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[Music]
welcome to englishclass101.com
english in three minutes the fastest
easiest and most fun way to learn
english
hi
how's it going i'm alicia nice to meet
you
in this series we're going to learn some
easy ways to ask and answer common
questions in english it's really useful
and it only takes three minutes
in this lesson you're going to learn new
more common ways to ask and answer the
question how are you in english
you've probably learned how are you and
i'm fine in textbooks before
but in the united states people will
usually ask this question and answer it
in a different way
first
let's review
if someone says how are you
you can say i'm fine
i'm fine
here are some other ways to answer
pretty good
this means about the same thing as i'm
fine
pretty good
we also have
not bad
you can use this if you are feeling just
okay or so-so
not bad
let's look at our question again
how are you
this is the most well-known way of
asking how someone is you could use it
when you want to be polite
but now
let's look at some different ways to ask
how someone is
these ways are more casual and much more
common
first hey how's it going
hey
how's it going
you can answer this in many ways if
you're feeling good you can say good
good
pretty good
not bad
once more
good
pretty good
not bad
here's a tip
even though these answers mean the same
thing as i'm fine you can't answer how's
it going with i'm fine
it will sound a bit strange
if you're not feeling good you can say
not so good
not great
or
not so well
be careful
if you say one of these the other person
will usually ask why what's wrong to be
polite
then you will have to explain
another casual but very common version
of how are you is what's up
what's up
to reply use a cheerful voice as you say
not much
or
nothing much
this means you're free and able to chat
since what's up is just another way of
saying hello
you can also reply with hey
or hi
now it's time for alicia's advice
a lot of the time when we ask questions
that mean how are you in english we're
not actually asking about the other
person's health we're only asking to be
polite
you should think of these questions as
another way of saying hello
a way for the conversation to get
started instead of actual literal
questions
in fact when someone asks you what's up
you don't even have to answer just say
what's up in reply
[Music]
welcome to
englishclass101.com english in three
minutes the fastest easiest and most fun
way to learn english hey everyone i'm
alicia
in this series we're going to learn some
easy ways to ask and answer common
questions in english it's really useful
and it only takes three minutes
in this lesson you're going to learn how
to ask what someone's job is in natural
english
of course you can just say what is your
job
this is correct english but it sounds
too direct and awkward
native english speakers almost never say
this in a social situation instead they
use a different question but before we
master that we need to compare it to a
very similar question
what are you doing
i'm presenting a video about english
what do you do
i'm an english teacher
do you see the difference these two
questions what are you doing and what do
you do
sounds similar but mean different things
the first one is asking what you are
doing right now this minute you answer
it using an ing verb
what are you doing
i'm reading
i'm watching tv
while the second is actually a shortened
version of what do you do for a living
this is how we ask what is your job in
natural english let's practice this
question
what do you do
when native speakers of english ask this
question it can come out very fast and
sound more like what do you do
in order to tell it apart from what are
you doing
just listen for the ing sound on the end
of the question
if it's not there then you're being
asked what your job is
so how would you answer this question
just think of it as if the other person
is asking you what is your job
you could answer with i am plus your job
i'm a teacher
or
i'm an engineer
if you want to learn more job names go
to
englishclass101.com and check out the
core word lists these cover job
vocabulary and more and include a
picture and audio to help you perfect
your pronunciation
you can also mention the place that you
work at starting with i work at i work
at a hospital
i work at a hospital
i work at a law firm
if you work for a big company that is
well known you can say i work for and
then the name
i work for microsoft
i work for the new york times
now it's time for alicia's advice
when you ask the question what do you do
and the other person tells you their job
it's polite to make some kind of
positive comment about his or her job
for example how interesting or that must
be exciting or even oh really
remember to sound sincere
[Music]
welcome to englishclass101.com
english in three minutes the fastest
easiest and most fun way to learn
english
hey everyone alicia here
in this series we're going to learn some
easy ways to ask and answer common
questions in english it's really useful
and it only takes three minutes
in this lesson you're going to learn how
to ask what someone's hobbies are
without using the word hobbies
you've probably seen the question do you
have any hobbies or
what are your hobbies in an english
textbook before however
native english speakers almost never use
the word hobbies when asking about them
a much more natural way to ask the same
question is
what do you do for fun
let's practice this question
what do you do for fun
you can also ask
what do you do in your free time
so how would you answer this question
let's look at how native speakers would
do it
the easiest way is to say i like to or
just i like
followed by what you like to do
for example if you like watching movies
you could say i like to watch movies or
i like watching movies
i like to watch movies or i like
watching movies
and if you like golf you could say i
like to play golf or
i like playing golf
i like to play golf or
i like playing golf
you can emphasize how much you like your
hobby by adding a word like really in
front of like
for example i really like watching
movies on the other hand if you want to
play down how much you like something
you can say kind of
for example i kind of like playing
tennis
now it's time for alicia's advice
if you don't have any special hobbies or
don't want to be specific
a good way to reply is
i like hanging out with my friends and
stuff like that
i like hanging out with my friends and
stuff like that
just use i like and add
hanging out with my friends and then add
and stuff like that
[Music]
welcome to
englishclass101.com english in three
minutes the fastest easiest and most fun
way to learn english
hey everyone i'm alicia
this series explains some easy ways to
ask and answer common questions in
english it's really useful and it only
takes three minutes
in this lesson you're going to learn
some different ways people will ask you
where are you from
first though
where are you from
can mean many things
it can mean
what city are you from or what state are
you from in fact americans ask this
question to each other all the time to
learn what part of america the other
person comes from
of course though it can also mean what
country are you from
if you want to answer this question
there are two ways to do it
you can say
i'm plus your nationality as in i'm
japanese or
i'm brazilian
or you can say
i'm from
plus the country you are from
as in
i'm from italy
or i'm from thailand
if you're from a really famous city or
place you can say that too
for example
i'm from beijing
or i'm from new delhi
many times though americans won't ask
what country are you from or even where
are you from
in many casual situations they will say
it in a simpler way
where are you from
this is just like where are you from but
they take out the are
where are you from
you can use this too in casual
situations
of course in the united states as in
other parts of the world people may be a
little more indirect because they want
to be polite
to do this they might ask you if you are
from the place where they meet you
for example if you meet someone in new
york they might ask are you from new
york
or if you are in san diego
they might ask are you from san diego
many parts of the united states are very
multicultural so asking the question
this way avoids what could be an
embarrassing mistake
you can answer this the same way you
answer
where are you from
just add a simple no in front
for example
you can say no
plus
i'm plus nationality
no i'm french
or no plus i'm from
plus country
no
i'm from russia
now it's time for alicia's advice
since the united states is very large
people you meet may take great pride in
the place or region they come from
if you ask someone about where they're
from they may respond by saying
something like west coast or the east
coast or california
or the south or the midwest
if they answer in this way it usually
means they are interested in talking
more about their region and how it
differs from others
[Music]
welcome to englishclass101.com
english in three minutes the fastest
easiest and most fun way to learn
english
hey everyone i'm alicia
this series will teach you some easy
ways to ask and answer common questions
in english it's really useful and it
only takes three minutes
in this lesson you're going to learn
some new ways to ask someone what's your
name
including one that you can use when you
have forgotten someone's name
now what is your name
was probably one of the first questions
you learned when you started studying
english
i have to tell you though that most
native speakers of english would never
say this
in english just like in other languages
it is often more polite to be a little
indirect
of course the easiest way to avoid
asking the question directly is to not
ask at all
just introduce yourself and most people
will respond by doing the same
when introducing yourself simple is
nearly always best
just say hi i'm alicia
to show that you want to know the other
person's name just add and you at the
end
hi
i'm alicia
and you
hi
i'm alicia
and you
just like before take out my name alicia
and put your name in its place
after you say this the other person will
tell you his or her name
okay
now let's talk about an embarrassing
situation that happens to everybody
you have already met this person once
before but you have forgotten their name
the most polite thing to do in this
situation is to apologize and ask again
there's a simple way to do this that's
also polite i'm sorry what was your name
again
i'm sorry
what was your name again
this sentence is very similar to
what's your name but it has three
important differences
first we say i'm sorry
a small apology can go a long way
after that we say
what was your name this is just like
what is your name but instead of is we
use the past tense was
this is really important as it tells the
other person that you remember meeting
them you haven't forgotten him or her
you have just forgotten the name
this little word makes all the
difference
i'm sorry
what was your name
finally we add again to the end
this is another hint that tells the
other person that you remember learning
his or her name before but you just
can't recall it right now
i'm sorry
what was your name again this phrase is
appropriate for both formal and informal
situations
now it's time for alicia's advice
in the united states it's normal to
address people by name in conversation
more than once
in both formal and informal situations
it's a way to show respect or interest
in the other person and can help you
make friends
it is also a great way to practice
someone's name so you don't forget it if
you are talking to someone named ann for
example
instead of just what do you do for fun
you could say and what do you do for fun
you can also put the name at the end of
the sentence
what do you do for fun ann
you don't want to say the person's name
too often or it will sound a little
strange
but if you practice someone's name like
this you won't forget it and people love
to hear their own name
[Music]
welcome to english class 101.com
english in 3 minutes the fastest easiest
and most fun way to learn english
hey everyone i'm alicia
in this series we're going to learn some
easy ways to ask and answer common
questions in english it's really useful
and it only takes three minutes
in this lesson you're going to learn
some ways to get in touch with someone
after you have met them once already
in a lot of textbooks you've probably
seen the question what's your phone
number
what's your phone number
it's a very useful question but there
are two problems with it
first it can sound a little too direct
especially when talking to members of
the opposite sex
and second
people use the phone a lot less these
days than they used to
instead
they might prefer to connect by email or
on a social network like facebook
to start though a simple variation on
what's your phone number that sounds a
little less direct is
could i get your number
we start the sentence with could
which softens the request
next say i
then get and finally your number
which is short for your phone number
this question is slightly casual but it
can be used in almost any situation
recently many people prefer to use email
rather than the phone to communicate
asking someone for his or her email
address is also a little less direct
than asking for their phone number
could i get your email address
we just took could i get your number
and replaced number with email address
it's that simple
could i get your email address
if someone asks you either of these
questions you can reply by saying sure
my phone number is
sure
my phone number is
or sure my email address is
sure
my email address is
or
sure
it's
and then say your phone number or email
address at the end
by the way if you're having any trouble
with numbers check out
englishclass101.com core word lists for
these and other key vocabulary words
each word comes with a picture
audio samples so you can perfect your
pronunciation and sample sentences and
phrases so you can master its use in a
sentence recently many people use social
networks like facebook or linkedin or an
online chatting service like skype to
communicate
people might ask you about these
especially if they are younger
if someone wants to connect with you
through one of these services they may
simply ask are you on
followed by the name of the service
are you on facebook
are you on linkedin
are you on skype
to answer you can simply say
yes i am or
no i'm not
if you respond with yes i am the other
person may ask how they can connect with
you on one of these services
of course if you're not on one of these
services they won't be able to contact
you
if you still would like to stay in touch
with the person though you can say no
but my email address is or
no but my phone number is and then say
your email address or phone number
by telling the other person a different
way they can contact you you'll show
them that you want to hear from them
now it's time for alicia's advice
if you ask someone for their phone
number their email address or some other
form of contact information they will
usually give it to you if you have
gotten to know them a little beforehand
if you ask too early in the conversation
though they may be hesitant about
sharing that information
the key is to make sure you talk for
some time before requesting this kind of
personal information
[Music]
welcome to english class 101.com english
in three minutes the fastest easiest and
most fun way to learn english
hey everyone i'm alicia in this series
we're going to learn some easy ways to
ask and answer common questions in
english it's really useful and it only
takes three minutes
in this lesson you're going to learn how
to ask and say where you live
usually someone will ask you where you
live as a polite question after they've
asked you your name where you're from
and what you do for a living they'll say
so where do you live
this is inviting you to keep making
conversation
there are lots of ways you could answer
this question but here are some of the
most common
you could say do you know and then the
name of the area you live in
do you know twin pines or you could
mention a local landmark like near the
library
near the movie theater
you could also answer by telling the
person what train line you live on if
your city has a train network or what
station is the nearest to your house
on the green line
near central station
so as you can see there are lots of
possible ways to answer the question
where do you live
once you've told them the other person
might respond in one of the following
ways
oh yeah i know it
i live near there
or maybe i'm afraid i don't know it the
other person is just being polite by
showing interest so you can reply by
saying something like oh really
since the other person is asking you
this question to be polite a good way to
continue the conversation is to ask them
the same question in return
you can just say how about you
or
where do you live
put some stress on the you
where do you live
now it's time for alicia's advice
asking where someone lives is a way to
try to find something you have in common
with the person you're talking to so if
you're familiar with the area the other
person lives in make some comments about
it that's a really nice area or the park
there is really pretty anything is fine
as long as you don't say anything
negative that could be taken as
offensive like
that area has a high crime rate or
i hear that area is really dangerous
[Music]
welcome to english class 101.coms
english in three minutes the fastest
easiest and most fun way to learn
english hey everyone i'm alicia
in this series we're going to learn some
easy ways to ask and answer common
questions in english it's really useful
and it only takes three minutes in this
lesson you're going to learn how to ask
someone where they went to school or
college asking someone where they went
to college is a good small talk question
and conversation starter however you
have to be careful not to offend people
if they didn't go to college we'll tell
you how to do this the question is
simple if the other person is over 22
it's likely they will have left college
already so you ask using the past tense
where did you go to college you could
also say
where did you go to school
in american english depending on context
school often means the same as college
if the other person is british or
european however they're more likely to
say where did you go to university the
answer to this question is really easy
all you say is i went to university in
city
i went to southern oregon university in
ashland
if the name of the city or town is part
of the university's name like tokyo
university or oxford university you can
add the name of the country instead
i went to tokyo university in japan
once you've heard the other person's
answer it's polite to make some kind of
comment for example wow that's a really
famous university or just oh really
sometimes when you ask where did you go
to college the other person might reply
i didn't go to college in this situation
you should be careful how you reply so
as not to appear rude it's polite to not
act surprised but instead make a
positive comment like oh really or ask a
question like did you go straight into a
job now it's time for alicia's advice
a good follow-up question to keep the
conversation going is to ask the other
person what did you study or what was
your major
this gives them an opportunity to talk
about something they're interested in in
the next lesson you'll learn how to ask
another basic question about the other
person which often features in first
time conversations between native
speakers that's do you have any brothers
or sisters
see you next time
[Music]
you