Learn how to ask and answer common questions in English using the six most common interrogative pronouns
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sadia: Greetings from New York. |
| Keith: Hey, I’m Keith. “Do People Understand Where You're Coming From?” |
| Sadia: In our last lesson, Lesson 2 - “How to Make a First Impression in English That Will Last a Lifetime” |
| Keith: You learned how to introduce yourself and make new friends. |
| Sadia: You also learned about making a request-- |
| Keith: And asking for something using, "Please." |
| Keith: In this lesson you will learn how to/ |
| Sadia: get to know someone and tell more about yourself. |
| Keith: And this conversation takes place |
| Sadia: on an airplane. |
| Keith: The conversation is between... |
| Sadia: the main character, Zo, and a girl sitting next to him on the plane. |
| Keigh: Alright, well, let’s listen in to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Zo: So who is the singer? |
| Michelle: I'm sorry? |
| Zo: The song you were singing. |
| Michelle: Oh my gosh! I'm embarrassed! It's Beyoncé. |
| Zo: Oh, of course! Good choice. So where are you from? |
| Michelle: I'm from Los Angeles. |
| Zo: Ah, yes, Los Angeles. |
| Michelle: And you? Where are you from? Are you South |
| African? |
| Zo: Yes, I’m South African! |
| Michelle” Are you from Johannesburg? |
| Zo: No, I'm not. I'm from Cape Town. |
| Michelle: Oh, is that so? |
| Keith: One more time slowly. |
| Zo: So who is the singer? |
| Michelle: I'm sorry? |
| Zo: The song you were singing. |
| Michelle: Oh my gosh! I'm embarrassed! It's Beyoncé. |
| Zo: Oh, of course! Good choice. So where are you from? |
| Michelle: I'm from Los Angeles. |
| Zo: Ah, yes, Los Angeles. |
| Michelle: And you? Where are you from? Are you South |
| African? |
| Zo: Yes, I’m South African! |
| Michelle” Are you from Johannesburg? |
| Zo: No, I'm not. I'm from Cape Town. |
| Michelle: Oh, is that so? |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sadia: So, it seems like Zo is trying to strike up a little |
| conversation here! |
| Keith: He is! And uh, I applaud his efforts! |
| Sadia: Me, too! He's doing a fantastic job-- going nice and |
| easy. All guys should be so smooth! |
| Keith: [laughs] How about me? I’m pretty smooth. |
| Sadia: If only it were the case that all guys were so smooth. [laughs] |
| Keith: [laughs] I do have a question, though-- how does |
| Michelle know where Zo is from? |
| Sadia: I wondered that myself and I kind of |
| have a theory; Michelle must be a really well-traveled girl. |
| She's probably been to South Africa or has South |
| African friends and maybe picked up on his accent or his |
| mannerisms or something like that. |
| Keith: Yeah, you're probably right. |
| Sadia: It's funny, because when I go places-- whether it’s here in |
| the States or abroad, I'm always mistaken for being |
| from somewhere that I'm not. |
| Keith: I could definitely imagine that. [laughs] |
| Sadia: [laughs] So for example, I went to college in DC. People in DC would always say, “Are you from California?” What’s funny is that I’ve actually never been to California. |
| Keith: Hmm. |
| Sadia: And when I'm in like, Japan or something, people think I'm Brazilian |
| Keith: [laughs] |
| Sadia: I mean, both of those things are pretty far from the truth, but I guess it’s kind of hard to pinpoint where someone’s from. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Keith: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is... |
| Sadia: so [natural native speed] |
| Keith: used as an introductory particle |
| Sadia: so [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: so [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| who [natural native speed] |
| Keith: what or which person(s), the person that |
| who [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| who [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: singer [natural native speed] |
| Keith: one who sings |
| Sadia: singer [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: singer [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| embarrassed [natural native speed] |
| Keith: feeling ashamed |
| embarrassed [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| embarrassed [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: where [natural native speed] |
| Keith: at, in, or to what place; place in which |
| Sadia: where [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: where [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| you [natural native speed] |
| Keith: the one(s) being spoken to |
| you [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| you [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: from [natural native speed] |
| Keith: of; place or person of origin |
| Sadia: from [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: from [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| yes [natural native speed] |
| Keith: used to express agreement |
| yes [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| yes [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: New Yorker [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a person from New York |
| Sadia: New Yorker [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: New Yorker [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| to live [natural native speed] |
| Keith: to be alive; to occupy a place or home |
| to live [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| to live [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: not [natural native speed] |
| Keith: used to make negative the words that follow it |
| Sadia: not [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: not [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Keith: Well, how about we take a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Sadia: OK, the first phrase we’ll look at is, "I'm sorry." |
| Keith: After Zo asks Michelle about the singer of the song |
| she is singing, Michelle asks, "I'm sorry?" to indicate, to ask, |
| that she didn't understand what Zo has said. Right, Sadia? |
| Sadia: I'm sorry? [laughs] |
| Keith: [laughs] |
| Sadia: Just kidding! What's the next phrase? |
| Keith: The next phrase is, "Oh my gosh!" Why don't you |
| explain what that's used for, Sadia? |
| Sadia: Oh, I'd love to! "Oh my gosh!" is a great phrase that's |
| used to express surprise. In the dialogue, Michelle is |
| shocked that Zo has heard her singing since she |
| probably thought she was singing too quietly for |
| anyone to hear. But she was wrong! |
| Keith: Someone did heard her, and so when Zo asks her who the singer is, |
| she expresses her surprise with... |
| Sadia: Oh my gosh! It's a really cool phrase because even though it's always an |
| expression of surprise, saying it with different |
| intonations can have slightly different meanings. So if I were to say, “Oh my |
| gosh," |
| Keith: [laughs] |
| Sadia: What’s the difference between that and how Michelle has said it? |
| Keith: Well, “Oh my gosh,” is kind of, um, you’re really surprised and you can’t believe it. |
| Sadia: Even has kind of a negative.. |
| Keith: Yeah, very negative nuance, and actually hearing that, it reminds me of that song back in uh, the 1980s, uh, about the butts, you know. [laughs] |
| Sadia: I think I know which song you’re talking about. |
| Keith: And the reason it reminds me of it is because in the beginning, one of the girls says to another girl, “Oh my gosh,” |
| Sadia: Right, she is shocked, but it’s not really in a good way. |
| Keith: Yeah. |
| Sadia: So Michelle, actually she’s shocked and a little bit embarrassed, but she says, “Oh my gosh!” That’s quite different than, “Oh, my gosh.” |
| Keith: So you can use that if you don’t believe it. You’re surprised, and “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it.” |
| Sadia: So the next phrase up is, "I see!" |
| Keith: "I see" just means, "I understand." |
| Sadia: I see. I understand. |
| Keith: What about "And you?" |
| Sadia: After Michelle asks Zo where he's from, Zo says to |
| her, "And you?" He's asking where she is from. |
| When someone asks you a question that you would |
| also like to ask them, answer and then ask, "And |
| you?" Let's try it. |
| Keith: Sure. Uh, how are you doing today, Sadia? |
| Sadia: Oh, I'm doing well! And you? |
| Keith: I’m doing fine. So it’s just a way of repeating the question to someone else. |
| Sadia: Asking them the same question that they’ve asked you. |
| Keith: Exactly. Finally, let's take a look at "Oh, is that so?" which just |
| means, "Oh really?" |
| Sadia: Yeah. It also indicates that you're a little |
| surprised by what you've been told. So if I were to |
| say, “Keith, I heard this secret about you.” You could say, |
| Keith: “Oh, is that so?” |
| Sadia: Right. So it shows surprise, but it’s not always positive surprise. |
| Keith: Exactly. But it’s not always for just negative things. You can use it in a positive way too. For example, if I said, “Hey, Sadia, I got a new job.” |
| Sadia: I’d say, “Oh, is that so?” |
| Keith: And you can tell by the tone of voice that she’s being positive. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Sadia: The first focus of this lesson is asking who and where. |
| Keith: After he hears her singing, Zo asks Michelle, "So, WHO'S the singer?" |
| Sadia: Exactly-- WHO is the singer? |
| Keith: And Zo also asks Michelle, "WHERE are you from?" |
| Sadia: That's right-- he did. He's full of questions, Zo. WHO'S the singer? and WHERE are you from? |
| Keith: These questions have something in common. They both use INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS. |
| Sadia: But don't be afraid of that name-- it's not so important. Interrogative pronouns are just words that are used to ask questions. |
| Keith: So basically, question words? |
| Sadia: Right! Question words. |
| Keith: What are some of the most common "question words?" |
| Sadia: The most commonly used interrogative pronouns-- or question words-- are Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. |
| Keith: Go over that one more time. Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. |
| Sadia: WHO is the singer? And WHERE are you from? |
| Keith: And question words are a great way to start a conversation with someone-- which is exactly what Zo is trying to do with Michelle. Good for him, using question words. But, he doesn't really ask her much. What are some other questions Zo could have asked her? |
| Sadia: Maybe, WHAT do you like to do? Or… WHY are you going to New York? Or even WHEN do you go back to Los Angeles? |
| Keith: Good, you’re a good conversationalist. You should tutor him. |
| Sadia: I should! [laughs] |
| Keith: [laughs] Basically, interrogative pronouns, which means WHO, |
| WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY and HOW-- are |
| question words. |
| Sadia: And they're great for starting conversation! |
| Keith: Sadia, what's the second grammar point for this lesson? |
| Sadia: The second point is ANSWERING questions about |
| yourself. Basically, there are two ways to answer |
| a question about yourself, apart from giving a long |
| answer with explanation-- you can answer questions about yourself by saying YES or NO. You |
| answer with an affirmative statement that includes |
| YES. Or, a negative statement that includes NO. |
| Keith: Alright, Sadia, so I’ve got a question. Are you a New Yorker? |
| Sadia: Ah, no, I’m not. I wish I was. But too bad for me, I’m a Jersey girl. |
| Keith: Jersey is OK sometimes. |
| Sadia: So I’m not a New Yorker, unfortunately. Are you? |
| Keith: Actually, I am a New Yorker. |
| Sadia: Which brings us to the other way of answering questions-- AFFIRMATIVE STATEMENTS, or statements that include YES. |
| Keith: Michelle asks Zo if he is from South Africa and Zo answers, "Yes, I am!" He uses the |
| affirmative statement because, of course, he is from South Africa. |
| Sadia: Have you ever been to South Africa? |
| Keith: No I wish I have. I hear it’s very, very beautiful. |
| Sadia: Yeah, I hear that too. |
| Keith: And actually they speak English over there too, right? |
| Sadia: That’s true. |
| Keith: But not everybody. |
| Sadia: Right, not everyone. |
| Keith: Alright. So Sadia, we talked about a lot today! |
| Sadia: We learned how to ASK questions using the INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS or question words, WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, and HOW. |
| Keith: And we learned how to ANSWER the questions about ourselves using POSITIVE statements and NEGATIVE statements-- Basically we’re using YES or we’re saying NO. |
| Sadia: That’s a lot. |
| Keith: [laughs] Well, on that note, are you ready to leave? |
| Sadia: Yeah. |
Outro |
| Keith: Alright, well that’s going to do it for this lesson. Thanks for listening. |
| Sadia: Thanks for listening. Buh-bye. |
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