You know the world of English is a fun and exciting place to be. I'm so glad you could join me for another lesson.
Hi everybody, this is Misterduncan in England. How are you today? Are you OK?… l hope so! Are you happy?… l hope so! Did you miss me? "No, we didn't!" Oh… That's not very nice. In this lesson we will take a look at the process of asking and answering…questions. Are you ready?
A Question is a sentence that generally needs a reply. When we ask a question it means that we are trying to find out more about something and we need extra information. Sometimes we ask a question because we want to expand our knowledge of a particular subject. Sometimes we put forward a question because we need a decision about something or an answer to a difficult situation.
There are many words related to asking questions…such as… Conundrum, Difficulty, Poser, Predicament, Problem, Puzzle, Quandary, Query, Request, Riddle and… Teaser.
Before asking a question we normally begin with a prefix sentence. Such as…
"I want to put a question to you"
"I need your expertise with a problem I have"
"There is something I have been meaning to ask"
"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Would it be OK for you to answer a question?"
Sometimes before asking a question we ask the person if we can ask them a question which is itself a question so the first question is about whether or not I can ask a question. Well you get the general idea.
It may sound a little strange but not all questions need an answer. Sometimes we ask questions as a way of expressing the way we feel or as a way of showing our frustration. We call this a… Rhetorical Question. For example…
"How am I going to pay the money back?"
"Could you make any more noise?"
"Do you think I'm going to stand here and listen to you?"
There is another type of question that cannot be answered because there is no answer to it. We call this type of question a… Paradox. The most famous paradoxical is… What came first? The Chicken?… or the Egg?
There are many words connected to… giving…an answer to a question. Such as… Comeback, Counter, React, Reply, Response, Retort and… Solution.
You are such a beautiful Plant… Yes you are. Fortunately, answering a question is not so complicated or difficult to do. You only have two choices when responding. You either know the answer, or you don't. If you don't know the answer, you simply say…
"I dunno".
There is a situation where you may not want to answer the question. Maybe you feel that the question is rude or too personal. So you refuse to give an answer. You can say…
"I'm sorry I don't want to answer that"
"That is not a good question to ask"
"That is for me to know and for you to find out"
So next time, before you ask a question, think carefully about whether it is good to ask it and if the other person will be willing to give a reply.
Before I finish my lesson today I would like to say a special "Hello" to my new friends watching in… Canada, Egypt, India, Iraq, Pakistan, Poland and The United Arab Emirates. I have a question for you. Will you join me next time for another lesson? I hope so. This is Misterduncan in England saying, thanks for watching and… Ta-ta for now.