Subject and Object Questions

understanding which questions require the Auxiliary Verb to do.

Most /wh-/ questions are Object questions.

Two things identify an Object Question:

1. Object Questions ask about an Object. (i.e. you, they, Tina, she, in the
examples below)
2. The response to an Object Question answers the question where, when,
why, what, or when, AND the answer is the Object in the response. (i.e.
in New York, in 2012, to find a new job, in examples below)
RULE: Object questions require the use of the auxiliary verb 'to do' .
Examples:
QUESTION
Where do you (Object) live?
When did they (Object) leave Dublin?
Why did Tina (Object) return to Australia?
What do you (Object) eat at Christmas?
When does she (Object) leave for work?
How often do you (Object) eat out?

RESPONSE
I live in New York. (Answers the question 'where?')
They left Dublin in 2012. (Answers the question 'when?')
Tina returned to find a new job. (Answers the question 'why?')
We eat ham and plum pudding. (Answers the question 'what'?)
She leaves home at 6:00am. (Answers the question 'when?')
I eat out every night. (Answers the question 'how often?')

Subject questions are questions we ask to find out about the Subject
of the concept. These questions are asked using who, what and which.
The answer to a Subject Question is also the Subject in the response.

REMEMBER: where, when, why can NOT be the subject of any question.
Example: Who was the best jazz musician of the 20th century?
What happened this morning?
Which bus goes to the airport?
Note that the word order of
SUBJECT
Q:
Who
R:
Miles Davies
Q:
What
R:
An earthquake
Q:
Which bus
R:
The 73

a Subject Question is the same as its response:

VERB
OBJECT COMPLEMENT
was
the best jazz musician?
was
the best jazz musician.
happened this morning?
happened this morning.
goes
to the airport?
goes
to the airport.

RULE: Subject questions DO NOT require the use of the verb 'to do'.
TIP: To help you decide if it is an O or S question, imagine a possible answer to
the question. In a subject Question, the answer to the question is the identity

of the Question word - who, what, which: Miles Davies, an earthquake, the
73; that's why we call these questions SUBJECT QUESTIONS.
Another way of looking at it:
Lets take a sentence as an example:
"John Lennon married Yoko Ono."
In this sentence, John Lennon is the subject, and Yoko Ono is the object.
Now, if we want to ask questions to discover these facts, we can form two
different kinds of questions:

If we want to ask a question to which the answer is John Lennon, then

the question would be Who married Yoko Ono?"

And the answer would be "John Lennon married Yoko Ono". In the question,
Who married Yoko Ono?" the who is looking for the subject of the concept,
John Lennon: both the who in the Question and the John Lennon in the
response are the Subject.
It is a Subject Question and DOES NOT REQUIRE the auxiliary verb to do.

However, if we want to ask a question to which the answer is "Yoko Ono",

the question would be Who did John Lennon marry?"

The answer would be "John Lennon married Yoko Ono". In the question
Who did John Lennon marry?" the who is looking for the object of the
concept, Yoko Ono: both the who in the Question and the Yoko Ono in
the response are the Object.

It is an Object Question and it DOES REQUIRE the auxiliary verb to do.

NOTE THAT YOU COULD OF COURSE ALSO SAY:

SUBJECT QUESTION: Who married John Lennon?" but the Subject of this
concept, the who, is Yoko Ono: "Yoko Ono (Subject) married John Lennon".
AND:
OBJECT QUESTION: "Who did Yoko Ono marry?" but the Object of this concept,
the who, is John Lennon: " Yoko Ono married John Lennon".

Write questions for the following answers and identify whether they are
Subject or Object questions. For some, both a Subject and an Object question
are possible - in these cases, write both:
0) Kate Middleton married Prince William.
Subject Q: Who married Prince William?
Object Q: Who did Kate Middleton marry?
1) Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr & Keith Urban are the judges on American Idol.
__________________________________________________________

2) Cate Blanchett won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2014.
__________________________________________________________

3) The movie she won the award for was "Blue Jasmine".
__________________________________________________________
4) The highest mountain in the world is Mt Everest.
___________________________________________________________
5) David Beckham played for Manchester United.
___________________________________________________________
6) Robert Pattinson starred in the "Twilight" movie series.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
7) Shakira sang "Waka Waka, This Time for Africa" for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
8) American author Suzanne Collins wrote "The Hunger Games".
____________________________________________________________________
9) British Airways flies to 169 destinations.
____________________________________________________________________
10) The President of the United States lives in the White House.

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

ANSWER KEY: (Try to elicit Object Q's where possible, these are generally more
difficult for S's. Other questions are possible, these are a guide.)
Write questions for the following answers and identify whether they are Subject or Object
questions. For some, both a Subject and an Object question are possible - in these cases, write both:
0) Kate Middleton married Prince William.
Subject Q:
Object Q:

Who married Prince William?

Who did Kate Middleton marry?

1) Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr & Keith Urban are the judges on American Idol.
Who are the judges on American Idol?

SUBJECT Q

2) Cate Blanchett won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2014.
Who won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2014?

SUBJECT Q

3) The movie she won the award for was "Blue Jasmine".
Which movie did she win the award for?

OBJECT Q

4) The highest mountain in the world is Mt Everest.

Which is the highest mountain in the world?

SUBJECT Q

5) David Beckham played for Manchester United.

Which team did David Beckham play for?

OBJECT Q

6) Robert Pattinson starred in the "Twilight" movie series.

Which movie series did Robert Pattinson star in?
Who starred in the "Twilight" movie series?

OBJECT Q
SUBJECT Q

7) Shakira sang "Waka Waka, This Time for Africa" at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
What (song) did Shakira sing for the 2010 FIFA World Cup?
Who sang "Waka Waka" at the 2010 FIFA World Cup?

OBJECT Q
SUBJECT Q

8) American author Suzanne Collins wrote "The Hunger Games".

Who wrote "The Hunger Games"?

SUBJECT Q

9) British Airways flies to 169 destinations.

How many destinations does British Airways fly to?

OBJECT Q

10) The President of the United States lives in the White House.
Where does the President of the United States live?

OBJECT Q

Who lives in the White House?

SUBJECT Q