Indirect Questions

Indirect Questions

Direct questions are the “normal” questions that we can ask friends, family members, and people who we know well. You can form direct questions using the QUASM model that we learned last lesson.

Example of a direct question:
“Where’s the bathroom?”

Indirect questions are a little more formal and polite. We use them when talking to a person we don’t know very well, or in professional situations, and their form is a little different.

Example of an indirect question:
“Could you tell me where the bathroom is?”

Phrases For Indirect Questions

Could you tell me…
Do you know…
I was wondering…
Do you have any idea…
I’d like to know…
Would it be possible…
Is there any chance…

Direct And Indirect Questions In English:

 Examples

Direct: Where is Market Street?

Indirect: Could you tell me where Market Street is?

In indirect questions with is/are, the verb (is) comes after the subject (Market Street).

Direct What time does the bank open?

Indirect: Do you know what time the bank opens?

In indirect questions, we don’t use the auxiliary verbs do/does/did. Also, you can see that the verb is “open” in the direct question, and “opens” in the indirect question.

Direct: Why did you move to Europe?

Indirect: I was wondering why you moved to Europe.

Again, there is no auxiliary verb did in the indirect question. In fact, this indirect question isn’t even a question – it’s more of a statement that invites the other person to give more information.

Direct: How has he managed to get in shape so quickly?

Indirect: Do you have any idea how he’s managed to get in shape so quickly?

VIDEO 

https://www.espressoenglish.net/direct-and-indirect-questions-in-english/

EXERCISEIndirect Questions Exercise 1 (Present Simple Tense)
Change the direct questions into indirect questions. Use 'can you tell me'.

1) Where does she play tennis? [ . ]
2) Does he live in Paris? [ . ]
3) Is she hungry? [ . ]
4) What is this? [ . ]
5) Do they work in Canada? [ . ]
6) When do John and Luke meet? [ . ]
7) Is he a lawyer? [ . ]
8) When is the party? [ . ]
9) Do they often go out? [ . ]
10) What does he do at the weekend? [ . ]
11) Are the children on holiday this week? [ . ]
12) Who is she? [ . ]
13) Why do you like travelling so much? [ . ]
14) Does Lizzie like ice cream? [ . ]
15) Are they from Chile? [ . ]
16) Where is the station? [ . ]
17) Where do you study Chinese? [ . ]
18) Where is the nearest supermarket? [ . ]
19) Do you drink coffee? [ . ]
20) Is Richard always late? [ . ]

article the/zero article

Definitebarticle the/zero article

In English grammar, the term zero article refers to an occasion in speech or writing where a noun or noun phrase is not preceded by an article (a, an, or the). The zero article is also known as the zero determiner.

In general, no article is used with proper nouns , mass nouns where the reference is indefinite, or plural count nouns where the reference is indefinite. Also, no article is generally used when referring to means of transport (by plane) or common expressions of time and place (at midnight, in jail).

In addition, linguists have found that in regional varieties of English known as New Englishes, omitting an article is often done to express non-specificity.

Examples of the Zero Article

In the following examples, no article is used before the italicized nouns.

My mother's name is Rose. I gave her a rose on Mother's Day.

Every mile is two in winter.

This plant grows in sandy soil and on the edges of swamps.

David Rockefeller was authorized to hold the position of director of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Zero Article in American and British English

In American and British English, no article is used before words such as school, college, class, prison or camp when these words are used in their "institutional" sense.

The students start school in the fall.

College provides opportunities for students to learn and meet new people.

However, some nouns that are used with definite articles in American English are not used with articles in British English.

When I was in the hospital, I often wished there were fewer hours in the day

When Elizabeth was in hospital, she was occasionally visited by her parents

1. With countless nouns, general or abstract and plural ideas (they have not been mentioned before and they have not been modified later.)

Examples:

I like orange juice (uncountable noun) (I like orange juice)
Give peace a chance (abstract idea) (Give peace a chance)
I hate wasps (has not been mentioned before and has not been modified either) (I hate wasps)

2. With most proper names.

Examples:

We live in France. (We live in France)
I'll see you in January. (I'll see you in January)


3. With meal names when referring to routines.

Examples:

It's time for lunch. (It's time to eat)
What's for dinner? (What's for dinner?)

4. With unique papers and papers (you can also put a definite article)

Examples:

Jim is (the) chairman of the company. (Jim is the president of the company)

5. With prepositions of place when the place has a special role.

Examples:

Sally is in prison (she is a recluse) (Sally is in jail)
Sally is in the prison (she is not a recluse, she has gone to visit someone or to work there) (Sally is in jail)

The same thing happens with: church (church), hospital (hospital), school (college) and university (university)

6. With the means of transport.
Examples:

We went there by car. (We went there by car)

But if we use in or on: We went there in a car / on a bus. (We went there by car / bus)

 VIDEO    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57VZNwrZsN 

 Completa la oración con the o dejando el espacio en blanco (---), según corresponda.



1I´m going to                     the             ---     cinema                     ---    the     day after tomorrow.



2                     ---    The          strawberries are my favorite fruit.



3 Sarah can play                     ---    the    piano.



4                     ---    The            journey to Paris takes two days by train.



5 I like                     ---    the     flowers very much.





6 New York is in                     ---    the     East of America.



7John doesn't like                     ---    the     basketball.



8 My brother doesn't eat                     ---    the          fish.



9 The Eiffel Tower is                     ---    the           most famous structure in France.



10                     ---    The             earth rotates around                     the             ---            sun.

Vocabulary: Memory

Vocabulary: Memory

Sight	Vista
Smell	Olfato
Taste	Gusto
Touch	Tacto
Hearing	Oído

Vocabulary: Personality Types

Vocabulary: Personality Types

Athetic	Atlético
Popular	Popular
A troublemaker	Problemático
Academic	Académico
A party animal	Fiestero
A joker	Bromista
A rebel	Rebelde
Geeky	Tecnológico

Past Perfect  

FUNCTIONS OF THE "PAST PERFECT"

The "past perfect" refers to a time before the recent past.

 It is used to indicate that an event occurred before another in the past. 

It does not matter which of the events is mentioned first, because the verb tense

 makes clear the temporal order in which they occurred.

In these examples, Event A is the one that first occurred and Event B took place next, it is

 the most recent:

Event A Event B

John had gone out when I arrived in the office.

Event A Event B

I had saved my document before the computer crashed.

Event B Event A

When they arrived we had already started cooking.

Event B Event A

I was very tired because I had not slept well.       

FORMATION OF THE "PAST PERFECT"

In English, the "past perfect" is composed of two parts: 

the past of the verb to have (had) + the "past participle" of the main verb.

Sujeto	had	past participle
Afirmativa
She	had	given
Negativa
She	hadn't	asked.
Interrogativa
Had	they	arrived?
Interrogativa negativa
Hadn't	you	finished?

Afirmativa	Negativa	Interrogativa
I had decided	I hadn't decided	Had I decided?
You had decided	You hadn't decided	Had you decided?
She had decided	She hadn't decided	Had she decided?
We had decided	We hadn't decided	Had we decided?
They had decided	They hadn't decided	Had they decided?

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMKMT9JSX3k

Exercise

Past Perfect - Positive and Negative

Make the positive or negative past perfect simple

1) When I arrived at the cinema, the film  (start). [ . ]
2) She  (live) in China before she went to Thailand. [ . ]
3) After they  (eat) the shellfish, they began to feel sick. [ . ]
4) If you  (listen) to me, you would have got the job. [ . ]
5) Julie didn't arrive until after I  (leave). [ . ]
6) When we  (finish) dinner, we went out. [ . ]
7) The garden was dead because it  (be) dry all summer. [ . ]
8) He  (meet) her somewhere before. [ . ]
9) We were late for the plane because we  (forget) our passports. [ . ]
10) She told me she  (study) a lot before the exam. [ . ]
11) The grass was yellow because it  (not/rain) all summer. [ . ]
12) The lights went off because we  (not/pay) the electricity bill. [ . ]
13) The children  (not/do) their homework, so they were in trouble. [ . ]