Questions are quite tricky. Let’s just go over the main rules.
PRACTICE
Now watch the video and look at the examples of questions. They are in red in the subtitles. Transcribe the conversation to learn more. Read and study the information provided below, and finally, do the grammar exercises to check you understand and can use questions correctly.
We usually form questions by putting an auxiliary verb, or a modal verb, before the subject:
Does it suit me? Has Mum called? Can you get the tea? Shall I pass you to Oliver?
When the verb ‘to be’ is the main verb, we don’t use auxiliary verbs:
Is Oliver there? Was it good?
We can add question words to get more or different information:
Where did you go swimming? > In the swimming pool in town. Why did you go there? > Because it’s a nice, big pool. Who did you go swimming with? > With Amy. What time did you meet Amy? > At 10 o’clock. Which pool did you go in? > The serious one, without the slides! How did you get there? > On the bus.
Questions sometimes finish with prepositions:
Who were you out with? What have you got that bag for? What’s all that about? Where are you calling from?
SUBJECT AND OBJECT QUESTIONS
If who, what or which is the subject of the question, it comes before the verb and we don’t use do as an auxiliary:
Who went out for curry? (subject – who) What happened? (subject – what) Which looks better, this or that one? (subject – which)
Object questions follow the structure we looked at before:
Who did you go out for curry with? (subject – you; object – who) Which restaurant does Oliver like most? (subject – Oliver; object – which) What did they do after the restaurant? (subject – they; object – what)
TEST YOURSELF
Here’s a little test for you, then. A cat killed a mouse and a dog killed the cat.
1 What killed the mouse? 2 What did the cat kill? 3 What killed the cat? 4 What did the dog kill?
Answers: 1 the cat, 2 the mouse, 3 the dog, 4 the cat.
REPORTED SPEECH QUESTIONS
Reported speech questions are more polite, especially if you are talking to a stranger:
‘Do you know where the post office is?’
And we can make them even more polite.
‘Excuse me, could you tell me where the post office is, please?’
In reported speech or indirect questions, question words come in the middle of sentences. In these types of sentence, the word order does not change. We don’t put the verb to be before the subject or use an auxiliary to form a question, as in a normal question:
I asked her what she was doing at the weekend. Do you know where the post office is? Can you tell me how much it costs?
What are you doing at the weekend? Where is the post office? How much does it cost?
EXERCISES
1. Check your grammar – complete the gaps with a question word below.
What / Where / How / How often / When / Why / Who / Whose
1. A: ____________________ are you going on holiday? B: Next Friday.
2. A: ____________________ are you going? B: Croatia.
3. A: ____________________ bought the tickets? B: My mum did.
4. A: ____________________ do you go on holiday? B: Once every two years.
5. A: ____________________ don’t you go more often? B: Because we don’t want to.
6. A: ____________________ do you do the other years? B: We relax in the garden and visit friends.
7. A: ____________________ do you choose your holiday destination? B: We use the internet.
8. A: And ____________________ idea was it to go to Croatia? B: Our neighbours recommended it.
2. Check your grammar – circle the correct sentence.
1. a. What you have for lunch? b. What did you have for lunch? c. What had you for lunch?
2. a. Who is that letter from? b. From who is that letter? c. Who is from that letter?
3. a. She always sings in the shower? b. Sings she always in the shower? c. Does she always sing in the shower?
4. a. Can we go and visit Gran? b. We can go and visit Gran? c. Can go and visit Gran?
5. a. Who you bought those boots? b. Who bought you those boots? c. Who did buy you those boots?
6. a. Do you go to the cinema how often? b. How often do you go to the cinema? c. How often you go to the cinema?
7. a. What did he in Germany? b. What he did in Germany? c. What did he do in Germany?
8. a. Would you like another piece of cake? b. Do you would like another piece of cake? c. Do you like another piece of cake?
3. Check your grammar – ordering
Write the words in the correct order to make questions.
1. to Who were you ? talking …………………………………………………………………………………….…………………..
2. are at they ? looking What …………………………………………………………………………………….…………………..
3. music ? down the you Could turn …………………………………………………………………………………….…………………..
4. is for What homework the today ? …………………………………………………………………………………….…………………..
5. Who that photo ? took …………………………………………………………………………………….…………………..
6. match time does ? the start What …………………………………………………………………………………….…………………..
7. you How clean often ? do teeth your …………………………………………………………………………………….…………………..
1. Check your grammar: gap fill 1. When 2. Where 3. Who 4. How often 5. Why 6. What 7. How 8. whose
2. Check your grammar: multiple choice 1. b 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. b 6. b 7. c 8. a
3. Check your grammar: ordering 1. Who were you talking to? 2. What are they looking at? 3. Could you turn the music down? 4. What is the homework for today? 5. Who took that photo? 6. What time does the match start? 7. How often do you clean your teeth? 8. Why don’t polar bears eat penguins?
BUT, For He / She / It we use SPEAKS with an S at the end. The S is necessary at the end of a verb when the subject is HE, SHE, or IT.
He speaks…
She speaks…
It speaks…
Look at these examples:
I speak Spanish.
You speak Portuguese.
But…
He speaks Italian.
Sometimes the verb changes a little for HE, SHE and IT (third person). Look at this verb: HAVE We say:
I have a good idea.
You have black hair.
BUT, for He / She / It we use HAS. We do NOT say Haves… because the verb is irregular. Look at these examples:
She has a dictionary.
John has blue eyes.
Negative Sentences – Present Simple Tense
Look at this sentence:
They speak English.
This is an affirmative sentence. How can I make this a NEGATIVE sentence?
In English, we use don’t and doesn’t to make a negative sentence in present simple tense.*
They speak English. … becomes …
They don’tspeak English.
* Exceptions: Negative sentences that use To Be or Modal Verbs (can, might, must, etc.)
When the subject is I, YOU, WE or THEY … we use don’t before the verb. When the subject is HE, SHE or IT … we use doesn’t before the verb. DON’T is a contraction of DO NOT. DOESN’T is a contraction of DOES NOT.
After don’t and doesn’t we have a VERB. This verb is the base form of the infinitive. The infinitive is the original form of the verb before it is conjugated or changed. The infinitive is to go, to need, to speak, to live. But we want the BASE form of the infinitive… this is without the TO at the beginning.
Instead of TO GO, only GO.
instead of TO NEED, only NEED.
Instead of TO SPEAK, only SPEAK.
Instead of TO LIVE, only LIVE.
Let’s look at the example of the verb SPEAK. We say:
I don’tspeak …
You don’tspeak …
We don’tspeak …
They don’tspeak …
BUT, look at this affirmative sentence:
He speaks Spanish.
What is the negative form of this sentence?
He doesn’tspeak Spanish.
Questions – Present Simple Tense
Look at this sentence.
You speak English.
This is an affirmative sentence. What is the question?
DO you speak English?
In English, we use DO and DOES to make questions in present simple tense.*
* Exceptions: Questions that have To Be or Modal Verbs (can, might, must, etc.)
You speak English. (Affirmative sentence)
Do you speak English? (Question)
The word DO at the beginning tells us it is a question.
Do is used for questions with I, you, we, and they. Does is used for questions with he, she, and it.
Also the same rules apply to the verb in questions. We use the base form of the infinitive. For example, the affirmative sentence:
He speaks German.
There is an S at the end of speaks because the subject is HE and it is an affirmative sentence. What is the question?
Astrology correlates the positions and movements ofcelestial bodies, such as planets and stars, at the time of a person’s birth with events on Earth, including human personality and natural phenomena.
It is based on the idea that the positions of these celestial objects at the time of a person’s birth can influence their character, behavior, and destiny.
Astrology typically involves dividing the sky into twelve sections or “houses,” each associated with a zodiac sign (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc.), and the positions of celestial bodies within these houses are thought to influence a person’s life.
So, do you know what your zodiac sign is?
or simply:
What is your sign? or
What is your zodiac sign / star sign / sun sign, or astrological sign?
Zodiac signs
ARIES (March 21 – April 19)
TAURUS (April 20 – May 21)
GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)
CANCER (June 22 – July 22)
LEO (July 23 – August 22)
VIRGO (August 23 – September 22)
LIBRA (September 23 – October 22)
SCORPIO (October 23 – November 21)
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 – December 21)
CAPRICORN (December 22 – January 19)
AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 18)
PISCES (February 19 – March 20)
Depending on the month you were born, you have an animal or some symbol that represents that month.
Are star signs important to you? Do you know the characteristics someone with your star sign should have?
Listen carefully and take note of the adjectives.
Advanced – Personality Traits
Here is a comprehensive list of words for personality traits. Reflect on them. Look them up in a dictionary and decide which is positive, negative or neutral.
WORKAHOLIC
RESPONSIBLE
HUMANITARIAN
SOCIAL
LOVES RELAXATION
GENEROUS
IMPULSIVE
IMPRESSIONABLE
BRAVE
FUNNY
ENIGMATIC
INVENTIVE
CARING
STOIC
SENSITIVE
LOGICAL
BOLD
PERSISTENT
OVERLY EMOTIONAL
EASY-GOING
CREATIVE
EASILY-BORED
THEATRICAL
HILARIOUS
SECRETIVE
OPTIMISTIC
ORIGINAL
RELENTLESS DETERMINATION
GENEROUS
HONEST
CONFIDENT
PROTECTIVE
STUBBORN
FAIR
AMBITIOUS
UNIQUE
PROGRESSIVE
SYSTEMATIC
INDECISIVE
PASSIONATE
PERFECTIONIST
PRACTICAL
SPONTANEOUS
CHEERFUL DISPOSITION
LOYAL
JEALOUS
IDEALISTIC
MOTIVATED
VIVACIOUS
INTELLIGENT
LOVES LUXURY AND COMFORT
STUBBORN
OUTGOING
MOODY
EMPATHETIC
DIPLOMATIC
SELF-CENTERED
BIG HEARTED
MYSTERIOUS
HARD-WORKING
DISCIPLINED
UNPREDICTABLE
Now watch the video and look at each zodiac sign and the characteristics that belong to which one of them. Hehe.
TIME FOR PRACTICE: SPEAKING!
1 Do you think the information about your own star sign is accurate? Why / Why not?
2 Which star sign do you think would be the best / worst match for you? Why?
3 Do you know the difference between astrology and astronomy?
4 Would you go to see an astrologist?
5 Would you like to know your future? Would that be what you want to know?
6 What would it take to convince you that astrology works?
TIME FOR PRACTICE: GRAMMAR, READING AND WRITING!
For a Beginners practice but good as a review for prices and dates, click:
DIVIDED USAGE Some forms have always existed in the language, but have been eradicated by eighteenth and nineteenth century British grammarians, often because they thought that English grammar should imitate Latin, which was considered a superior language. Examples:
John and me went to the cinema.
between you and I
People are now more tolerant of such forms, so they are becoming more common.
They are, however, restricted to a very informal style. They are not correct in formal speech or writing.
