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'How' asks about manner, degree, or process; 'what' asks about a thing, identity, or content.
Side-by-side comparison
"How" asks about the manner or way something happens. It seeks a description of the process, the method, or the state.
How did you manage to deliver the project two weeks ahead of schedule? The team must have worked incredibly efficiently.
How long have you been working in the tech industry? Your experience in AI seems quite extensive.
How often does the team have retrospective meetings? Weekly sprints suggest they should happen every Friday.
"What" asks about the identity or nature of something. It seeks to identify what something is, what category it belongs to, or what specific information exists.
What exactly happened during the server outage last Tuesday? The incident report is still missing key details.
What kind of experience are they looking for in the new hire? The job description is fairly broad.
What time does the investor presentation start? I want to make sure the room is set up at least thirty minutes beforehand.
Common mistake
- •"How is your name?" is wrong: a name is an identity or content, use "What is your name?".
- •And "What do you feel?" is wrong for emotional state: "How do you feel?" is natural.
Trick to remember it
- •Think about the type of answer: if it would be a noun or thing ("Bryan", "pasta") = "What".
- •If it would be a manner, degree, or state ("tired", "fast") = "How".
Quick rule
- •"How" = manner, process, degree, state ("How are you?", "How fast?").
- •"What" = thing, identity, content ("What happened?", "What is your name?", "What time?").
Did you know?
"How are you?" is probably the most widely used phrase in English worldwide, and also one of the most culturally confusing. In everyday North American English, "How are you?" is practically a greeting, the expected answer is "Fine, thanks" or "Good, and you?" regardless of how you actually feel. In British English it can be more genuine.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
"_____ do you call this thing in English?" "It's called a stapler."
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"_____ do you spell your surname?" "It's B-R-O-W-N."
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
'Both' affirms two; 'neither' denies both; 'either' refers to one of two (as a choice) or reinforces negation.
'Do' is used for actions and general tasks; 'make' is used when the result is something tangible or created.
Both mean 'to say', but 'tell' always needs to know who receives the message.
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy