logounam logo-avi
logouapa

Wh or Question words (who, where, when, what, how, why)

Presentation / Objective


Welcome!

Crystall ball

Gaming4JC. (2007). 3DCrystal ball. Retrieved 23/02/17 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3DCrystal_ball.png

We all have a lot of questions about the future.

Sometimes we wonder….

What kind of technology will people use in 2050?

How will humans communicate in 2026?

When will we be able to visit other planets?

In this section, you will learn how to make questions about the future!

By the end of this section, you will identify the uses of the different question words using communicative activities to ask questions about the future.

Objective

At the end of the topic you will:
Recognise the uses of different question words through communicative activities to ask questions about the future.

Content

Asking questions about the future (using questions words)

We can ask some questions about the future using:

GOING TO and WILL

Remember that there are several types of question words. Each word has a specific use. For example, if you want to know a place you always use WHERE:

Where are you going to have lunch today? We are going to have lunch at Fuzzy.

Colosseum

WHERE – Places

Wikipedia. (2007). Rome in 2007. The Colosseum. Retrieved 23/02/17 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Rome

Calendar

WHEN- moment , day, month, year

Cholet, D. (2011). Calendar. Retrieved 23/02/17 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/dafnecholet/5374200948

Clocks

WHAT TIME – specific time

Endlesswatts. (2015). Relojes. Retrieved 23/02/17 from https://pixabay.com/es/relojes-reloj-tiempo-ver-fecha-1098080/

Question mark

WHAT – general info

95C. (2015). Doubt. Retrieved 23/02/17 from https://pixabay.com/p-1076014/?no_redirect

Feet and arrows

WHICH – choice, alternative

kvrkchowdari. (2016). Elegir. Retrieved 23/02/17 from https://pixabay.com/p-1536336/?no_redirect

People silhouettes

WHO – person, people

Clker-Free-Vector-Images . (2012). Personas. Retrieved 23/02/17 from https://pixabay.com/p-43575/?no_redirect

Personal effects

WHOSE – possession

Conway, L. (2011). My things. Retrieved 23/02/17 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/conwayl/6601075747

Men working

HOW – Manner, way

Spc. Brandan Zachery . (2016). Building a future, repairing lost history, 315th Engineer Vertical Construction Company renovates aging buildings on Camp Roberts 160516-A-HC040-003. Retrieved 23/02/17 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Building_a_future,_repairing_lost_history,_315th_Engineer_Vertical_Construction_Company_renovates_aging_buildings_on_Camp_Roberts_160516-A-HC040-003.jpg

Man and woman talking

WHY- Reason, explanation

kabaldesch0. (2015). Conversación. Retrieved 23/02/17 from https://pixabay.com/p-799448/?no_redirect

Boy waiting

HOW LONG - Period of time

Seagul. (2015). A la espera. Retrieved 23/02/17 from https://pixabay.com/p-1047678/?no_redirect

In other words– What did I learn?

Your best friend is going to travel to NYC next month. Ask him some questions about his plans.

Reading

Activity 1

A visit to the psychic

Now we are going to visit a woman who can see the future. Do you think this is possible?

Do you believe in astrology or horoscopes?
Psychic

Junior Libby. (n/d). Psíquico. Retrieved 19/05/17 from http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=25160&picture=psychic

You are going to read the testimony of Martha, a journalist talking about her visit to a psychic

Read the story and answer the questions.

 

My visit to a psychic

 
Arriving

When I arrived, I was shown the psychic's office, which looked more normal than I expected. Otta is her name, and she seems to be a kind and sincere woman. She told me that she inherited the “ability” to see the past, present and future from her grandmother. First, she asked me a few basic questions – Was I single? Did I have a boyfriend? And so on. However, her next questions surprised me.

 
The first questions

Otta: Who is Antonio?

Martha: I don’t know. I don’t know anybody named Antonio.

Otta: Well, somebody named Antonio is going to have a significant influence on your finances soon. Also, a city in the south of the United States is substantial for you.

Martha: Really? I have never been to the USA.

Otta: You will go very soon. Very soon. Another place that is very important for you is Colombia.

Martha: yes, that’s true. Colombia plays a big role in my life. In fact, I grew up there.

Otta: Colombia is a place where you will find a lot of answers.

 
Asking about my future love

M: Will I get married there?

O: Probably, I can see that you will meet a perfect man there.

M: What does he look like?

O: He is very tall.

M: How long are we going to be married?

O: Calm down, don’t go that fast. He is brilliant. In fact, it’s his brain that will attract you to him. He is a public figure.

M: Where am I going to meet him?

O: Actually, you will meet him in a big place, maybe a library or a concert hall.

To be continued…

 

Now answer the questions. Type your answer for each question.

Listening

Activity 2

My visit to a psychic (continuation)

Listen to the end the story of Martha and the psychic Otta.

Now choose the correct option for the following statements. At the end of the activity, you can check your score.

Writing

Activity 3

How will the world look like?

Planet earth

NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring. (2012): North America from low orbiting satellite Suomi NPP. Retrieved 23/02/17 from https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:North_America_from_low_orbiting_satellite_Suomi_NPP.jpg

Do you imagine the world in 20 years?

Probably in 30 years? How will we live in the year 2050?

Watch the video Life in 2050.

Now, according to the video, answer the question:

How will the world be different in the future?

Look at the example.

How will the world be different in the future?

I think the world will be pretty dangerous in the future because of the way things are happening. We are going to build many machines that will rule our lives. We won’t be able to make choices anymore.

We won’t be in contact with other beings anymore. Everything will be fake and cold.

Before you write your description, take a look at the rubrics that you will use to get your score when you finish your writing.

 

Speaking

Activity 4

Talking about the future

You have ten answers. You have to write the questions for these answers. Write and record your questions.

For example, the information to make your question is:

Valeria is going to travel next week.

The question to get that answer could be:

When is Valeria going to travel?


If you look closely, the time expression next week is in the sentence. We use this time expression when we want to know about the moment, days or periods an action will happen.

So, in the recording you would have to record something like:

“Question number 1: When is Valeria going to travel?”

This should take no longer than 10 minutes.

  1. She is going to get married next month.
  2. We will go there by car./li>
  3. She will stay in Paris for twelve days.
  4. He is going to buy a new laptop.
  5. Because she is going to buy some fruit.
  6. We will invite 20 people to the party.
  7. We are going to spend USD 1,700.
  8. Miguel is going to play the music at the party.
  9. We will arrive at 8 o clock.
  10.  She is going to stay at the Aria hotel.

Now look at the following rubrics, they will help you:

  • know the aspects you should consider in your recording
  • evaluate yourself.

Self-assessment

In a nutshell – What did I learn?

In this section, you learned that there are several words in English that you can use to make questions about the future.

You have to pay attention to the information you want to. If you want to know the place, you use WHEN.

If you want to know the reason, you use WHY.

Once you have this, you need to remember the order of the question.

QW

+

TO BE

+

SUBJECT

+

GOING TO

+

VERB SIMPLE FORM

+

?

QW

+

WILL

+

SUBJECT

+

VERB SIMPLE FORM

+

?

Now with this in mind, look at the questions and decide if they are correct or incorrect by choosing the right option. At the end of the activity, you can check your score.

References

Basic

Murphy, Raymond. (2012). English Grammar in Use. Intermediate. Cambridge: CUP [4ed].

Complementary

British Council. (n.d). Learn English. Retrieved 22/02/17 from https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org