Questions to the subject of the exercise in English. Special question to the subject

The essence of any communication is the exchange of information. If you want to know something specific from your interlocutor, then you need to ask an informational question. In order for the interlocutor to understand exactly what information you want to receive from him, the correct question word plays an important role. In an information question, the question word should come first.

All question words, with the exception of How, begin with the letters Wh, so information questions are often called Wh-Questions. Question words can be one word, two words, or a whole phrase. Some words (what, how) form a series of interrogative combinations, which we will also pay attention to.

Many people find it difficult to remember all the question words at once, because at first glance they seem very similar. In addition, most of the question words have nuances in use that simply cannot be ignored.

I decided to introduce you to question words gradually, in doses, because I know from myself how difficult it is to quickly perceive a large amount of information. In my explanations, I will not limit myself to the translation of the question word and examples of questions with it, but will try to tell you as much as possible. Today we will look at the words who, whom and whose.

Who? - Who? (Who? To whom? By whom?)

This word is only used in questions about a person. When asking a question with the word who , we want to get the person's name in response, or information about who that person is:

Who is it? - Who is this?
Who will help you? - Who will help you?
Who did you invite to the party? -Who did you invite to the party?
Who did they travel with? -Who did they travel with?

Questions with who can be of two types: questions to the subject and questions to the object. Depending on what exactly we want to ask, the structure of the question will change:

Who called you? - Who called you?
(question to the subject)
Who did you call? -Who did you call?
(question for addition)

I explained the difference between these questions in great detail in the article. If you find it difficult to understand the difference between these types of questions, I highly recommend that you read and understand.

Whom - Whom? By whom? To whom?

The interrogative word whom is very similar to who, even translated the same way, but is not used as often as who. If who can ask questions to the subject (Who?), then questions with whom imply a question only about the object: Whom? To whom? Rarely seen in modern colloquial speech, this word is more typical of the formal style:

Whom did you meet yesterday? -Who did you meet yesterday?
Whom is she calling? -Who is she calling?

Whom is often used in questions with verbs that require the preposition to, for, with, and others after them. For example: give, speak, talk, buy, send and many others. Therefore, questions with whom at the beginning can have a preposition at the end:

Who(m) did you talk to? - Who did you talk to?
Who(m) did he buy it for? - Who/for whom did he buy it?
Who(m) did you send the letter to? - Who did you send the letter to?

In all the examples above, you can replace who with whom. But if you have a very formal tone, then the preposition can come at the beginning of the sentence, before whom:

To whom did you talk to? - Who did you talk to?
With whom will you meet? -Who will you meet?

Whose? - Whose?

If you need to ask a question about who owns something, you will need the question word whose. Most often whose is used with a noun. If the question is about an object (whose object?), and from the communication situation it is clear what exactly the question is about (for example, you point to an object), then the noun may be omitted:

Whose (book) is this? - Whose book is this?
Whose (pencils) are those? - Whose pencils are they?

If you are asking about people, then the noun after whose cannot be removed:

Whose brother is he? -Whose brother is he?
Whose children are they? - Whose children are these?

The noun about which the question is being asked can also go to the end of the sentence. Then auxiliary verb follows directly after the question word whose:

Whose is this book? - Whose book is this?
Whose are those pencils? - Whose pencils are they?
Whose are these children? - Whose children are these?

Since the owners of something are usually people, in response we expect to hear the person’s name in the possessive case, or a possessive pronoun. We discussed in detail how to answer questions with whose in the articles and.

Whose can also be used with prepositions. The preposition can appear at the very beginning of the question (more formal option) or at the end (less formal option):

With whose plan do you agree? -Whose plan do you agree with?
In whose house did you stay? - In whose house did you stay?

And one last point. You can confuse the question word whose with the form who's, because they sound exactly the same. Who's is from who is or who has, so there is no auxiliary verb after it (it is shortened), and after whos e there is a regular, unabridged auxiliary verb:

Who's this? - Who is this?
Who's got a pen? -Who has a pen?
Who's done that? - Who did this?
Whose is this? -Whose is this?

In the next article on questions, I will tell you about question words. And the next article will be devoted to the question words where, when, how. If you have any questions, write to us and leave comments.

Every day we ask many questions to the subject. When you need to find out who drank the last milk, who just called or who forgot to close yesterday balcony door. Questioning a subject in English is not a complex topic that requires special attention. Special questions to the subject in English, for example, are very easy to construct.

What is a question to the subject and how to ask it

Speaking about questions to the subject, first of all, we should remember what the subject is. Subjects are the main member of a sentence, which denotes an object (person) to which a sign or action is attributed, which is called in the predicate. The subject is what/whom the sentence is talking about.

Bob drives a car— Bob is driving the car.
Ginger cat lies on the windowsill— The red cat is lying on the windowsill.
A can is in the closet— The jar is in the closet.
Eleanor Aveling is sitting in a chair— Eleanor Aveling is sitting in a chair.
A bottle of wine is broken— The bottle of wine is broken.

It is very easy to ask a question to a subject in English.

Statement: My mother likes this big old house. — My mother loves this big, old house.

In this sentence the word mother is the subject. But what if you don't know the subject of the sentence? Ask a question to the subject.

Question to the subject: Who likes this big old house? -Who loves this big, old house?

A question to a subject in English is asked using the words:

who – who (used for animate subjects: people, birds, animals)
what – what (used for inanimate subjects: things, plants, nature)

When asking a question, the word who or what should be placed first in the sentence, replacing the character with it. The order of words in the sentence does not change and is built according to the following scheme:

Who/what + action/place/sign?

Ann was late for work— Ann was late for work.
Who was late for work?— Who was late for work?

A bottle of wine is broken— The bottle of wine is broken. What is broken?- What's broken?

An important feature of constructing a question to a subject in English is that even if the subject in a sentence is plural, the question will be asked to the singular.

Statement: They were at the Museum of Street Art. — They were at the Street Art Museum. Question: Who was at the Museum of Street Art? — Who was at the Street Art Museum?

Statement: Monkeys were furious - The monkeys were furious.
Question: Who was furious? -Who was angry?

Question to the subject in the Present Simple

Each tense has its own scheme for constructing a question to the subject. Time is no exception. Scheme of forming a question to the subject in time Present Simple The question to the subject looks like this:

Who/what + verb ending -s/-es

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Statement: The box is lying on the table - The box is lying on the table.
Question: What lies on the table? - What lies on the table?

A question with who in Present Simple would look like this:

Statement: They go to the theater. — They go to the theater.
Question: Who goes to work? — Who goes to the theater?

Question to the subject in the Past Simple

Each tense has its own scheme for constructing a question to the subject. Time is no exception. In time Past Simple The question to the subject is asked like this:

Who/what + verb in 2nd form or ending in -ed

For example, questions in the Past Simple with who are asked like this:

Statement: We walked in the Central Park - We walked through Central Park.
Question: Who walked in the Central Park? — Who walked through Central Park?

Statement: Mike bought a yellow yacht - Mike bought a yellow yacht.
Question: Who bought a yellow yacht? — Who bought the yellow yacht?

Question to the subject in the Future Simple

Each tense has its own scheme for constructing a question to the subject. The future tense of the English language (Future Simple) is no exception. The scheme for constructing a question to a subject in time looks very simple:

Who/what + will + verb

Statement: Children will swim in the Pacific Ocean - Children will swim in the Pacific Ocean.
Question: Who will swim in the Pacific Ocean? —Who will swim in the Pacific Ocean?

Statement: Phoebe will stand with her sisters - Phoebe will stay with her sisters.
Question: Who will stand with her sisters? -Who will stay with their sisters?

Question to the subject with the verb to be

The verb to be has its own special relationship with questions to the subject. Depending on what tense the sentence is in, there are several schemes for constructing questions to the subject with the verb to be.

A question to a subject with the verb to be in the present tense is constructed according to the following scheme:

Who/what + is + state/phenomenon/place

Statement: They are angry - They are angry.
Question: Who is angry? -Who is evil?

A question to a subject with the verb to be in the past tense follows the following pattern:

Who/what + was + state/phenomenon/place

Statement: We were famous - We were famous.
Question: Who was famous? —Who was famous?

A question to a subject with the verb to be in the future tense follows the following pattern:

Who/what + will be + state/phenomenon/place

Statement: Madeleine will be an actress - Madeleine will be an actress.
Question: Who will be an actress? -Who will be the actress?

Statement: We will buy a bicycle - We will buy a bicycle.
Question: Who will buy a bicycle? — Who will buy a bicycle?

It is important to note that in the case of questions to a subject with the verb to be, the question can be asked to both a singular and plural subject. Our small table will help you figure it out:

Question to the subject with modal verbs

Subject questions with modal verbs also have their own formation scheme. It looks like this:

Who/what + modal verb + action

They can tango— They can dance tango.
Who can tango?—Who can dance tango?

Shirley must sing it“Shirley should sing this.”
Who must sing it?-Who should sing this?

Answer to a question to the subject

There are two options for answering the question to the subject. This can be a short answer, or a long one.

In the short answer, you simply need to name the person who has some attribute or performs the action, and then add to it an auxiliary verb, the verb to be or a modal verb, depending on which one was used in the sentence itself.

Scheme of a short answer to a question to the subject:

Actor + auxiliary verb/verb to be/modal verb

Question: Who danced yesterday? - Who danced yesterday?
Answer: Molly did.
(Molly here is the subject, and did is the auxiliary verb for the Past Simple tense in which the question is asked.)

Question: Who likes to sleep a lot? -Who likes to sleep a lot?
Answer: She does - She.

Question: Who can close the window? - Who can close the window?
Answer: Orlando can - Orlando can.

Question: Who should stay here? -Who should stay here?
Answer: Elly Potter should - Elly Potter should.

In colloquial speech, you can omit the auxiliary, modal verb or verb to be and answer by naming only the character itself.

Question: Who was at cinema? — Who was at the cinema?
Answer: Children - Children.

Question: Who will hug you after the ceremony? -Who will hug you after the ceremony? Answer: Friends - Friends.

In addition to the short one, there is also long version answering questions to the subject. In order to answer in detail, you need to put the actor in the place of who/what, and leave the rest of the sentence unchanged.

Question: Who will have dinner at The Plaza Hotel? —Who will have dinner at the Plaza Hotel?
Answer: My uncle Sam will have dinner in The Plaza Hotel - My uncle Sam will have dinner at the Plaza Hotel.

Question: Who walked in the Central Park? — Who walked in Central Park?
Answer: Monica Geller walked in the Central Park - Monica Geller walked through Central Park.

It is important to remember to change the sentence if the answer contains a subject in plural.

Question: Who has a fluffy chinchilla? — Who has a fluffy chinchilla?
Answer: My parents have a fluffy chinchilla. — My parents have a fluffy chinchilla.

Question: Who was totally nervous? - Who was very nervous?
Answer: Members of the school committee were totally nervous - Members of the school committee were very nervous.

Video about asking a subject in English:

Having good spoken English is not only about asserting, but also about asking. Often we need to answer a question or ask it ourselves. A question to the subject in English can be constructed according to a certain pattern. When asking a question, you must also consider the time in which it is asked.

Question to the subject in English - what is it and how to ask it?

First, let's clarify what a question to the subject is? The subject is the main character of the sentence, which has some attribute or performs a certain function. Accordingly, the question is asked to him.

She is clever and beautiful (She is smart and beautiful).

Question: Is she clever and beautiful (Is she smart and beautiful?).

Smoking is not allowed here.

Question: Is smoking allowed here? (Can I smoke here?).

The subject in English can be expressed:

Noun: My book is written => My book is written.
Pronoun: She is a good student=> She is a good student.
Gerund: Smoking is not allowed here => Smoking is prohibited.
Infinitive: To sleep all day long is bad for your health => Sleeping all day long is bad for your health.
Numeral: Seven people were asked to help us => Seven people were asked to help us.

You can ask a question to the subject in different tenses. Today we will look at the most simpler times. By doing simple exercises (answering What? and Who?, you will quickly learn to ask questions correctly).

Questions to the subject in English examples

in Present Simple

A question to the subject can be asked using the words:

Who? Who?
What? What?

The first option is used when talking about living beings, the second is used for non-living things, for example, to things, plants, nature, etc. Who or What is placed first in the sentence, replacing the main character.

In English, questions to the subject can be posed very easily. There is no need to change the order of words in a sentence. This feature distinguishes the question to the subject from other questions where you need to change the word order. This means that there is no need to add auxiliary verbs - do/does, did, etc.

Reference: To construct a question correctly, you just need to take an affirmative sentence and instead of the main character, put who or what in first place.

Scheme of a question to the subject => Who+place/attribute/action?

Let's give a few examples:

Ann plays volleyball => Ann plays volleyball

Who plays volleyball? => Who plays volleyball?

When asking a question to such a sentence, you do not need to use an auxiliary verb (in this case – does) and put it in first place. All you have to do is replace the main character (Mary) with who. The remaining members of the proposal remain in their places.

Note! When we use who/what, it automatically means that the subject must be singular - she (she), he (he), it (it).

Here's an example:

Children play the piano. Then the question is: Who plays the piano? This means that English sentence should be constructed as if he/she were in place of who/what.

Reference: To ask a question to a subject in the simple present tense, you need to use the following scheme:

Who/what + verb ending -s/-es

To correctly formulate such a question, you need to: replace the actor in affirmative sentence for the word who, add the ending -s/es to the verb (action).

in Present Continuous

To ask a question to the subject, you need to use the following scheme:

Who/what + is + verb ending in -ing

To correctly formulate such a question, you need to: replace the character in the affirmative sentence with the word who + ending -ing.

A few interrogative sentences:

Who is trying to stole my cake? =>Who's trying to steal my cake?

My little son. He is trying to get your attention or

My children. They are bored sitting every day home nothing to do.

My little son. He's trying to get your attention/

My children. They are tired of sitting at home all day and doing nothing.

As you can see, who+is+-ing => the same scheme for all sentences – single and plural.

Bottom line

These were the basic rules on how to ask questions to a specific subject. Study other lessons and you will learn how to ask questions in other tenses, and there are many of them in the English language. Good luck and patience!

And remember: the language barrier can easily be overcome online!

Subject Question, or a question to the subject in English, is one of five possible types of interrogative sentences. In terms of their structure, such phrases are among the simplest and most understandable. Therefore, it is important for foreign language learners to master them perfectly and ask their interlocutors correctly. Errors in this case show that the person is only at the initial stage of learning.

What is it?

The so-called question to the subject in English– this is a clarification with the word Who (denotes people) or What (denotes inanimate things and animals). “Who told you?”, “What are you doing”?

Subject – the main subject or active living person. It is talked about, or it performs active actions. May be absent (implicitly implied) in Russian speech. But in affirmative and exclamatory English sentences it is necessarily present explicitly. Moreover, it occupies a clearly designated place among other words. Usually expressed by a pronoun or noun, less often by a complex phrase. And only when questions are asked about the subject in English, the subject is replaced with a question word.

How to ask a question?

The order of words is preserved, and this is the simplicity of such phrases. Instead of a noun or pronoun denoting the subject, substitute what or who. Question words accompanied by verbs usually in the singular , although the answer may be multiple. Accordingly, verbs, modal and semantic, remain the same or change. If in an affirmative (exclamatory) sentence they were in the plural, they should be replaced with their analogues in the singular. The exception is to be in certain cases discussed below. For better understanding will be given different times. They will help you place it correctly question to the subject in English examples which are given in the text.

Present Simple

Here are the declarative sentences:

Child plays football - a child plays football;
The sun shines every day - the sun shines every day;
Children play tennis – children play tennis;
Clouds close the sun – clouds cover the sun;
I stand here - I stand here;
He stands there - he stands there;
They walk anywhere - they walk everywhere.

Notice that the subject the sun consists of two separate words. In the simple present actions occur “in general” or regularly, not necessarily at the current moment . If asked, the corresponding questions to the subject in English would be:

Who plays football?
What shines every day?
Who plays tennis?
What closes the sun?
Who stands here?
Who stands there?
Who walks anywhere?

The plural has been replaced by the singular everywhere. Animate persons are designated by the word Who, inanimate objects by What.

Past Simple

Any question to a subject in English in the past tense is drawn up according to the same pattern as in the present, only instead of the first dictionary form of the verb, the second is used. For correct ones - with the standard ending -ed. For incorrect ones, you should look at the table if your memory fails.

Who played today? – Who played today?
Who ran yesterday? -Who was running yesterday?
What prevented You from coming? -What stopped you from coming?

Future Simple

In the future tense, the scheme of a question to a subject in English is the simplest, since the modal verb will is not inflected for numbers and persons.

For example:

Who will play today? – Who will play today?
What will remain here? – What will remain here?

It should be noted small nuance: main verb used here without the ending -s (-es), characteristic of the third person unit. numbers . This is not surprising, even in Russian “lies” and “will lie” are different word forms.

Present tense with to be

To be is used just like any other verb when put question to the subject in English. But he has a lot various forms, not similar to each other in spelling and pronunciation. They should be chosen and substituted correctly.

For example:

Who is here?
Who is rich?
What is bread?
Who are You?

As a rule, to be is used in the form is. The characteristic phrase “What is” is translated as “What is” and is often used in search engines. An exception is a direct question to the subject in English, addressed to one or many interlocutors - Who are You? Are is also substituted if there are obviously many persons or things in the subject.

Past tense with to be

When asking about a state or action that happened in the past, use the construction Who (What) + was + ...?

In the second person they ask in this way questions with who in English: Who were You? -Who were you? It is also necessary to substitute were if it is known in advance that the subject is numerous or, in principle, cannot be single.

Future tense with to be

Without options, will be is used:

Who will be...?
What will be...?

Features of use

Use with to be

Although questions to the subject in English are most often asked in the 3rd person singular, the answer varies. To "Who's There?" (Who is here?) you can answer: I am, She is, We are. In the past tense - I was, He was, They were.

With modal verbs

All modal verbs unchanged when used various persons and numbers, so they are very easy to use.

For example: Who can come for a breakfast? – Who can come for breakfast?

With there is or there are

In this case, the order of words changes, first comes is (or are, was, were), then there. Who is there? or What is there?

Negative form of the question

The position of the negating particle not remains the same, as usual, only the subject is replaced by a question word:

What does not bring good luck? – What doesn’t bring good luck?
Who will not come home? – Who won’t come home?

How to answer?

Reply to question to the subject in English can be short and complete. Even a short, competent answer must contain a verb, not just a subject.

For example:

Who came yesterday? -Who came yesterday?
Your brother John did.

Who plays today? – Who is playing today?
Manchester United does.

Who may enter? -Who can come in?
All the people may.

Complete (long) answers to similar questions in English with who constructed by substituting the subject in place of the question word:

Your brother John came yesterday.
Manchester United plays today.
All the people may enter.

Bottom line

Surely you already understand how they are formed in English questions to the subject, examples clearly demonstrate this process. Asking and answering this way is really easy. Some difficulties arise only when choosing a number for interrogative sentence. When in doubt, it is always better to use the only one.

» Question to the subject in English

Whose is used both as a pronoun and as a question word. We ask a question beginning with "whose" when we want to know who something belongs to, is associated with, or has a direct connection with.

1. Using “whose” in questions about whether something belongs to someone:

“I found this pen. Whose is it?” (I found a pen. Whose is it?)
“It's mine. I lost it yesterday.” (Mine. I lost it yesterday.)

“I found this bag of books under the desk. Whose could it be?" (I found this bag of books under the table. Whose bag could it be?)
"It must belong to one of the students." (It must be one of the students.)

“I found these tools in the garage. Whose are they?" (I found these tools in the garage. Whose are they?)
“They're Tom's. I borrowed them from him to repair the windows." (This is Tom. I took them from him yesterday to fix the window.)

“Whose notebooks are these?” (Whose notebooks are these?)
"They belong to the journalist who was here this morning." (They belong to the journalists who were here this morning.)

"Whose dog was running over in the street?" (Whose dog was hit on the street?)
“It was my neighbor's dog. She's very upset." (It was my neighbor's dog. She was very upset.)

“Whose car was stolen from the car park?” (Whose car was stolen from the parking lot?)
"The marketing manager's." (Marketing manager.)

Note: In the first three examples, "whose" was used as a pronoun. In the last three examples, "whose" is a modifier before a noun.

Don't forget to spell this word. It is often confused with "who's", which is a shortened form of "who is".

2. Using “whose” in questions about the connection or association of someone with something:

“Whose fault was it?” (Whose fault was it?)
“We don’t know yet. In fact, the fire could have been accidental." (We don't know yet. In fact, the fire may have happened by accident.)

“Whose responsibility is it to lock up the office after the cleaners have gone?” (Who is responsible for closing the office after the cleaners leave?)
"The caretaker should do that." (The guards must do this.)

« Whose job is it to send out information to shareholders?” (Who should send information to shareholders?)
“It’s the managing director’s secretary who does that.” (The general manager's secretary should do this.)

3. You can also use "whose" on its own, especially when replying to someone:

“I know whose car that is.” (I know whose car it is.)
"Whose?"(Whose?)
"It belongs to the new designer." (It belongs to a new designer.)

“I’ve found out whose dog it was that attacked you.” (I realized whose dog attacked you.)
"Whose?"(Whose?)
“It’s our new next-door neighbor’s.” (This is our new neighbor's dog.)

Dialogues

Mobile dispute(Mobile phone dispute)

Whose mobile rank just now? (Whose cell phone just rang?)
- It was mine. Why? (Mine. What?)
- You’re supposed to switch it off in here. (It needs to be turned off here.)
- Who says? (Who said that?)
- It’s a school rule. (This is a school rule.)
- I was told that that just applied to the classrooms. This is the common room. (I was told that this only applies to classrooms. This is a regular room.)
- Whoever told you that? (Who told you that?)
- I don’t remember. In any case, who cares? There are no teachers here. (I don't remember. Anyway, who cares?)
- A lot of the other students will be annoyed if you use it in here. Some of them come here to do some extra studying. (Many students will be annoyed if you use it here. Some come here to study.)
- Well, I come here to relax and read magazines. Whose books are these on this chair? (Well, I come here to relax and read magazines. Whose books are these on the chair?)
- They're mine. I'll just move them. (Mine. I'll put them away now.)
- Thanks. By the way, whose job is it to tidy up in here? (Thanks. By the way, who cleans up here?)
- The school cleaner cleans it, but we’re all responsible for keeping it tidy. Who left those dirty coffee mugs there? (The school cleaner, but we are all responsible for keeping this place clean. Who left the coffee stains here?)
-Who knows? The place was empty when I came in. (Who knows? It was empty when I walked in.)

A missing letter(missed letter)

Who's that man in the waiting room, Mrs Smith? I assume he's a parent. (What kind of man is in the waiting room, Mrs. Smith? I'm guessing it's a parent.)
- That's Mr Brown, Mr Jackson. (This is Mr. Brown, Mr. Jackson.)
- Whose father is he? We have several students called Brown. (Whose father is he? We have several students here with the last name Brown.)
- He’s Jack Brown’s father in Year 3. Mr Brown’s here to complain about not receiving a letter he wrote about bullying. (He is the father of Jack Brown in third grade. Mr. Brown came to complain that you didn't receive his bullying letter.)
- To whom did he send the letter? I certainly have never seen such a letter. (Who was he sending this letter to? I have never seen such a letter.)
- He said that he addressed it to you, Mr Jackson, but I haven’t seen it either. Who opened your mail when I was on holiday last week? I know the temp only worked in the afternoons. (He said he addressed it to you, Mr. Jackson. But I didn't see it either. Who opened your mail while I was on vacation last week?)
- I opened the letter myself and there was none from Mr Brown. Who is said to be bullying whom? (I opened the letters myself, and there was none from Mr. Brown. Who was intimidating whom?)
- Mr Brown says that Jack is being bullied by Tom White and Bill Jones. (Mr. Brown says Jack is being bullied by Tom White and Bill Jones.)
- Well, I won’t tolerate bullying in this school. Please ask Mr Brown to come into my office, Mrs Smith. (Well, I don't tolerate bullying at this school. Please ask Mr. Brown to come to my office, Mrs. Smith.)
- Certainly, Mr Jackson. (Of course, Mr. Jackson.)