26

LESSON 26

Lesson Ask me a question

Asking questions
Here are some basic question words:
who
what
when
where
which
whose
why
how

Question words tell what we want to know about.

Who asks about a person.

Who has a green coat? The teacher has green coat.
Who is your best friend? My best friend is Susan.
Who do you live with? I live with my parents.

What asks about things or actions.

What color is the coat? The color of the coat is green.
What are you wearing? I am wearing a hat.
What’s that? It is a computer.

When asks about time.

When do we eat lunch? We eat lunch at noon.
When did you go to Paris? I went last year.
When are you going to go to France? I am going to go to France next July.

Where asks about location or place.

Where is the coat? It’s in the hall.
Where is your pen? My pen is on the table.
Where are they from? They are from Istanbul.

Which asks about choice.

Which chair do you want? I want the green one, not the blue one.
Which is your favorite ice-cream? Chocolate is my favorite ice-cream.
Which one of them is your brother? The tall one is my brother.

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Whose asks about possession.
Whose jacket is this? It’s John’s jacket.
Whose car are you driving? I am driving my father’s car.
Whose pens are those? They are his pens.

Be careful when you use whose (for possession) and Who’s (which means who is).
Look at the following sentences. The words sound the same but they are used in different ways
and have different meanings.
Whose is that car? Whose car is that? It is my car.
Who’s he sitting next to? He’s sitting next to the teacher.

Why asks about reasons.

Why did you go to France? I visited my parents in France.
Why do you want to learn English? I want to be an English teacher.
Why are you crying? I am crying because the film is sad.

How asks about the way someone does something.

How do you get to Green Street? Go straight ahead two blocks.
How do you spell your name? I spell it M – A – R – Y.
How can I reach the top shelf? You can stand on a chair.

How also asks about a state of being.

How are you doing today? I’m okay, thanks.
How is your mother? She’s fine, thanks.
How is the soup? It is delicious.

Some questions need two or more question words.

We use How far to ask about distance.
How far do you live from here? I live three kilometers from here.
How far is New York from Chicago? Sorry, I don’t know.
How far can you swim? I can swim one kilometer.

To ask about distance or other measurements, we use how far and how long.
How far is it to Aya Sophia from the Blue Mosque? It’s about two blocks.
How long does it take to get there? It takes about four minutes.
How long does it take to cook the pizza? It takes 20 minutes.

To ask about time, we can use what time.

What time is the train coming?
What time do you get up every day?
What time does she finish work?

To ask uncountable nouns, we use how much.

Note, for money in general we say how much.
How much was your jacket? It was 80 dollars.
How much milk do you want? I’d like a big glass.
How much traffic is there? There is a lot of traffic.

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To ask about countable nouns, we use how many.
Note for money like coins or bills, we use how many.
How many coins do you have? I have four coins.
How many children does she have? She has two children
How many cars are on the street? There are six cars.

Word order in questions

Questions often have a special word order.
In a regular sentence using the simple present or the simple past, the subject usually comes first.
The verb comes next.
He likes ice cream because it is sweet.
S V
We went to the drugstore last night.
S V

In a question with a question word, the question word comes first. Verbs come next.
Question word + verb + subject?
Why does he like ice cream?
Q V S V

Where did you go last night?

Q V S V

What is your name?

Q V S

Helping verbs (be / do / have) come before the subject. The main verb comes after the subject.

Question word + helping verb + subject + verb?

What team does he like?
Not What team he like?

Where did you go last night?

Not Where you go last night?

When will you see John?

Not When you see John?

In a regular sentence using the present progressive, the subject usually comes first. The helping
verb (be, have, will) comes next. The –ing verb comes last.

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 Ask me a question
Subject + helping verb + verb(ing)
You are singing a nice song.
S V ing

I’m going to Chicago next month.

S V ing

In a question, the helping verb usually comes before the subject.

Question word + helping verb + subject + verb(ing)?
What are you singing?
Q V ing
Where are you going next month?
Q V ing

We don’t always use question words to ask questions. Sometimes we start a question with a verb.
Then we use word order to show that we are asking a question.
The answer will be Yes or No (or I don’t know)
The word order looks like this.
Verb + subject + verb?

These are verbs we often start questions with.

am
is
are
was
were
do
does
did
can
will

Here are some examples:

Do you speak English? Yes, I do.
Are you from England? No, I’m not. I’m from Canada.

Exercise 1: Make questions.

Example: What are you going to do tomorrow ?

I’m going to go to work tomorrow.

_________________________________________________

I’m reading Lord of the Rings.

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_________________________________________________

At the newspaper stand.

_________________________________________________

Next weekend I’m visiting my parents.

_________________________________________________

I’m going to prepare chicken.

_________________________________________________

It’s my mom’s recipe.

_________________________________________________

I’m going to go to university next year.

_________________________________________________

That is my friend’s bag.

_________________________________________________

You can open the bag with a zipper.

_________________________________________________

I will buy a desk at the furniture store.

_________________________________________________

I like to study after breakfast.

Exercise 2: Put the words in the correct order and make questions.

Example: we / ride / will / bicycle / our ?

Will we ride our bicycle?

they / have / beautiful / do / apartment

________________________________________________

don’t / all / they / why / here / live

________________________________________________

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 Ask me a question
Ahmet/ does / own / bedroom / have / his
________________________________________________

we / house/ visit / their / can

________________________________________________

Melissa / fine / is
________________________________________________

leave / when / did / she

________________________________________________

with / was / Bill / her

________________________________________________

money / earn / how much / does / he

________________________________________________

going to / buy / flowers / is / he

________________________________________________

roses / are / yellow/ these

________________________________________________

Exercise 3: Some of these sentences have mistakes. Correct the mistakes. For correct sentences,
write “Correct.”

Example: Why don’t they study?

correct

Why are your friends going buy another car?

_______________________________________________

They have a lot of money.

_______________________________________________

Why do they like to go on holiday?

_______________________________________________

They are seeing many animals.

_______________________________________________

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Where are they live?
_______________________________________________

Their son work in a restaurant.

_______________________________________________

He going to study for his exam.

_______________________________________________

Who books are these?

______________________________________________

When is his mother clean their apartment?

_______________________________________________

What is she will do when she doesn’t have a job?

_______________________________________________

Exercise 4: Make the questions. The questions and answers will tell us about a house

__________________________________________
The house is on a hill.

__________________________________________
It’s in Istanbul.

__________________________________________
It’s a villa.

____________________________________________
It’s Mr. Green’s villa.

____________________________________________
Yes, he lives there

_____________________________________________
Yes, he is rich.

_____________________________________________
He has a LOT of money!

____________________________________________
He’s a banker.

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_____________________________________________
Yes, he is married.

_____________________________________________
His wife’s name is Ayse.

_____________________________________________
Yes, she does. She’s a teacher.

_____________________________________________
She teaches college students.

_____________________________________________
The Greens have two children.

_____________________________________________
Ahmet and Melissa.

_____________________________________________
No, they don’t all live in the villa.

_____________________________________________
Because the children live in France.

_____________________________________________
Yes, they are going to school there.

______________________________________________
They left last year.

______________________________________________
Ahmet left first.

______________________________________________
No, he didn’t leave in the winter. He left in the summer.

______________________________________________
No, she didn’t leave with him. She went in the fall.

______________________________________________
No, their parents weren’t sad. They were worried.

_______________________________________________
Yes, they are a happy family.

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LESSON 26
Exercise 5: Take all the answers from Exercise 4 and write a story. You might have to add or
take out some words.

Reading
Read the story and answer the questions. 1). When did Mike go to the museum?

2). Where is the museum?

3). Which museum did Mike visit?

M the museum
ike went to

on 4th Street last 4). Why did Mike visit the museum?

5). Who did he go to the museum with?

Tuesday. It was the
new art museum. He

6). Who is Mike’s brother?

wanted to see the
Greek exhibit. He

7). When did Ed go to the museum?

went with his friends,
Pete and Ted.
Mike’s brother, Ed, went to the museum on 8). Whose car did he borrow?
Saturday. He borrowed Mike’s car to get there.
He didn’t have a good time. He only stayed 9). Did Ed have a good time?

10). How long did Ed stay?

one hour.

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 Ask me a question
ANSWER KEY Lesson 26

Exercise 1 : Read the answers and make the questions.

Example: What are you going to do tomorrow ?

I’m going to go to work tomorrow.

Which book are you reading?

I’m reading Lord of the Rings.

Where did you get it?

At the newspaper stand.

When are you visiting your parents? / What are you doing next weekend?
Next weekend I’m visiting my parents.

What are you going to prepare?

I’m going to prepare chicken.

Whose recipe is it?

It’s my mom’s recipe.

When are you going to go to university? / What are you going to do next year?
I’m going to go to university next year.

Whose bag is that?

That is my friend’s bag.

How can I open the bag?

You can open the bag with a zipper.

Where will you buy a desk? / What will you buy at the furniture store?
I will buy a desk at the furniture store.

What do you like to do after breakfast?

I like to study after breakfast.

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Exercise 2: Put the words in the correct order and make questions.

Example: we / ride / will / bicycle / our

Will we ride our bicycle?

they / have / beautiful / do / apartment

Do they have a beautiful apartment?

don’t / all / they / why / here / live

Why don’t they all live here?

Ahmet / does / own / bedroom / have / his

Does Ahmet have his own bedroom?

we / house / visit / their / can

Can we visit their house?

Melissa / fine / is
Is Melissa fine?

leave / when / did / she

When did she leave?

with / was / Bill / her

Was Bill with her?

money / earn / how much / does / he

How much money does he earn?

going to / buy / flowers / is / he

Is he going to buy flowers?

roses / are / yellow/ these

Are these yellow roses?

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Exercise 3: Some of these sentences have mistakes. Correct the mistakes. For correct sentences,
write “Correct.”

Example: Why don’t they study?

correct

Why are your friends going buy another car?

Why are your friends going to buy another car?
They have a lot of money.
correct

Why do they like to go on holiday?

correct

They are seeing many animals.

They see many animals.

Where are they live?

Where do they live?

Their son work in a restaurant.

Their son works in a restaurant.

He going to study for his exam.

He is going to study for his exam.

Who books are these?

Whose books are these?

When is his mother clean their apartment?

When is his mother cleaning their apartment?

What is she will do when she doesn’t have a job?

What will she do when she doesn’t have a job?

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Exercise 4: Make the questions. The questions and answers will tell us about us a house and a
family.

Where is the house?

The house on a hill.

Where is the house? / What city is it in?

It’s in Istanbul.

What kind of house is it?

It’s a villa.

Whose house is it?

It’s Mr. Green’s villa.

Does he live there?

Yes, he lives there

Is he rich?
Yes, he is rich.

How much money does he have?

He has a LOT of money!

What does he do? / What is his job?

He’s a banker.

Is he married?
Yes, he is married.

What is his wife’s name?

His wife’s name is Ayse.

Does she work? / Does she have a job?

Yes, she does. She’s a teacher.

Who does she teach?

She teaches college students.

How many children do the Greens have?

The Greens have two children.

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What are their names?
Ahmet and Melissa.

Do they all live in the villa?

No, they don’t all live in the villa.

Why don’t the children live there?

Because the children live in France.

Are they going to school there?

Yes, they are going to school there.

When did they leave?

They left last year.

Who left first?

Ahmet left first.

Did he leave in the winter?

No, he didn’t leave in the winter. He left in the summer.

Did Melissa leave with him?

No, she didn’t leave with him. She went in the fall.

Were their parents sad?

No, their parents weren’t sad. They were worried.

Are they a happy family?

Yes, they are a happy family.

Exercise 5: Take all the answers from Exercise 4 and write a story. You might have to add or take
out some words.

There is a house on a hill in Istanbul. It’s a villa. It’s Mr. Green’s villa. He lives there. He is
rich. He has a LOT of money! He’s a banker. He is married. His wife’s name is Ayse. She’s a
teacher. She teaches college students. The Greens have two children, Ahmet and Melissa.
They don’t all live in the villa because the children live in France. They are going to school
there. They left last year. Ahmet left first. He didn’t leave in the winter. He left in the sum-
mer. Melissa didn’t leave with him. She went in the fall. Their parents weren’t sad but they
were worried. They are a happy family.

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LESSON 26
Reading
1). When did Mike go to the museum?
He went to the museum last Tuesday.

2). Where is the museum?

The museum is on 4th Street.

3). Which museum did Mike visit?

He visited the art museum.

4). Why did Mike visit the museum?

He wanted to see the Greek exhibit.

5). Who did he go to the museum with?

He went to the museum with Pete and Ted.

6). Who is Mike’s brother?

Ed is his brother.

7). When did Ed go to the museum?

He went on Saturday.

8). Whose car did he borrow?

He borrowed Mike’s car.

9). Did Ed have a good time?

No, he didn’t.

10). How long did Ed stay?

He stayed one hour.

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vocabulary list
NOUNS VERBS ADJECTIVES ADVERBS PREPOSITIONS
action buy best first about
bacon copy cloudy every ahead
banker cry delicious today at
bedroom drive far tomorrow by
bike eat favorite today from
bill feel hungry usually in
block finish married on
bread get new out
building get up old over
cake leave rich straight
car mean sad up
chair put tall with
cheese rain tired
chocolate reach worried
choice sit
cigarette smoke CONJUNCTIONS
coat spell and
coins stand because
computer start but
drugstore study or
egg swim
ferry teach
film travel QUESTION WORDS
hall want how
headache wear what
hill when
idea where
jacket who
market whose
motorcycle why
movie
parents
pen
pie
possession
reason
refrigerator
sandwich
shirt
shoes
song
soup
statement
table
team
ticket
traffic
train
villa
weather

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