Do you know how to use how?
How is a very useful question word. Let’s look at some of the ways it can be used.
How can I stay healthy?
This question is asking about method—the way you do something. You would answer in this way:
You can stay healthy by exercising, by eating well, and by getting enough sleep.
How do you use a public bus?
First, you need to buy a ticket. Then, you wait at the bus stop. When the bus comes, you put your ticket in the machine next to the driver. The driver will give you a transfer. When you want to get off the bus, pull the cord. Finally, remember to thank the driver!
How far is it to your house?
How + adjective is asking you to say the quantity of the adjective —in this case, distance. You could answer in this way:
- It is five miles.
- It is a mile and a half.
How big is your room?
This question is asking you how much space it has. You could answer:
- It’s huge. It’s 200 square feet.
- It’s really tiny. It’s not much bigger than a bath tub.
How spicy is the food at that restaurant?
You could answer in this way:
- It’s really spicy.
- It’s not very spicy.
You can ask the same type of question with an adverb:
How quickly do you learn new vocabulary words?
You could answer:
- I learn very quickly.
- I don’t learn them very quickly.
How long does it take to get to your job each day?
“How long does it take to” + verb is asking about the amount of time needed to do something.
You could answer in this way:
- It takes an hour.
- It takes twenty minutes.
- It takes five minutes.
How long does it take to speak English like a native speaker?
You could answer:
- It takes years.
- It takes a life time.
- It takes many months.
How much does it cost to buy a house in your city?
“How much does it cost to” + verb is asking about the amount of money needed to buy something.
You could answer:
- It costs half a million dollars.
- It costs $400,000.
- It costs an arm and a leg (a lot!).
How much does it cost to go out to eat?
You could answer:
- For one person, it costs about $10.
- For a family, it costs around $50.
Notice how the modifiers about and around mean not exactly—maybe more, maybe less.)
How many people do you know who can speak English?
How + many/much is asking you about a quantity of a noun.
You could answer:
- I know tons.
- I know around 5.
- I know a few.
Notice how with a plural count noun (people), you use the word many, which is plural, and your answers are also plural: tons, 5, a few.
How much fun do you have each day?
You could answer:
- I have a lot.
- I have a little.
- I have a bit.
Notice how with a non-count noun (fun), you use the word much, and your answers are also non-count amounts: a lot, a little, a bit.
How much do you exercise?
How much do you + verb asks you about the quantity of a verb:
- I exercise a lot.
- I rarely exercise.
- I exercise three times a week.
How much do you drink?
- I never drink.
- I drink about two glasses of alcohol a day.
- I drink a lot.
As you can see, “How” questions are very useful. Practice by answering the following questions.
- How could you practice using them?
- How confident are you about using them correctly?
- How soon will you practice?
- How long did it take for you to read this blog post?
- How many ways to ask questions with “How” did this post teach you?
- How much do you practice every day?
How comfortable are you with forming English questions? In this lesson, I will teach you four types of questions that are specific to the word “how”. I will show you basic English question structure with how much, how many, how + adjective, and how + adverb. This is an excellent lesson for beginners who are just learning the language, and it’s a good review lesson for those students who just want to make sure they’re doing things the right way. When you’re finished watching the video, don’t forget to test your knowledge with the quiz. Think of how much better you’ll feel after watching this video!
Quiz
Test your understanding of this English lesson
Test your understanding of the English lesson by answering these questions. You will get the answers and your score at the end of the quiz.
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Question with HOW
1. HOW is generally asked about manner; how something is done.
• How does he drive? — Carefully.
• How do you go to school? — By bus.
2. HOW is used with MUCH and MANY.
• How much does it cost? — Ten dollars.
• How many people came? — Fifteen.
3. HOW is used with ADJECTIVES and MANNERS.
• How cold is it? — Ten below zero.
• How soon can you get here? — In ten minutes.
4. HOW LONG asks about length of time.
• How long has she been here? — An hour.
• How long did it take you to finish your project? — Two weeks.
5. HOW OFTEN asks about frequency.
• How often do you visit your grandma? — Every other weekend.
• How often do you eat out with your family? — We seldom do that.
6. HOW FAR asks about distance.
• How far is it to Missouri from here? — Ten miles.
‘How’ is used to ask about manner, condition, process & quality or to ask for distance, length, quantity, age & reason.
‘How’ is used to obtain information about the way something happens, or the manner or way somebody behaves or does something.
(1) ‘How’ :
‘How’ is used to ask about manner / condition or quality.
| Examples: |
|---|
- • How are you?
- • How is your health?
- • How is your business?
- • How is your new teacher?
(2) ‘How far’ :
‘How far’ is used to ask for distance.
| Examples: |
|---|
- • How far is Pattaya from Bangkok?
- • How far is your college from house?
- • How far is Baroda from Ahmedabad?
- • How far is the School from your residence?
(3) ‘How long’ :
‘How long’ is used to ask for length (time or space).
| Examples: |
|---|
- • How long will it take?
- • How long is the Pamban bridge?
- • How long will this game go on?
- • How long had Gandhiji lived in Africa?
(4) ‘How many’ :
‘How many’ is used to ask for quantity (countable).
| Examples: |
|---|
- • How many cars are there?
- • How many miles had they traveled today?
- • How many girls had he promised to marry?
- • How many times do I have to tell you?
(5) ‘How much’ :
‘How much’ is used to ask for quantity / amount (uncountable).
| Examples: |
|---|
- • How much money do you have?
- • How much do you need?
- • How much did Dad pay you?
- • How much had he heard?
(6) ‘How old’ :
‘How old’ is used to ask for age.
| Examples: |
|---|
- • How old are you?
- • How old is your daughter?
- • How old is Seema?
- • How old was she when she died?
(7) ‘How come’ :
‘How come’ is used to ask for reason, asking why.
| Examples: |
|---|
- • How come I can’t see her?
- • How come you can’t see me?
- • How come I never heard about this?
- • How come I don’t have a say?
(Using question words in English grammar)
What are the question words in English?
Most question words in English begin with a ‘wh’ and are, therefore, also called wh-question words for simplification. They ask for a missing part in the sentence or statement. Although it does not begin with ‘wh’, ‘how’ belongs to this group too and is usually included when one speaks about wh-questions. Compare the following information:
- Usage and meaning of the question words with ‘wh’ in example sentences:
- “What …?” asks for the thing:
- “What are you doing?”
- “Where …?” asks for the place:
- “Where do you come from?”
- “When …?” asks for the time:
- “When did you come home?”
- “Why …?” asks for the reason:
- “Why do you say that?”
- “Who …?” asks for a person:
- “Who is that?”
- “Which …?” asks for a thing if a choice of several is given:
- “Which colour do you prefer? Green or blue?”
- “Whose …?” asks for possession:
- “Whose car is that?”
- “What …?” asks for the thing:
- Information: The wh-question words may serve as relative pronouns or relative adverbs too. In this function, they appear at the beginning of relative clauses.
How is the question word ‘how’ used?
Use and purpose of the question word ‘how’. Note that it frequently combines with an additional word:
- “How …?” asks for the manner:
- “How are you?”
- “How + adjective …?” asks ‘how’ something is in terms of size or state, etc.:
- “How old is your sister?”
- “How + adverb …?” asks ‘how’ an action or the like is done or performed:
- “How well does your brother speak Swedish?”
- “How much …?” asks for the amount of something uncountable:
- “How much time do we have left?”
- “How many …?” asks for the number of countable things:
- “How many days did you stay in London?”
Further explanations related to the topic ‘Question words’
The following explanations relate to ‘Using question words (‘wh’ and ‘how’) in English grammar’ and might also help you:
- Question formation with ‘do … have’
- Question formation with ‘have … got’
- Questions with ‘can’
- Quantifiers with ‘much, many’ and ‘a lot of’
- Exercise 1: question words in English