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Unit 1: Nice to meet you!
Asking questions

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  1. 1 Nice to meet you!
  2. 2 What to wear
  3. 3 Like this, like that
  4. 4 The daily grind
  5. 5 Christmas every day
  6. 6 Great achievers
  7. 7 The Titanic
  8. 8 Travel
  9. 9 The big wedding
  10. 10 Sunny's job hunt
  11. 11 The bucket list
  12. 12 Moving and migration
  13. 13 Welcome to BBC Broadcasting House
  14. 14 New Year, New Project
  15. 15 From Handel to Hendrix
  16. 16 What's the weather like?
  17. 17 The Digital Revolution
  18. 18 A detective story
  19. 19 A place to live
  20. 20 The Cult of Celebrity
  21. 21 Welcome to your new job
  22. 22 Beyond the planets
  23. 23 Great expectations!
  24. 24 Eco-tourism
  25. 25 Moving house
  26. 26 It must be love
  27. 27 Job hunting success... and failure
  28. 28 Speeding into the future
  29. 29 Lost arts
  30. 30 Tales of survival

Session 2

Asking Questions

You can't speak English without asking questions! There are a few different question types in English. In this session you'll see our presenters asking each other questions. We'll show you the grammar rules of question forms - and then you'll have a chance to practise.

Sessions in this unit

12345

Session 2 score

0 / 17

  • 0 / 7
    Activity 1
  • 0 / 7
    Activity 2
  • 0 / 3
    Activity 3
  • 0 / 0
    Activity 4
  1. Activity 1
  2. Activity 2
  3. Activity 3
  4. Activity 4

Activity 1

Getting to know each other

Alice, Amith and Sophie

Our presenters have got together to ask each other some questions. Watch the video and listen out for the things that they like and dislike. How would you answer the questions?

Watch the video and try the activity

Show transcript Hide transcript

Alice

Hi, I'm Alice.

Sophie

Hey, I'm Sophie.

Amith

And I'm Amith. Alright? OK, question one: Who do you love most in the world?

Alice

This is a tricky one. I can't pick one person. I'd have to say my family.

Sophie

I think like a lot of people I'd probably say my mum. She's my rock and my best friend.

Alice

My turn. Question two: What makes you scream?

Sophie

Rollercoasters. I'm absolutely terrified of being upside down.

Amith

Dentists. I scream like a baby.

Sophie

My turn. Question three: How do you take your coffee?

Amith

It's never just coffee. I prefer cappuccinos, darling!

Alice

I'm more of a typical British tea drinker. If I do have a coffee I usually have an Americano with cold milk. Cold milk is very important.

Can I do another one? Question four: When did you last cry?

Amith

When I became an uncle.

Sophie

I think mine was the last time I went to see a musical. The show was so beautiful I was moved to tears.

Amith

Question five: Are you feeling excited?

Sophie

Yes! It's really exciting to be here and I'm quite an excitable person.

Alice

Yes, very excited.

Sophie

OK, question six. This comes in three parts. Do you speak another language?

Amith

Yes, I have attempted to learn several languages.

Sophie

Which ones?

Amith

Bengali, Hindi and Urdu are my strongest and I'm learning Farsi and French.

Alice

I've studied French and Mandarin and Japanese, but I'm not very good at any of them.

Sophie

And can you sing a song in French?

Alice

How about Frere Jacque? (Sings) Come on Amith - your turn.

Amith

OK, a song in Hindi (Sings).

Sophie

That was lovely Amith! I think that's all we've got time for with questions. I think we know each other a little better now.

Alice

I think we do!

To do

Who prefers coffee? Who loves their mother the most? Who can sing in Hindi? Can you remember? Try the quiz to find out. 

What do you know about our presenters?

7 Questions

Read each sentence. Decide whether the sentence is about Sophie, Amith or Alice.

Congratulations you completed the Quiz
Excellent! Great job! Bad luck! You scored:
x / y

Next

Cappuccinos indeed! Like Alice, we at BBC Learning English prefer tea. Well some of us do. Have a look at our team page. Who do you think prefers tea and who prefers coffee?

In the next activity you will have an opportunity to create some questions. Good luck!

Session Grammar

  • In English, there are two basic types of question.

    1. Yes/no questions often begin with the verb to be, but can also begin with other auxiliary verbs, such as do.

    We ask these when we want a yes or no answer.

    2. Wh-questions start with a question word, such as who, what, where, when, why or how.

    We ask this type of question when we want different kinds of information. These questions cannot be answered with a yes or no.

View full grammar reference

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