Absolutely Ridiculous English Spelling

Lesson 1. Introduction:

Why does the English language have so many words that are difficult to spell?  The main reason is that English has 1,100 different ways to spell its 44 separate sounds, more than any other language.  Some of the results of this are:	Words that have the same sounds but are spelled differently,
	Words that contain letters that have nothing to do with the way the words are pronounced
	Words that contain silent letters; that is, letters that must be included when you write the words even though they are not pronounced,
	Spelling rules that have lists of exceptions - words that do not follow the rules and thus must be memorized separately.

This situation exists for a variety of reasons.      For some words, the pronunciation has changed over the centuries even though the spelling has not changed.  Some words have been borrowed from other languages, and although they have kept their original spellings,  people over the years began pronouncing the words according to English rules.  Still other words have been borrowed from other languages and have kept their original spellings AND pronunciations, which makes them seem strange by English rules.

The reasons for the Ridiculous English Spelling do not matter, however, because  English is what it is; it has been this way for a long time.  If you want to learn to speak and write it, you must learn it as it is and not how it should be.  Our task is to make that a little easier for you.

Some common inconsistencies:

Pattern	Examples	How they are pronounced
words containing "ough"	thought, bought, fought, brought enough, rough, tough, slough through  though, although, dough, thorough cough bough, doughty	end with sound of "ot" as in POT, NOT end with sound of "uff" as in STUFF ends with sound of Long U, as in the word THREW or SHOE end with the sound of Long O, as in NO or GO ends with the sound "OFF contain the same sound as "COW" or "NOW"
Words that sound the same but are spelled differently.	byte, bite, bight seen, scene hear, here sense, cents, scents their, there, they're feet, feat ate, eight err, heir, air wheel, weal, we'll you, ewe isle, aisle, I'll ale, ail gnu, new, knew	Long i + t Long e + n Long e + r all end with the sound of "-ENCE" or "-ENSE" Long a + r Long e + t Long a + t Long a + r Long e + L Long u Long I + L Long a + L N + Long u
Words containing "ight"	alight, bight, blight, flight, fright, height, light, night, might, right, sight, tight, plight,	In all of these words, "ight" is pronounced like Long i + t.
Words with Silent Letters	gnat, gnaw know, knee, knife, knit, knickers, knuckle psychology, psychiatrist, pneumonia should, could, would isle, aisle, island wrap, wrinkle, write, wrath, wrist, wrought debt, doubt listen, soften, castle, often	All of these words are pronounced as if the red letters were not there, but when you write the words, you MUST include those letters.
Words that look the same but are pronounced differently.	wind - Short i sound wind - Long i sound read - Short e sound read - Long e sound abuse - with z sound abuse - with s sound addict - stress on ad addict - stress on dict combine - stress on com combine - stress on bine defect - stress on de defect - stress on fect	moving air outdoors, part of weather twisting motion, as with a clock spring past tense, got meaning from written words present tense of same verb verb, to injure or do harm noun - injury or damage noun - person who acts compulsively verb - to make dependent on noun - a harvesting machine verb - to put together noun - a flaw verb - to desert
Words with 'oo' that should sound the same but don't.	book, foot, good, hood, look, moor, poor, stood, wood aloof, boom, doom, gloom, soon, bloom, broom, noon, proof, roof, zoom floor, door flood, blood	these words have the same Short U  vowel sound these words all have a Long U sound 'oo' = an O sound as in 'or', 'more' these words have the same vowel sound as 'bud' and 'cud'

Some more inconsistencies:

Ways to spell Long 'U'	shoe, grew, through. do, doom, flue, two, who, brute, duty
Ways to spell Long 'O'	go, show, though, sew, beau, float, bone,
Ways to spell Long 'A'	may, weigh, late, pain, rein,  great
Ways to spell Long 'E'	free, bean, magazine, gene, mete, be, mien, receive, believe
Ways to spell Long 'I'	fine, rhyme, fight, align, isometric, bayou

The chart above is just a small sample of why Spelling Rules in English can be almost as much of a problem as spelling itself.  Notice the "i-e" Rule:

Use i before e, except after c, or when sounding like a as in neighbor and weigh.

• This is a nice, neat little rule concerning words that have the letters i and e together, usually  to form the Long E sound in English: i before e, as in piece or relief.
• Then the rule says "Except after C".  The ie becomes ei , as in receive and deceit. 
• Now, you know that the Long E sound in English can be made by 'ie', unless the sound comes after 'c', in which case it is made by 'ei', (except for those times when the Long E sound is made by 'ee' or 'ea' or 'e' or 'i' or 'oe').
• Then the Rule tells you about another exception - when the i and the e are together in a word and are pronounced like Long A, the e must come before the i.  Examples: neighbor, sleigh, weigh, freight, etc.
• In this one short Rule, there are already  two exceptions to it covering dozens of other words, but that is not the end.  There are many words that do not follow the Rule or its exceptions: seize, weird, neither, either, foreign, sovereign, forfeit, counterfeit, leisure, heifer, protein, geiger (as in 'counter'), height, sleight, feisty, seismograph, poltergeist, kaleidoscope. 

At this point you may ask, "What can I do about it? How can I figure out how to spell the words in this crazy language?" Believe it or not, there are a few things you can do that will help, but after you remember the rules and learn the 'tricks', you are left with this basic technique: Study, Memorize, Study, Memorize, Study, Memorize.

Exercise: For each of the words in the list below, write the definition (from a dictionary) and write a sentence using the word.

1. scene
2. seen
3. scent
4. sent
5. cent
6. err
7. air
8. heir
9. feet
10.feat
11. new
12. knew
13. hear
14. here

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Posted in: Grammer , Learning English

Learn to Write English Clearly and Correctly (SET-2)

Lesson 11, Some Common Irregular Verbs: sing-sang,  bring-brought, go-went

Most verbs in English follow a regular pattern:

Present	Past	Progressive	Future	Compound
I want, you want, we want, they want, he wants, she wants, it wants	I wanted, you wanted, he wantedwe wanted, they wanted	I am wanting, he is wanting, you are wanting, we are wanting, they are wanting	I will want, you will want, he will want, they will want	I have wanted, you have wanted, he has wanted, we have wanted, they have wanted
		I was wanting, she was wanting, you were wanting, they  were wanting		I had wanted, it had wanted, you had wanted, we had wanted, they had wanted

There are no surprises.  Add 'S' for third person singular Present tense.  Normal.  Add '-ED' to form the Past Tense.  Normal.  Add '-ED' to form the Past Participle.  Normal
However, many of the most common verbs in English do not follow the rules.  Here are ten of them.  Each will show the Present, Past, Future, Past Participle and Progressive forms.

v Infinitive Forms v	Present Tense	Past Tense	Progressive Form	Future Tense	Compound (Participle) Form
to be	I am, (you-we-they) are, (he, she, it) is	was	being	will be, shall be	(have) been, (had) been
to have	(I, you, we, they) have; (he, she, it) has	had	having	will have, shall have	(have) had, (had) had
to sing	(I, you, we, they) sing; (he, she, it) sings	sang	singing	will sing, shall sing	(have) sung, (had) sung
to think	(I-you-we-they) think; (he-she-it) thinks	thought	thinking	will think, shall think	(have) thought, (had) thought
to do	(I, you, we, they) do; (he, she, it) does	did	doing	will do, shall do	(have) done, (had) done
to bring	(I-you-we-they) bring; (he-she-it) brings	brought	bringing	will bring, shall bring	(have) brought, (had) brought
to go	(I, you, we, they) go, (he-she-it) goes	went	going	will go, shall go	(have) gone, (had) gone
to drink	(I-you-we-they) drink; (he-she-it) drinks	drank	drinking	will drink, shall drink	(have) drunk, (had) drunk
to take	(I, you, we, they) take: (he, she, it) takes	took	taking	will take, shall take	(have) taken, (had) taken
to make	(I, you, we, they) make; (he, she, it) makes	made	making	will make, shall make	(have) made, (had) made

Some words seem to be part of a pattern (sing, sang, sung and ring, rang, rung), but you will be wrong if you use that pattern for bring (bring, brought, brought).  Take, takes and make, makes look like the beginning of a pattern, but the next forms are took and  made.   What this simply means is that you must STUDY, LEARN and REMEMBER.  There is no other way to be sure.

Exercise A: Fill in the missing words in the sentences below. All will be present tense.

He ________ with me. (go)  =  He goes with me.   She is _______ to town. (go) = She is going to town.

1. I _________ homework every night.  (do)

2. Tina __________ math is difficult.  (think)

3. My friends are __________ cooking classes this year.  (take)

4. Jonathan ____________ my friend. (be)

5. The boy is __________ difficulty riding his bicycle.  (have)

6. My mother ___________ while she cleans the house.  (sing)

7. I always _____________ many books home from school.  (bring)

8. We are ______________ cookies for Christmas.  (make)

9. Young men often ____________ too much soda.  (drink)

10. Mary _____________ to the dentist every six months.  (go)

Exercise B: Change the verbs in these sentences to Past Tense.  Write the new sentences on the lines.

1. Robert makes coffee at the office.

______________________________________________________________________

2. The clowns do funny tricks.

_______________________________________________________________________

3. The horse is drinking water from the pond.

______________________________________________________________________

4. We bring flowers to the teacher.

______________________________________________________________________

5. Martha goes shopping in the morning.

______________________________________________________________________

6. The flowers are very pretty.

_____________________________________________________________________

7. Tom takes his girlfriend out every weekend.

_____________________________________________________________________

8. I am thinking about quitting school.

_____________________________________________________________________

9. My dog has fleas.

______________________________________________________________________

10. Katrina sings terribly.

_____________________________________________________________________

Exercise C: Cross out the incorrect verbs in the following sentences.

1. My brother and sister (was singing) (were singing) in the choir.

2. The photographer (taked) (took) my picture yesterday.

3. Jules and I (is) (are) in the same class.

4, I (am gone) (am going) fishing in the morning.

5. Victoria and Juliet (making) (made) plans for their vacation.

6. The rabbit (went) (is gone) into a hole in the ground.

7. The nurse (was doing) (is doing) her paperwork last night.

8. The student (thank) (thought) about the test question.

9. We (was having) (are having) toast and hot chocolate for breakfast.

10. The policemen (brought) (brang) their prisoners to the jail.

Examination: In the spaces below, write in  verbs that will correctly complete the sentences.  You may use any of the verbs or forms from this lesson.  There may be more than one correct answer.

1. The pilot of the small plane _________________ off from the grassy field.

2. The elephant _____________ a huge mess when it walked into the house.

3. Phillip and Marie ______________ too much champagne at the wedding.

4. Ten large trucks _____________ the circus to town yesterday.

5. The old actor ___________ a terrible time remembering his lines.

6. When we are at church, we _______________ many beautiful hymns.

7. The clerk in the store _____________ to the back room for more bags.

8. Mr. Smith ____________ many different things before he became a teacher.

9. Olga _______________ the last one on the bus.

10. You _____________ this old clock was broken, but it wasn't.

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Posted in: Grammer , Learning English

Basic English the Mikie Metric Way 5

Lesson 5, Using Personal Pronouns

The term PERSON in English means who a sentence is about or who is doing something in a sentence.  Most of the time, we know this by which pronoun is used or could be used.  FIRST PERSON is always yourself; SECOND PERSON is the one or ones you are speaking to; THIRD PERSON is who we are speaking about. " I (first person) asked you (second person) to invite them (third person) to the party."

PRONOUNS:

PERSON	1st Singular	2nd Singular	3rd Singular	1st Plural	2nd Plural	3rd Plural
SUBJECT	I	you	he, she, it	we	you	they
OBJECT	me	you	him, her, it	us	you	them

A PRONOUN is a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence when the noun has already been used earlier,  when the speakers know who is being spoken about, or when people are speaking directly to each other.  The following sentences will useSubject Pronouns, which are used as the subjects of sentences.

First sentence, using a noun.	Second sentence - using a pronoun.	which noun = which pronoun
My name is Mr. Smith.	I am your new teacher.	Mr. Smith = I
Stand up, John.	Will you please read the first line.	John = you
Mr. Smith is the new teacher.	He teaches math.	Mr. Smith = He
Mrs. Roberts teaches Social Studies.	She will also teach music.	Mrs. Roberts = she
Frank swung the bat very hard.	It broke when he hit a home run.	bat = it,  Frank  = he
My brother and I played golf all day.	We did not keep score.	brother and I = we.
OK, Class.  Sit down now.	Did you finish the homework?	class = you
Ten girls wore new dresses.	They looked very nice.	girls = they

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The next group of sentences will demonstrate Object Pronouns which act as direct objects (receive the action), indirect objects (receive something), or as objects of a preposition ( to, of, from, by, with, after, etc.).

First sentence, using a noun.	Second sentence, using a pronoun.	which noun = which pronoun
A mother says to a small child "Come to Mommy."	Then she says, "Give me a big hug."	Mommy = me
"Mary, here are the test grades."	"I gave you a C on the test."	Mary = you
Martha sent Uncle Jim a letter.	Martha sent him photos, also.	Uncle Jim = him
Uncle Jim sent Martha a letter, too.	Uncle Jim returned the photos to her.	Martha = her
Pete dug a deep hole in the yard.	Pete filled it with water.	hole = it
There were free tickets for Larry, Moe and me.	The coach sent the tickets to us.	Larry, Moe and me = us
The boss said, "I need extra help this weekend, Mike and Joe."	"I will pay you overtime for it."	Mike and Joe = you
The coach gave new uniforms to the players.	He gave new hats to them, also.	players = them
Notice that YOU and IT are the same in the Subject and the Object forms.

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There are special forms of these pronouns to show ownership.  They are called Possessive Pronouns.  The form used with a noun is sometimes called a Possessive Adjective because it modifies, or gives information about, the noun: my, your, our, his, her, their.

PERSON	1st Singular	2nd Singular	3rd Singular	1st Plural	2nd Plural	3rd Plural
SUBJECT	I	you	he, she, it	we	you	they
OBJECT	me	you	him, her, it	us	you	them
POSSESSIVE	my, mine	your, yours	his, her, hers, its	our, ours	your, yours	their, theirs

• That book belongs to me.  The book is mine.  It is my book.
• Does that book belong to you?  Is that book yours?  Is it your book?
• That book belongs to him.  Is that book his?  Is it his book?
• That old car belongs to Mrs. Potter.   Is that old car hers.  Is it her car?
• Those fleas belong to the neighbor's dog.  Those fleas are its.  They are its fleas.
• The apartment belongs to Pamela and me.  The apartment  is ours.  It is our apartment.
• Do these backpacks belong to all of the class?  Are those backpacks yours?  Are they your backpacks?
• Does that tent belong to the Boy Scouts?  Is that tent theirs?  Is that their tent?

Note:  Possessive Pronouns come in two different forms: one form must be used with the noun it possesses - MY, YOUR, HIS, HER, ITS, OUR, THEIR.  The other form takes the place of the noun and can stand on its own: MINE, YOURS, HIS, HERS, ITS, OURS, THEIRS.  Two of these are the same in both cases - HIS and ITS.  

The topic of Pronouns is much larger and more complicated than we have demonstrated here.  There are Compound Personal Pronouns, Interrogative Pronouns, Indefinite Pronouns, Demonstrative Pronouns and Relative Pronouns, but they will be covered in other lessons.

Exercise A:  Circle the pronouns in the following sentences.

1. Fred let his brother use a bicycle that was mine.	5. We have to leave, so give our seats to them.
2. Did you remember to bring that new pencil of yours?	6. I hate to be the one to tell you, but he is married.
3. With a brain like mine and talent like yours, we would starve.	7. A sister of theirs wanted to go on the hike with us.
4. She told us that we were late for the party.	8. I said that she told him to leave us alone.

Exercise B: Circle the correct pronouns in the following sentences.

1. (I, Me, My) wish (we, us, our) did not have to use (we, us, our) car for the trip to (you, your, yours) reunion.

2. Miss Williams gave (we, us, our) (we, us, our) test grades Friday before (we, us, our) left school.

3. All the secretaries brought (they, them, their) lunches in paper bags and ate (they, them, their) at (they, them, their) desks.

4. (I, Me, My) dog is a better hunter than (you, your) dog, isn't (he, she, it).

5. Thomas brought (he, him, his) brother with (he, him, his) to the school picnic.

6. Jane brought (she, her) sister with (she, her), also.

7. (I, Me, My) thanked (them, they, their) for (they, them, their) wonderful care of (I, me, my) while (I, me, my) was in the hospital.

8. The dog chased (it, its) tail but never caught (it, its).

9. (They, Them, Their) car nearly ran into (we, us, our), but (we, us, our) never called the police.

10. Should (we, us, our) do (we, us, our) homework at (my, mine, me) house or at (you, your, yours) ? Answers to Exercises, Lesson 5 Exercise A: 1. his, mine 3. mine, yours, we 5. We,  our, them 7. theirs, us 2. you, yours 4. She, us, we, 6. I, you, he 8. I, she, him, us Exercise B:  correct answers given 1. I wish we did not have to use our car for the trip to your reunion.   2. Miss Williams gave us our test grades Friday before we left school.   3. All the secretaries brought their lunches in paper bags and ate them at their desks.   4. My dog is a better hunter than yours, isn't it.   5. Thomas brought his brother with him to the school picnic.   6. Jane brought her sister with her, also.   7. I thanked them for their wonderful care of me while I was in the hospital.   8. The dog chased its tail but never caught it.   9. Their car nearly ran into us, but we never called the police.   10. Should we do our homework at my house or at yours?

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Posted in: Grammer , Learning English

Basic English the Mikie Metric Way 4

Lesson 4: Asking questions.

There are four main ways in English to form a question.     

• By making your voice rise at the end of a sentence.
• By beginning the sentence with a question word.
• By beginning the sentence with a form of DO.
• By placing the Linking Verb or Auxiliary Verb at the beginning of the sentence.

Rising voice method:  Any group of words you speak in English will sound like a question if you make the pitch of your voice rise at the end of the last word or on the last word.  Pitch means the musical quality of your voice, not the loudness.

This	is	your						dog	(question)
			dog	(statement)	This	is	your
The	man	is						sick	(question)
			sick	(statement)	The	man	is

Since we cannot hear the rise or fall of a voice when we read written words, we have to rely on written symbols to tells us what the words mean.  These symbols, called PUNCTUATION, are  traffic signs for written language.  The example sentences above would be written like this:

• This is your dog. (statement)   This is your dog?  (question)
• The man is sick.  (statement)  The man is sick?   (question)

A period ( . ) at the end of a sentence tells us that the thought is finished and that the pitch of our voice  should fall on the last word if we read that sentence aloud.  This type of sentence is called a Statement or a Declarative Sentence and is used to give information.

A question mark ( ? ) at the end of a sentence tells us that the thought is finished and that the pitch of our voice should rise on the last word if we read the sentence aloud.  This type of sentence is called a Question or an Interrogative Sentence  and is used to seek or request information.

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Usually, when you  raise the pitch of your voice on the last word to ask a question, you also  reverse the first two words of the sentence,  placing the linking verb (am, is, are, was, were) at the beginning.

• You are tired.  (statement)    Are you tired?  (question)
• There is too much salt in the potatoes.  (statement)  Is there too much salt in the potatoes?  (question)
• I am the last one in line.  (statement)   Am I the last one in line?  (question)

If the verb in the sentence is an action verb, you form a question by placing a form of the verb DO at the beginning of the sentence - DO, DOES or DID and raise the pitch of your voice on the last word.

1. You have a nice car.  (statement)	1. Do you have a nice car?  (question)
2. Mary takes a nap every day.  (statement)	2. Does Mary take a nap every day?  (question)
3. Tom rode his bicycle to school.  (statement)	3. Did Tom ride his bike to school?  (question)

NOTE:  When you add DO to a sentence to form a question, it takes over the jobs of agreeing with the subject and of telling us when the action takes place. 

• The verb have   in sentence 1 is in the Present Tense; therefore, the verb DO in question 1 is also in the Present Tense. 
• The verb takes  ends with an S to go along with the subject Mary  (I take, you take, he takes, she takes, etc.); therefore, you must use Third Person Singular (the S form) of DO, which is DOES, in the question.  Take goes back to the simple present form.
• The verb rode  in sentence 3 is in the Past Tense; therefore, you must use DID (the Past Tense of DO) in the question. The original verb, rode, changes back to the simple present form, ride.  English only needs one verb in a sentence to show the tense and to agree with the subject.

More examples:

1. Henry paints the house carefully.  (statement)	1. Does Henry paint the house carefully?  (question)
2. They went to the theater last night.  (statement)	2. Did they go to the theater last night?  (question)
3. I play the piano well.  (statement)	3. Do I play the piano well?  (question)
4. Everyone enjoyed the concert.  (statement)	4. Did everyone enjoy the concert?  (question)

• paints = Third Person Singular in the statement.   Does = Third Person Singular in the question.  paints becomes paint.
• went = Past Tense in the statement.  Did = Past Tense in the question.  went changes to go.
• play = Simple Present Tense in the statement.  Do = Simple Present Tense in the question.  play does not change.
• enjoyed = Past Tense in the statement.  Did = Past Tense in the question.  enjoyed changes to enjoy.

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Reversing Auxiliary Verbs to Form a Question:

When a statement contains a two-part verb ( have gone, will sing, can ride, had thought), the first part is an auxiliary verb or helping verb.  To form a question with a two-part verb, the auxiliary verb is placed at the beginning of the sentence.  The pitch of your voice also rises on the last word.

1. Laura has gone to the store.  (statement)	1. Has Laura gone to the store?  (question)
2. The old garbage truck had crashed into the wall.	2. Had the old garbage truck crashed into the wall?
3. The ball in Times Square will fall at midnight.	3. Will the ball in Times Square fall at midnight?
4. Gene can play the guitar.  (statement)	4. Can Gene play the guitar?  (question)

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Making Questions with Question Words:

When you begin a sentence with WHERE, WHEN, WHY, WHAT, HOW, WHO or WHICH,  it almost always signals that a question is coming.  It is not always necessary to raise the pitch of your voice on the last word if the question begins with one of those QUESTION WORDS, because they alone tell the listener to expect a question. 

NOTE: An exception is when the words WHAT or HOW introduce an exclamation.  "What a beautiful day it is!"  "How terrible the storm was!"  The double clues - the pitch of the speaker's voice falling on the last words and the verbs coming at the end of the sentences - tell us that these are not questions in spite of their beginning with WHAT or HOW.

1. What time is it?  [voice can rise (^) or fall (v) at the end]	5. How much is that doggie in the window?  ^or  v
2. Where are you going?  ^or v	6. What kind of fool do you think I am?  ^or  v
3. Why are the police coming?  ^or  v	7. Which dogs were chasing the car?  ^or  v
4. How did the accident happen?  ^or  v	8. Who broke the window?  ^or  v

Exercise A:  Put the correct punctuation marks at the end of the following sentences. 

1. The little boy ran to school	6. Will you have your homework done on time
2. When does the movie start	7. Pete can help you with it
3. There are twelve cups of sugar in the fudge	8. Does Pete understand the lesson
4. How much sugar is there in the fudge	9. Where did you put your school books
5. Are there really twelve cups of sugar in it	10. What a horrible lesson that was

Exercise B: Change the following statements to questions using any of the methods explained in the lesson.

Statements	Questions
1. John was president of his class.	1.
2. The brown pony trotted along the path.	2.
3. All the books are on the top shelf.	3.
4. Michael can climb the wobbly ladder.	4.
5. The clerk tried to reach the books.	5.
6. Ruth decided she wanted those red flowers.	6.

Exercise C:  Make up questions that would get you the information found in the following statements.  Examples:  The red flowers were in a vase.  =  "What color were the flowers in the vase?"  "Where were the red flowers?"  "What was in the vase?"

1. The play starts at eight o'clock.	1.
2. Jack took his sons to the ball game.	2.
3. Martha likes the red convertible, not the blue one.	3.
4. Most students enter the school by the main doors.	4.
5. The carpenter needed twenty nails to finish the job.	5.

Answers to Basic English Lesson 4:

Exercise A: Put the correct punctuation marks at the end of the following sentences.

1. The little boy ran to school.	6. Will you have your homework done on time?
2. When does the movie start?	7. Pete can help you with it.
3. There are twelve cups of sugar in the fudge.	8. Does Pete understand the lesson?
4. How much sugar is there in the fudge?	9. Where did you put your school books?
5. Are there actually twelve cups of sugar in it?	10. What a horrible lesson that was!

Exercise B: Change the following statements to questions using any of the methods explained in  Lesson 4.

1. John was president of his class.	1. Was John president of his class?
2. The brown pony trotted along the path.	2. Did the brown pony trot along the path?
3. All the books are on the top shelf.	3. Are all the books on the top shelf?
4. Michael can climb the wobbly ladder.	4. Can Michael climb the wobbly ladder?
5. The clerk tried to reach the books.	5. Did the clerk try to reach the books?
6. Ruth decided she wanted those red flowers.	6. Did Ruth decide she wanted those red flowers?

Exercise C: Make up questions that would get you the information found in the following statements.  Your answers may vary.  Here are some good possibilities.

1. The play starts at eight o'clock.	1. What time does the play start?  When does the play start?  What starts at eight o'clock?
2. Jack took his sons to the ball game.	2. Who did Jack take to the ball game?  Who took Jack's sons to the ball game?  Where did Jack take his sons?
3. Martha likes the red convertible, not the blue one.	3. Which convertible does Martha like?  Who likes the red convertible?  How many convertibles are there?
4. Most students enter the school by the main doors.	4. Who enters the school by the main doors?  How do most students enter the school?  What do most students enter by the main doors?
5. The carpenter needed twenty nails to finish the job.	5. Who needed twenty nails to finish the job? How many nails did the carpenter need to finish the job?  What did the carpenter need to finish the job?  Why did the carpenter need twenty nails?

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Posted in: Grammer , Learning English