sentences ending in "を"


I have always had problems with sentences ending in ”を”

For example: それで後任を？

(a) Who is the subject? (b) What is the object? It is confusing because it
ended with a "を"




> (a) Who is the subject?

It must be decided from the context. It's perhaps "you", but it can be "he",
"they", or whatever, depending on the context.

> (b) What is the object?

The object is 後任, of course. を is the object marker. The corresponding verb is
implied and omitted.

* * *

Generally speaking, a sentence that ends with を tends to have an implied verb
that relates to desire, wish or wanting. Without any context, an (incomplete)
sentence like "自由を!" makes perfect sense, and it means "Give Us Freedom!".

See: [Does the particle "を" (wo) have a special use when at the end of a
sentence?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/1209/5010)

All in all, if I have to guess the meaning of this incomplete sentence without
any further context, it would be "So that's why you want a successor?"
Depending on the context, however, it can mean "So that's why the president
fired his successor?" or "Is that the weapon that she's gonna kill the
successor with?" or anything.

