Subject and Object Questions: Who Called You?
By the end: I can ask who did something and who or what received the action.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Choose a short recording.
Before you start
A bag was left in a classroom. What would you ask to find its owner?
Useful background: Present and past simple questions; subject and object pronouns.
Ask about the subject
When who or what is the subject, it replaces the person or thing doing the action. Keep normal statement order after it. In a neutral positive present or past simple question, do not add do, does or did.
Who found the bag?
What makes that noise?
Ask about the object
When the subject is already known, put it after the question auxiliary. With an ordinary present or past simple verb, use do, does or did and the base verb. The answer names the person or thing receiving the action.
Who did Sara call?
What does this button open?
Keep auxiliaries that belong
With a modal, a continuous form or a perfect form, keep the necessary auxiliary. Its position still depends on the missing role. Who is helping you asks about the helper; who are you helping asks about the recipient.
Who can help Leo?
Who is Leo helping?
Keep is while changing the missing role
Who fills the subject position. Is helping keeps the continuous form.
Ben is the subject after is. Who asks for the person receiving his help.
Guided practice
Say or write your answer first. Compare the meaning and form; the model is one possible answer.
1. Ask about the person: Rosa repaired the lamp.
Compare a model and explanation
Who repaired the lamp?
Rosa is the subject, so no did is needed.
2. Ask about the thing: Rosa repaired the lamp.
Compare a model and explanation
What did Rosa repair?
The missing item is the object; use did plus repair.
3. Correct the neutral question: Who did broke the cup?
Compare a model and explanation
Who broke the cup?
Who is the subject; keep the past form broke.
4. Complete the object question: What does this key ___? Use open.
Compare a model and explanation
open
Does carries the present-tense agreement; open is the base form.
5. Ask about the helper: Someone can help us.
Compare a model and explanation
Who can help us?
Keep can; do not insert do.
6. Ask about the recipient: They are interviewing someone.
Compare a model and explanation
Who are they interviewing?
They is the subject, placed after are.
7. Explain the difference: Who invited Alex? / Who did Alex invite?
Compare a model and explanation
The first asks for the inviter; the second asks for Alex’s guest.
Swapping the missing role changes the question’s meaning.
8. A colleague says, Someone emailed Sam. Ask two questions: one about the sender and one about what they sent.
Compare a model and explanation
Who emailed Sam? What did they send him?
The first is a subject question; the second has an expressed subject and did.
A short conversation
Listen first if you can, then open the transcript when useful.
Open the conversation transcript
A: Who found the notebook in the café?
B: Nina found it. She gave it to the person at the counter.
A: Who did the person at the counter call?
B: They called the owner. His number was inside the cover.
Listening checks
Listen to each extract or open its transcript. These three questions have their own score.
Mastery quiz
Choose the best answer in each situation. Your score is out of eight.
Use it in your own words
Speaking task 1
Lost property: ask four questions about a phone found after class. Include two subject questions and two object questions.
Reveal a possible response
Who found the phone? Who left it here? Where did you find it? Who did you tell?
Success check: Identify the missing role before choosing the question order.
Speaking task 2
Interview a partner about a helpful day. Ask who helped them, who they helped and one follow-up about each event.
Reveal a possible response
Who helped you yesterday? What did they do? Who did you help? What did you explain?
Success check: Preserve the direction of help and use a base verb after did.
Speaking task 3
Explain these two questions to a new learner, then create another pair: Who teaches Marta? Who does Marta teach?
Reveal a possible response
The first asks for Marta’s teacher. The second asks for her student. Similarly, who called Leo asks for the caller, but who did Leo call asks for the person he contacted.
Success check: Explain the roles, not just the word order.
Take it with you
I can ask who did something and who or what received the action.