Good and taboo questions with irregular plurals

Good and taboo questions with irregular plurals

Ask each other questions from below, picking the most normal questions/ the most suitable questions/ the most common questions to ask a classmate first. Your teacher will tell you which sections to look at (or if you can use all the sections). You should try to avoid taboo questions/ strange questions/ questions which are too personal, but you can politely refuse to answer such questions if you like.  

Useful phrases for avoiding too personal questions “I’d rather not say (if you don’t mind)” “I’m afraid that’s a bit personal”

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

Without looking at the questions below, make as many good small talk questions as you can out of the nouns below, making them plural if the question needs it.

foot                           man/ woman                                        person

child                                tooth                                               mouse

wife/ housewife               fish                                                  knife

loaf                                 thief                                                 life

leaf                                  series                                            crisis

referendum                       yourself                                         sheep

alumnus                            aircraft                                         deer

wolf                                    goose                                         phenomenon

bacterium                           biceps                                         species

louse/ headlouse                  spacecraft                                    boar/ wild boar

salmon                             criterium                                        grouse

calf                                   neurosis                                      faux pas

vertebra                             rendezvous

Ask about any nouns that you couldn’t make questions out of, etc, working together to make and answer questions with those nouns each time.  

Try to remember the plural forms of all the words above, then check with the following page.

Test each other on the plurals by:

• saying the singular and plural and seeing if your partner can remember which one is plural and repeat it back
• saying the singular and seeing if your partner can say the plural
• saying the plural and seeing if your partner can say the singular

 

Suggested good and taboo questions with irregular plurals

1. I’d like to learn to dance but I have two left feet. Do you think it’s worth taking lessons?
2. What size are your feet?
3. How many different (wo)men have you dated?
4. Do you really think men are better at parking than women?
5. How many people are there in your family?
6. Would you like to have (more) children?

 

7. How often do you clean your teeth?
8. What do you think about mice as pets?
9. Should housewives be paid, do you think?
10. Have you ever had pet goldfish?
11. Those are nice knives. How much did they cost?
12. Those are nice knives. Where did you get them?

 

13. How many loaves of bread do you eat in a week?
14. Have you ever had thieves in your house?
15. Do your friends have more interesting lives than you?
16. Can you recommend anywhere good to see autumn leaves?

 

17. How many series of Game of Thrones have you seen?
18. Have you had any big crises recently?
19. How did you vote in the recent referenda?
20. Did you and your family enjoy yourselves on holiday?
21. Don’t you think that sheep are too cute to eat?
22. Do you keep in touch with any fellow alumni?
23. They seem to pack more and more people into aircraft, don’t you think?
24. What do you think about hunting deer?
25. I’m terrified about them reintroducing wild wolves. How about you?
26. Is that geese I can see flying past? Do geese migrate here too?

 

27. Have you ever seen any supernatural phenomena?
28. Do you really think this mask can block 99% of bacteria?
29. You’ve got great biceps. How did you get them?
30. What species of pet have you had?
31. Was there ever headlice in your primary school?
32. Do you think we’ll have the chance to live on spacecraft?
33. Are there wild boar in your country?
34. Do you agree that wild salmon taste nicer?
35. What are your criteria for a good husband or wife?
36. Would you shoot grouse if you had the chance?
37. Can you recommend an exercise to improve my calves?
38. Do you have any neuroses?
39. Are there any faux pas that I really should avoid when I visit your country?
40. Your vertebrae look out of line. Shall I give you a massage?
41. Do you have any romantic rendezvous lined up?