SUBJECT AND OBJECT QUESTIONS:

What is the subject vs object of a question?

As a basic rule, the subject is the person or thing doing something. The object is having something done to it.

*In subject questions, we want to find information about the subject, we do not use the auxiliary verb do/does/did.

*In object questions, we want to find information about the object, we use the auxiliary verb do/does/did

Object Questions: “Who did you call?” is an object question. Answer: I called Paulo

STRUCTURE:

[Question word + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb]

question word – who

auxiliary verb – did

subject – you

main verb – call

Paulo is the answer, and that is the object of that sentence.

Object questions can use the following question words:

Who Why

What How

Where When

*Notice: The main verb is always in its base form.

Here are some additional examples of an object question:

Where did you go? Where did you come from?

Answer: I went to the store.

When did she leave?

Answer: She left last night.

How are you feeling?

Answer: I am feeling really good.

What did they do last night?

Why are you learning English?

When did you sign up here?

Who did you meet before the lesson?

Subject Questions

Sometimes we don’t know the subject, we don’t know who did the action, what did the action,
or what the main idea is. When we need this information, we ask a subject question.

In the beginning of this lesson I gave the example:

Who called you? STRUCTURE:[Question Word + verb + object]

question word – who

verb – called

object – you

Answer: Paulo called me.

Paulo is the answer, and that is the subject of the sentence.

It is very important to remember that subject questions only use the question
words Who and What.

*Notice: Because we don’t have an auxiliary, the verb needs to change and be conjugated to
match the time tense.

Here are some additional examples of a subject question:

Who is the one doing this live lesson? [Who is doing this live lesson?]

Answer: I am the one doing this live lesson.

What happened last night?

Answer: It rained. A storm passed through.

What helps you learn English?

Answer: These videos help me learn.

Who helps you learn English?

Answer: Jennifer helps me learn English.

What is the best English podcast ever?

Answer: English Across the Pond is the best podcast ever!

Who likes the song “Somebody That I Used to Know”?

What causes happiness?

Who will share this lesson later?

Who is the one that’s following you on twitter? [Who is following you on Twitter?]

Who follows Jennifer everywhere?

Who gave up on learning English?

EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT SUBJECT & OBJECT QUESTIONS

Notice that in both subject and object questions we can have different time tenses.

For example:

Simple present:

Who wants a drink? Answer: I want a drink

Present perfect:

Who has visited California? Answer: Many people have visited California

Simple past:

Who killed Voldemort? Answer: Somebody killed Voldemort.

Future:

Who will share this lesson later? Answer: Everyone will share this lesson later!

…etc…

We can also use modals as the auxiliary.

Who can help me? Answer: Paulo can help me.