whword

Whword, short for wh-word, is a term used in linguistics to describe a class of words used to form questions and relative clauses. In English, common wh-words include who, what, where, when, why, how, which, and whose. The category also covers forms like whom and which used in relative clauses. Across languages, wh-words are the primary means of requesting information and distinguishing interrogative from declarative content.

Wh-words function as interrogatives in question clauses, where they replace the information being sought. English often uses auxiliary inversion or do-support with these words, as in What did you see? Where are you going? How does it work? Some languages place the wh-word at the edge of the clause and require wh-movement to the front, while others use in-situ questions or particles to indicate a question.

In addition to forming questions, wh-words introduce relative clauses that modify nouns, as in the person whom I met or the book which you gave me. The same forms commonly appear as both interrogatives and relative pronouns, depending on their syntactic position and function. Cross-linguistically, the inventory and behavior of wh-words vary: some languages have extensive sets of wh-pronouns with case markings, others rely on particles or intonation, and a few languages use wh-movement only in certain contexts.

The term whword is a descriptive label used in syntax and typology to refer to interrogative and relative pronouns and adverbs that express questions. It helps distinguish this class from non-interrogative words and from other grammatical categories, and is used across linguistic descriptions of many languages.