Prepositions usually go at the end of questions beginning with Who, What, Where, and Which:
Who is Sally talking to?
Who is the teacher mad at?
What is the world coming to?
What is Jack talking about?
Where’s the party at?
Where did that stain come from?
Which picture are you looking at?
Which drawer did you put the key in?
The phrase “What’s X like?” is used when you want to ask someone to describe X. Here, “like” is NOT used as a verb – it is used as a preposition.
“What does Mr. Smith like?” ≠ “What is Mr. Smith like?”
“What does Mr. Smith like?” ==> What are Mr. Smith’s interests? What does Mr. Smith prefer?
• Mr. Smith likes chocolate cake.
• Mr. Smith likes spy movies.
• Mr. Smith likes Florida.
• Mr. Smith likes to read books.
• Etc.
“What is Mr. Smith like?” ==> How would you describe Mr. Smith?
• Mr. Smith is tall / short.
• Mr. Smith is old / young.
• Mr. Smith is athletic / not very active.
• Mr. Smith is nice / mean.
• Etc.
Examples:
What was the movie like?
– It was pretty boring.
What’s the new teacher like?
– He’s very strict.
What’s life like in the dorms?
– Rather noisy, as you might imagine.
Exercise. Write questions with Who or What to determine the missing information.
Example:
I got a phone call from XXXXX. ==> Who did you get a phone call from?
1. Dad is talking to XXXXX.
2. The TV program is about XXXXX.
3. I got a present from XXXXX.
4. We were just talking about XXXXX.
5. That song was written by XXXXX.
Exercise. Write questions using Which to get further information.
Example:
We stayed at a hotel in Houston. ==> Which hotel did you stay at?
1. I went to college in Wisconsin.
2. Tom talked to a clerk.
3. Sam and Mary went to an amusement park.
4. Steve took me to a restaurant for my birthday.
5. Jack went to see a movie.
Exercise. Find out more information by asking questions with What is/are …. like?
Example:
(the class) ==> What’s the class like?
1. (the hotel)
2. (the weather in Montana)
3. (Mrs. Wilson)
4. (the new movie)
5. (the county fair)