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Interrogative Adjectives

What Are Interrogative Adjectives? (with Examples)

The interrogative adjectives are whose, what, and which.

Interrogative adjectives modify nouns and are used in interrogative sentences (i.e., questions).

Examples of Interrogative Adjectives

Here are some examples of interrogative adjectives (shaded):

• Whose car will they give us?
• What car will they give us?
• Which car will they give us?

The difference between what and which as interrogative adjectives is very subtle.

• What car will they give us?
(In this example, the speaker does not know the choice of cars available. So, you can use what when the options are unknown.)
• Which car will they give us?
(In this example, the speaker does know the choice of cars available.)

This is not a definitive distinction, and most of the time you can use which. Also, which is considered more formal. If you're unsure, use which.

Now look at this question:

• Which is the greater?
(This is not an interrogative adjective. It is an interrogative pronoun. It does not modify a noun. It stands alone.)

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