A question to the subject is a question beginning with who(who) or what(What). Its purpose is to get an answer about who or what is in the sentence. For example:
Who took my phone? – Who took my phone?
What is it? - What is this?
How to construct a question to the subject: rules and examples
Questions to the subject in English are considered the simplest because they do not require rearrangement of words, like or.
Note: in general, a question to the subject is a type of special question, but it is often distinguished separately due to the direct word order.
It is built extremely simply: instead of the subject we put- that's all. Of course, you still need to add a question mark and intonation. Let me give you an example.
Let's take an affirmative sentence:
Columbus discoveredAmerica. - Columbus discovered America.
To ask a general question to the subject Columbus, you need to replace it with who:
Who discovered America? - Who discovered America?
That is, the scheme of the question to the subject looks like this:
Here are some more examples of how to transform an affirmative sentence into a subject question. Please note that when translated into Russian, the words who and what will not always be translated exactly as “who” and “what”.
Earth is the third planet from Sun. – Earth is the third planet from the Sun.
What is the third planet from Sun? – Which planet is the third from the Sun?
James can afford that house. James can afford this house.
Who can afford that house? – Who can afford this house?
Bright light hurt my eyes. – Bright light hurts my eyes.
What hurts my eyes? – What hurts my eyes?
My cat loves sleeping. – My cat loves to sleep.
Who loves sleeping? – Who likes to sleep?
Tom and Jerry have a mutual friend. – Tom and Jerry have a mutual friend.
Who have a mutual friend? – Who has a mutual friend?
Now let’s look at some of the nuances that you noticed if you carefully read the examples.
Nuances: Who have or Who has? Who do or Who does?
The question is: What form is the verb after who or what, in the regular form (live, love, do, have) or in the third person singular form (lives, lives, does, has)?
Answer: Both options are possible, depending on whether by who/what someone or something is meant in the singular or plural.
You may have noticed that in the examples above there are both options:
Option 1:
My cat loves sleeping. – Who loves sleeping?
The unit form used here is plural numbers loves numbers, because the question implies one cat (assuming that I already knew or guessed the answer).
Other examples:
Henry has a bad habit. Henry has a bad habit.
Who has a bad habit? – Who has a bad habit.
Marta does a lot of work. – Martha works a lot.
Who does a lot of work? – Who works a lot?
Option 2:
Tom and Jerry have a mutual friend. – Tom and Jerry have a mutual friend.
Who have a mutual friend? – Who has a mutual friend?
Here the verb have is used in its usual form, and not has, because the question implies a plural (a question about a common friend implies that at least two persons will be named in the answer, otherwise the friend would not be common).
Other examples. They emphasize in the question that by who is meant not one person, but more:
They want to see you. - They want to see you.
Who want to see you? -Who wants to see you?
We do a good thing. - We are doing a good job.
Who do a good thing? – Who does a good job?
If the context is such that, when asking a question, you do not mean singular or plural, then by default the question is asked as if the singular number were meant, that is, with a verb in the singular form. numbers, third person. For example, I turn to a group of friends, offering to sing a song, and I do not have the attitude of “waiting for a response from one person” or “expecting a response from several people,” I simply ask:
Who wants to sing? – Who wants to sing?
Question for definition with subject
A definition is a “free” member of a sentence that can stand with both an object and a subject. If the definition comes with an addition, then a question is asked about it. But if the definition comes with the subject, the question to it is asked according to a scheme similar to the question to the subject - The word order in the question is direct, like an affirmative sentence.
The difference is that:
- Question words are used: what - which (what is not only “what”, but also in some cases “which”), how long - how long, how many - how many, whose - whose, which - which, etc.
- The question word replaces not the subject, but the definition of it.
For example:
- Statement: Anna's cat is sleeping on the coach. – Anna’s cat is sleeping on the sofa.
- Question: Whose cat is sleeping on the coach? – Whose cat is sleeping on the sofa?
Other examples:
Twenty people came aboard. – Twenty people boarded.
How many people came aboard? – How many people got on board?
Warm weather is good for your health. – Warm weather is good for your health.
What weather is good for your health? – What weather is good for your health?
Question for the subject or question for the object?
Do not confuse questions for the subject and questions for the object. Both can include the words who and what, but are constructed differently. Let's take a sentence:
The wind has closed the window. – The wind closed the window.
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Good afternoon dear friends!
One of the most important skills in English is the ability to ask questions. It will be useful to you in any situation: if you want to meet someone, ask for directions, buy something in a store. Therefore, today I will tell you about a whole separate group - about questions to the subject in English.
From this article you will learn:
Let's understand the terms
First, let's define what a subject is. This is the subject who performs this or that action. It can be expressed in different parts of speech:
- Nouns. The cat is sleeping (The cat is sleeping).
- By proper name. Cindy likes oranges (Cindy loves oranges).
- Pronoun. He is wearing a jacket (He is wearing a jacket).
- Gerund. Talking on the phone is forbidden here.
- Infinitive. To go jogging in the morning is very healthy (Going for a jog in the morning is very healthy).
We need this knowledge when this subject is not known or we want to clarify something about him. For example, someone broke a mug and you want to know. You will say angrily: Who broke the cup?
For this type of sentence, we only need two question words: Who (who), What (what). Remember the last lesson about?
Something is missing
Looking at their diagram, you may notice that the word order is not the same as in the special questions we are used to. Or rather, it looks more like a statement. How to ask a question to the subject in English? The rule is simple. Want modal verbs?
There is no need to remember auxiliary verbs here, as in other questions. They simply aren't here. All you need to do is replace the known subject with the word who or what. For example, Steve has got the keys. Steve is a subject. But if it is unknown to you, we get: Who has got the keys? (Who has the keys?). As you can see, only one word has changed. main parts of a sentence in English?
The difference between a subject question and a special question
Let's look at examples of questions to the subject in different grammatical tenses in the table:
| Present Simple | |||
| wakes up early? lies in the corner? | wakes up early? eats chocolate? goes to school? is it lying in the corner? | ||
| Past Simple | |||
| called you? went to the cinema? | called you? went to the cinema? It happened? | ||
| Future Simple | |||
| will visit Sam? will wash the dishes? will happen to him? | will visit Sam? will he wash the dishes? will happen to him? | ||
| Verb to be | |||
| is here? | Here? happy? on the table? | ||
How to answer them?
There are two ways to answer: short and full. The first contains only one word - the subject. For example, Who is talking on the phone? (Who's on the phone?) The answer is David. Have you repeated about articles for numerals?
The second contains the subject and auxiliary verb of the tense in which the sentence is constructed.
We get: David is.
Another example: Who sings this song? (Who sings this song?) Sandra/ Sandra does. By the way, remember about pronouns?
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To remember
Now, so that everything is finally remembered, we will practice the acquired knowledge in the exercise. Translate the sentences into English:
- What's in the bag?
For example, What is in the bag? - Who will call Jim?
- What happened to the computer?
- Who turned off the light?
- Who wants to go to the theater with me?
- What's in the refrigerator?
- Who broke the glasses?
- Who watches football?
That's all. If you are interested in learning more about the English language, subscribe to the Viva Europe blog.
I was with you, a philologist of the English language, Ekaterina Martynova.
I wish everyone a good mood!
A question to the subject (as well as to the definition of the subject) does not require a change in the direct word order characteristic of a declarative sentence. The subject (with all its definitions) is simply replaced by an interrogative pronoun, which plays the role of the subject in the question. Questions to the subject begin with interrogative pronouns:
who – Who (for animate nouns)
what - What (for inanimate nouns)
Scheme of a special question to the subject:
|
Subject |
Predicate |
Addition |
Circumstance |
|
Who Who |
is reading is reading |
a book book |
at the window? near the window ? |
|
What What |
is lying lies |
on the table? on the table ? |
Additional auxiliary verb to do in Present and Past Indefinite (where it is not in the original form) is not required.
|
The teacher read an interesting story to the students yesterday. Who read an interesting story to the students yesterday? |
TeacherI read an interesting story to my students yesterday. Who Did you read an interesting story to your students yesterday? |
|
This very important part of the plan played a great role in our experiment. What played a great role in our experiment? |
This is a very important part of the plan. played a huge role in our experiment. What played a huge role in our experiment? |
The predicate in such questions (after who, what as the subject) is always expressed by a verb in 3m person singular (do not forget about the ending -s in the 3rd person singular in Present Indefinite. Rules for the formation of -s forms.):
|
Who is reading this book? |
Who is reading this book? |
|
Who go es to school? |
Who walks to school? |
|
Who give s you English books? |
Who gives do you need books in English? |
In sentences with formal there The interrogative pronoun displaces the real subject rather than the formal word, for example:
To a question about the subject (or its definition), a short answer is usually given, consisting of the subject (expressed by a noun or pronoun in the nominal case) and auxiliary(and in the absence of an auxiliary verb in the predicate - auxiliary do) or modal verb. Verbs to be, to have in their semantic meaning, naturally, do not require an auxiliary verb do. In colloquial speech, all these verbs can be omitted, leaving only one subject in the answer.
|
Who know s the answer to the question? We do. |
Who knows the answer to this question? We (we know). |
|
Who play s in the garden? My children do. |
Who playing in the garden? My children . |
|
Who can do it? I can. |
Who can do this? I (Can). |
|
Who must study hard? We must. |
Who have to study hard? We (must). |
|
Who is in the classroom? I am. |
Who in class? I . |
Answer to the question to determine the subject:
Note: Remember that interrogative pronouns who And whatwhen asking a question in present time require the placement of a predicate verb in 3rd person singular numbers (present: Indefinite - endings -s, -es; Continuous - is; Perfect - has), if it is not known in advance in what person and number the answer will follow, for example:
|
Who want s to go there? We do.- or-I do.- or- She do es . |
Who wants to go there? We. - or – I. – or - She. |
|
Who has been there today? We have. - or - He has. |
Who was there today? We . - or - He. |
In colloquial speech, these verbs can be omitted, leaving only one subject in the answer. But such answers are less common.
Whois standing at the window? Who standing at the window?- My sister. My sister.
First of all, remember that a compound nominal predicate consists of linking verb in person and noun part. As a linking verb , as a rule, the verb is used to be - be in the appropriate person and time: am / is / are / was / were ... . The nominal part expresses the main semantic meaning of the predicate, characterizing the subject: what it is, what it is, who/what it is . It can be expressed by any part of speech: noun, adjective, pronoun, adverb, participle, etc. For example:
Noun: She is a student . - She student.
Adjective: The weather isfine . - Weather wonderful.
Adverb : The lesson is over . - Lesson finished .
Communion : The glass is broken . - Cupbroken .
Questions to the subject in sentences with a compound nominal predicate begin with whoWho(when it comes to faces) and with whatWhat(when talking about objects). In a question, the linking verb agrees in number with the noun that comes after it, and if the nominal part of the predicate is not expressed by a noun, then the linking verb is put in the singular.
|
Who is a student? |
Who student? |
|
Who are engineer s ? |
Who engineers? |
|
What is over? |
What over? |
|
What is broken? |
What broken? |
|
Who is ready? |
Who ready? |
Questions to the nominal part of the predicate aim to find out what is the object, what does it represent . The linking verb in them agrees in number with the noun or pronoun that comes after it. The question starts with who when they want to find out the surname or degree of relationship. The question starts with what when it comes to a person’s profession, position, etc. In Russian and who And what corresponds in this case to the pronoun Who .
|
Who is that man? |
Who this person? |
|
What is he? |
Who he is such a? What is he like? |
|
What are they like? |
What what do they represent? |
|
What kind of book is it? |
What what kind of book is this? |
Questions to determine the subject begin with question words whatWhich, which which, whosewhose, how muchHow manyhow manyHow many, which are immediately followed by the subject:
|
What book is lying on the table? |
Which book is it on the table? |
|
Whose children are playing in the garden? |
Whose children playing in the garden? |
|
How many letters arrived in the morning? |
How many letters did it come in the morning? |
|
How much coffee is in the cup now? |
How many coffee in a cup now? |
Question word what included in the combination What kind of...?, which is always a question of quality, i.e. question for definition. It matters" What kind (kind, type)…?", "What the…?":
|
What kind of book is it? – It’s an interesting book. |
Which this (What is this) book? - It's an interesting book. |
Note: After question words what And what kind of noun used without article.
Answer to the question to determine the subject:
Whatbook is lying on the table? Which the book is on the table?- A French book is. French (book).
These questions are based on negative sentences, which means that an auxiliary verb is used in Present and Past Indefinite to do.
In matters relating to the subject or its definition, the particle not is placed after an auxiliary or modal verb:
|
Who does n't know this rule? |
Who Not knows this rule? |
|
Who has n't seen this film yet? |
Who else Not have you seen this movie? |
|
Who has n't returned yet? |
Who else Not back? |
Greetings, my dear reader.
Do you know how to correctly formulate questions to the subject in English? Probably many of you don’t even understand what we’re talking about right now. Therefore, today I will tell you what it is - a question to the subject, how it is formed and even what forms it has at different times. After studying, you can move on to this topic.
So what is it?
A question to the subject is one of those in the English language. And, as you can guess from the name, it will refer specifically to the one who performs the action. The main words used here are « who - Who" or « what - What". Let's look at examples:
Who is having a birthday party today? -Who's having a birthday party today?
As you can see, the action is carried out by a person, so we use the pronoun who- Who.
Whatis lying on the floor? -What lies on semi?
Here we are already addressing an inanimate object, which is why we use the word what- What.
The structural diagram of the proposal is as follows:
Who\What + auxiliary verb + main predicate verb + object.
Who has(auxiliary)broken(main verb)the window(addition)? - Who broke the window?
How to use at different times?
In general, sentence structure does not change with different tenses. But to make it easier for you to remember the basic principle of sentence construction, I have a wonderful table for you.
In the present tense we only change verbs at the appropriate tense. But be careful:
IN Present Simple we add an ending –s to the verb - and no auxiliary verbs!!!
In the past tense we also change only the forms of verbs, and by analogy with the present tense
IN Past Simple the verb of the second form remains.
And finally, formation of proposals in the future tense . Everything here is 100% similar.
How to answer such a question?
If you ask this type of question, don't expect to be given a detailed answer. Often the answer is the subject. Let's look at the structure of the response:
Subject + auxiliary verb
- Who has(auxiliary) written down the notes? - Who wrote down the notes?
- I have. - I
This principle applies almost all the time. And I say "practically" because Present Simple you need to be very careful.
- Who reads(auxiliary) better: Jane or Kate? -Who draws better: Jane or Kate?
- Jane does. - Jane.
That is in the question we do not use an auxiliary verb, as in all other tenses, but in the answer - vice versa . The same thing happens with Past Simple.
- Who finished(auxiliary) the book? - Who finished the book?
- I did. - I
Let's talk about mistakes
I can say for sure that students often do not have problems with this topic. Once they get acquainted with the theory and do a couple of exercises, everything becomes crystal clear. But there are still a couple of the most common mistakes.
- The most common one is forgetting the correct endings in the present tense.
Who buys the fruits in your family? -Who buys fruits V yours family?
Who writes writes more beautiful: Lily or John? -Who writes more beautiful: Lily or John?
- Another mistake is to use the wrong auxiliary verb when answering (or even not using it at all).
-Who has broken the glass? -Who smashed cup?
- I. I have- I.
From the point of view of Russian speech, nothing may confuse you, but from the point of view of English grammar, it’s still worth using the verb.
You remember that the best way to remember something is to give yourself careful practice. on my website will help you quickly master the material. And in order to once again strengthen the ability to correctly compose various questions in English, I prepared this one.
And for today I say goodbye. See you again, my dears!
A question to the subject (as well as to the definition of the subject) does not require a change in the direct word order characteristic of a declarative sentence. The subject (with all its definitions) is simply replaced by an interrogative pronoun, which plays the role of the subject in the question. Questions to the subject begin with interrogative pronouns:
who – Who (for animate nouns)
what - What (for inanimate nouns)
Scheme of a special question to the subject:
|
Subject |
Predicate |
Addition |
Circumstance |
|
Who Who |
is reading is reading |
a book book |
at the window? near the window ? |
|
What What |
is lying lies |
on the table? on the table ? |
Additional auxiliary verb to do in Present and Past Indefinite (where it is not in the original form) is not required.
|
The teacher read an interesting story to the students yesterday. Who read an interesting story to the students yesterday? |
TeacherI read an interesting story to my students yesterday. Who Did you read an interesting story to your students yesterday? |
|
This very important part of the plan played a great role in our experiment. What played a great role in our experiment? |
This is a very important part of the plan. played a huge role in our experiment. What played a huge role in our experiment? |
The predicate in such questions (after who, what as the subject) is always expressed by a verb in 3m person singular (do not forget about the ending -s in the 3rd person singular in Present Indefinite. Rules for the formation of -s forms.):
|
Who is reading this book? |
Who is reading this book? |
|
Who go es to school? |
Who walks to school? |
|
Who give s you English books? |
Who gives do you need books in English? |
In sentences with formal there The interrogative pronoun displaces the real subject rather than the formal word, for example:
To a question about the subject (or its definition), a short answer is usually given, consisting of the subject (expressed by a noun or pronoun in the nominal case) and auxiliary(and in the absence of an auxiliary verb in the predicate - auxiliary do) or modal verb. Verbs to be, to have in their semantic meaning, naturally, do not require an auxiliary verb do. In colloquial speech, all these verbs can be omitted, leaving only one subject in the answer.
|
Who know s the answer to the question? We do. |
Who knows the answer to this question? We (we know). |
|
Who play s in the garden? My children do. |
Who playing in the garden? My children . |
|
Who can do it? I can. |
Who can do this? I (Can). |
|
Who must study hard? We must. |
Who have to study hard? We (must). |
|
Who is in the classroom? I am. |
Who in class? I . |
Answer to the question to determine the subject:
Note: Remember that interrogative pronouns who And whatwhen asking a question in present time require the placement of a predicate verb in 3rd person singular numbers (present: Indefinite - endings -s, -es; Continuous - is; Perfect - has), if it is not known in advance in what person and number the answer will follow, for example:
|
Who want s to go there? We do.- or-I do.- or- She do es . |
Who wants to go there? We. - or – I. – or - She. |
|
Who has been there today? We have. - or - He has. |
Who was there today? We . - or - He. |
In colloquial speech, these verbs can be omitted, leaving only one subject in the answer. But such answers are less common.
Whois standing at the window? Who standing at the window?- My sister. My sister.
First of all, remember that a compound nominal predicate consists of linking verb in person and noun part. As a linking verb , as a rule, the verb is used to be - be in the appropriate person and time: am / is / are / was / were ... . The nominal part expresses the main semantic meaning of the predicate, characterizing the subject: what it is, what it is, who/what it is . It can be expressed by any part of speech: noun, adjective, pronoun, adverb, participle, etc. For example:
Noun: She is a student . - She student.
Adjective: The weather isfine . - Weather wonderful.
Adverb : The lesson is over . - Lesson finished .
Communion : The glass is broken . - Cupbroken .
Questions to the subject in sentences with a compound nominal predicate begin with whoWho(when it comes to faces) and with whatWhat(when talking about objects). In a question, the linking verb agrees in number with the noun that comes after it, and if the nominal part of the predicate is not expressed by a noun, then the linking verb is put in the singular.
|
Who is a student? |
Who student? |
|
Who are engineer s ? |
Who engineers? |
|
What is over? |
What over? |
|
What is broken? |
What broken? |
|
Who is ready? |
Who ready? |
Questions to the nominal part of the predicate aim to find out what is the object, what does it represent . The linking verb in them agrees in number with the noun or pronoun that comes after it. The question starts with who when they want to find out the surname or degree of relationship. The question starts with what when it comes to a person’s profession, position, etc. In Russian and who And what corresponds in this case to the pronoun Who .
|
Who is that man? |
Who this person? |
|
What is he? |
Who he is such a? What is he like? |
|
What are they like? |
What what do they represent? |
|
What kind of book is it? |
What what kind of book is this? |
Questions to determine the subject begin with question words whatWhich, which which, whosewhose, how muchHow manyhow manyHow many, which are immediately followed by the subject:
|
What book is lying on the table? |
Which book is it on the table? |
|
Whose children are playing in the garden? |
Whose children playing in the garden? |
|
How many letters arrived in the morning? |
How many letters did it come in the morning? |
|
How much coffee is in the cup now? |
How many coffee in a cup now? |
Question word what included in the combination What kind of...?, which is always a question of quality, i.e. question for definition. It matters" What kind (kind, type)…?", "What the…?":
|
What kind of book is it? – It’s an interesting book. |
Which this (What is this) book? - It's an interesting book. |
Note: After question words what And what kind of noun used without article.
Answer to the question to determine the subject:
Whatbook is lying on the table? Which the book is on the table?- A French book is. French (book).
These questions are based on negative sentences, which means that an auxiliary verb is used in Present and Past Indefinite to do.
In matters relating to the subject or its definition, the particle not is placed after an auxiliary or modal verb:
|
Who does n't know this rule? |
Who Not knows this rule? |
|
Who has n't seen this film yet? |
Who else Not have you seen this movie? |
|
Who has n't returned yet? |
Who else Not back? |