Subject

The subject in a simple English sentence such as John runs, John is a teacher, or John was ran over by a car is the person or thing about whom the statement is made, in this case 'John'. Traditionally the subject is the word or phrase which controls the verb in the clause, that is to say with which the verb agrees (John is but John and Mary are). If there is no verb, as in John - what an idiot!, or if the verb has a different subject, as in John - I can't stand him!, then 'John' is not considered to be the grammatical subject, but can be described as the 'topic' of the sentence.

These definitions seem clear enough for simple sentences such as the above, problems in defining the subject arise when an attempt is made to extend the definitions to more complex sentences. For example, in the sentence It is difficult to learn French, the grammatical subject seems to be the word 'it', and yet arguably the 'real' subject (the thing that is difficult) is 'to learn French'. (A sentence such as It was John who broke the window is more complex still.) Sentences beginning with a locative phrase, such as There is a problem, isn't there?, in which the tag question 'isn't there?' seems to imply that the subject is the 'there', also create difficulties for the definition of subject.

Questions

Like many other Western European languages, English historically allowed questions to be formed by inverting the positions of verb and subject. Modern English permits this only in the case of a small class of verbs ("special verbs"), consisting of auxiliaries as well as forms of the copula be. To form a question from a sentence which does not have such an auxiliary or copula present, the auxiliary verb do (does, did) needs to be inserted, along with inversion of the word order, to form a question. For example:

• She can dance. → Can she dance? (inversion of subject she and auxiliary can)
• I am sitting here. → Am I sitting here? (inversion of subject I and copula am)
• The milk goes in the fridge. → Does the milk go in the fridge? (no special verb present; do-support required)

The above concerns yes-no questions, but inversion also takes place in the same way after other questions, formed with interrogative words such as where, what, how, etc. An exception applies when the interrogative word is the subject or part of the subject, in which case there is no inversion. For example:

• I go. → Where do I go? (wh-question formed using inversion, with do-support required in this case)
• He goes. → Who goes? (no inversion, because the question word who is the subject)

Note that inversion does not apply in indirect questions: I wonder where he is (not ... where is he). Indirect yes-no questions can be expressed using if or whether as the interrogative word: Ask them whether/if they saw him*.

Negative questions are formed similarly; however if the verb undergoing inversion has a contraction with not, then it is possible to invert the subject with this contraction as a whole. For example:

• John is going. (affirmative)
• John is not going. / John isn't going. (negative, with and without contraction)
• Isn't John going? / Is John not going? (negative question, with and without contraction respectively)

Tag questions are formed with a special verb and pronoun subject: isn't it?; were there?; am I not?

A2 / Elementary / Pre-intermediate

A CEFR A2 level English language user is considered to be at an elementary level. At this level, an individual is expected to have a basic understanding of the English language and be able to use simple phrases and sentences to communicate in everyday situations. They should be able to understand and use basic grammar and vocabulary, and be able to understand short, simple texts.

At A2 level, They can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). They can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. They can describe in simple terms aspects of their background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need. They can also interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.

A2 | Elementary | Pre-intermediate.

Difficulty: Easy

Easy difficulty. Difficulty levels represent author's opinion about how hard a question or challenge is.