Thanks to lessons 8 and 20, you are already familiar with question words and can ask questions in different tenses. Today's lesson is about how to ask questions to the subject.

Question words who and what

The subject is the main member of the sentence, indicating the person or thing performing the action. When you ask a question to a subject, the question words Who and What are used. The word order with them remains exactly the same as in a positive sentence. And most importantly, no auxiliary verbs are used. For example:

Sam is talking to Katy. — Who is talking to Katy?

The accident happened yesterday. — What happened yesterday?

He can do it. — Who can do it?

The interrogative words Who and What are used when we ask a question to a complement (answers questions in oblique cases). In this case, you will need auxiliary verbs:

Sam is talking to Katy. — Who is Sam talking to?

They bought a new car yesterday. — What did they buy?

He can do it. — What can he do?

Important! Pay attention to the use of prepositions in questions!

The words what and who agree with a singular verb, so remember to add the ending “s” to the predicate in a subject question, for example:

They speak Spanish. — Who speak s Spanish?

Question words which, whose, how many and how much

The interrogative words which, whose, how many and how much can also build a question to the subject. In this case, they must be used together with a noun:

The bedroom has two windows. — Which room has two windows?

Tom's dog is playing in the garden. — Whose dog is playing in the garden?

A lot of people live here. — How many people live here?

Some money has been paid. — How much money has been paid?

If you use these question words to ask a question to the complement, you will need auxiliary verbs:

I will choose Room 7. — Which room will you choose?

Ruth is walking Tom's dog. — Whose dog is Ruth walking?

I asked a few people. — How many people did you ask?

I paid some money. — How much money did you pay?

Lesson assignments

Task 1. Ask a question to the subject using who, what, which, whose, how many or how much.

1. These flowers look wonderful.
2. So many people call here every day.
3. My brother works in the Zoo.
4. Rachel is coming to see us.
5. Mum's bag is in the car.
6. Red house is the biggest.
7. Miss Morstan will go to Paris.
8. The flight has been delayed.

Task 2. Ask a question about the highlighted word.

One of the most difficult topics in class is consideredquestions with who in English. But in fact, everything is quite simple, since in these questions you don’t even need to use auxiliary verbs. And the word order remains exactly the same as in a regular declarative sentence. Questions withwhoare quite common in English, so it is important to learn how to formulate them correctly.

Questions with who in English. Construction scheme

Regarding word order in questions with who in English, then it is universal. Pay attention to the following diagram:

Who + main verb (often in the 3rd person singular) + other parts of the sentence

Why don't these questions use an auxiliary verb? For the reason that the question is addressed to a person or thing, instead of which in our question we use who. Let's look at examples:

1. A: Who wrote that novel? – Who wrote that novel?

B: Anna did. - Anna.

2. A: Who is speaking? -Who is speaking?

Q: Tom is. - Volume.

It should be noted that such questions occur not only with the word who. Can be applied which, what, whose and even how many. How to figure it out then? You can simply try replacing the question word or phrase with who. If the meaning of the sentence does not change, you need to use the rules for questions with who in English.

For example:

A: How many people came to the meeting? – How many people came to the meeting?

Q: Six people came to the meeting. – Six people came to the meeting.

Questions with who in English. Examples

Below are other examples questions with who(which, what, whose…) in English.

question	translation
Who looked at me when I was singing?	Who looked at me when I sang?
Who plays piano as well as Alex?	Who plays the piano as good as Alex?
Whose son came to the party yesterday?	Whose son came to the party yesterday?
How many people speak Japanese in your office?	How many people speak Japanese in your office?
Who talked to Anna when I was away?	Who spoke to Anna when I was away?
Which manger looks more serious?	Which manager looks more serious?
What specialist has more information?	Which specialist has more information?
Which team lost the game?	Which team lost?

There is another interesting question that always sounds without an auxiliary verb. This What happened? (What's happened?)

Why are questions starting with who so important?

Is it worth focusing on this topic? Why are they so important questions starting with who? Let's try to figure it out using the following suggestions.

In this lesson we will learn how to correctly pose questions to the subject and object.

Thus, if we briefly define the principle of creating a question to a subject in English, we get the following: we take an affirmative sentence, remove the subject, and in its place we put the corresponding question word - who/what. You just need to remember that in the present tense the verb in the sentence will have the third person singular form.

Mary and Ann like walking in the park. -MaryAndAnnlovewalkVpark.

Who like s walking in the park?

They know his real name. -Theyknowhisthe presentName.

Who know s his real name? -Whoknowshisthe presentName?

You have big problems with the grammar. -UyoubigProblemsWithgrammar.

Who ha s bigproblemswiththegrammar? - Who has big problems with grammar?(Fig. 2)

Rice. 2. Illustration for example ()

Please note that, despite the subject in the affirmative sentence, in the question after what and who the verb will still have the 3rd person singular form. hours at any time.

Answers to questions to the subject

We now know how to ask a question to the subject. How to answer this question?

A question to the subject is usually given a short answer, consisting of the subject (expressed by a noun or pronoun in the nominal case) and an auxiliary verb of the appropriate tense.

E.g. Who know s the answer to the question? - She does.

Who knows the answer to this question? - She(knows).

Since the question was asked inPresentSimple, then in the answer we must take an auxiliary verbdoordoes. ForsheThiswilldoes.

Who play s in the garden? - My children do.

Who playing in the garden? - My children ( play).

Question asked inPresentSimple, which means in the answer formychildren (they) we must take an auxiliary verbdo.

Who will go to the chemist's? - I will.

Who going to the pharmacy? - I(I'll go). (Fig. 6)

Since the question was asked inFutureSimple, then in the answer we take the auxiliary verbwill.

Rice. 3. Illustration for example ()

Who made three mistakes in the test? - He did.

Who made three mistakes in the test? - He ( did).

Question asked inPastSimple, so in the answer we must take an auxiliary verbdid.

Verb tobe in short answers does not require an auxiliary verb. He himself performs this function.

E.g.Who is in the classroom? - I am.

Who Vclass? - I.

Who is ready to answer? - Tom is.

Who ready to answer? - Volume.(Fig. 7)

Who is there? - We are.

Who there? - We.

Rice. 4. Illustration for example ()

Questions for the supplement

We have examined the question for the subject, and now let’s see how questions for the object are formed.

Additions in English, as in Russian, can be used with or without a preposition. Most often, a non-prepositional object is called direct, and a prepositional object is called indirect.

There are no special problems with questions for the supplement. If there is no preposition in the affirmative sentence before the object, then the question pattern is as follows:

In the first place we put the question word who (for animate)/what (for inanimate), then we put the auxiliary verb, then the subject, the semantic verb and all other members of the sentence. The very addition to which we are asking the question is not in the question.

E.g. What are you reading?

What Youyou're reading?

What do do you want to show us?

What do you want to show us?

Who did will you meet there?

Whom did you meet there?

What do you think?

What Youyou think?

What did the teacher read to the students?

What did the teacher read to the students?(Fig. 8)

Rice. 5. Illustration for example ()

If the matter concerns an indirect addition, that is, one with a preposition, then we construct a question, as in the previous case, but only we place the preposition at the end of the question after the predicate or other addition.

E.g. Who are you speaking of?

ABOUT com Youspeak?

What are you looking at?

On What Youlook?

Who do you want to speak to?

With whom do you want to talk?

What do you complain of?

On What Youcomplaining?

Who did the teacher read a story to?

To whom did the teacher read the story?

In a short answer to questions for the addition, we simply name the subject itself, that is, the addition itself.

Branch 1. Ending - s V Present Simple

In Present Simple time, the ending receives the 3rd person unit. h., that is, he/she/it.

E.g. He read s many books.

Heis readinga lot ofbooks.

She like s playing the guitar.

She likes to play the guitar.(Fig. 3)

It often rain s in my region.

It rains often in my region.

Rice. 6. Illustration for example ()

In general, we really just add the ending -s to the verb, but there are a few special points.

If, for example, an infinitive (i.e. a verb without the particle to) ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z, then we will add the ending -es to it.

E.g. he loses

She tosses

She pushes

He doesn't teach

She mixes

Itbuzzes

And if the infinitive ends in -y, then we add the ending -es to it, but at the same time y changes to i.

E.g. to cry - the baby cries

To fly - the plane flies

To study - the boy studies

Such well-known verbs as go and do, which end in -o, add singular units in the 3rd person. h. ending -es.

E.g. to do - Does he work here?

To go - she goes to school

To construct a negative question to the subject, we must after who and what put an auxiliary verb with the particle not.

E.g. Who does not know the last rule?

Who doesn't know the last rule?

Who was not at the library yesterday?

Who wasn't in the library yesterday?

What will not cause the fire?

What won't cause a fire?(Fig. 4)

Rice. 7. Illustration for example ()

Lastorlatest?

Both the word last and the word latest are translated as “last”. But there is a difference between them.

If by the word “last” we mean something after which there is nothing and nothing will happen, then we must use the word last.

E.g. Last the letter of the English alphabet is Z.

The last letter of the English alphabet is Z.

It is clear that after the letterZThere can be no other one, since the alphabet ends with it.(Fig. 5)

This last composition by this singer. He won't sing anymore.

This is thelast song of the singer. He will not sing any more.

After this song there will be no others, as the singer refuses to continue his career.

Rice. 8. Illustration for example ()

If by the word “last” we mean something the freshest, the newest, the most modern, then we should use the word latest.

E.g. You've already heard latest news?

Have you already heard thelatest news?

The news is always the freshest and newest, and is always followed by even more relevant ones.

Last The model of this car is much cheaper than the previous one.

Thelatest model of this car is much cheaper than the previous one.

We are talking about the newest and most modern model of the car, after which many more different models will certainly be released.

Basic geometric shapes

You know what the basic geometric shapes are called in Russian. Here are some short poems that will help you remember their English names better.

I"m Suzy Circle.

I'm happy as can be.

I go round and round.

Can you draw me?

I'm Susie Krug.

I am very happy.

I spin and spin.

Can you draw me?

I'm Tommy Triangle.

One, two, three!

I'm Tomi Triangle.

Look at me!

Count my sides.

One, two, three!

Sammy Square is my name.

My four sides are just the same.

Turn me around, I don't care.

I"m always the same.

I"m Sammy Square.

My name is Sammy Square.

I have four identical sides.

If you want, turn me over, I don't care -

I won't change.

I'm Sammy Square.

Ricky Rectangle is my name.

My four sides are not the same.

2 are short and 2 are long.

Count my sides, come right along.

One, two, three, four.

My name is Ricky Rectangle.

My four sides are not the same.

Two short and two long.

Come on, count my sides.

One, two, three, four.

Self-test tasks

Now let’s do some exercises to understand the formation of subject and object questions better.

Now let's do some exercises to better understand the formation of subject and object questions.

Look at the sentences and fill the gaps with the right word - who or what.

1. ___ works with you? → Who

2. ___ is playing the violin? → Who

3. ___ are you talking about? → What

4. ___ did you buy that for? → Who

5. ___ did you take his advice? → What

6. ___ wants to go there? → Who

7. ___ is going on? → What

8. ___ will happen if I leave the room? → What

9. ___ has called you? → Who

10. ___ your friends think about her? → What

Bibliography

1. Afanasyeva O. V. Series “New English course for Russian schools.” 5th grade. - M: Bustard, 2008.
2. Fomina I. N., Fomina L. V. English in algorithms. - Dnepropetrovsk, 2007.
3. Pakhotin A. Everything about modal verbs and the subjunctive mood in English. - M: Karev Publisher, 2005.
4. Dubrovin M.I. Illustrated guide to English grammar. - M: “Nachala-Press”, 1992.

1. Educational Internet resources - English language ().
2. Interactive-english.ru ().
3. Enative.narod.ru ().

Homework

Insert who or what in place of the blank.

1. ___ is this boy right next to you? 2. ___ were you doing at home last Tuesday? 3. ___ does he like singing? 4. ___ has a lot of interesting books? 5. ___ are you talking about? 6. ___ plays football every Sunday? 7. ___ interesting have you seen there? 8. ___ makes you feel better? 9. ___ are you looking at? 10. ___ gets up every workday and goes to school?

Ask a question to the subject.

For example: They work at the office. - Who works at the office?

1. She cooks well. 2. They often go to the cinema. 3. Happiness is all that I need. 4. The flowers are very nice. 5. He takes a lot of my time. 6. I skate badly. 7. The sun is shining brightly. 8. She always gives me her books. 9. I usually work in my room. 10. Moscow is the capital of Russia.

The subject is the main member of the sentence that answers the question “Who?” or "What?"

In letter combination wh only one letter is “read”: the sound is pronounced [w] or [h] !
Dictionary:

Who- Who?
What- what?, which?, who by profession/occupation? (if the question is about a person)

*** It's interesting what native English speakers can pronounce what the beginning of words it’s not easy [w], A , Sounds [w] And [h] both sound, but change places (you can listen, for example, on the website lingvo-online.ru). In dictionaries you will see the transcription of such words [(h)w]- this means that the sound [h] may or may not be pronounced, e.g. what [(h)wɔt].

Question to the subject

One of the exercises used in teaching English is to ask a question to a specific part of a sentence. The easiest way is to ask the question to the subject, because... for this you only need replace the subject with a question word without forgetting about agreement of the verb with the subject (!).
In these examples, pay attention to the verbs is And like(s):

This boy is happy. He likes to sing. - This boy is happy. He likes to sing. These girls are happy. They like to sing. - These girls are happy. They like to sing. - Who is happy? -Who is happy? - The boy is. / The girls are. - Boy. / Girls. - Who likes to sing? -Who likes to sing? (or Who likes to sing?) - The boy does. / The girls do. - Boy. / Girls.

The question is asked the same for singular (boy) and plural (girls) subjects. Everything is the same as in Russian. It doesn't matter if one or more people know how to play the guitar:

Who plays the guitar? - Who plays the guitar? (He plays the guitar. - He plays the guitar.)

To ask a question to the subject, replace the subject with a question word (i.e. an interrogative pronoun), and the following verb should be the same as in an affirmative sentence with He(or She or It).
Rule:

Question to the subject is a sentence that preserves the word order of a declarative (affirmative) sentence, in which the interrogative pronoun Who or What plays the role of the subject (replaces the subject), and is followed by a verb in the form third person singular.

Examples of questions to the subject for different forms of verbs

It remains to be seen when the “3rd person singular” complicates our lives.

A detailed consideration of the agreement between subject and predicate in person and number is a topic for a separate article, but here I will finally give various cases in which, in order to form a question to the subject, you need to change the form of the verb of the original sentence:

Affirmative sentence	Question to the subject
verb to be- to be, to be, to be or an auxiliary verb, a linking verb; present tense forms - am, are, is, past tense – was And were 3rd person unit number: is | was
I am hot. - I feel hot.	Who is hot? -Who's hot?
My friends were in the park. - My friends were in the park.	Who was in the park? - Who was in the park?
We shall be free. - We will be free.	Who will be free? -Who will be free?
verb to have- have or auxiliary verb; present tense forms - have, has had 3rd person unit number:has| had
They have a lot of interesting books. - They have a lot of interesting books.	Who has a lot of interesting books? - Who has a lot of interesting books?
My friends have been in the park. - My friends visited the park.	Who has been in the park? - Who visited the park?
By the 1st of September, 2012, I shall have been working at school for ten years. - By September 1, 2012, I will have been working at the school for 10 years.	Who will have been working at school for ten years by the 1st of September, 2012? - Who will have been working at school for 10 years by September 1, 2012?
verb to do- do or auxiliary verb; present tense forms - do, does, one past tense form – did 3rd person unit number:does| did
I usually do the dishes in the evening. - I usually wash the dishes in the evening.	Who usually does the dishes in the evening? -Who usually washes the dishes in the evening?
We don"t do well confused. - We don't feel very good when we are confused.	Who doesn't do you well confused? -Who doesn't feel good when they're confused?
semantic verb in simple present tense 3rd person unit number: the verb has an ending -s(es) 1st and 2nd person and 3rd person plural: infinitive (stem) of the verb without ending -s(es)

Sometimes you need to find out who is doing or has done an action. For example, someone gave your friend a gift. To clarify who exactly gave the gift, you will ask the question: “Who gave you the gift?”

Every day we ask questions like this: “Who called you? Who is messaging you? Who will go to the store?

In English this type of question is called questions to the subject. Such questions are very easy to construct.

Below I have written detailed instructions on how to ask these questions.

So in such sentences the characters are apple and books. And, despite the fact that they are not at the beginning of the sentence, we must remove them. At the same time, there becomes their place, and we put what/who first. The outline of such a proposal will be as follows.

Examples

So, we've figured out how to ask a question to the subject, and now let's find out how to answer it.

How to answer a question to a subject in English

The answer to this question could be:

• short,
• full.

Short answer to the question to the subject

If we give a short answer, we must name the one who performs the action, has the attribute and add to it an auxiliary verb/modal verb/verb to be (depending on what is used in the sentence).

The short answer will look like this.

Actor + auxiliary verb/modal verb/verb to be.

For example, we have a question

Who work ed yesterday?
Who worked yesterday?

This question is asked in the Past Simple, the auxiliary verb in this tense is did. Therefore, the answer will include the actor and did.

Sam did.
Sam.

Let's look at a few more examples.

Who likes es to get up early? Mary does.
Who likes to get up early? Mary.

Who can open the door? They can.

Who was at home? Children were.
Who was home? There were children.

Who is angry? Mother is.
Who's angry? Mom is angry.

In the colloquial version, we can simply name the character.

Who watch this serial? Mary.
Who watched this series? Mary.

Complete answer to the question to the subject

To give a complete answer, you need to put the actor in the place of who/what.

Who will go to the cinema? My friends will go to the cinema.
Who will go to the cinema? My friends will go to the cinema.

Remember to change the sentence if you are talking about several people when answering.

Who has a dog? My friends have a dog.
Who has a dog? My friends have a dog.

Who was hungry? They were hungry.
Who was hungry? They were hungry.

We've covered the theory, now let's put it into practice.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Who plays in the park?
2. Who works here?
3. What broke?
4. Who are the engineers?
5. Who can help me?
6. Who will watch this film?
7. What's on the shelf?
8. Who speaks English?

Leave your answers in the comments below the article.