Starting A Conversation

You can use the expressions to start a conversation on

phone.

• Hello. This is ....

• Hello. ... speaking.

• Can I speak to ....

• May I speak to ....

You can use the expressions to extend a conversation

on phone.

• Hold on, please.

• By the way.

• Furthermore, ....

• Moreover, ....

You can use the expressions to end a conversation.

• See you then. Bye.

• I’ll call you later.

• All right. See you again, Sir/Ma’am. Thank you very

much.

Example:

Ika                   : Hello

Yeyen              : Hello, Mia. This is Diane. May I speak to Andre, Please?

Mia                  : I’m sorry but he’s gone out. Would you like to leave a message?

Yeyen              : Yes. Please tell Viktor that I won’t be able to come for taekwondo practice this afternoon. I’ve sprained my ankle. Please tell him to inform Mr Suroso that I can’t have the practice for at least a week.

Mia                  : Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I hope your ankle gets better soon.

Yeyen              : Thank you, Mia.

Mia                  : Hold on, please. Have you seen a doctor?

Yeyen              : I haven’t. I don’t think it’s that bad.

Mia                  : I think you’d better go to the doctor to check your ankle.

Yeyen              : Thanks for the advice, Mia. See you then. Bye.

Mia                  : You’re welcome. Bye.

Taken from: English in Focus Grade VIII

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Asking Information

You can use the expressions to ask for information.

• Do you know ...?

• Can you tell me ...?

• Excuse me Sir/Ma’am

• I’d like to know ...?

You can use the expressions to give information.

• Yes. Just go .... (telling a place)

• Yes, I do know that. It ....

You can use the expressions to deny information.

• How do you know that?

• are you sure? As far as I know ....

• I’m really sorry, but ...

Exaample:

Mr Kingsley is on a summer vacation in a town. He is trying to

get to the bank but he doesn’t know how. He is asking someone

for the information.

Mr Kingsley     : Excuse me, do you know where the first National Bank is, Madam?

Miss Hana       : Yes. Just go straight down this road and the bank is on your right, Sir!

Mr Kingsley     : Thank you very much, Madam. By the way, can you tell me how to get to the

subway station from the bank?

Miss Hana       : Sure, you have to take the no. 12 bus and get off in Burbank street. The subway station is there.

Mr Kingsley     : Are you sure? As far as I know the guide book informs us that we have to take the no. 14 bus.

Miss Hana       : You’re right. I confused the no. 14 bus with the no. 12 one.

Mr Kingsley     : Thank you, Madam. Have a pleasant day.

Miss Hana       : You’re very welcome, Sir.

Taken from: English in Focus Grade VIII

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WH-Questions

Study the following examples.

• Who ate the apple?

• Whom did you meet at the post office this morning?

• What made you cry?

• When did you see him?

• Where did you buy the dress?

You can use WH- to build a question.

• Who is used for subjects.

• Whom is used for objects.

• Who and Whom are used if the subject and object of the sentence

are living things.

• What is used to ask the subject or object of a question.

• What is used if the subject or object is not a living thing.

• When is used to ask about time.

• Where is used to ask about place.

Taken from: English in Focus Grade VIII

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Because and Because of

Roses

Does anybody know anything about roses? Yes, its lovely perfume and beautiful blooms is one of the best in the world. Now let me tell you more about roses. You know the rose is one of the most popular of all garden flowers because of its lovely perfume and beautiful blooms. We can divide roses into wild roses and garden roses. Wild roses usually have small flowers and have a single layer of five petals. And garden roses usually have big flowers with multiple sets of five petals in two or more layers. There are 100 species of wild roses, now over 13.000 official varieties of garden roses altogether.

Because and Because of

Because and because of are showing cause and effect. We use because and because of to express the reason of our reason or opinion.

Because is a conjunction, and it is used before a clause. For example: The air is dirty because there are a lot of industrial smokes polluting it.

Because of means as the result of. It is a preposition, and used before a noun or pronoun. For example. The earth temperature rise because of the level of carbon dioxide.

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Asking for Items from Someone

You can use these expressions to ask for items from

someone.

• Can I have ...?

• Can you give me ...?

• May I have ...?

You can use these expressions to give items to

someone.

• Here you are.

• This is for you.

• I’d like to give you ....

• Please accept ....

You can use these expressions to reject items from

someone.

• No, thank you.

• Not for me, thanks.

• Not this time, thanks.

You can use these expressions to ask for opinions.

• What do you think ...?

• What’s your opinion ...?

• How do you feel about?

You can use these expressions to give opinions.

• I think ....

• I must say ....

• From my point of view ....

Example:

Ika  and all his classmates are going to Dufan. Ika is chatting

with his best friend, Keken.

Ika       : It’s very exciting today.

Keken  : Yes, it is. I’m having so much fun.

Ika       : Which is the most exciting game for you here?

Keken  : Well, I must say that roller coaster is the most exciting game.

Ika       : Yes, I agree. The roller coaster gave me an unforgettable experience. I think I want to ride it again.

Keken  : Yes, me too. By the way, are you chewing gum? Can I have some?

Ika       : Yes, of course. Here you are.

Keken  : Thanks.

Ika       : Do you want the new banana 􀃁 avour? It tastes good.

Keken  : Not for me, thanks. I don’t like bananas.

Taken from: English in Focus Grade VIII

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lesson 4 A3

A.3 Notice the use of the expression do what.

STATEMENT		John	Studies	English	Every day
YES/NO QUESTION:	does	John	Study	English	Every day?
NEW			Do	what
PATTERN	What does	John	Do		Every day?

COMMENTS

Do what is a substitute for the verb and any other essential parts of the verb phrase. In the example, do what  corresponds to the verb phrase study english.

Exercise 9. Make wh-questions using the expression do what

John eats breakfast at 7 o’clock	WHAT DOES JOHN DO AT 7 O’CLOCK?
John goes to class at  o’clock	WHAT DOES JOHN DO AT 8 O’CLOCK?

1.       John has coffee at 10 o’clock

2.       John eats lunch at noon

3.       John studies in the afternoon

4.       John studies english in the library

5.       John has dinner at 6 P.M

6.       John usually watches television in the evening

7.       Mr. And Mrs. Miller have dinner at 6:30

8.       Mr. Miller usually studies in the evening

9.       Mrs. Miller often reads in the evening

10.   Mr. And Mrs. Miller sometimes visit friends in the evening

(continue, using the PAST tense)

11.   They visited friends yesterday

12.   They talked

13.   They played cards after dinner

14.   They watched television at nine 0’clock

 Taken from: English sentence structure by Robert Khrohn

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lesson 4 A2

A.2 observe the word order of questions with the verb be.

STATEMENT:			john	Is in	class
YES/NO QUESTION:		is	john	in	class?
					where
		is	john	in	class?
WH-QUESTION:	where	is	John?

COOMENT

1.       The wh-word which replaces a part of the predicete phrase is put at the beginning of the question.

2.       The rest of the pattern is the same as for yes/no questions: the form of be (am, are, is was, or were) is placed before the subject.

ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES

Who was that man?                                        My father.

What is he?                                                        An architect.

What are you?                                                  A student.

Where is john?                                                 In class.

When is he here?                                            In the morning.

Exercise 7. Change the statement into a question with where when. Another student will answer. The answer should be like the expression of time or place in the teacher’s statement.

John is in class	Student A: WHERE IS JOHN?
	Student B: IN CLASS
John is tired at night	Student A: WHEN IS JOHN TIRED?
	Student B: AT NIGHT

                                                                                        

1.       Mary is sleepy in the morning

2.       Mary was in Chicago

3.       Mr. Miller was hungry at noon

4.       The children were quite on the bus

5.       George was at the library

6.       Betty was in New York

7.       George was sick last week

8.       George was twenty years old last week

9.       George and Betty were at the movies

10.   George and Betty are in class

11.   Suits are expensive in Ney York

Exercise 8. Listen to the statement about Paul. Make a wh-question with the word you

Paul studies in the morning	Student A: WHEN YOU STUDY?
	Student B: AT NIGHT (IN THE AFTERNOON, etc)
Paul is a doctor	Student B: WHAT ARE YOU?
	Student C: A STUDENT (AN ARCHITECT, etc)

1.       Paul studies in the library

2.       Paul sees Mr. Miller

3.       Paul is a lawyer

4.       Paul studied grammar yesterday

(two possibilities)

5.       Paul was in New York last year

(two possibilities)

6.       Paul studied business administration

7.       Paul studied in Chicago

8.       Paul arrived last week

9.       Paul studies at night

10.   Paul wa at the library last night

(two possibilities)

Taken from: English sentence structure by Robert Khrohn

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