
Common question formats in CBSE: identify the determiner and noun, fill in the blank (which / what / whose), error correction (whose vs who’s), sentence rewriting (direct to indirect), and exclamatory transformation.
Most-tested patterns in CBSE board exams:
1. which vs what (limited vs open) | 2. whose vs who’s | 3. determiner vs pronoun identification | 4. word order in indirect questions | 5. what + a/an in exclamatory sentences
Solved Examples
Begin with: She asked…
Interactive Practice Questions
How to use: Read each question carefully and choose your answer. Click Check Answer to see if you are right — with a full, simple explanation. Try on your own first!
Summary — Key Takeaways
Which book is yours?
What food do you eat?
Also used in exclamatory sentences.
Whose pen is this?
Never use who’s (= who is) for ownership.
No noun → Pronoun
“Which book?” (D) vs “Which?” (P)
I know which book she chose. ✓
I know which book did she choose. ✗
What a beautiful day it is!
2. Limited or open options?
3. Question or exclamation?
4. Pick which / what / whose
Interrogative determiners may be just three words — which, what, and whose — but they are tested in many different ways in CBSE board exams. The which-vs-what distinction, the whose-vs-who’s trap, indirect question word order, and the exclamatory “what a…” structure are all favourite exam questions. Understand each concept clearly, practise the interactive questions above, and you will have full command over this topic. You are doing great — keep going!