COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH 1: TOPIC 1 ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS : ENQUIRIES

What is “enquiry”? An enquiry is a single question or may be a series of questions. We normally make enquiry/enquiries in social conversation in order to get information from the other person; for example, “What is your name?” or “Where do you come from?”. We also make enquiries when we want to get information about traveling, working and etc. In this topic, you will learn on how to make social enquiries as well as listen and respond to social enquiries. There are few ways of getting information or asking questions. You may use ‘WH-questions’, ‘Yes/No-questions’ or ‘Direct/Indirect-questions’.

A. ‘WH-QUESTIONS’

The most common questions used are often referred to as 'wh' questions. 'Wh' questions begin with 'wh' and include:

Where
When
Why
What
Who

How is often included with these why questions, even though it does not begin with 'wh'. 'Wh' questions ask for specific responses as to the time, place, reason, thing or person.

Where - asks a question about place
When - asks questions about time
Why - asks questions about reasons
What - asks questions about things or objects
Who - asks questions about people

The answer to 'wh' questions often repeats the same verb as in the question form.

Examples:

Where does he live?
He lives in Melaka.
When did they have dinner?
They had dinner at eight o'clock.
Why is going to study French?
He is going to study French because he wants to go to Paris.
What does she use to clean her clothes?
She uses a washing machine.
Who do they like?
They like Mr. Nazri.
How does he play tennis?
He plays tennis well.

Notes:

Note that the verb is repeated when it expresses a specific action. When more general verbs such as 'do' and 'go' are used, it's common to use a more specific verb in the reply.

Examples:

Where did he go?
He caught a flight to Mexico.
What does she do?
She works as an engineer.
Why did he do it?
He wanted to get a good results.

Wh Questions - Special Case Why
Questions with 'why' are often replied to using 'because'.

Examples:

Why are you working so hard?
Because I need to finish this project soon.
Why did she move to Melaka?
Because she wanted to be closer to his parents.

Questions with 'why' are often replied to using the imperative (to do). In this case, the clause with 'because' is understood to be included in the answer.

Examples:
Why does he get up so early?
To get in shape. = Because he wants to get in shape.
Why are they coming next week?
To make a presentation. = Because they are going to make a presentation.

Wh Questions - Short Forms

'What', 'who' and 'where' are often combined with a preposition to ask short, follow-up questions.

Examples:

Are you busy next weekend?
Yes, I'm working next weekend?
What for?
Because I need to finish the project.
Jenny is writing a new article?
Who for?
She's writing it for Health Magazine.
I have to go away on business next week.
Where to?
I'm flying to Penang on Friday.

Wh Questions - With Prepositions

A number of 'wh' questions can combine with prepositions. When combining with a preposition, we generally place the preposition at the end of the question. Here is a list of a few of the more common combinations:

who ... for
who ... with
where ... to
where ... from
what ... for (= why)
what ... in

Examples:

Who are you working for?
Who is speaking with?
Where are they going to?
Where does she come from?
What did he buy that for?
What does she believe in?

Wh Questions - Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs often end in prepositions. For 'wh' questions used with phrasal verbs the prepositions are placed at the end of the sentence.

Examples:

What are you looking at?
Who did she look after?
How did they get by?

B. DIRECT AND INDIRECT QUESTIONS

When you ask a direct question, like "What time is the meeting?" you're being quite informal, some might even say abrupt, or even rude. You can make it more polite by adding please, "What time is the meeting, please?", but to be even more polite we rephrase it into an indirect question; "Do you know what time the meeting is?", or "Could you tell me what time the meeting is?".

Indirect questions serve the same purpose as direct questions, but are considered more formal. When using an indirect question, use an introductory phrase followed by the question itself in positive sentence structure. Connect the two phrases with the question word or ‘if’ in the case the question is a ‘yes’, ‘no’ question.

Here's how to do it:

Introductory phrase + question word (or if) + positive sentence

Examples:

Where is Leen? > I was wondering if you know where Leen is?
When does Abby usually arrive? > Do you know when Abby usually arrives?

Here are some of the most common phrases used for asking indirect questions. Many of these phrases are questions (i.e., Do you know when the next train leaves?), while others are statements made to indicate a question (i.e., I wonder if he will be on time.).

Do you know … ?
I wonder / was wondering ….
Can you tell me … ?
Do you happen to know ...?
I have no idea ...
I'm not sure ...
I'd like to know ...
Have you any idea ...

Sometimes we also use these phrases to indicate that we'd like some more information.

I’m not sure…
I don’t know…
Examples:
Do you know when the concert begins?
I wonder when he will arrive.
Can you tell me how to check out a book.
I don’t know if he is coming to the party this evening.

C. “YES/NO-QUESTIONS”

Yes/No questions are questions that do not take a question word such as 'what', 'when', 'where', etc. Yes No questions are used to check information, ask for a confirmation and check facts. Here are some examples:

Do you live in Merlimau?
Was he late for work yesterday?
Are you coming to the meeting tomorrow?

Yes/No questions are generally answered with Yes/No answers that include an auxiliary verb. Here are some examples:

Do you live in Merlimau? - Yes, I do.
Did he go to work yesterday? - Yes, he did.
Are you coming to the meeting tomorrow? - No, I'm not.

Notice that Yes answers include the subject and the full auxiliary verb:

Are they working on that report? - Yes, they are.
Have you ever visited Paris? - Yes, I have.
Will you help me? - Yes, I will.

No answers include the auxiliary verb plus not and often employs the short form (contraction):

Do they live in Shah Alam? - No, they don't.
Is she watching TV? - No, she isn't.
Did we get the contract? - No, we didn't.
Here is an overview of Yes/No questions in a wide variety of tenses:

Present Simple
Do / Does + S + Verb? - (Do you like ice cream?)
Yes, I do.
No, I don't.
Yes, he / she / it does.
No, he / she / it doesn't.
Yes, we / you / they do.
No, we / you / they don't.

Present Continuous
Am / Is / Are + S + Verb + ing? - (Are they studying English?)
Yes, I am.
No, I'm not.
Yes, he / she / it is.
No, he / she / it isn't.
Yes, we / you / they are.
No, we / you / they aren't.

Present Perfect
Have / Has + S + Past Participle? - (Has she lived here long?)
Yes, I have.
No, I haven't.
Yes, he / she / it has.
No, he / she / it hasn't.
Yes, we / you / they have.
No, we / you / they haven't.

Past Simple
Did + S + Verb? - (Did she stay in New York?)
Yes, I / you / he / she / it / we / you /they did.
No, I I / you / he / she / it / we / you /they didn't.

Past Continuous
Was / Were + S + Verb + ing? - (Were they working at three in the afternoon?)
Yes, I was.
No, I wasn't.
Yes, he / she / it was.
No, he / she / it wasn't.
Yes, we / you / they were.
No, we / you / they weren't.

Future Simple
Will + S + Verb? - (Will you come to the party?)
Yes, I / you / he / she / it / we / you /they will.
No, I I / you / he / she / it / we / you /they won't.

Future with Going to
Am / Is / Are + S + going to + Verb? - (Is he going to attend the meeting?)
Yes, I am.
No, I'm not.
Yes, he / she / it is.
No, he / she / it isn't.
Yes, we / you / they are.
No, we / you / they aren't.

A SAMPLE OF QUESTION CONVERSATION

Operator : Good afternoon, 311. How can I help you?

Marina : Hello, I am planning a trip to New York City, and I need some information.

Operator : Yes, when will you be arriving?

Marina : On April 1st. How can I get to Manhattan from the airport?

Operator : Which airport will you arrive at?

Marina : LaGuardia Airport.

Operator : You can take M60.

Marina : Where in Manhattan does it go?

Operator : The M60 goes to the west side and the east side. When does your flight arrive?

Marina : At 10 am.

Operator : The M60 leaves the airport every 8 minutes in the morning.