A2 Question Forms: Subject Questions & Questions with Prepositions
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Subject questions don't use 'do/does', and prepositions go at the end of the sentence.
- For subject questions, keep the word order the same as a statement: 'Who ate the cake?'
- For object questions, use 'do/does' and swap the subject and verb: 'What did you eat?'
- When using a preposition, put it at the very end: 'Who are you talking to?'
Overview
- Who are you waiting for?
- What did you talk about?
- Which city do you come from?
- For whom are you waiting? (very formal)
- About what did you speak? (very formal, rare)
- Where to? (informal for
Where are you going?
) - Who with? (informal for
Who are you going with?
) - What for? (informal for
Why?)
3. Subject vs Object Question Formation
| Type | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Subject Question
|
Wh- + Verb + Object
|
Who ate the cake?
|
|
Object Question
|
Wh- + Aux + Subject + Verb
|
What did you eat?
|
|
Prepositional
|
Wh- + Aux + Subject + Verb + Prep
|
Who are you with?
|
|
Subject Prep
|
Wh- + Prep + Verb
|
Who is this for?
|
|
Past Subject
|
Wh- + Verb(past)
|
Who called you?
|
|
Past Object
|
Wh- + did + Subject + Verb
|
Who did you call?
|
Common Contractions
| Full Form | Short Form |
|---|---|
|
Who is
|
Who's
|
|
What is
|
What's
|
|
Who are
|
Who're (rare)
|
|
What are
|
What're (rare)
|
Meanings
These structures allow you to ask for specific information about the person performing an action or the target of a preposition.
Subject Question
Asking about the person or thing performing the action.
“Who broke the window?”
“What happened here?”
Prepositional Question
Asking about the object of a preposition.
“Who are you waiting for?”
“What are you looking at?”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Subject Question
|
Who/What + Verb
|
Who likes pizza?
|
|
Object Question
|
Wh- + do/does + Subj + Verb
|
What do you like?
|
|
Prepositional
|
Wh- + Aux + Subj + Verb + Prep
|
Who are you with?
|
|
Short Answer
|
Subject + Aux
|
I am.
|
|
Negative Question
|
Wh- + Aux + not + Subj + Verb
|
Who didn't go?
|
|
Past Subject
|
Wh- + Verb(past)
|
Who went there?
|
|
Past Object
|
Wh- + did + Subj + Verb
|
Who did you see?
|
Formalitätsspektrum
With whom are you attending? (Party invitation)
Who are you going with? (Party invitation)
Who you with? (Party invitation)
Who's your plus-one? (Party invitation)
Question Types
Subject
- Who Person
- What Thing
Prepositional
- With Company
- For Purpose
Subject vs Object
Question Decision Tree
Is the Wh- word the subject?
Beispiele nach Niveau
Who is that?
Qui est-ce ?
Who is calling?
Qui appelle ?
What is this?
Qu'est-ce que c'est ?
Who are you with?
Avec qui es-tu ?
Who ate my lunch?
Qui a mangé mon déjeuner ?
What happened to your car?
Qu'est-il arrivé à ta voiture ?
Who are you waiting for?
Qui attends-tu ?
What are you talking about?
De quoi parles-tu ?
Which student won the prize?
Quel étudiant a gagné le prix ?
Who did you go to the cinema with?
Avec qui es-tu allé au cinéma ?
What are you looking for?
Que cherches-tu ?
Who is responsible for this project?
Qui est responsable de ce projet ?
Who is this book written by?
Par qui ce livre est-il écrit ?
What are you so worried about?
De quoi t'inquiètes-tu autant ?
Which of these candidates is qualified?
Lequel de ces candidats est qualifié ?
Who are you referring to?
À qui fais-tu référence ?
Who could have possibly known?
Qui aurait pu savoir ?
What is the outcome dependent on?
De quoi dépend le résultat ?
Who are you siding with in this dispute?
De quel côté es-tu dans ce conflit ?
What are you aiming for with this strategy?
Que vises-tu avec cette stratégie ?
Who is the proposal being submitted to?
À qui la proposition est-elle soumise ?
What are the implications of this policy based on?
Sur quoi les implications de cette politique sont-elles basées ?
Who are you aligning your interests with?
Avec qui alignes-tu tes intérêts ?
What are you alluding to with that comment?
À quoi fais-tu allusion avec ce commentaire ?
Leicht verwechselbar
Learners often add 'do' to subject questions.
Learners think stranding is 'wrong' because of formal grammar rules.
Learners aren't sure when to use 'whom'.
Häufige Fehler
Who do ate the cake?
Who ate the cake?
With who are you?
Who are you with?
What you want?
What do you want?
Who is you with?
Who are you with?
Who did called you?
Who called you?
To who are you talking?
Who are you talking to?
What did happened?
What happened?
Who did you went with?
Who did you go with?
Which of the cars is yours?
Which car is yours?
What are you looking?
What are you looking at?
To whom are you referring to?
To whom are you referring?
Who did you give the book?
Who did you give the book to?
What is the reason for?
What is the reason for this?
Satzmuster
Who ___ the ___?
What are you ___ ___?
Who are you ___ ___?
Which ___ did you ___?
Real World Usage
Who you with?
What are you interested in?
Who can I talk to?
What is this order for?
Who are you following?
What are we looking at?
The 'Do' Rule
Don't over-formalize
Listen to Natives
Register Matters
Smart Tips
If the person is the subject, just say 'Who + verb'.
Move the preposition to the end of the sentence.
Only use it if the 'Wh-' word is NOT the subject.
Which can be a subject or object. Check the verb.
Aussprache
Wh- words
The 'wh' is often pronounced as 'w' in modern English.
Contractions
Who's is pronounced like 'hooz'.
Falling intonation
Who are you with? ↘
Standard information-seeking question.
Einprägen
Eselsbrücke
Subject questions are direct; they don't need a 'do' helper.
Visuelle Assoziation
Imagine a 'Subject' standing tall without any 'do' crutches, while an 'Object' question needs a 'do' backpack to carry the weight.
Rhyme
Subject questions, keep them straight, don't add 'do' or you'll be late.
Story
Imagine a detective. He asks 'Who stole the pie?' (Subject question, no 'do'). Then he asks the suspect, 'What did you eat?' (Object question, needs 'did'). Finally, he asks, 'Who are you with?' (Prepositional, 'with' at the end).
Word Web
Herausforderung
Write 5 questions about your day using both subject and prepositional forms.
Kulturelle Hinweise
Prepositional stranding is standard and preferred in almost all contexts.
Similar to American, but 'whom' is slightly more common in formal settings.
Very casual; stranding is universal.
Prepositional stranding is a Germanic feature that survived in English while being lost in other languages.
Gesprächseinstiege
Who are you going to the party with?
Who ate the last cookie?
What are you interested in?
Who is responsible for the project?
Tagebuch-Impulse
Häufige Fehler
Test Yourself
Who ___ the cake?
___ are you talking to?
Find and fix the mistake:
Who did break the window?
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
¿Con quién hablas?
Answer starts with: Who...
What ___ you looking for?
Who ___ this book written by?
What / you / interested / in / are / ?
Score: /8
Ubungsaufgaben
8 exercisesWho ___ the cake?
___ are you talking to?
Find and fix the mistake:
Who did break the window?
you / are / who / with / ?
¿Con quién hablas?
What ___ you looking for?
Who ___ this book written by?
What / you / interested / in / are / ?
Score: /8
FAQ (8)
Because the 'Wh-' word is the subject. We don't need an auxiliary to identify the subject.
It's not 'wrong', but it's very formal and often sounds unnatural.
Yes, but only in very formal writing. 'Who' is fine for everything else.
The verb stays in the past tense. 'Who ate the cake?'
Yes, mostly 'Who', 'What', and 'Which'.
It's more direct and fits the natural rhythm of English.
Adding 'do' to subject questions like 'Who do called?'
Try asking questions about your daily life using these patterns.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
¿Con quién hablas?
English strands the preposition; Spanish does not.
Avec qui parles-tu ?
English allows stranding; French requires the preposition at the start.
Mit wem sprichst du?
German uses case; English uses word order and stranding.
誰と話していますか？
Japanese is postpositional; English is prepositional.
مع من تتحدث؟
Arabic does not strand prepositions.
你和谁说话？
Chinese does not use auxiliary 'do' or prepositional stranding.
Learning Path
Prerequisites
Verwandte Videos
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