A A BUSINESS ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Asking questions
Lesson code: VRKN-121E-S1AM PRE-INTERMEDIATE +
1 Presentation
Study the table below.
Statement Question forms
I'm working. What are you doing?
Yes, I can offer a better price. Can you offer a better price?
No, I've never been there. Have you been to Italy?
I was meeting a client. What were you doing this morning?
I'm going to sign the contract. What are you going to do after the meeting?
I work. What do you do everyday?
I went on a trip with the family. What did you do at the weekend?
Rules for forming questions
Verbs such as can,are,is,was,have are called auxiliary or helping verbs.
1. What happens to the position of the subject (e.g. `you') and the auxiliary verb when we form a
question?
2. How do we form questions with the present simple and past simple?
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Asking questions
A A A A BUSINESS ENGLISH GRAMMAR
2 Practice 1
Ask an appropriate question for each response:
1. I'm reading an email from a client.
What . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
2. I met a lot of marketing experts.
Who . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . at the conference?
3. I'm meeting the boss at 5 o'clock.
What time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the boss?
4. The goods arrived yesterday.
When . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
5. I was talking to the new sales manager.
Who . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .this morning?
6. I get to work by train.
How . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . every day?
7. I'm staying at the Grand Hotel.
Where . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
8. I finished the task an hour ago.
When . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
3 Practice 2
Work in pairs. Student A, look at the text below. Student B, look at the text on the next page. Complete
your texts by asking each other about the missing information.
Student A
1
Joe Carpenter is (who?). He started working for the company in 2001.
2
His first job was (what?). His responsibilities included doing market
3
research. Nowadays, Joe is very busy. He meets (who?) every week and
4
signs lots of contracts. In his spare time, he reads (what?) and watches documentaries.
5
Apart from English, he speaks (which languages?).
6
Joe travels once a month. Right now, he (what?) because he's going on a
7
business trip. He's going to visit (where?).
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Asking questions
A A A A BUSINESS ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Student B
Joe Carpenter is the managing director of KP Publishing. He started working for the company in
8
(when?). His first job was a marketing specialist. His responsibilities included
9
(what?). Nowadays, Joe is very busy. He meets potential customers
10
every week and signs (what?). In his spare time, he reads magazines
11
and watches (what?). Apart from English, he speaks German, Italian and Russian.
12
Joe travels (how often?). Right now, he's packing his bags because
13
(why?). He's going to visit the company's office in New York.
4 Practice 3
Complete the dialogue below.
William: Hi, Kate. What were you doing yesterday at 5pm? (you / were doing / yesterday
at 5pm?)
2
Kate: I had to leave the office early. My son was ill. How (the
meeting / was?)
William: It was very interesting.
3
Kate: What (you / discuss?)
William: We discussed the company's new marketing strategy for next year
4
Kate: What strategies (we /going to use?)
William: Well, we are going to invest more time in social media marketing. You know, Facebook, Twitter
and all of that.
5
Kate: Really? Who (going to / write all the posts?)
6
William: Well, I think Ashley is the best person for that. What (you /
think?)
7
William: Yes, he's very good at writing. (we / hire a graphic designer?)
William: Yes, we are. Images are very important. And we have organized another meeting tomorrow
8
morning. (you / can / make it?)
Kate: Sure, no problem.
In pairs, read the dialogue.
5 Flashcard review
Don't forget what you learned in this lesson! Go to www.linguahouse.com/ex and enter Lesson code:
QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM1234567890-.
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You can review this worksheet online at www.linguahouse.com/ex
Review your flashcards at least 3-5 times a week for 20 minutes to keep the material fresh in your memory.
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