Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In the next few minutes you will learn
how to ask better questions in English. Specifically, you'll learn when to use the
question word "what" and when to use the question word "which". Now, is there a difference? Yes, usually there is, and it's a very easy
difference to understand once I explain it to you. But maybe you already know the difference,
maybe you already know when to use "what" or "which". Let's find out. So, do we say: "What colour do you like?" or
should we say: "Which colour do you like?" Think about that for a
minute, decide something. I'll tell you in a second. And here, do we say: "What colour do you prefer
- red or blue?" or do we say: "Which colour do you prefer - red or blue?" Think about that. Got your answer? Okay, so let me tell you
what we would usually say. Here we would usually say:
"What colour do you like?" Why? Because we're asking: "Out of all the colours
in the world, what colour do you like?" And here, we would usually
say: "Which", okay? "Which colour do you
prefer - red or blue?" Why? Because here we have
a specific choice. All right? So let me summarize
what the difference is. Okay? So, when we use "What", we use "What" to talk
about things that are very broad or very general. So here, we used it to talk about general
questions or very wide, broad questions. Okay? Where the number of options, the number of
possibilities are unknown or very large. Okay? "Which" is much different,
it's much more specific. Okay? So, we use "Which" when we have
limited options, not wide. We use it when we have
much more limited options. For example, here we
said: "Red or blue?" It doesn't have to be only two. It could be three, four, it could be 10,
but it's limited and not unlimited. That's the difference. "What" is used when we're asking about something
general, and "Which" is used when we're asking about something specific. Now, just to explain, in this one, for example,
I said that the probable answer is: "What colour do you like?" But if I showed you a card which had four
colours, and now it's limited, right? So then I could ask you: "Which colour do
you like?" because it's out of these four, so it becomes limited and not: What colour
out of all the colours in the world? Okay? So, let's look at a few more examples so
you can understand exactly how this works. All right, so let's look at some examples in
a social context, in an academic context, and in a business context. Okay? So, for example, we could ask someone:
"What do you want to do today?" Very general question. Out of all the things we could possibly
do in this city, what do you want to do? Very broad. Right? Or: "Which movie do you want to see
- Star Wars or Batman?" Now the choice is
much more limited. Right? It's more specific, and
that's why we used "Which". Do you see the difference between the broad
and the narrow, between the general and the specific? All right, academically we could ask
someone: "What would you like to learn?" Okay? Out of all the subjects in the
world, what would you like to learn? So very general, very broad. Or: "Which class do you
prefer - music or art?" Now, of course, again our choice
is very limited between two. Again, the choice might
be between more. All right? But here it's two. In a business context we might
ask: "What are our options?" Okay? Out of all the different things we
could do, what are our options? This is a very common question people ask in
business situations, in business meetings, negotiations, and
things like that. Right? Or: "Which conference are you attending,
the one in New York or in London?" Again, a much more limited choice,
and therefore we used "Which". All right? So, are you ready to
try some on your own? Let's do that. Okay, number one, let's pretend that you're
on a date and you want to get to know the other person so you ask them:
"_______ kind of music do you like?" What should we say:
"What" or "Which"? It's a very general
question, right? So we say: "What", "What kind of
music do you like?" Okay? Because there are all kinds of
music; we didn't limit the options. All right, the next one, let's say you're thinking
about learning how to play an instrument, so you go to a music store and you ask the
salesperson: "_______ instrument is easier to learn - the guitar
or the piano?" What do we say there? What should we say? I think we should say: "Which". Right? "Which instrument is easier
to learn - the guitar or the piano?" Again, limited choice so
we're going to say: "Which". The next one, you bump into your classmate in
university and she asks you: "_______ course was more interesting -
sociology or psychology?" What's the right question
word to use here? Should be, again: "Which" because
we have limited possibilities. Next, your rich uncle wants to give you a
birthday present so he calls you and he asks you: "_______ kind of
computer do you want?" What is the right
word to use here? Think about it. "What". Okay? This is a general question, there
are no specific possibilities mentioned. It's out of all the different kinds of computers,
and he's rich, your uncle's rich, he wants to buy you something, so he says: "What
kind of computer do you want, sweetheart? I'll get you anything you want." Okay. All right. Next, you want to make a hotel reservation
and the reservation clerk asks you: "_______ room would you prefer - with
an ocean view or a city view?" Okay? So what's the right
question word to use here? Yeah? You got it. "Which room", right? Once again, we have specific,
limited possibilities. And the last one, you're in an ESL school
and your friend asks you: "So, _______ exam do you have to take - the
IELTS or the TOEFL?" What's the right question
word to use here? Also "Which" because, again,
we had a specific choice. All right? So, I hope you've got
the hang of that. But to be really sure once and for all-okay?-go
to our website at www.engvid.com to do a quiz on this so that you really master this subject,
and then after that you don't have to keep thinking about it; you've got it in your head,
it's very clear: "What" is for general questions, "Which" is for specific questions, "What"
is very general and very broad, and "Which" is very specific.
Okay? And after that you've
mastered that part. Okay? And that's the way to move
forward, one step at a time. Master each little part of English until you
master the whole language, which you can do. Okay? If you want to keep improving, please subscribe
to my YouTube channel so you can get lots more lessons with shortcuts and tips
to help you move forward faster. Okay?
All right. Thanks very much for watching, and all
the best with your English. Bye for now.
