Subject/Object Questions
Before we start explaining what subject/object questions are, let’s review the difference between a subject and an object.
The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that performs the action:
We want some fruit juice.
Karen likes Fred.
Smoking causes cancer.
Daniel made a sandwich.
The earthquake damaged my house.
Jennifer lied to Sam.
The object of a sentence is the person or thing that receives the action:
We want some fruit juice.
Karen likes Fred.
Smoking causes cancer.
Daniel made a sandwich.
The earthquake damaged my house.
Jennifer lied to Sam.
Object Questions in English
Most questions in English are object questions – we want to know about the receiver of the action. These questions follow the QUASM formula: Question word – Auxiliary verb – Subject – Main verb.
For questions in the simple present, the auxiliary verbs are do and does:
What do you want to drink?
We want some fruit juice.
Who does Karen like?
Karen likes Fred.
What does smoking cause?
Smoking causes cancer.
For questions in the simple past, the auxiliary verb is did:
What did Daniel make?
Daniel made a sandwich.
What did the earthquake damage?
The earthquake damaged my house.
Who did Jennifer lie to?
Jennifer lied to Sam.
Subject Questions in English
However, sometimes we want to ask about the subject. We don’t know the person or thing who performed the action, and we want to find out.
This type of question is called a subject question, and subject questions do NOT use the auxiliary verbs do, does, and did.
How to form subject questions:
Who / What + verb in simple present or simple past + object ?
Examples of subject questions in the simple present:
Who wants some fruit juice?
We want some fruit juice.
Who likes Fred?
Karen likes Fred.
What causes cancer?
Smoking causes cancer.
Examples of subject questions in the simple past:
Who made a sandwich?
Daniel made a sandwich.
What damaged your house?
The earthquake damaged my house.
Who lied to Sam?
Jennifer lied to Sam.
When you are going to ask a question in the simple present or simple past using who or what, ask yourself,
“Am I asking about the doer of the action or the receiver of the action?”If you’re asking about the doer/subject, then DON’T use do/does/did:
Who wants fruit juice?
What damaged your house?
If you’re asking about the receiver/object, then YES – use do/does/did:
What do you want to drink?
What did the earthquake damage?
And, since practice makes perfect, here you have some exercises to work with!
Begginer: Set 1
Intermediate: Set 1
When we talk about how we do actions, we use adverbs of manner. We can also compare the actions using comparative adverbs or (not) as ... as.
I sing beautifully.
My sister swims faster than me.
My friend sail less badly than me.
I play cricket as well as my brother.
And here you have some exercises to practice it:
Begginer: Set 1
Intermediate and Advanced: Set 1 (you have to read the explanation and click on the exercises below)
No comments:
Post a Comment