Devon Balwit- August 8, 2016
- How can I improve my English? Important English GRAMMAR you should learn!
Devon Balwit
August 8, 2016
How can I improve my English? Important English GRAMMAR you should learn! Do you know how to use how?
How is a very useful question word. Let’s look at some of the ways it can be used.
Howcan I stay healthy?
This question is asking aboutmethod—the way you do something. You would answer in this way:
You can stay healthyby exercising,by eating well, andby getting enough sleep.
Howdo you use a public bus?
First, you need to buy a ticket.Then, you wait at the bus stop.Whenthe bus comes, you put your ticket in the machine next to the driver. The driver will give you a transfer.Whenyou want to get off the bus, pull the cord.Finally, remember to thank the driver!
How faris it to your house?
How + adjectiveis asking you to saythe quantityof the adjective—inthis case, distance. You could answer in this way:
- It isfive miles.
- It isa mile and a half.
How bigis your room?
This question is asking you how much space it has. You could answer:
- It’shuge. It’s200 square feet.
- It’s reallytiny. It’snot much bigger than a bath tub.
How spicyis the food at that restaurant?
You could answer in this way:
- It’sreallyspicy.
- It’snot veryspicy.
You can ask the same type of question with an adverb:
How quicklydo you learn new vocabulary words?
You could answer:
- I learnvery quickly.
- Idon’t learnthemvery quickly.
How long does it take toget to your job each day?
“How longdoes it take to” + verbis asking about theamount of time neededto dosomething.
You could answer in this way:
- It takesan hour.
- It takestwenty minutes.
- It takesfive minutes.
How long does it take tospeak English like a native speaker?
You could answer:
- It takesyears.
- It takesa life time.
- It takesmany months.
How much does it cost tobuy a house in your city?
“How much does it cost to” + verb is asking about the amount of money needed to buy something.
Youcould answer:
- It costshalf a million dollars.
- It costs$400,000.
- It costsan arm and a leg(a lot!).
How much does it cost to go out to eat?
You could answer:
- For one person, it costsabout $10.
- For a family, it costsaround $50.
Notice howthe modifiers about and around mean not exactly—maybe more, maybe less.)
How many peopledo you know who can speak English?
How + many/muchis asking you about a quantity of a noun.
You could answer:
- I knowtons.
- I knowaround 5.
- I knowa few.
Notice how with aplural count noun(people),youuse the wordmany, which is plural, andyour answers are also plural:tons, 5, a few.
How much fundo you have each day?
You could answer:
- I havea lot.
- I havea little.
- I havea bit.
Notice how with anon-count noun(fun),youuse the wordmuch,andyour answers arealsonon-count amounts:a lot, a little, a bit.
How much do youexercise?
How much do you + verb asks you about the quantity of a verb:
- I exercisea lot.
- Irarelyexercise.
- I exercisethree times a week.
How much do youdrink?
- Ineverdrink.
- I drinkabout two glassesof alcohol a day.
- I drinka lot.
As you can see, “How” questions are very useful.Practice by answering the following questions.
- Howcould you practice using them?
- How confidentare you about using them correctly?
- How soonwill you practice?
- How long did it takefor you to read this blog post?
- How many waysto ask questions with “How” did this post teach you?
- How much do you practiceevery day?
