French has a standard set of question words for time, place, reason, manner, and quantity: où (where), quand (when), pourquoi (why), comment (how), and combien (how much/many). Each can be used with est-ce que for a simple, spoken-friendly question: où est-ce que tu habites? (where do you live?).
They can also be used with inversion for a more formal register: où habites-tu?, pourquoi est-il parti? Combien is often followed by de before the noun it quantifies: combien de frères as-tu? (how many brothers do you have?), never combien frères.