Subject questions
The question word is the subject: no do/does/did. Question word + verb
- Who called you? (Anna called me.)
- What happened? · Who lives here?
Object questions
The question word is the object: use an auxiliary. Question word + auxiliary + subject + verb
- Who did you call? (I called Anna.)
- Who are you waiting for? · What did she buy?
Compare
| Subject question | Object question |
| Who saw Tom? | Who did Tom see? |
| Who loves Maria? | Who does Maria love? |
| What broke the glass? | What did he break? |
Watch out
- Subject questions: past simple stays without did:
Who did call you? → Who called you? - Whom is the formal object form; in speech we use who. Formal: To whom did you speak? Informal: Who did you speak to?
En español
Si who/what es el sujeto, no se usa auxiliar (Who called you?). Si es el objeto, sí (Who did you call?). Whom es la forma formal de objeto.
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