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GENERAL ENGLISH · GRAMMAR PRACTICE · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SUBJECT AND
OBJECT
QUESTIONS
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1 Presentation
There are two ways of asking questions in English: using subject questions or object questions.

Subject questions Object questions

We use subject questions when we ask We use object questions when we ask
about the subject of a sentence: about the object of a sentence:

Somebody is knocking at the door. Paul is reading something.

Who is knocking at the door? What is Paul reading?

Something started the fire. John tried to call somebody.

What started the fire? Who did John try to call?

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INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SUBJECT AND OBJECT QUESTIONS

Rules for forming subject and object questions:

Subject questions are easy! There is no change in the word order of the sentence. Just replace
the subject with the question word (who, where, what, why, etc.):

Somebody won the match. Who won the match?

With object questions, we change the word order:

If there is a be verb, auxiliary verb or modal verb, for example was, have, will or can, we put
the subject after the be/auxiliary/modal verb:

Allie will be at home tonight. Where will Allie be tonight?

You can speak three languages. How many languages can you speak?

More than one auxiliary verb:

If there’s more than one auxiliary verb, we reverse the position of the subject and the first
auxiliary verb:

Paul has been meeting someone. Who has Paul been meeting?

In present simple questions, we use do/does:

They live in Spain. Where do they live?

David eats yoghurt for breakfast. What does David eat for breakfast?

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SUBJECT AND OBJECT QUESTIONS

In past simple questions, we use did:

They stayed at a cheap hotel. Where did they stay?

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SUBJECT AND OBJECT QUESTIONS

2 Practice 1 - listening

Look at the dialogue below and complete it with missing questions.

1
1. Tour guide: Welcome to the Taj Mahal. any questions?
2
2. Visitor: the building?

3. Tour guide: The Taj Mahal was built in 1631.

3
4. Visitor: ?

5. Tour guide: The construction of the building was ordered by the emperor Shah Jahan.
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6. Visitor: ?

7. Tour guide: He decided to build it because of the death of his wife. He was very sad.
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8. Visitor: ?

9. Tour guide: She died while giving birth.

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10. Visitor: it take to build?

11. Tour guide: It took 22 years to build.

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12. Visitor: worked on it?

13. Tour guide: 20,000 workers.

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14. Visitor: the site every year?

15. Tour guide: The Taj Mahal attracts 2-4 million visitors every year.

Now listen to check your answers.

3 Practice 2

Write a question about the missing information each statement below starting with the given question
word.

1. visited me yesterday. | Who visited you yesterday ?

2. I found under my bed. | What ?

3. lent me some money. | Who ?

4. I lent money to . | Who ?

5. Jonathan is going to this weekend. | Where ?

6. I was reading this morning. | What ?

7. has eaten all the cake. | Who ?

8. My interview finished at . | When ?

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SUBJECT AND OBJECT QUESTIONS

Transcripts

2. Practice 1 - listening

Tour guide: Welcome to the Taj Mahal. Do you have any questions?

Visitor: How old is the building?

Tour guide: The Taj Mahal was built in 1631.

Visitor: Who built it?

Tour guide: The construction of the building was ordered by the emperor Shah Jahan.

Visitor: Why did he build it?

Tour guide: He decided to build it because of the death of his wife. He was very sad.

Visitor: How did she die?

Tour guide: She died while giving birth.

Visitor: How long did it take to build?

Tour guide: It took 22 years to build.

Visitor: How many people worked on it?

Tour guide: 20,000 workers.

Visitor: How many people visit the site every year?

Tour guide: The Taj Mahal attracts 2-4 million visitors every year.

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SUBJECT AND OBJECT QUESTIONS

Key

1. Presentation

10 mins.
Go through the boxes with the classes. For this lesson, students need to be aware of the terms subject, object,
modal verb and auxiliary verb. You may want to elicit examples of each. To check understanding of the concept, you
may want to give students one or two sentences that they should change into both a subject and object question:
John likes pizza. Who likes pizza? What does John like?

2. Practice 1 - listening

5-10mins
Haves students quickly read through the entire dialogue to understand the gist. Then have students work in pairs
to complete the questions. Monitor closely and if needed draw students’ attention to the key information in the
following answer to help them choose the correct question word and tense. You may want to tell lower-level
classes that all questions are either in the present simple or past simple. Then have students listen to check their
answers.

1. Do you have 2. How old is 3. Who built it 4. Why did he build it

5. How did she die 6. How long did 7. How many people 8. How many people visit

3. Practice 2

5 mins.
Draw attention to the question word in number 1 and elicit what it refers to in the original sentence and if it is a
subject or an object. Remind students to pay close attention to the tenses in the statements and to be sure that
their question matches that tense. Monitor closely and offer help if needed. For extra support, have students
first underline what each question word is referring to. Students work alone to complete the questions before
checking with a partner and then the whole class.

1. visited you yesterday

2. What did you find under your bed
3. Who lent you some money
4. Who did you lend money to
5. Where is Jonathan going this weekend
6. What were you reading this morning
7. Who has eaten all the cake
8. When did your interview finish

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