Who took the auxiliary?
- tsoc2delegado
- Sep 29, 2016
- 2 min read
Asking questions in English can be difficult at first. Adding an auxiliary verb and changing the position of the subject can take a long time to do quickly and correctly, particularly in spoken English. In addition, using the wrong word order, or not using the auxiliary can completely change the question... AND THE ANSWER, of course.
That is because the typical, simple sentence with SUBJECT-VERB-OBJECT in English can be the answer to two different questions. This is particularly true with questions about WHO, but it is also possible with questions asking WHAT or WHICH.
There are SUBJECT questions and OBJECT questions.
--OBJECT questions are the ones that may need the auxiliary and a new position for the SUBJECT.
--SUBJECT questions do not need any changes in word order; the answer will have the same structure as the question.
Look at the blue questions.
The first one is a SUBJECT question. It asks who is the subject of the verb SEE.
"WHO saw you?" ------>Answer: "MY FRIEND BEN saw me."
The second one is an OBJECT question. It asks who is the object of the verb SEE.
"WHO did you see?" ------>Answer: "I saw MY FRIEND BEN."
Now look at the red questions. Which answer is correct for each question?
1) "Who phoned him?"
a) My friend Ben phoned him.
b) He phoned My friend Ben?
2) "Who did he phone?"
a) My friend Ben phoned him.
b) He phoned My friend Ben?
And the green questions:
3) "Who talked to her?"
a) My friend Ben talked to her.
b) She talked to My friend Ben.
4) "Who did she talk to?"
a) My friend Ben talked to her.
b) She talked to My friend Ben.
Check your answers: 1-a, 2-b, 3-a, 4-b
Now it's time for you to write some SUBJECT questions. Here are some famous names. Can you write a subject question for each one beginning with WHO? For example:
Charles Dickens (write) ---> Who wrote Bleak House?
Neil Armstrong (step), Usain Bolt (run), Marie Curie (discover), Leonardo Da Vinci (paint), J.K Rowling (write).
Once you have written your questions, check them with the answers in the first blog comment.
