Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Hello.

  • Welcome to Living English.

  • How do you ask people about themselves?

  • That's what we're looking at today in Living English.

  • Yesterday in 'Sisters and Brothers' Anne was looking for the office of John Barbour private investigator.

  • Today let's find out what happens when she meets him.

  • Here's 'Sisters and Brothers'.

  • Can you help me?

  • Well I'll try.

  • Now tell me...

  • ... about your brother Ms Lee.

  • How old is he?

  • He's 23.

  • [...] your younger brother?

  • What's his name?

  • David.

  • And what does he do?

  • He is a student.

  • Or... he was a student.

  • [...].

  • How tall is he?

  • About a hundred and 75 cm.

  • And does he speak English?

  • Yes, he speaks English and Chinese.

  • Mr Barbour can you find him?

  • I'll certainly try. Now tell me...

  • ... a little about yourself Ms Lee.

  • Where are you from?

  • I come from Singapore.

  • I'm Singaporean.

  • And how old are you?

  • I'm 25.

  • What do you do?

  • I import wine. I'm a businesswoman. I work in my family's business.

  • And are you married?

  • No, I'm single.

  • And do you have a boyfriend?

  • Pardon?

  • Oh, sorry... We private investigators are naturally [...].

  • But...

  • Ms Lee perhaps you tell me the whole story.

  • It all started two years ago.

  • The detective should not [...] wether she has a boyfriend.

  • It was too personal.

  • He didn't need to know this.

  • But let's look at how he asks some of the other questions.

  • Where are you from?

  • I come from Singapore.

  • I'm Singaporean.

  • John asks Anne where she is from.

  • He wants to know what country she comes from.

  • You try with the clip.

  • Where are you from?

  • Anne answers by saying what country she comes from.

  • Then her nationality.

  • Listen.

  • I come from Singapore.

  • I'm Singaporean.

  • She says 'I came from'.

  • Then the name of the country.

  • I come from Singapore.

  • Then she says 'I am' and nationality.

  • I'm Singaporean.

  • Singapore is the name of the country.

  • Singaporean is an adjective made from that name.

  • Here's some other examples.

  • Korea.

  • Korean.

  • Japan.

  • Japanese.

  • Thailand.

  • Thai.

  • China.

  • Chinese.

  • The Philippines.

  • Philipino.

  • Indonesia.

  • Indonesian.

  • Malaysia.

  • Malaysian.

  • Vietnam.

  • Vietnamese.

  • And of course there are many others

  • Practice at home using a name of your country and nationality.

  • I come from...

  • I'm...

  • Now let's look at how John asks about age.

  • And how old are you?

  • I'm 25.

  • You try asking the question with John.

  • And how old are you?

  • Anne answers by saying her age.

  • Listen again.

  • I'm 25.

  • Now I'll ask how old you are and you answer with your age.

  • First, let's review the numbers.

  • One.

  • Two.

  • Three.

  • Four.

  • Five.

  • Six.

  • Seven.

  • Eight.

  • Nine.

  • Ten.

  • Eleven.

  • Twelve.

  • Thirteen.

  • Fourteen.

  • Fifteen.

  • Sixteen.

  • Seventeen.

  • Eighteen.

  • Nineteen.

  • Twenty.

  • Now let's review the rest of the tens.

  • Thirty.

  • Forty.

  • Fifty.

  • Sixty.

  • Seventy.

  • Eighty.

  • Ninety.

  • One hundred.

  • And I don't think many of your are over one hundred years.

  • So how old are you?

  • I'm...

  • Really?

  • John also asks about Anne's brother's age.

  • Now tell me about your brother Ms Lee.

  • How old is he?

  • He's 23.

  • Now practice with the clip asking 'How old is he?'

  • How old is he?

  • He's 23.

  • So now we know David's age.

  • And we know Anne's age.

  • Try asking and answering the questions.

  • First, David.

  • Ask his age.

  • And answer.

  • He is twenty-three.

  • Ask her age.

  • And answer.

  • She's twenty-five.

  • And how old are you again?

  • That's right. I remember.

  • Let's look at some of the other questions John asks.

  • What's his name?

  • David.

  • And what does he do?

  • He's a student.

  • Now you try.

  • First ask his name.

  • What's his name?

  • Now ask what he does.

  • He's a student.

  • And what does he do?

  • He's a student.

  • Here's some other questions about David.

  • How tall is he?

  • About a hundred and seventy-five centimetres.

  • And does he speak English?

  • Yes, he speaks English and Chinese.

  • Now you try at home.

  • How tall is he?

  • And does he speak English?

  • John asks Anne some questions too. Watch.

  • How old are you?

  • I'm twenty-five.

  • What do you do?

  • I import wine. I'm a businesswoman. I work in my family's business.

  • And are you married?

  • No, I'm single.

  • Let's look at how we ask questions.

  • John asks Anne if she is married.

  • He asks 'Are you married?'

  • Anne isn't married.

  • So she answers 'No, I'm single'.

  • She could say 'No, I'm not married'.

  • Or if she was married she could say 'Yes, I am married'.

  • 'Yes, I'm married'.

  • Answer these questions about Anne.

  • Is she married?

  • No, she isn't.

  • Is she Singaporean?

  • Yes, she is.

  • Is she a student?

  • No, she isn't.

  • What about David?

  • Is he a student?

  • Yes, he is.

  • And now here's Michelle.

  • Hello Michelle.

  • Hello Brenton. Are you well?

  • Yes, I am, thanks.

  • What have you got there?

  • We're going to find out some information about you.

  • Remember in the story John asked Anne these questions.

  • How tall is he?

  • About a hundred and 75 cm.

  • So let's find out about Brenton.

  • How tall is he?

  • He's 183 centimetres tall.

  • So how tall are you Brenton?

  • I'm 183 centimetres tall.

  • I'm 183 centimetres.

  • And we can also ask 'What is your height?'

  • My height is 183 centimetres.

  • Now let's find out what Brenton weighs.

  • Could you step onto the scales [...]?

  • Now how much does he weigh?

  • Or we could say 'What is his weight?'

  • He weighs 90 kilos.

  • His weight is 90 kilos.

  • Let's look again at how to ask questions.

  • Firstly questions using 'are' or 'is'.

  • What is his height?

  • We'll also use 'is' in the answer.

  • His height is 183 centimetres.

  • What is his name?

  • His name is Brenton.

  • Some questions use 'do' or 'does'.

  • With these questions the answer is usually 'yes' or 'no'.

  • Does he speak English?

  • Yes, he speaks English.

  • Here we use the verb from the question in the answer too.

  • Does he have dark hair?

  • Yes, he has dark hair.

  • But we could also just say 'Yes, he does'...

  • ... or 'No, he doesn't'.

  • I think we need to find out a few details about you Michelle.

  • Faraway?

  • Are you married?

  • No, I'm not.

  • Do you speak Chinese?

  • No, I don't.

  • Do you have a car?

  • Yes, I have a car.

  • Do you have any pets?

  • Yes, I have a dog.

  • How old are you?

  • [...].

  • Oh, no, no.

  • Now you answer the questions.

  • You can answer 'Yes, she is' or 'No, she isn't'.

  • 'Yes, she does'.

  • Or 'No, she doesn't'.

  • Is she married?

  • No, she isn't.

  • Does she have blond hair?

  • Yes, she does.

  • Is she tall?

  • No, she isn't.

  • Does she have a car?

  • Yes, she does.

  • Does she speak Chinese?

  • No, she doesn't.

  • Does she have a dog?

  • Yes, she does.

  • What's it's name?

  • It's name is Basta.

  • Basta.

  • Well that's all [...] for today.

  • Tomorrow we'll be looking at how to talk about the past.

  • And how to describe time in the past.

Hello.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it