In this lesson, we will focus on subject and object questions in the English language.
A question is an interrogative expression often used to find out or confirmation information. There are a lot of different types of questions in English such as object, subject, time, duration, get, modality, indirect, open, closed, etc…
Basically, an object question must have an auxiliary verb such as was, were, did, do, does, etc.. in the question, and it asks about an [object]. Most subject questions do not required auxiliary verbs in them, and they ask about [subjects].
Subject questions
Subject questions ask who or which person or object does something. Subject questions ask about what, which, whose, who, how much, and how many.
| Subject | A: | Which type of food provides the best nutrition? |
| Question: | B: | [Salmons] provide the best nutritious food for people. |
| Subject | A: | What happened during the monthly meeting? |
| Question: | B: | [A lot of decisions] were made during the monthly meeting. |
| Subject | A: | How many people came to the meeting this morning? |
| Question: | B: | There were about [10 people] in the meeting this morning. |
| Subject | A: | Who renovated the office area? |
| Question: | B: | The [department manager] renovated the office area. |
Object Questions
Object questions are the most common types of questions in English. Object questions ask about what, which, whose, who, whom, when, where, why, and how.
| Object | What kind of food do you normally eat for breakfast in the morning? | |
| Question: | We normally eat [whole grain and fiber] for breakfast. | |
| Object | Where did you go shopping last weekend? | |
| Question: | I went to the [new shopping center] downtown last weekend. | |
| Object | Who did he invite to the meeting yesterday? | |
| Question: | He invited all of the [new employees] to the meeting yesterday. | |
| Object | When will you renovate the office area? | |
| Question: | We will renovate the office area [next month]. |