Good and Taboo- Countable and Uncountable Questions

Good and taboo countable and uncountable questions

Choose a question from below and ask it to your partner. Together decide if it is a very easy question that is common to ask strangers, a taboo question which you would never ask or would only ask close friends and family, or somewhere in between (e.g. a question that is okay with classmates who you have known for a long time). Your partner will then get this many points for answering the question, depending on how common or taboo it is:

• easy question/ common question even with strangers – 1 point
• medium-level question (e.g. maybe okay with close workmates) – 2 points
• taboo question/ very personal question – 3 points

They can also refuse to answer a question by saying “I’m afraid I’d rather not say” etc, but then they get no points. Then take turns asking and answering questions in the same way.

Ask about any questions which you don’t understand, which you are not sure if they are taboo or not, etc, answering or politely refusing to answer each time.

Do the same as before, but making your own questions on these topics. You may need to add -s/ -es/ -ies to the countable nouns, depending on the question

 

Countable and uncountable nouns to make personal questions from

air travel                                                                                   alcohol

allergy                                                                                      animal right/ vegetarianism/ veganism

celebrity/ famous person                                                       child

cooking                                                                      debt/ credit card

dieting/ diet/ weight                                                                DIY

eating out                                                                                 education (school, university, etc)

(political/ religious) extremism/ terrorism                            football team/ football match

foreign language                                                                    free time/ leisure

health issue/ medical problem                               hobby/ interest

holiday/ vacation                                                                    immigration

meeting                                                                                    money/ cash

movie/ television programme                                 name (nickname, etc)

newspaper                                                                              parenting

personal achievement                                             pet

plan                                                                                          politician/ political scandal

poverty/ poor person                                               (change in) property price

season/ seasonal change                                                     sightseeing/ tourism

smoking/ tobacco                                                                   sports team/ sporting competition

(bad) weather (rain, etc)                                                        work

Optional: Before or after making your own questions, go through the list of topics above to find ones which can take -s (or -es, -ies, -ren, etc).

 

Good and taboo countable and uncountable questions

• Do you enjoy air travel?
• Do you like alcohol?
• Do you have any allergies?
• What do you think about veganism?
• Do you have any favourite celebrities?
• Are any celebrities from here famous where you come from?
• Would you like to have (more) children?
• Are you interested in cooking?
• How much debt do you have on your credit cards?
• Have you tried many diets?
• Are you good at DIY?
• Do you enjoy eating out?
• Did you have a good education?/ Did you go to a good university?
• Aren’t you scared of terrorism (in…/ from…/ by…)?
• Do you follow any football teams?
• Can you speak any other languages?
• What do you do in your free time?
• Do you have any health issues/ medical problems?
• Do you have any hobbies?
• How do you like to spend your vacations?
• What do people think about immigration in your hometown?
• Do you have any meetings this week?
• How much money do you have on you now?
• Do you still use cash (much)?
• Are you following any television dramas?
• Are there any good movies in the cinema at the moment, do you know?
• Does your name mean anything/ Do your names mean anything (in your language)?
• That’s a strange name. Who chose it?
• Which newspapers do you read?
• What do you think about modern parenting?
• I find parenting really difficult, don’t you?
• I guess you have many impressive (academic/ professional) achievements, don’t you?
• Do you have any pets?
• Do you have any plans for this weekend?
• Who are your favourite politicians?
• Most politicians are terrible, don’t you think?
• Is there a lot of poverty in your country/ in…?
• Property prices are really going up, aren’t they? It must be really difficult to buy.
• What are your favourite seasons?
• Are there any good sightseeing spots where you are from?
• I really don’t understand how anyone can smoke tobacco. How about you?
• Are you coping okay with this bad weather/ the heat/ the humidity/ the snow?
• How’s work?
• Do you enjoy your work?