Grammar Topic 26 - Subject and Object Questions

Grammar – Topic 26
Subject and Object Questions

The questions above are object questions. The question words ask about the recipients of the action and not the doers of the action.

The question words ‘whom’ and ‘what’ are objects of the main verb.

Here are more examples. To form object questions, we place the auxiliary verb between the question word and the subject.

object	auxiliary	subject	verb
Whom	did	you	meet?
What	did	she	eat?

The answers to the questions will help you to see clearly that the question words are asking about the objects of the main verbs.

Whom did you meet?

I met Jim.

The object of the question is ‘whom’. The object of the answer is ‘Jim’.

What did she eat?

She ate pasta.

The object of the question is ‘what’. The object of the answer is ‘pasta’.

Read the dialogue below.

Tom: Who broke Mr Peter’s window?

Leon: Martha broke his window.

Tom: Oh dear, I hope she did not have to pay for the broken window.

Leon: No, she did not. However, Mr Peter’s made a phone call.

Tom: Who did he call?

Leon: He called Martha’s mother to tell her what had happened.

The questions in the dialogue above are subject questions. The question words ask about the doers of the action.

The question word ‘who’ is the subject of the main verb.

Here are more examples. To form subject questions, we place the main verb after the question word.

subject	verb	object
Who	wrote	this?
What	destroyed	the crops?

The answers to the questions will help you to see clearly that the question words are asking about the subjects of the main verbs.

Who wrote this?

Jack wrote this.

The subject of the question is ‘who’. The subject of the answer is ‘Jack’.

What destroyed the crops?

Insects destroyed the crops.

The subject of the question is ‘what’. The subject of the answer is ‘insects’.

Here are some examples of subject and object questions for given answers.

Answer: John finished the tub of ice cream.

Subject question: Who finished the tub of ice cream?

Object question: What did John finish?

Answer: The children ran around the field.

Subject question: Who ran around the field?

Object question: What did the children do?

Let’s Practise.

Read the questions below. Write (s) if the question is a subject question and (o) if the question is an object question.

1. Whom did you meet at the supermarket?             (           )

2. What was in the box?                                            (           )

3. What did Ann have for dinner?                              (           )

4. Who is at the door?                                                (           )

5. What do you want to eat?                                     (           )

6. Who owns this food stall?                                     (           )

7. What ingredients are used to make the soup?     (           )

8. Whom did you send the email to?                         (           )

Answers:

1. O

2. S

3. O

4. S

5. O

6. S

7. S

8. O

Grammar Topic 25 - Linking Verbs and Auxiliary Verbs

Grammar – Topic 25
Linking Verbs and Auxiliary Verbs

The children are in the choir.  They are good singers. They sound great.

The sentences above contain verbs.

The verbs are:

are, sound

These verbs are linking verbs.

Some other examples of linking verbs are:

‘be’ verb is, are, am, was, were, being, been							appear	become	feel
get	look	remain	seem	smell	sound	taste

Linking verbs do not have objects after them. Instead, they provide more information about the subjects or show the links between the subject and the information after it.

Sometimes, the extra information could be in the form of noun phrases, adjective phrases, prepositional phrases or adverb phrases.

Here are some examples:

1.     John was at home the whole weekend.

2.     The match appeared exciting at first.

3.     She became wary of the people around her.

4.     The milk smells a little sour.

5.     This homemade pie tastes just like the one at the shop.

Let’s Practise.

Circle the linking verbs in each sentence.

1.     The ship is at the harbour.

2.     Smoking is bad for your health.

3.     My grandmother seems happy in the nursing home.

4.     That antique painting remained intact after the bomb attack.

5.     My cat is white and beige.

6.     The patient became weak and tired after the operation.

7.     The young boy appeared uncomfortable in the room of adults.

8.     John was in the school canteen.

Answers:

1.     is

2.     is

3.     seems

4.     remained

5.     is

6.     became

7.     appeared

8.     was

The children above have used an auxiliary verb in their sentence. It is ‘are’.

The verbs ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘am’, ‘was’ and ‘were’ (‘be’ verb) are used before main verbs to form the continuous tense or to form passive sentences.

Click here to read more about passive sentences.

Here are some examples.

My grandfather is taking a nap.

We are playing a new video game.

I am waiting for the train.

The dog was waiting at the door for my father to return home.

We were helping to decorate the house for the party.

That dish was cooked by a celebrity chef.

(passive sentence)

I am given a dollar by my mother each time I help with the household chores.

(passive sentence)

The verbs ‘has’, ‘had’ or ‘have’ are also auxiliary verbs. They are used before main verbs to form the perfect tense.

Here are some examples.

Have you driven a lorry before?  

She has written an article for the fashion magazine.

They have baked an apple pie.

We had sampled the food before we bought it.

The verbs ‘do’, ‘does’ and ‘did’ can also be used as auxiliary verbs. They are used before main verbs to ask questions, to show negative sentences and for emphasis.

Here are some examples.

Does she know the answer?

Did they meet the famous football player?

Do you want another slice of cake?

(asking questions – interrogatives)

We do not / don’t know the way to the hotel.

They did not / didn’t see the hole along the pavement.

She does not / doesn’t want to go to the beach with us.

(negative sentences)

She does work hard but no one realises it.

We do enjoy going for buffets.

I did hear a strange noise late last night.

(emphasis – emphatic)

Let’s Practise.

Write (L) if the verbs in bold are linking verbs and (A) if they are auxiliary verbs.

1.     Jill has completed the project.                                                                       (          )

2.     My mother went to the grocery store.                                                           (           )

3.     The suspect was forced to confess to the crime.                                           (           )

4.     The passengers were anxiously waiting for the boat to dock.                       (           )

5.     The player on the ground seemed badly injured.                                          (           )

6.     The old castle has been a tourist attraction for the past decade.                   (           )

7.     Did you enjoy the soundtrack from the movie?                                            (           )

8.     We do pack our toys after we play.                                                               (           )

 Answers:

1.     A

2.     L

3.     A

4.     A

5.     L

6.     A

7.     A

8.     A