How Questions and Answers- The Same or Different Simplest Responses Game

How questions and answers the same or different

Without looking below, listen to your teacher read out two or more expressions and raise “The same” card or the “Different” card depending on what you think about the meanings of those expressions. Don’t worry about differences in formality, etc, just the meaning. If there are more than two, they are all the same or all different (there are never two the same and one different, etc).

Label the lines below with S for the same or D for different. If you get stuck, looking at the next line might help.

 

How questions the same or different

• How are you?/ How do you do?
• How are you?/ How are you today?
• How are you?/ How about you?
• And you?/ How about you?/ What about you?
• How are you?/ How are you feeling?/ Are you okay?
• How’s it going?/ How are things?/ How’s life (treating you)?/ How are you doing?
• How’s life?/ How’s married life?
• How are you?/ How have you been?
• How have you been?/ How have you been since we last met?
• How was your weekend?/ How has your week been?
• How has your week been?/ How has your week been so far?
• How has your day been?/ How has your day been so far?
• How was your day?/ How has your day been?
• How’s work?/ How’s your work?
• How’s business?/ How’s work?
• How’s work?/ How was work?
• How’s work?/ How’s your (new) job?
• How was your trip?/ How was your journey (here today)?/ How was your flight?
• How was your trip?/ How did you get here today?
• How was your trip?/ How has your trip been?
• How was the meeting?/ How was your date?
• How’s the weather (over there)?/ What’s the weather like (where you are)?
• How’s your family?/ How are your family?
• How’s (name)?/ How is working with (name)?
• How’s your team doing?/ How’s your project going?
• How was your summer holiday?/ How was your summer vacation?
• How was your weekend?/ How were your days off?
• How was your holiday?/ How was your weekend?
• How was your lunch?/ How’s your meal?
• How was the beach?/ How did you get to the beach?

 

Answers to how questions the same or different

• I’m fine, thank you./ Very well, thank you./ Not bad, thanks.
• Not bad. I…/ So so. I…
• So so. I…/ Okay. I…
• I…/ Alright. I…
• Nothing special. I just…/ Same ole same ole. I just...
• So so./ Not so good.
• Not so good./ Not so great.
• Not so good./ Terrible.
• / Awful./ A nightmare.
• / Fantastic./ Superb./ Fabulous./ Amazing./ Excellent.
• Fairly good./ Very good./ Absolutely wonderful.
• Fairly busy./ Absolutely hectic.
• Really fun./ Really productive.
• None of your business./ Never you mind./ Mind your own business.
• Don’t ask!/ I’d rather not say, if you don’t mind.

 

Reactions to answers the same or different

• That’s too bad./ I’m sorry to hear that./ That’s a shame./ That’s a pity.
• That sounds good./ I’m glad to hear that./ Good for you.

 

Check your answers as a class, then test each other in pairs or small groups:

• Play the same racing to hold up the right card game
• Choose one with options with the same meaning, say all but one option, and see if your partner can say something with the same meaning
• Say two with different meanings, and see if your partner can explain what is different
• Ask your partner two questions with different meanings and see if they can answer both correctly (probably meaning with different answers)

 

Without looking above, write at least one way of rephrasing each thing here:

• How are you today?
• And you?
• How’s it going?
• How have you been?
• How has your week been so far?
• How has your day been?
• How’s your work?
• What’s the weather like?
• How are your family?
• How was your summer holiday?
• Not bad, thanks.
• Okay. 
• Same ole same ole.
• Not so great.
• Awful. 
• Wonderful. 
• That’s too bad.

Check above. Other answers are possible, so please check if you wrote something different.

 

Cards to hold up

The same	Different
The same	Different
The same	Different
The same	Different
The same	Different
The same	Different
The same	Different