Sign up for freeSign up

The girl who tests water: subject and object questions with who and what

A2 learners practice subject and object questions, such as Who invented it? and What did she invent?, in this ESL lesson plan.

Grammar
Subject questions with no do, does or did (Who invented Tethys?), object questions with did or does + base verb (What did she invent?), and the he/she/it form in present subject questions.
Topic
Gitanjali Rao of Colorado, who won a national science contest at 11, and a middle school science fair, with words like sample, result and judge.
Activities
The show's post about her water test, a science-fair dialogue and a viewer's question, self-checking drills on both question types, a quiz chat with Maya and open boxes.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Water, tests and science!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: science at schoolVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: a water test at 11

    • Look at the photo: a water testPictureUnlock
    • Read the show's postReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: the science fair

    • Listen to Nora and DerekListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Viewer's QuestionListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: Who invented it?

    • Study the scheme: Who invented it? What did she invent?Grammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: write the questionsFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: ask about the doer and the objectFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right questionQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: ask a scientist!

    • Choose the right replies: Maya's quizChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: who and what?Open the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: finish the questionsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the right answer to each questionQuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Nora's interview notesDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Marco's postChoose the optionUnlock

30 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Science vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • science fair
  • project
  • judge
  • sample
  • result
  • lab
  • middle school

Grammar: subject and object questions

A who or what question can ask about the doer or about the thing done, and the two use different grammar: Who invented Tethys? but What did she invent? With a young inventor's water test and a school science fair, learners drop did when the question word is the subject, keep did or does for the object and let the answer decide.

Who invented it? What did she invent?

Who or What is the doer (the subject): no do / does / did. Who or What comes after the verb (the object): do / does / did + the base form.

One sentence, two questions

Start from Gitanjali invented Tethys. To ask about her, the doer, put Who in her place and keep the rest: Who invented Tethys? To ask about the thing she made, use What + did + base verb: What did Gitanjali invent?

Ask about the doer: Gitanjali

  • Gitanjali invented Tethys.
  • Who invented Tethys?
  • – Gitanjali Rao did.

Ask about the object: Tethys

  • Gitanjali invented Tethys.
  • What did Gitanjali invent?
  • – Tethys.

Subject questions: no do, does or did

When Who or What is the doer, the verb comes straight after it, in the past or the present: What happened? Who chooses the winners? A present verb takes -s, even when the answer is many people: Who wants cookies? We do!

Subject questions: no do / does / did

QuestionAnswer
Who invented Tethys?Gitanjali Rao did.
What happened?Biscuit drank a sample!
Who chooses the winners?The judges do.
What sends the result to the phone?The reader does.

Subject questions in the present: verb + -s

In the present, a subject question takes the he / she / it form: Who lives here? What tests the water? Even when the answer is many people: Who wants cookies? – We do! (Not: Who does live here? Who live here?)

Object questions: do, does or did + base verb

When the question word is the object, the usual question order comes back: question word + do, does or did + person + base verb. What does Jill test? Who did Nora call? A preposition moves to the end: Who did you talk to?

Object questions: do / does / did + base form

QuestionAnswer
What did she invent?She invented a water test.
Who did Nora call?She called Derek.
What does Jill test?She tests water.
What do the judges choose?The best projects.

Object questions: every person

WhoPresentPast
IWhat do I test?What did I test?
youWhat do you test?What did you test?
he, she, itWhat does he test? What does she test? What does it test?What did he test? What did she test? What did it test?
weWhat do we test?What did we test?
theyWhat do they test?What did they test?

Object questions: the order

Question word + does / did + she + base form: What does she test? What did she invent? Who did she call? (Not: What she invented? What did she invented? Who invented she? Who called she?) A preposition goes at the end: Who did you talk to? Who did she work with?

Short answers at the science fair

At the fair, a subject question often gets a name and did or do: Who made this project? Jill did. Who chooses the best projects? The judges do. An object question gets the thing itself: What did Jill test? The water from ten drinking fountains.

  • Who made this project? – Jill did.
  • What did Jill test? – The water from ten drinking fountains.
  • What did she discover? – The water was clean.
  • What happened? – Biscuit drank from a glass!
  • Who chooses the best projects? – The judges do.
  • Who did Nora interview? – Jill.

Common mistakes

  • Who did invent it?

    Who invented it?

    Who is the doer: no did

  • What did happen?

    What happened?

    What is the doer: no did

  • What she invented?

    What did she invent?

    an object question: did + base form

  • Who does live here?

    Who lives here?

    a subject question: verb + -s, no does

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.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 17 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • ask about the doer with no did: Who invented Tethys? What happened?
  • ask about the object with did or does + base verb: What did she invent? Who did Nora call?
  • use the he/she/it form in present subject questions: Who chooses the winners? Who wants cookies? We do!
  • interview someone with one Who…? and one What…? question: Who gave you the idea? What did you discover?

Lesson 8 closes Clever tech at home, the second unit of English A2.2 · Curious Minds. It builds on A2.1 lesson 7, which practiced wh- questions in the past with did (Where did you go?), and adds the questions in which who or what is the subject, so did drops out. An invention and a science fair raise both kinds of question at once: who made it, and what did they make?

Students spin a wheel of science and school questions and learn ten words, from test and discover to judge and middle school, with pictures and audio. The show's post tells how Gitanjali Rao of Colorado won a national contest for middle school students at 11 with Tethys, a device that tests water for lead. Two AI-voiced listenings follow: Nora and Derek, a science teacher, at a school science fair, then Wendy's question and challenge. The scheme comes before four self-checking exercises, among them a table that asks about the doer, then the object. In the speaking chapter, students pick the right question for each of Maya's answers in a quiz chat, then open boxes such as Ask your partner: Who did you call or text yesterday?

Homework is nine self-checking tasks: a word match, an anagram and a gap-fill for the new words, a choice of question forms, questions to finish and to unjumble, a quiz that pairs questions with answers, Nora's interview notes and Marco's quiz post, both with gaps.

Grammar:
subject questions · object questions · Who / What + verb · What did … ? · Who did … ?
Topic:
Gitanjali Rao · Colorado · Denver · water test · science fairs · Curious Minds

Teaching tips

  • Write one sentence and ask about both ends: Jill tested the water. Half the class asks about Jill (Who tested the water?), the other half about the water (What did Jill test?).
  • Read the answer after the dash first: in each gap-fill item, it shows whether the question asks about the doer (Jill did.) or about the object (The water was clean.).
  • Survey the class with Who + verb-s: Who has a dog? Who lives near the school? Hands go up, and students answer I do! or Ana does.
  • Set Wendy's challenge in class: pairs interview each other about a project or a hobby with one Who…? and one What…? question, such as Who gave you the idea?

Liked it?

Teach the whole lesson in edio

30 exercises in 6 chapters, ready to teach. edio is an online platform for language schools and teachers: ready-made interactive lessons, live classes, homework and student progress in one place.

  1. Start a free trial

    7 days, no credit card.

  2. Open the lesson

    Find it in the library of 621 ready lessons. Teach it as it is, or copy any chapter into your own lessons.

  3. Teach it live or as homework

    Students work in their own accounts, in sync with you during the lesson, and the practice exercises check themselves.

Teach it free for 7 days

The whole course: English A2.2 · Curious Minds

32 lessons that pick up where English A2.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present perfect to used to, have to and relative clauses. Eight units cover nature, tech at home, heroes, healthy habits, fashion, school, animals and traditions. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Wonders of nature

    the present perfect with ever and never, been to, superlatives with I've ever, articles with place names

    1. Lesson 1Have you ever seen the sky dance?The present perfect for experiences
    2. Lesson 2Have you been to the Grand Canyon?Present perfect vs past simple
    3. Lesson 3The longest cave in the worldSuperlatives with the present perfect
    4. Lesson 4The first national parkArticles with place names

  2. Unit 2 Clever tech at home

    the present perfect with just, already and yet, phrasal verbs, subject and object questions

    1. Lesson 5The chocolate bar that meltedThe present perfect with just
    2. Lesson 6Has my lunch arrived yet?Already and yet with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 7Turn it on, turn it offPhrasal verbs with it and them
    4. Lesson 8 · you're hereThe girl who tests waterSubject and object questions

  3. Unit 3 Everyday heroes

    the past continuous, when and while, adjective order, story linkers

    1. Lesson 9When the pager beepsThe past continuous with was and were
    2. Lesson 10The man who planted apple treesPast continuous and past simple with when and while
    3. Lesson 11What's in the lost and found?The order of adjectives
    4. Lesson 12The dogs who saved NomeStory linkers

  4. Unit 4 Healthy and happy habits

    will for predictions, the zero and first conditionals, so do I and neither do I

    1. Lesson 13Why does school start later in California?Will and won't for predictions, decisions and offers
    2. Lesson 14Brain freeze!The zero conditional for facts
    3. Lesson 15Doctor's orders: go to the park!The first conditional with if and will
    4. Lesson 16Walking in the mall at 7 a.m.Agreeing with So do I and Neither do I

  5. Unit 5 Style through time

    used to, didn't use to, made of and made from, still and not anymore

    1. Lesson 17Why did everyone use to wear a hat?Used to for past habits and states
    2. Lesson 18Jeans used to be work clothesUsed to in negatives and questions
    3. Lesson 19Quilts made from old clothesMade of, made from and made by
    4. Lesson 20Cowboy boots, still made by handStill, not anymore and no longer

  6. Unit 6 School in America

    have to, must and mustn't, be allowed to, had to

    1. Lesson 21Do you have to wear a uniform?Have to and don't have to for rules
    2. Lesson 22Stop for the yellow bus!Must, mustn't and don't have to
    3. Lesson 23A class trip to the SmithsonianBe allowed to and can for permission
    4. Lesson 24One room, one teacher, every gradeHad to and didn't have to for past duties

  7. Unit 7 Amazing animals

    relative clauses with which, that, who and where, look and sound + adjective, adjectives with prepositions

    1. Lesson 25The bird that copies car alarmsRelative clauses with which and that
    2. Lesson 26Alligators and crocodiles togetherWho, which, that and where in relative clauses
    3. Lesson 27Sailors thought it was a mermaidLook, sound and feel as linking verbs
    4. Lesson 28Beagles at the airportAdjectives with prepositions

  8. Unit 8 Traditions we love

    invitations, will vs going to, so and such, one and ones

    1. Lesson 29Come to our cookout!Making, accepting and refusing invitations
    2. Lesson 30Is spring going to come early?Will vs going to for the future
    3. Lesson 31From turnips to pumpkinsSo and such for emphasis
    4. Lesson 32Giant balloons over ManhattanOne and ones in place of a noun

Questions about this lesson

What are subject and object questions?
A subject question asks about the doer, with no do, does or did, while an object question asks about the person or thing the action happens to and uses do, does or did. Who invented Tethys? asks about the inventor; What did she invent? asks about the invention. The A2 lesson The girl who tests water on edio.ai builds both from one sentence about a young scientist.
How do you ask questions with who?
A who question has no helper verb when who is the doer: Who called you? Who lives here? When who is the person the action happens to, add did, do or does: Who did you call? Who do you live with? A preposition goes at the end, as in Who did you talk to?
What is a subject question?
A subject question is a question in which who or what is the subject, so it keeps the word order of a statement and needs no do, does or did: Who won the contest? What happened? In the present, the verb takes the he/she/it form: Who wants a glass of water? A gap-fill in The girl who tests water, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, mixes these with object questions.
What is an object question?
An object question asks about who or what receives the action, so it uses do, does or did + subject + base verb: What did she invent? Who did Nora call? What does Jill test? The answer is the object of the sentence: She invented a water test. She called Derek.
Is it "Who invented it?" or "Who did invent it?"
Say Who invented it?, with no did, because who is the doer. In an ordinary question, Who did invent it? is a mistake, and so is What did happen? for What happened? Did belongs in object questions: What did she invent? A quick check: if the answer is the doer, as in Gitanjali Rao did, leave did out of the question.
Is it "What did she invent?" or "What she invented?"
It's What did she invent?, with did and the base verb. Without did, What she invented? isn't a question, and What did she invented? marks the past twice. The pattern is question word + did + person + base verb: Who did she call?, not Who called she?
Why is it "Who wants cookies?" and not "Who want cookies?"
Present subject questions take the he/she/it form, even when the answer is many people: Who wants cookies? We do! Who lives next door? Who chooses the winners? The judges do. The verb agrees with who, which counts as singular, not with the answer. Who want cookies? and Who does want cookies? are both wrong in a normal question.
What are some science vocabulary words in English?
Basic science vocabulary starts with the words for testing something: test, sample, result, lab, discover and scientist. School science adds project, science fair, an event where students show their projects, and judge, the person who chooses the best ones. In one sentence: The scientist tested a sample in the lab, and the result was good. The girl who tests water, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, gives its ten science words pictures and audio.
How do I teach subject and object questions to A2 students?
Build both questions from one sentence: from Jill tested the water, ask about Jill (Who tested the water?), then about the water (What did Jill test?). Students see that only the object question needs did. Then let answers lead: give one, such as The judges do, and students find the question. This lesson's grammar chapter and its quiz chat work that way.
What's a good game for practicing who and what questions?
A reverse quiz, where one player gives an answer and the other finds the question, works well. TIME did calls for Who named her Kid of the Year?, and A water test for What did she invent? An open-the-box round adds speaking: each box asks for a Who…? or What…? question for a partner. The A2 lesson The girl who tests water on edio.ai has both, the quiz as a chat.
What's good homework for practicing subject and object questions?
Questions with the answer already given make good homework, since the answer shows which type is needed: Who ate my sandwich? Biscuit did! but What did you buy at the store? Some apples and milk. In The girl who tests water, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, nine homework tasks check themselves, from finishing questions like these to a science-fair interview with gaps.
Are there interactive exercises for subject and object questions?
Yes: gap-fills and chat quizzes that mark each question show at once whether did belongs. Without an account, this page plays four parts of The girl who tests water, an A2 lesson on edio.ai: the show's post about Gitanjali Rao's water test, Nora's talk with a science teacher at a school science fair, a gap-fill in which students complete the questions, and Maya's quiz chat. The other parts are locked.
Unlock full lesson

Teach this lesson with your students

Book a demoStart free trial

No credit card required