Is there a word for the 7 short, one-word questions?

2014-08-01T18:43:54Z

There are 7 short, one-word questions (I call them "querites") that all seem related: who, what, why, when, where, which and how. They all have w and h in them, although "how" has them separated. As far as I can find,these are the only "querites" in our language. Questions can be formed without any of these, using did, was, were, do, are, is, should, could and would, but they all need further extension.
Is there a word for the "querites, as distinct from the other forms?

2014-08-01T21:15:30Z

If all questions contain an "interrogative", what part of the sentence "Should we eat meat?" constitutes the interrogative, given that "should" is a verb?

Johan2014-08-01T19:35:57Z

Favorite Answer

"Interrogative word", or shortly "interrogative" (also: "question word").

Update: Not every question contains an interrogative word. In the sentence "Should we eat meat?", the interrogative mood is established by the grammatical form of the sentence (namely by the word order, by beginning the sentence with the (auxiliary) verb.)

See additional sources below.

steven2014-08-01T19:29:26Z

Any word used with the function of asking a question is called an interrogative.

Also, all of the words you listed at the end of your question (did, was, etc) are state of being verbs, all derived from, "to be."

That One Guy! (CrazyCatLady)2014-08-01T19:14:52Z

Who, what, when, where, and why are called the Five W's.