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.