Subject and object questions: who won the quiz? Subject and object questions exercises for A2
About this lesson
This A2 drill lesson gives subject and object questions exercises: questions about the doer with no helper (Who called you?) beside questions about the receiver with do, does or did (Who did you call?).
- Grammar
- Who and what as the doer or the receiver across tenses, which, whose and how many + noun, the -s in Who lives…? and short answers.
- Topic
- Thursday quiz night at Pennywhistle, an invented café: the winners' group chat, the quizmaster's question cards, a talk at the counter and the café's post.
- Activities
- Gap-fills, choices, sorting, matching, word order, drag-and-drop texts, quizzes, two tables, a memory game and Fergus's chat, all self-checking.
What's inside
Chapter 1The rule
- PictureUnlock
- Study the scheme: subject and object questionsGrammar schemeTry it
- Is the question correct? Mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Sort the questions: about the doer or about the receiver?Sort into columnsTry it
- Choose the right question: the answer decidesChoose the optionUnlock
- Write the questions about the doerFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 2Who called? Questions about the doer
- Fill in the gaps: questions about the doerFill in the gapsTry it
- Choose the right form: no do, does or didChoose the optionUnlock
- Match the questions and the short answersMatchUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: questions about the doerUnjumbleUnlock
- Write the short answersFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the note on the office fridge and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Find the mistake: questions about the doerQuizUnlock
Chapter 3Who did you call? Questions about the receiver
- Fill in the gaps: questions about the receiverFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose do, does or didChoose the optionTry it
- Put the words in order to make questions about the receiverUnjumbleUnlock
- Choose the right question for each answerQuizUnlock
- Read the interview with a chef and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Match the questions and the answers: who with, what about?MatchUnlock
- Find the mistake: questions about the receiverQuizUnlock
Chapter 4Doer or receiver?
- Match the questions and the answers: doer or receiver?MatchTry it
- Write the question for the bold wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right question: which, whose, how manyChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the table: one sentence, two questionsFill in the tableUnlock
- Read the roommates' talk and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: doer or receiver?UnjumbleUnlock
- Choose the right question: doer or receiver?QuizUnlock
Chapter 5Real life: Quiz night!
- Read the team's group chatReal-life documentUnlock
- Read the chat again: true or false?True or falseUnlock
- Read Percival's question cards and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the talk at the counter and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read the café's post and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right replies: Fergus texts youChatTry it
- Test yourself: choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Choose the right question: a busy dayChoose the optionUnlock
- Write the questions about the doer: at the officeFill in the gapsUnlock
- Write the questions about the receiver: a tripFill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: questionsUnjumbleUnlock
- Match the questions and the answers: who did what?MatchUnlock
- Sort the questions: correct or wrong?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: questions and short answersMemory gameUnlock
- Fill in the table: ask about the doer and the receiverFill in the tableUnlock
- Write the questions for the bold words: at schoolFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
- Choose the right form: which, whose, how manyChoose the optionUnlock
- Write the short answers: who does what at home?Fill in the gapsUnlock
- Read Philomena's email and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the news story and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read the parents' group post and choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
Grammar: subject and object questions
Who called you? and Who did you call? ask about different people. In a subject question, who or what is the doer, so there's no do, does or did; in an object question, it's the receiver, and a helper comes before the subject. The answer always shows which question to ask.
Subject and object questions: who did what?
Ask about the doer with no do / does / did: Who called you? Ask about the receiver with do / does / did: Who did you call?
Subject questions: who or what is the doer
The question word takes the subject's place, and the verb follows straight after: Who called you? – Mia called me. What happened at work? In the present simple, the verb keeps its -s: Who lives next door?, not Who live or Who does live.
Who / What (the subject)verb: called, lives, is singing…the rest?
Who called you? — Mia called me.
What happened at work? — The power went out.
Who lives next door? — Dan does.
Object questions: who or what is the receiver
Here the doer stays in the question, between do, does or did and the base verb: Who did you call? One sentence gives two questions: Mia called Leo → Who called Leo? and Who did Mia call? After did, use the base form, not What did you bought?
Object question: who or what is the receiver
Who / What (the object)do / does / did (or is, can…)subjectverb?
Who did you call? — I called Mia.
What does Ava want? — She wants a pizza.
What did she say? — She said thank you.
One sentence, two questions
| Sentence | Question about the doer | Question about the receiver |
|---|---|---|
| Mia called Leo. | Who called Leo? — Mia did. | Who did Mia call? — Leo. |
| My brother ate my lunch. | Who ate your lunch? — My brother did. | What did your brother eat? — My lunch. |
| Sam loves Ana. | Who loves Ana? — Sam does. | Who does Sam love? — Ana. |
Other tenses, and which, whose, how many
Every tense follows the same pattern: Who is singing? but Who are you calling? Which, whose and how many + noun work like who: Which team won? Which team did you choose? The verb agrees with the noun: How many people work here?
Every tense works the same way
| Tense | Doer: no do / does / did | Receiver |
|---|---|---|
| present simple | Who works here? (not: Who work? Who does work?) | Who do you work with? |
| past simple | Who broke the window? | What did you break? |
| present continuous | Who is singing? | Who are you calling? |
| present perfect | Who has eaten my cake? | What have you done? |
| can, will | Who can help me? · Who will win? | Who can I ask? · Who will you invite? |
Which, whose, how many + noun
About the doer: no do / does / did
- Which team won? — The Owls.
- Whose phone rang? — Mine. Sorry!
- How many people came? — Forty.
- The verb goes with the noun: How many people work here? Which bus goes to the beach?
About the receiver: do / does / did
- Which team did you choose? — The Owls.
- Whose phone did you use? — Ella's.
- How many people did you invite? — Fifty.
Short answers and common mistakes
A subject question's short answer is the doer + the helper: Who made this cake? – Grandma did. Who wants tea? – I do. The scheme's mistakes include Who did send you this?, What did happen next? and Who you invited?: only questions about the receiver take the helper did.
Short answers and the -s
Answer with the doer + the helper, which goes with the answer: Who made this cake? — Grandma did. Who wants tea? — I do. Who is coming? — My friends are. Who can drive? — I can. The question is singular (wants, is, was), even when the answer is many people: Who wants pizza? — We all do!
Common mistakes
Who did send you this?
Who sent you this?
a question about the doer: no did
What did happen next?
What happened next?
what is the doer: no did
Who you invited?
Who did you invite?
a question about the receiver needs did
Who does live here?
Who lives here?
no does, but the verb takes -s
Examples
- Who won the game? — Our team did!about the doer
- What did you win? — A big trophy.about the receiver
- What made you so happy today? — My exam results!what is the doer: no did
- Who did you go to the beach with? — My cousins.the preposition goes at the end
- How many people work at your café? — Twelve.people → work, no -s
- Who is Tom calling? — He's calling his mom.about the receiver: is + Tom + -ing
More lessons on this grammar: Questions lessons and exercises
Try the subject and object questions exercises
Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.
What's in the lesson
- 41 auto-checked exercises
- 5 games
- 1 real-life document
- 1 grammar scheme
- 1 picture
The main objectives of this lesson are to:
- ask about the doer with no do, does or did: Who took my umbrella? – Max took it. What happened to your car?
- ask about the receiver with do, does or did + the base verb: What did the doctor say? Who does Carlos work with?
- let the answer choose the question: Who called you? – My boss called me. or Who did you call? – I called my grandma.
- ask with which, whose and how many + noun: Whose phone rang during the movie? How many people did you invite to the wedding?
- give short answers with the right helper: Who wants more cake? – I do! Who can drive us to the airport? – I can.
Subject and object questions: who won the quiz? is lesson 28 of 28 in English Grammar Practice · A2, the last one, and it belongs to the questions page. Lesson 27, Articles: a, the or no article?, comes before it, and English Grammar Practice · B1 follows with lesson 1, Present perfect continuous: how long have you been doing it? It adds no new vocabulary, so any class that already asks wh- questions can take it as extra practice.
The scheme comes first, then students judge questions, sort them by doer or receiver, choose by the answer and type questions about the doer. Chapter 2 drills questions about the doer and short answers, with a note about half a cake gone from the office fridge; chapter 3 turns to the receiver, with do, does and did, an interview with a chef and questions ending in a preposition. Doer or receiver? mixes both, with questions for the words in bold and a table. In Real life: Quiz night!, students read a team's chat, finish the quizmaster's cards and the café's post, answer Fergus's texts and take a 12-question test.
The homework's 15 tasks all check themselves: a busy day, the office, a trip to New York, school and home, a correct-or-wrong sort, a memory game of short answers, a table, Philomena's email from college, a news story about a traveling garden gnome and a parents' group post about a lost jacket.
- Grammar:
- subject questions · object questions · who / what questions · do / does / did · short answers
- Topic:
- grammar practice · quiz night · café · asking questions
Teaching tips
- Turn somebody and something into questions: say Somebody ate my lunch or I bought something, and students ask Who ate your lunch? or What did you buy? The first kind never needs did.
- Run your own class quiz night: teams write five questions about classmates (Who has a cat? What did Sam eat for lunch?) and ask the other teams before the real-life chapter.
- Read the answer before choosing the question: in every drill, students say the answer aloud and name the missing word. If the missing word is the doer, the question has no do, does or did.
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The whole course: English Grammar Practice · A2
English Grammar Practice · A2 has 28 drill lessons, one grammar point each: the past simple and continuous, used to, comparatives, going to and will, the present perfect, modals, the zero and first conditionals and questions. Each has the rule as a scheme, 43 to 47 exercises that check themselves, 15 of them for homework, and no new words.See the course
- 1Past simple with -ed: moving day!
- 2Past simple irregular verbs: we went, we saw, we bought
- 3Past simple negatives and questions: where did the cake go?
- 4Past continuous: what were you doing at 9 p.m.?
- 5Past simple or past continuous: what were you doing when it happened?
- 6Used to: how things were back then
- 7Comparatives: which one is better?
- 8Superlatives: the best in town
- 9As … as, too, enough: is it the right size?
- 10Adverbs of manner: how did she drive?
- 11Much, many, a few, a little: how much do we need?
- 12Possessive pronouns: whose is it?
- 13Be going to: what's your plan?
- 14Will: what will the future bring?
- 15Present continuous for plans: what are you doing tonight?
- 16Will vs going to: decided before or right now?
- 17Present perfect: have you ever tried it?
- 18Just, already, yet: have you done it yet?
- 19For and since: how long have you known her?
- 20Present perfect or past simple: up to now or finished time?
- 21Must and have to: what are the rules?
- 22Should: what should I do?
- 23Can, could, may: could you help me, please?
- 24Verb + to or -ing: what do you enjoy doing?
- 25Zero conditional: what happens if…?
- 26First conditional: what will you do if it rains?
- 27Articles: a, the or no article?
- 28Subject and object questions: who won the quiz?