Subject questions, questions with preposition
Learn how to ask questions about the subject and how to end questions with prepositions.
- check_circleI can ask questions about the subject (Who called you?).
- check_circleI can ask questions that end with a preposition (Who are you talking to?).
Discover
Meet today's English in a real situation — no rules yet. Read it once and try to guess the pattern in the words in bold. Underlined words open a short definition.
Sarah: Hi, Mark! You look happy. Who called you?
Mark: Oh, hey! The manager from the tech company called me. She wants to hire me! I start next week.
Sarah: That’s amazing! What did she say?
Mark: She said they loved my interview.
Sarah: Congratulations! So, who are you going out with tonight?
Mark: My friends are taking me out. We are going to celebrate at the new Italian place.
Sarah: Sounds fun. What restaurant are you going to?
Mark: It’s called Bella Napoli.
Sarah: Oh, I know it. Who recommended it to you?
Mark: David did. By the way, what are you looking for in your bag?
Sarah: My keys. I need to search every pocket. I think I lost them!
Mark: Oh no. Who had them last? Let me help you find them.
Learn
Now the rules behind what you just saw — explained simply, with examples. Underlined words open a short definition — hover on desktop, tap on a phone.
We usually make questions with an auxiliary verb (do, does, did, am, is, are, etc.) and a subject. But sometimes, the question word (who, what, which) is the subject.
Object questions (Normal questions)
When we ask about the object of a verb, we use the normal question word order: Question Word + Auxiliary + Subject + Verb.
- Who did you call? (I called Jane.)
- What did they buy? (They bought a car.)
Subject questions
When we ask about the subject of a verb, we don’t use the auxiliary verbs do, does, or did. The question word acts as the subject, and the verb follows in the affirmative form.
- Who called you? (Jane called me.)
- What happened? (An accident happened.)
- Which student won the prize? (Tom won the prize.)
Common Mistake: Do not use did or does when asking about the subject.
Who did call you?→ Who called you?What does happen?→ What happens?
Questions with prepositions
In English, it is very common to put a preposition at the end of a question, especially in spoken English.
When a verb is followed by a preposition (e.g., listen to, wait for, talk to), the preposition goes at the end of the question.
- Who are you talking to? (I am talking to my sister.)
- What are you worried about? (I am worried about the exam.)
- Where do you come from? (I come from Spain.)
In formal English, you can put the preposition before whom or which (e.g., To whom are you talking?), but this sounds very formal and is rarely used in conversation. Usually, we just put it at the end!
- Object question: Who did you call? (You = subject, Who = object)
- Subject question: Who called you? (Who = subject, You = object)
- No do/does/did in subject questions!
- Prepositions at the end: Put the preposition at the end of the question (e.g., What are you looking at?).
Practice
Try it yourself. You'll see right away whether you got it right, plus a short explanation of why.
Use It
Now make the language yours in a real task. Use the prompt below — the editor keeps a simple word count, and nothing is saved or graded.
Before you finish — be honest. Can you do these now?