Two ordinary English words create one of the language’s most useful question patterns: what is. You hear it when someone asks “What is your name?”, “What is this?”, “What is gravity?”, or “What is happening?”
what is is a question structure formed from the question word “what” and “is,” the third-person singular present form of the verb “to be.” It is commonly used to request a definition, identity, description, explanation, condition, or other information about a person, thing, idea, or situation.
The pattern is simple, but understanding how it works can improve both everyday English and formal writing.
What Is the Meaning of what is?
The phrase what is usually begins a question asking for information.
Cambridge Dictionary classifies what as a question word that can be used to request information about things and actions. It can also function as a pronoun and determiner.
Consider these questions:
- What is this?
- What is your name?
- What is a computer?
- What is the problem?
- What is happening?
- What is the answer?
Although every example begins with the same two words, the information being requested is different.
“What is this?” asks for identification.
“What is a computer?” normally asks for a definition or explanation.
“What is the problem?” asks someone to identify a difficulty or situation.
“What is happening?” asks about an action or event currently in progress.
That flexibility explains why what is appears so frequently in conversation, education, reference material, and online searches.
How Does what is Work in English Grammar?
To understand the structure, look at its two components separately.
What
What belongs to the family of English wh-words, alongside words such as:
- who
- where
- when
- why
- which
- how
It commonly requests information when the answer is not already known.
For example:
What is your favorite book?
The speaker is asking for information about the listener’s favorite book.
Cambridge’s grammar guidance also notes that what can function as a question word, pronoun, and determiner depending on the sentence.
Is
Is is a present-tense form of the verb to be.
The main present forms are:
| Subject | Form of “to be” |
|---|---|
| I | am |
| You | are |
| He | is |
| She | is |
| It | is |
| We | are |
| They | are |
Because is normally agrees with a third-person singular subject, you see it in sentences such as:
- The house is large.
- Sarah is ready.
- The computer is new.
- It is cold.
In a question beginning with what is, the structure changes so that the requested information comes first.
Statement:
This is a calculator.
Question:
What is this?
The question asks the listener to supply the missing information.
What Is the Basic Question Structure?
A common pattern is:
What + is + subject/complement + ?
For example:
What + is + this?
What + is + your name?
What + is + the problem?
Another extremely common pattern is:
What is + noun/concept?
Examples include:
- What is photosynthesis?
- What is democracy?
- What is software?
- What is artificial intelligence?
- What is a noun?
These questions generally request a definition or explanation.
That makes what is especially useful in educational contexts. A student who encounters an unfamiliar concept can place it after the phrase to request basic information about it.
What Can what is Ask About?
There is no single type of answer required by a what is question. Context determines what information the speaker wants.
Asking for a Definition
One of the most recognizable patterns is:
What is + term?
For example:
What is a noun?
A suitable answer explains what a noun is.
Similarly:
What is evaporation?
The expected response describes or defines evaporation.
A definition is essentially an explanation of the meaning of a word or phrase.
This question pattern appears constantly in dictionaries, textbooks, classrooms, search engines, tutorials, and reference articles.
Asking for Identity
Sometimes the question asks who or what something is rather than requesting a formal definition.
For example:
What is that?
Answer:
That is a telescope.
Or:
What is your name?
Answer:
My name is Daniel.
The purpose is identification.
Asking for a Description
A speaker may already know what something is but want more information about it.
For example:
What is the weather like?
The answer might describe current conditions:
It is warm and cloudy.
Here the goal is description rather than dictionary-style definition.
Asking About a Problem or Situation
Consider:
What is the problem?
The speaker expects an explanation of what has gone wrong.
Similarly:
What is the matter?
This asks about a difficulty, concern, or condition.
Asking About an Action in Progress
The phrase can also combine with an -ing verb:
What is she doing?
What is happening?
What is the machine making?
In these examples, is functions as part of a present continuous construction.
The question is not asking what something is. It is asking about an action currently taking place.
what is vs. what’s
In everyday English, what is is frequently shortened to what’s.
Cambridge Dictionary defines what’s as a short form of either what is or what has.
For example:
What is your name?
becomes:
What’s your name?
And:
What is happening?
becomes:
What’s happening?
The basic meaning remains the same.
When to Use what is
The full form can be useful when:
- writing formally
- emphasizing the verb
- teaching grammar
- avoiding ambiguity
- producing especially clear instructions or questions
Example:
What is the primary purpose of this research?
When to Use what’s
The contraction sounds natural in ordinary speech and informal writing.
Examples:
- What’s your name?
- What’s this?
- What’s wrong?
- What’s happening?
- What’s the answer?
Both forms can be grammatically correct. The appropriate choice depends mainly on context and tone.
Does what’s Always Mean what is?
No.
This is an important distinction because what’s can represent either what is or what has.
Compare:
What’s the problem?
Here:
What’s = What is
But consider:
What’s happened?
Here:
What’s = What has
The full sentence is:
What has happened?
You can usually determine the intended expansion by examining the grammatical structure that follows.
what is vs. what are
Choosing between is and are usually depends on whether the relevant subject is singular or plural.
Compare:
What is this?
and:
What are these?
Likewise:
What is the problem?
versus:
What are the problems?
A simple comparison is:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| What is this? | What are these? |
| What is that? | What are those? |
| What is the problem? | What are the problems? |
| What is your reason? | What are your reasons? |
English subject-verb agreement still matters even when a sentence begins with a question word.
what is vs. what does
Learners sometimes confuse what is with what does because both can introduce questions.
The difference comes from the verb structure.
Use what is when is itself belongs in the sentence.
For example:
What is this word?
Use what does when the main verb needs the auxiliary does:
What does this word mean?
Notice the difference:
What is the meaning of this word?
What does this word mean?
Both can request similar information, but their grammatical structures are different.
A common mistake is:
What is this word mean?
That incorrectly combines two different question patterns.
Better choices are:
What does this word mean?
or:
What is the meaning of this word?
what is vs. which is
What and which can both request information, but they are not always interchangeable.
What is commonly used when the possible answers are relatively open.
For example:
What is your favorite food?
The range of possible answers is broad.
Which is especially useful when choosing from a known or limited set.
For example:
Which is your bag—the black one or the blue one?
The distinction is not absolute in every conversational situation, but thinking in terms of an open question versus a choice among identified possibilities is a useful practical guide.
What Is the Difference Between “What Is This?” and “What Is It?”
Both sentences are correct, but context changes which sounds more natural.
What Is This?
Use this when directly identifying or drawing attention to something nearby or immediately present.
For example, you pick up an unfamiliar device and ask:
What is this?
You are directing attention to the object.
What Is It?
Use it when the object, situation, sound, or issue is already established by context.
Someone hears a strange noise and says:
What is it?
Or a friend says, “I need to tell you something.”
You might respond:
What is it?
The listener understands that it refers to whatever the speaker wants to discuss.
So neither expression is universally better. The appropriate pronoun depends on what has already been introduced into the conversation.
Direct Questions and Indirect Questions
Word order becomes especially important when what is appears inside another sentence.
A direct question might be:
What is the answer?
But an indirect question becomes:
Do you know what the answer is?
Not:
Do you know what is the answer?
Similarly:
Direct:
What is his name?
Indirect:
Can you tell me what his name is?
Direct:
What is the problem?
Indirect:
I don’t know what the problem is.
This is a frequent challenge for English learners because direct-question word order is not simply copied into many embedded or indirect questions.
What as More Than a Question Word
Although what is strongly associated with questions, it has other grammatical functions.
Cambridge notes that what can work as a pronoun meaning roughly “the thing or things that.”
For example:
I understand what you mean.
Here, the sentence is not directly asking a question.
Similarly:
Take what you need.
In that construction, what refers to the thing or things needed.
The word can also appear in exclamations:
What a beautiful day!
What a surprise!
These examples demonstrate why understanding what requires more than memorizing it as a question word.
Common what is Questions in Everyday English
Once you recognize the pattern, you will notice it everywhere.
Asking About Objects
- What is this?
- What is that?
- What is inside the box?
- What is on the table?
Asking for Personal Information
- What is your name?
- What is your address?
- What is your job?
- What is your favorite subject?
Asking for Definitions
- What is energy?
- What is a verb?
- What is an algorithm?
- What is inflation?
Asking About Situations
- What is happening?
- What is wrong?
- What is the problem?
- What is going on?
Asking About Time and Dates
- What is today’s date?
- What is the deadline?
- What is the current time?
The phrase itself does not determine the topic. The words following it tell the listener what information is being requested.
Common Mistakes With what is
The basic structure is easy to learn, but a few mistakes appear repeatedly.
Mistake 1: Using is When are Is Required
Incorrect:
What is these things?
Correct:
What are these things?
Because things is plural, are is required.
Mistake 2: Mixing what is and what does
Incorrect:
What is this mean?
Correct:
What does this mean?
Or:
What is the meaning of this?
Choose one grammatical structure rather than combining both.
Mistake 3: Keeping Question Word Order in an Indirect Question
Less standard:
Can you tell me what is your name?
Standard:
Can you tell me what your name is?
The second clause is embedded inside the larger question, so normal indirect-question word order is used.
Mistake 4: Confusing what’s With what is Every Time
Remember:
What’s = what is OR what has
In:
What’s your name?
it means what is.
In:
What’s happened?
it means what has.
Mistake 5: Using what Where which Is More Natural
If a speaker presents a clearly limited choice, which may communicate the intended meaning more precisely.
Compare:
What is your favorite color?
with:
Which is your seat, 12A or 12B?
The first asks an open-ended question. The second asks the listener to identify one of two stated choices.
How to Answer a what is Question Clearly
The best answer depends on what the question is actually requesting.
If someone asks:
What is a smartphone?
Start with a direct definition.
If someone asks:
What is this?
Identify the object.
If someone asks:
What is happening?
Describe the action or situation.
If someone asks:
What is the problem?
State the problem before adding supporting details.
A useful general method is:
- Identify exactly what information the question requests.
- Give the direct answer first.
- Add explanation only when it improves understanding.
- Include an example if the concept may still be unclear.
For definition questions, this often produces stronger answers than beginning with several paragraphs of background information.
Why Are what is Questions So Common?
The structure solves a basic communication problem: a speaker lacks a piece of information and wants someone else to supply it.
That information could be a:
- name
- definition
- identity
- description
- fact
- condition
- explanation
- action
- concept
This versatility makes what is useful across almost every subject.
A child might ask:
What is thunder?
A student might ask:
What is photosynthesis?
A programmer might ask:
What is an API?
A traveler might ask:
What is the local currency?
The grammatical framework remains recognizable even though the subject matter changes completely.
Why what is Appears So Often in Search Queries
Search behavior mirrors ordinary question asking.
People frequently want quick definitions or introductory explanations, so they type questions such as:
- what is cloud computing
- what is machine learning
- what is a URL
- what is compound interest
- what is a GPA
The pattern tells the reader or search system that the person is usually seeking information rather than merely naming a topic.
For writers, teachers, and publishers, that distinction matters. Someone asking “What is X?” generally benefits from receiving a concise definition early, followed by context, examples, characteristics, uses, or related explanations.
How to Write a Strong “What Is” Definition
When answering a definition-style question, begin with the essential meaning rather than making the reader search for it.
Suppose the question is:
What is a laptop?
A useful response begins by identifying the category and distinguishing characteristics:
A laptop is a portable personal computer that combines a screen, keyboard, processor, storage, and battery in a compact folding device.
The reader immediately knows what the object is.
You can then explain:
- how it works
- its main components
- common types
- typical uses
- how it differs from related devices
This definition first, explanation second approach is useful for both human readers and educational reference material.
Quick Grammar Reference
| Form | Main Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What is | Full question form | What is this? |
| What’s | Contraction | What’s this? |
| What are | Usually plural | What are these? |
| What does | Question with another main verb | What does it mean? |
| Which is | Choice/identification | Which is yours? |
| What is + -ing | Ongoing action | What is she doing? |
| What + noun | Determiner use | What time is it? |
The key is not to memorize every possible question. Learn the underlying structures, and unfamiliar examples become much easier to understand.
Final Thoughts on what is
what is is a fundamental English question structure combining what with is, a present form of to be. Depending on context, it can ask for a definition, identity, description, explanation, condition, fact, or information about an ongoing action.
The most useful lesson is that the two words do not carry one fixed meaning by themselves. Look at what follows them and what the conversation is about.
Once you understand the difference between what is, what’s, what are, what does, and which is, forming and interpreting everyday English questions becomes much easier. When you encounter a new what is question, identify the information being requested first; the correct structure and answer usually follow naturally.
