{"id":28029,"date":"2019-12-27T14:48:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-27T14:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.englishforums.com\/news\/?p=28029"},"modified":"2019-12-27T14:48:18","modified_gmt":"2019-12-27T14:48:18","slug":"6-basic-english-conversation-types","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/6-basic-english-conversation-types\/","title":{"rendered":"6 basic English conversation types you absolutely must know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Anyone who has learned English adequately can engage in basic English conversations.<\/strong> With basic English knowledge, a conversation leads to a successful interaction. What is the basic requirement for conversations?<\/span><br \/>\n<b>The right question asked!\u00a0<\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every day we speak to our coworkers, friends, family members, and strangers in the streets or at the cafes. The questions we ask will determine the flow of the conversation and satisfaction you&#8217;ll get from the answers.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To perfect <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.improveyoursocialskills.com\/conversation\/invitation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the art of the conversation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and improve your English knowledge, you will need to practice <\/span><b>essential English conversation questions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grab a friend, or sit down to yourself and let&#8217;s start!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Basic English conversation types<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before you dive into the complex questions which you will ask at a conference, lawyers&#8217; office or at an accountants&#8217;, you&#8217;ll need to learn <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">basic English conversation questions<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that are usually categorized like this:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Questions about personal information<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily questions and saying hello\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shopping questions<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Specific questions\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Like&#8221; questions\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asking for an opinion and suggesting an activity\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>1. Questions about personal information<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You start learning English by asking these questions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What&#8217;s your name?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How old are you?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you have siblings?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are basic, elementary, and first-level questions that you&#8217;ll mostly use with new acquaintances.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember to be respectful and not pushy when you&#8217;re asking about personal information. You&#8217;ll need this technique to befriend strangers and find new buddies.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vocabulary.cl\/Basic\/Personal_Information.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">most common personal information questions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and answers:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Names\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is your name?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My name is _____<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is your last name?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My last name is _____<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is her\/his name?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Her\/his name is _____<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work and occupation\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do you do?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am a ____\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where do you work\/study?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I work\/study at _____\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Family and marital status<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are you married?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, I am\/No, I&#8217;m not.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you have a boyfriend\/girlfriend?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, I do\/No, I don&#8217;t.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you have any children?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, I have ___ children\/No, I don&#8217;t.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you have siblings?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, I have ____ brothers and ___ sisters\/No, I don&#8217;t.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Age, contact information, hobbies, habits, and many more fall into this category. You can dive in deeper and start communicating with a pen pal or a forum member at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.englishforums.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">English Forward Forums<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and find someone who will practice basic English conversation questions with you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Daily questions and saying hello<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Daily questions can be used with friends, family, and strangers.<\/strong> This category includes some of the most commonly used questions, such as:<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How are you?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fine, thanks. And how are you?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How are things at work?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Things are fine, thanks for asking.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The key is to know who you are talking to. You can get too personal and in-depth with a friend or a family member, but the acquaintances might think it&#8217;s weird you&#8217;re asking so many questions.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sit down in front of the mirror and ask and answer yourself on these questions to practice more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Shopping questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>I never go to a foreign country without visiting its shopping centers.<\/strong> I believe many tourists act like this, and when it comes to the language barrier, they often stumble upon issues. It helps then to carry on basic English conversation.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To practice daily interaction with someone in the shopping center, you might need these questions:<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can I try this on?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(You can ask this if you are not sure you can try something on)<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where can I try this on? Or Where are the fitting rooms?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(You can ask this if you&#8217;re looking for a place to change).\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you have this but in a larger\/smaller size?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(replace the word &#8220;this&#8221; with the item you&#8217;re shopping for).\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can I pay with my credit\/debit card?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much is it? How much does it cost?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Specific questions\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These questions are asking about something specific, and require particular answers.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What&#8217;s that?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s a ____<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(it can be asked about a lot of things, so we can&#8217;t categorize the question).<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">May I open the window\/door?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What time is it?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s ____ o&#8217;clock.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where is the nearest bakery here?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where can I cash out my money?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where can I buy __ _?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is this your article?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whose ___ is that?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And many more.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These sentence structures will help you build your own when you find yourself in a situation that needs a specific question asked.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>5. &#8220;Like&#8221; questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Like&#8221; questions are a great way to find more about the person you&#8217;re speaking with.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We usually use the word &#8220;like&#8221; in the questions when we want to determine the attitude towards a particular thing\/object\/person.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is it like?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(You can ask this question about many things: food, country, movies, smell, drink, etc. It will help you determine the persons&#8217; view of the object).\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do you like to do on the weekends?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(The sentence can be rephrased in a way to suit any other situation).\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What would you like to eat\/drink\/see\/sing\/etc.?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(We want to determine the persons&#8217; attitude towards a specific activity).\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Would you like some coffee\/cake\/drink\/etc.?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does she\/he look like?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Experiment with these sentences with yourself and your friends. Remember the advice to join a community or a forum? It still stands. Join the group of people with the same desire to practice spoken English more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>6. Asking for an opinion and suggesting an activity\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last but not least, we come to the advice questions. Again, we want to determine the attitude towards a particular thing or ask for a suggestion.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do you think about this dress\/book\/hat\/shoes\/song\/movie\/etc.?<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is it difficult to learn this chapter?<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are your views on ____ _?<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do you feel about____ _?<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How about some lunch\/coffee\/tea\/cake\/etc.?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Suggestion)\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why don&#8217;t you take some time to relax and play with us?<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Suggestion)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remembers, suggestions can be made without a question form. Just include the bolded words:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>How about<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> we go to see a movie?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Why don&#8217;t<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> you read a book?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>You could<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> come with me to see my friends.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Learning more about basic English conversation questions is a HUGE step forward into developing your English skills.<\/strong> If you&#8217;ve set your mind to follow our guidance, I would advise you to do this:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set up a situation (restaurant, movie, gettogether with friends, family dinner, meeting with new coworkers, etc.).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Write down the regular questions and answers you&#8217;d ask and reply in such situations in your language.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Translate the questions and answers to English.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Practice asking basic questions with yourself, friend, family member, study buddy, whoever&#8217;s happy to help you improve your English.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>An additional tip: You can use Twitter to carry on basic English conversation.<br \/>\n<strong>Communities<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>On Twitter, you only have to follow accounts that you\u2019re interested in. This makes reading easier, as will be reading topics that genuinely interest you.<\/li>\n<li>This also means that you can follow people who also want to learn English or people that teach English as a foreign language. You can engage in conversation with them and start your own communities using hashtags.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>What are hashtags?<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Twitter users use the hashtag symbol to categorize tweets. These tweets show up more easily in Twitter search.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Clicking on a word with a hashtag on any message shows you all other Tweets marked with that keywords.<\/li>\n<li>Hashtags can be placed anywhere in the Tweet \u2013 at the beginning, middle, or end.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Which hashtags are useful for English language learners?<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>#adulted:<\/strong>\u00a0a hashtag for tweets about adult education.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anyone who has learned English adequately can engage in basic English conversations. With basic English knowledge, a conversation leads to a successful interaction. What is the basic requirement for conversations? The right question asked!\u00a0 Every day we speak to our coworkers, friends, family members, and strangers in the streets or at the cafes. The questions [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":28928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28029"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}