General questions

Shall	I we	help go	you? to the cinema?	— Yes, please. / No, thanks. — OK, let’s go. / I’m afraid, I don’t want to.
Will	he she it you they	stay	here?	— Yes, he/she/it/I/we/they will. — No, he/she/it/I/we/they won’t.

NOTE: a) Shall is generally used as a first person question (with I or we) to make suggestions and offers.

b) Will is used as a first person question with I to ask about future. Will I be happy, will I be rich...?

Exercise 48. Make these sentences into general questions. Give short answers.

Example: (you be) at home tomorrow? — Will you be at home tomorrow? — Yes, I will. ? No, I won’t.

1. (You see) your parents this weekend?

2. (They go) to Scotland in June?

3. (Kate and you go) to the cinema next week?

4. (It be) Wednesday tomorrow?

5. (Sam be) at the party too?

6. (You open) your bank account in this bank?

Exercise 49. Make up your own sentences with Shall I...? / Shall we...?

Example: the theatre this evening? — Shall we go to the theatre this evening?

do the washing up for you? — Shall I do the washing up for you?

1. close the window?

2. the disco on Friday?

3. another television programme?

4. a game of tennis?

5. turn on the radio?

6. help you with this exercise?

Special questions

What	shall	I	do?	— Whatever you like.
Where	will	I	be in ten years’ time?	— Nobody knows.
Where	shall	we	go tonight?	— Let’s go to the cinema.
When	will	you	tell her the truth?	— One of these days.
How old	will	he	be next birthday?	— He’ll be twenty-nine.
How often	will	they	see each other in ten years’ time?	— Perhaps they will never see each other again.
How long	will	it	take?	— About an hour.
How much	will	the trip	cost?	— It won’t be expensive.
Why	will	she	stay in town this summer?	— Because she’s going to work as a tourist guide.
Which trip	will	you	take?	— I think I’ll take a bicycle trip.
Who	will	—	win the race?	— It’s rather difficult to predict.

Exercise 50. Complete the sentences.

Example: Who will arrange everything? — Nancy.

1. ___ help you with your homework? — A friend of mine will.

2. ___ Kate ___ next year? — She’ll be 19.

3. ___ at the station? — They’ll meet at about 3 o’clock.

4. ___ for breakfast? — I’ll have a cup of coffee and a toast.

5. ___ this summer? — I’ll go to the seaside.

6. ___ the World Cup? — Perhaps, Brazil.

7. ___ stay at home tonight? — Because he’s expecting a call from his British friend.

Tag questions

I’ll		give you a lift,	shall I?	— Yes, please. That’s very kind of you./ No, thanks. I’ll walk.
I	will	be rich,	won’t I?	— Yes, you will. / No, you won’t.
You	will	leave tomorrow,	won’t you?	— Yes, I will. / No, I won’t.
He/She	will	enjoy the camping trip	won’t he/she?	— Yes, he/she will. / No, he/she won’t.
It	will	be Sunday tomorrow,	won’t it?	— Yes, it will. / No, it won’t.
We’ll		go by plane,	shall we?	— All right. Let’s go by plane.
They	will	be more careful next time,	won’t they?	— Yes, they will. / No, they won’t.

I	won’t	work next week,	will I?	— No, you won’t. / Yes, you will.
You	won’t	be late,	will you?	— No, I. won’t. / Yes, I will.
He/She	won’t	tell anyone else,	will he/she?	— No, he/she won’t. / Yes, he/she will.
It	won’t	help anyone,	will it?	— No, it won’t. / Yes, it will.
We	won’t	do this,	will we?	— No, we won’t. / Yes, we will.
They	won’t	come to see us,	will they?	— No, they won’t. / Yes, they will.

NOTE: a) after Let’s... the question tag is shall we?

Let’s go out for a walk, shall we?

b) After the imperative (Do/Don’t do...) the tag is will you?

Open the door, will you?

Exercise 51. Give the correct tag to these sentences.

1. I expect we’ll meet again before long, ___?

2. I’ll show you the way, ___?

3. They won’t need a lot of money for that trip, ___?

4. Everyone will like the idea, ___?

5. Tomorrow will be cold, with some snow in the afternoon, ___?

6. Let’s have dinner, ___?

7. Turn down the radio, ___/

Exercise 52. Ask questions about the information in italics.

1. At the weekend we’ll probably go to the cinema.

2. You will find the newspaper under the pile of magazines.

3. It will be rainy and quite cold.

4. They’ll meet Joyce at the airport at 7 o’clock.

5. No, I won’t work from Wednesday till Friday.

6. It’ll take you an hour and a half to get to the city centre.