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 narrative sentence. Simply the subject (with all its definitions) is replaced 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 special issue to the subject:
|
Subject |
Predicate |
Addition |
Circumstance |
|
Who Who |
is reading reads |
a book book |
at the window? by 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 3rd 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 reads this book? |
|
Who go es to school? |
Who walks to school? |
|
Who give s you English books? |
Who gives books for you 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 auxiliary verb at 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 of 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 (should). |
|
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 the present tense 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 by 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 is he like that? 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? – This is 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 is the book on the table?- A French book is. French (book).
These questions are built on the basis of 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 in 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 verb)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 verb) 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 verb) 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 verb) 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!
In order to ask a question to the subject in English, you must first understand 3 things: what is the subject ( main member proposals, answers the question who? what?), which and .
Special question to the subject in English. Structure.
1. My colleague is writing a report in the office.
2. 10 students came to school.
3. Porridge is burning in the kitchen.
Negative form of questions to the subject in English
The negative form of questions to the subject in English is built on the principle of negative sentences, that is, the auxiliary verbs do, does, did are used. The particle NOT is placed after a modal or auxiliary verb.
4. This student hasn’t answered my question yet.
5. Kate doesn’t speak English.
How to formulate a question to a subject in English?
- Find the subject in the sentence.
- Replace it with a suitable interrogative pronoun
- Who? (who?) or What? (What?). - Maintain direct word order, while leaving all members of the sentence in their place.
- Writing a question to a subject in English
remember to agree the verb with the subject - in the Present Simple we use the verb in
third person singular - add the ending -s (es) to
verb (e.g. Who wants tea?). IMPORTANT! Question to determining the subject
has the same structure as a question to the subject,
they use special words such as what?
(which?), which (which?), whose (whose?), how many/much
(How many?).
Questions to determine the subject in English:
- What film is the best? Which movie is the best?
- How many students attend lectures? How many students
attends lectures?
Examples of questions to the subject in English
Example 1.
John is going to England next week.
1. Subject - John
2. Replace John with who
3.We maintain direct word order (that is,
subject + predicate)
Question to the subject: Who is going to England
next week? Who's going to England next
week?
Example 2.
Viktuk's play was staged.
Questions to the subject:
Whose play was staged?
Whose play was staged?
What was staged? What did they put on stage?
Example 3.
The girls are happy.
Question to the subject: Who is happy? Who
happy?
Example 4.
We were in the circus.
Question to the subject: Who was in the circus?
Who was at the circus?
Example 5.
We were in the circus.
Question to the subject: Who was in the circus?
Who was at the circus?
Exercises (question to the subject in English
language)
- 5 (O)
- 6 (O)
- 7 (S)
- 8 (S)
- 9 (O)
- 10 (S)
Exercise 2. Compare pairs of sentences, find the subject in each sentence, determine which of the questions is a question to the subject - a) or b), translate the sentences into English. In one of the pairs, both sentences are questions to the subject.
- a) Who will you go with? versus b) Who will go
with you? - a) What does he do? versus b) Who does it?
- a) Who thought about his health? versus b) What did he think about?
- a) Whose car did you scratch? versus b) Who
scratched your car? - a) Which girl has served dinner? versus
b) Who has to serve dinner?
- a) Who will you go with? Who will you go with? versus b)
Who will go with you? Who will go with you? b) - question to
subject - What does he do? What is he doing? versus Who does it?
Who does this? b) - question to the subject - Who thought about his health? Who thought about his
health? versus What did he think about? What is it about?
thought? a) - question to the subject - a) Whose car did you scratch? Whose car are you
scratched? versus b)Who scratched your car? Who
scratched your car? b) - question to
subject - Which girl has served dinner? Which of the girls
have you served dinner? versus Who has to serve dinner? Who should
Serve dinner? a) and b) - questions for
subject
Exercise 3. Correct the mistakes.
- Who likes to sing?
- Who was in the park?
- What does make you think so?
- Who did see the accident?
- What does need washing?
- Who did make you feel disappointed?
Questions for the subject and object.Subject and object questions.What's the difference?
Let's look at the construction of questions using the following sentence as an example:
Suzy loves Paul.
Question to the subject. Subject question
1. Who loves Paul? (Who loves Paul?) - Suzy loves him.
This question is asked to the subject, since we are asking who the character is, namely “who loves?” In this type of question there is no auxiliary verb, and the main verb is in the same form as in the affirmative sentence!!!
Therefore the following options are errors:
Who does love Paul?
Who love Paul?
Question words are usually pronouns: Who? And what? Who lives with you?
What? (+ noun) can be used when the character is an animal, an inanimate object, or an abstract phenomenon.
· What happened yesterday? (What happened yesterday?)
· What animal got lost after the fire? (Which animal was lost after the fire?)
In some cases, questions to the subject may begin with the interrogative word Whose?, when we are interested in the affiliation of an object/the person’s relationship to something/someone.
· Whose bag is it? (Whose bag is this?)
· Whose dog is barking outside? (Whose dog is barking on the street?)
· Whose friend came to the office last Friday? (Whose friend came to the office last week?)
Question for addition. Object question
2. Who does Suzy love? (Who does Susie love?) - She loves Paul.
In this case, we are not interested in the actor, but in the one to whom the action is directed, that is, “who is loved?”
The supplement question, like all other special questions, contains an auxiliary verb the tense in which the main verb is found.
What has she found out so far? (What has she found out so far?) – Present Perfect
Often in such questions there is a preposition that runs to the end, although in Russian we start with a preposition.
Compare:
| English | Russian |
| Who did did you meet yesterday? | Who did you meet yesterday? |
| Who does he usually travel with? | Who does he usually travel with? |
| What are you thinking about? | What are you thinking about? |
| What is she looking for? | What is she looking for? |
| What film was she watching yesterday? | What movie did she watch yesterday? |
In questions to the object, as well as in questions to the subject, question words/phrases can be:
What (+ noun)? (which+ noun?)
Now let's try it in practice:
Open the brackets and change the questions according to its type: Subject vs Object.
1. What book/ you/________ (read) at the moment?
2. Who _______(cook) in your family most often?
3. What /you usually /_____ (talk about) with friends?
4. What/you _______ (think about) now?
5. Which film _______(go on) in cinema at the moment?
6. Who /you_______ (look like) in your family?
7. What/ your mood/ _____(depend on)?
8. Who ______(give) you present on your birthdays?
9. Who / you / usually _____(give) presents to?
10. Who / you/ _____(rely) on?
11. What apps/ you/______(use) most often?
12. What apps /______ (become) popular at the moment?
13. Who __________/you (live) with?
14. Who _________/you (would like to work) for?
15. Who ___________/you (usually talk) to first when you have problems?
16. Who ___________/you (celebrate) your birthday with?
17. Who __________(enjoy) Christmas most in your family?
18. Who _________ (phone) you most often?
19. Who _________/you (phone) most often?
20. Whose birthday______ (to be) next in your family?
A question to the subject is a question beginning with who(who) or what(What). Of the five types of questions, this is the easiest to construct. Today we’ll look at it.
Let's look at an example:
Who took my book? - Who took my book?
What was it? Did you see it? -What was that? Did you see this?
How to form a question to the subject
There is no need to change the order of words in a sentence. If we briefly talk about this, we get the following: we take an affirmative sentence, remove the subject, and instead substitute the word who (for living objects) or what (for inanimate objects)?
Statement: Mary is at the exam now. - Mary is currently on an exam.
Question: Who is at the exam? - Who's on the exam now?Statement: Meat is burning in the kitchen again. - The meat is burning in the kitchen again.
Question: What is burning in the kitchen again? - What's burning in the kitchen again?
So, the question outline is as follows:
Who or What + verb (action) + sign/place.
Also pay attention to the fact that when constructing such a question we do not need an auxiliary verb. If in an affirmative sentence the verb is in the past tense, then in the question it will also remain in the past tense.
Kevin wrote a letter two days ago.- Kevin wrote a letter two days ago.
Who wrote a letter two days ago?- Who wrote the letter two days ago?
Another small nuance that needs to be remembered - when we put who/what, we must always remember that this someone is in singular: she (she), he (he), it (it).
They run in the garden.- They are running in the garden.
Who runs in the garden?- Who is running in the garden?
Question to the subject in the Present Simple tense
A question to the subject over time in the Present Simple is built according to the following scheme:
Who/what + verb with ending -s/-es?
To ask this question, you need to:
- replace the actor in an affirmative sentence with who or what;
- add an ending to a verb (action) -s/es.
Alice sings a lullaby.- Alice sings a lullaby.
Who sings a lullaby?-Who sings the lullaby?
They know his last name.- They know his last name.
Who knows his last name?- Who knows his last name?
Question to the subject in Past Simple tense
The question to the subject in the Past Simple is asked like this:
Who or what + verb with ending -ed or 2nd form of the verb?
In order to construct a question to the subject, we change our character in the affirmative sentence to who or what. And we leave everything else unchanged.
She saw a casualty?- She saw the accident.
Who saw a casualty?- Who saw the accident?
Nataly married Nick.- Natalie married Nick.
Who married Nick?- Who married Nick?
Question to the subject in the Future Simple tense
This question is asked in the following way:
Who or what + will + verb?
To ask a question in the Future Simple, we change the subject of the affirmative sentence to who or what. And we leave everything else unchanged.
Kevin will send the letter.- Kevin will send a letter.
Who will send this letter?- Who will send this letter?
We will win this match.- We will win this match.
Who will win this match?- Who will win this match?
Question to the subject with the verb to be in the present tense
A question to a subject with the verb to be in the present tense is asked according to this scheme.
Who or what + is + state/phenomenon/place?
To avoid making mistakes with the construction of the question, you need to:
- replace the character in an affirmative sentence with the word who or what;
- if are or am were used in the statement, then replace them with is.
Children are here.- The children are here.
Who is here?-Who's here?
Question to the subject with the verb to be in the past tense
A question to a subject with the verb to be in the past tense is asked according to the scheme.
Who or what + was + state/phenomenon/place?
Let's structure the question like this:
- replace the subject in the statement with the word who or what;
- If the affirmative sentence contained were, then we change it to was.
My mother was sick one month ago.- My mother was sick a month ago.
Who was sick one month ago?- Who was sick a month ago?
Dogs were upset with the weather.- The dogs were upset by the weather.
Who was upset?-Who was upset?
Question to the subject to be in the future tense
Scheme for constructing a question to a subject with the verb to be in the future tense:
Who or what + will be + state/phenomenon/place?
The question will look like this: we replace the actor in the statement with the word who. We don't change the rest.
Sally will be outside.- Sally will be outside.
Who will be outside?-Who will be outside?
Negative form of questions to the subject in English
The negative form of questions to the subject is constructed in the same way as negative sentences, that is, the auxiliary verbs do, does, did, will, have, has are used.
The particle NOT comes after an auxiliary verb.
This man doesn't speak French.- This man doesn't speak French.
Who doesn't speak French?- Who doesn't speak French?
They didn't recognize him.- They didn't recognize him.
Who didn't recognize him?- Who didn’t recognize him?
I haven’t seen him for ages.- I haven't seen him in forever.
Who hasn’t seen him for ages?- Who hasn't seen him for ages.
Question to a subject with a modal verb
The question outline looks like this:
Who or what + modal verb + verb?
In order to construct such a question, you need to replace the subject in the affirmative sentence with the word who or what. Leave everything else unchanged.
David can play golf.- David can play golf.
Who can play golf?- Who can play golf?
Question to the subject with there is/there are
We all know the construction there is/there are, with which we talk about the location of something or someone.
There is a Barbie doll on the table.- There is a Barbie doll on the table.
There are some toys in the box.- Several toys in a box.
So, in order to construct a sentence correctly, you need to turn the structure back to front and put it in front of it question word what or who?
It looks like this:
What + is there + place?
What is there on the floor?- What's on the floor?
What is there in the box?- What's in the box?
Who is there in the class?- Who's in the class?
We seem to have figured out the construction of questions, so let's talk about the answers to them.
How to answer questions to the subject
When asked to a subject, a short answer is usually given, consisting of a subject and an auxiliary verb of the appropriate tense.
Who plays in the park? - Your children do.
Who's playing in the park? - Your children (play).
Who made some mistakes in the test? - She did.
Who made mistakes in the test? - She.
Who is ready to answer my question? - Tim is.
Who is ready to answer my question? - Tim.
Who is there? - We are.
Who's there? - We.
In the colloquial version, we can simply name the character.
Who watch this movie? - Mark.
Who watched this movie? - Mark.
To give a complete answer, you need to put the person in place of who or what.
Who does not know the latest news? - We do not know the latest news.
Who doesn't know the latest news? - We don't know the latest news.
If you are talking about more than one person in your answer, be sure to use plural changes.
We've sorted out the theory, and as always, as is tradition, a little practice follows.
Leave your answers in the comments.
- Who worked hard yesterday?
- Who will do it tomorrow?
- Who read an interesting story to the students yesterday?
- What's in the corner of the room?
- Who knows the answer to this question?
- Who wants to go there?
- Who doesn't know this rule?
EnglishDom #inspiring to learn
