Wh-questions are questions that begin with a wh-word. Wh- words include:
who, what, where, when, why, and how. Listen to the following wh- questions and decide if you hear a rising or falling intonation:
How can I help?
When will the sale end?
Who did you vote for?
What would you rather do?
It might be surprising at first to learn that typical wh- questions have falling intonation, like typical English statements. It’s a common misconception that all English questions have rising intonation. But wh- questions, when they are used to ask for new information, have falling intonation.
To learn more about intonation in questions, check out Yes/No Questions.
To learn more about how intonation affects meaning in a conversation, including when a wh- question can have rising intonation, check out Certainty and Uncertainty and Requests for Clarification.