Questions, Answers about Holiday Activities
2023-01-06
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1Imagine you are talking to an American.
2You are curious to know about what they did during the holidays of Christmas and New Year's.
3How can you ask about these or other holidays?
4How can you build a discussion about the holiday season?
5In this Everyday Grammar, we will explore how you can form common questions and answers about the holidays.
6Let's start with some important terms and ideas.
7The Christmas and New Year's holidays are important in the United States.
8Common good wishes during the season include "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year!"
9But how do you build a discussion around the subject of such holidays?
10You can start with yes or no questions, which involve the helping verb "do."
11The structure is generally:
12Do+ subject + celebrate + the holiday.
13For example, you might ask
14Do you celebrate Christmas?
15Or
16Do you celebrate New Year's Eve?
17The person you ask these questions to might answer with a yes or a no.
18Both answers can lead to interesting discussions.
19But for the sake of today's report, let's assume the answer is "yes."
20You can follow up with more detailed questions about what the person did for Christmas and New Year's.
21You might need to ask open-ended questions - questions that are not asking for a yes or no answer.
22The word "what" is often commonly used to ask open-ended questions about basic actions.
23We combine "what" with the helping verb "do" to form the following structure:
24What + do + subject + do + rest of the sentence
25Notice that the verb "do" appears twice in the structure.
26Here is how one might use this structure to ask about holiday activities:
27What did you do for Christmas?
28or
29What did you do on New Year's Eve?
30Note that the first example of "do" is in its past tense form - "what did..." This is because we are asking about an event in the past.
31You could hear answers that go in a few different directions.
32One of the most common answers will involve the simple past forms of the verbs go, see, or visit.
33For example, a person might say "I went to my grandparent's house," or "We saw our cousins," or "We visited my brother."
34Note that the person could be speaking for themselves and use the subject pronoun "I," or they could be speaking for their family and use the subject pronoun "we."
35Now let's work with these ideas.
36Ask a yes or no question about the holiday Hanukkah.
37It is a Jewish holiday around the end of the year.
38Pause the audio to consider your answer.
39Here is one possible answer:
40Do you celebrate Hanukkah?
41For this next question, imagine that you celebrated New Year's Eve in New York City's Times Square.
42How would you use the verb "see" if someone asked you about what you did?
43Pause the audio to consider your answer.
44Here are a few possible answers:
45I saw crowds and decorations.
46Or,
47I saw the ball drop.
48There are, of course, other answers. What is important is that you use the past form "saw," as in "I saw..."
49The next time you hear Americans discuss the holiday season, pay careful attention to the kinds of questions and answers that they give.
50Such questions and answers are not only useful for talking about holidays but for many other activities as well!
51I'm John Russell.
1Imagine you are talking to an American. You are curious to know about what they did during the holidays of Christmas and New Year's. How can you ask about these or other holidays? How can you build a discussion about the holiday season? 2In this Everyday Grammar, we will explore how you can form common questions and answers about the holidays. 3Let's start with some important terms and ideas. 4Holidays 5The Christmas and New Year's holidays are important in the United States. Common good wishes during the season include "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year!" 6But how do you build a discussion around the subject of such holidays? 7You can start with yes or no questions, which involve the helping verb "do." The structure is generally: 8Do+ subject + celebrate + the holiday. 9For example, you might ask 10Do you celebrate Christmas? 11Or 12Do you celebrate New Year's Eve? 13The person you ask these questions to might answer with a yes or a no. 14Both answers can lead to interesting discussions. But for the sake of today's report, let's assume the answer is "yes." 15Open-ended questions 16You can follow up with more detailed questions about what the person did for Christmas and New Year's. 17You might need to ask open-ended questions - questions that are not asking for a yes or no answer. 18The word "what" is often commonly used to ask open-ended questions about basic actions. We combine "what" with the helping verb "do" to form the following structure: 19What + do + subject + do + rest of the sentence 20Notice that the verb "do" appears twice in the structure. Here is how one might use this structure to ask about holiday activities: 21What did you do for Christmas? 22or 23What did you do on New Year's Eve? 24Note that the first example of "do" is in its past tense form - "what did..." This is because we are asking about an event in the past. 25Answers 26You could hear answers that go in a few different directions. One of the most common answers will involve the simple past forms of the verbs go, see, or visit. 27For example, a person might say "I went to my grandparent's house," or "We saw our cousins," or "We visited my brother." 28Note that the person could be speaking for themselves and use the subject pronoun "I," or they could be speaking for their family and use the subject pronoun "we." 29Practice 30Now let's work with these ideas. 31Ask a yes or no question about the holiday Hanukkah. It is a Jewish holiday around the end of the year. 32Pause the audio to consider your answer. 33Here is one possible answer: 34Do you celebrate Hanukkah? 35For this next question, imagine that you celebrated New Year's Eve in New York City's Times Square. How would you use the verb "see" if someone asked you about what you did? 36Pause the audio to consider your answer. 37Here are a few possible answers: 38I saw crowds and decorations. 39Or, 40I saw the ball drop. 41There are, of course, other answers. What is important is that you use the past form "saw," as in "I saw..." 42The next time you hear Americans discuss the holiday season, pay careful attention to the kinds of questions and answers that they give. Such questions and answers are not only useful for talking about holidays but for many other activities as well! 43I'm John Russell. 44John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 45_________________________________________________________________ 46Words in This Story 47curious -adj. wanting to learn more about a subject or issue 48for the sake of -phrase for the purpose of 49assume - v. to think that something is true or probably true without knowing that it is true 50Hanukkah - n. an eight-day Jewish holiday that is celebrated in November or December 51decoration - n. something that is added to something else to make it more attractive