Which SQL clause is used to retrieve data from a database?

• A. SELECT
• B. FROM
• C. WHERE
• D. ORDER BY

Answer: (A)

Retrieving data in SQL is done with a SELECT statement. The SELECT clause lists exactly which columns you want to see, so it determines what data gets returned from the database. The FROM clause then tells you where that data comes from (which table or tables). Other parts like WHERE filter which rows are included and ORDER BY decides how the results are arranged, but they don’t decide what data is fetched—that’s the job of SELECT. For example, to fetch names and emails of active customers, you would write SELECT name, email FROM Customers WHERE status = 'active' ORDER BY name.