Wh questions (Question Words),Expressing Purpose,Parallelism

Question words

Question words are also called wh questions because they include the letters 'W' and 'H'.

Question words	Meaning	Examples
who	person	Who's that? That's Nancy.
where	place	Where do you live? In Boston
why	reason	Why do you sleep early? Because I've got to get up early
when	time	When do you go to work? At 7:00
how	manner	How do you go? By car
what	object, idea or action	What do you do? I am an engineer
which	choice	Which one do you prefer? The red one.
whose	possession	Whose is this book? It's Alan's.
whom	object of the verb	Whom did you meet? I met the manager.
what kind	description	What kind of music do you like? I like quiet songs
what time	time	What time did you come home?
how many	quantity (countable)	How many students are there? There are twenty.
how much	amount, price (uncountable)	How much time have we got? Ten minutes
how long	duration, length	How long did you stay in that hotel? For two weeks.
how often	frequency	How often do you go to the gym? Twice a week.
how far	distance	How far is your school? It's one mile far.
how old	age	How old are you? I'm 16.
how come	reason	How come I didn't see you at the party?

Asking questions

1.If you ask about the subject of the sentence, simply add the question word at the beginning:
Example:
James writes good poems. — Who writes good poems?
2.If you ask about the predicate of the sentence (the part of a sentence which contains the verb and gives information about the subject), there are three options:

• If there is a helping (auxiliary) verb that precedes the main verb ( for example: can, is, are, was, were, will, would...), add the question word and invert the subject and the helping (auxiliary) verb.
  Examples:
  He can speak Chinese. — What can he speak?
  They are leaving tonight. — When are they leaving?
• If you ask about the predicate and there is no helping (auxiliary) verb and the verb is "to be", simply add the question verb and invert the subject and the verb.
  Example:
  The play was interesting. — How was the play?
• If there is no helping (auxiliary) verb in the the predicate and the main verb is not "to be", add the auxiliary "do" in the appropriate form.
  Examples:
  They go to the movies every Saturday. — Where do they go every Saturday?
  He wakes up early. — When does he wake up?
  They sent a letter. — What did they send?

Grammar Exercises - Wh questions

Choose the correct question words

1.                             Who              Which              Whose              Where              When              What              Why              How             do you live? - I live in London.
2.                             Who              Which              Whose              Where              When              What              Why              How             's that girl? - She's my sister.
3.                             Who              Which              Whose              Where              When              What              Why              How             do you go to school? - By bus.
4.                             Who              Which              Whose              Where              When              What              Why              How             do banks open? - At eight O'clock.
5.                             Who              Which              Whose              Where              When              What              Why              How             are you wearing that coat? - Because it's hot!

Write question about the words in bold.

Example:
He drank juice. - What did he drink?

1. They went to Spain.
   
2. He writes novels.
   
3. Lacy likes soccer
   
4. The girls watched a serial.
   
5. He discovered the truth.
   

Grammar Exercise - Question Words

Choose the correct question word

1.                         Who     When            Where            Whose           are you going tomorrow?
2.                         Who     How            Which            Whose           are you traveling?
3.                         What     Who            Which            Why              would you like to have for dessert?
4.                         Who     Why            Which            Where           are you crying ?
5.                         What     Who            Which            When           one do you like?
6.                         Which     How            Where            When           do you feel today?
7.                         Why     What            When            Whose           time are leaving?
8.                         Who     Why            How            Whose              book is this?
9.                  How            Who            What            Where           has broken this vase?
10.                         What     Who            Why            Where           don't you see a doctor?

Grammar Exercises - Wh questions

 Answer

1. Where do you live?
2. who 's that girl?
3. How do you go to school?
4. When do banks open?
5. Why are you wearing that coat?

Write questions about the words in bold.

1. They went to Spain. - Where did they go?
2. He writes novels. - What does he write?
3. Lacy likes soccer. - Who likes soccer?
4. The girls watched a serial. - What did the girls watch?
5. He discovered the truth - What did he discover?

Grammar Exercise - Question Words

  Answer

1. Where are you going tomorrow?
2. How are you traveling?
3. What would you like to have for dessert?
4. Why are you crying ?
5. Which one do you like?
6. How do you feel today?
7. What time are leaving?
8. Whose book is this?
9. Who has broken this vase?
10. Why don't you see a doctor?

Expressing Purpose

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Purpose with to, in order to and so as to

Use to , so as to, and in order to to express purpose in the affirmative form.
Examples:

• He is looking for a part time job to save some pocket money.
• She wakes up early in order to be on time to work.
• They visited him so as to offer their condolences for the death of his wife.

Use so as not to and in order not to to express purpose in the negative form.
Examples:

• They woke up early in order not to be late.
• She exercises regularly so as not to get fat.
• He helped the new policewoman so as not to fail in her first mission.

Purpose with so that

You can also express purpose with so that. In this case you generally need to use a modal.
Examples:

• He turned down the music so that he wouldn't disturb the neighbors.
• He got a visa so that he can travel to the USA.
• He decided to stay in England for a while so that he could practice his English.

Purpose with for

Purpose can be also expressed by using for. For may be followed by either a noun or a verb + ing.
Examples:

• I stopped there for a chat.
• This mop is for cleaning the floor.

Grammar Exercise - Expressing Purpose

Choose the correct expression of purpose.

1. Concentrate on your exercise                         so as not to            to            so that           make any mistakes.
2. You have to wake up                               to               in order not to               so that              be on time.
3. You have to register                         in order to            so as not to            so that              participate in the forum.
4. She left work early                         so as not to            to            so that              be at home when he arrives.
5. Ships carry life boats                         so as not to            so as to            so that              the crew can escape when the ship sinks.
6. I will go to university                         in order not to            to            so that              continue my studies.
7. He exercises regularly                         in order to            in order not to            so that           be overweight.
8.                         So as not to            To            So that           you can produce a good essay, you need to edit your writing before you hand it in.
9. She works hard                         so as to            in order not to            so that           she can earn a living.
10. These men risk their lives                         to            not to            so that              we may live more safely.

Choose the correct expression of purpose..

1. Concentrate on your exercise so as not to make any mistakes.
2. You have to wake up to on time.
3. You have to registrate in order to participate in the forum.
4. She left work early to be at home when he arrives.
5. Ships carry life boats so that the crew can escape when the ship sinks.
6. I will go to university to continue my studies.
7. He exercises regularly In order not to be overweight.
8. So that you can produce a good essay, you need to edit your writing before you hand it in.
9. she works hard so that she can earn a living.
10. These men risk their lives so that we may live more safely.

Parallelism

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Definition of parallelism

The balance between two or more similar words, phrases or clauses is called parallelism in grammar. Parallelism is also called parallel structure or parallel construction. Parallel construction prevents awkwardness, promotes clarity and improves writing style and readability.

Examples:

• Nancy likes playing the piano, the trumpet and play the guitar. 
  Nancy likes the piano, the trumpet and the guitar.
  Nancy likes playing the piano, the trumpet and the guitar.
• She played basketball, had a shower and gone to school.
  She played basketball, had a shower and went to school. 
• You can apply to the job by filling this form or apply by telephone.
  You can apply to the job by filling this form or you can apply by telephone.

Rules of parallelism

1. Parallelism is used to balance nouns with nouns, prepositional phrases with prepositional phrases, participles with participles, infinitives with infinitives, clauses with clauses.
2. Parallelism is used with elements joined by coordinating conjunctions.
   My mother likes cooking and to read.
   My mother likes cooking and reading 
3. Parallelism is used with elements in lists or in a series.
   This task can be done individually, in pairs, or can be done in groups of four. 
   This task can be done individually, in pairs, or in groups of four.
4. Parallelism is used with elements being compared.
   She is mad about watching TV more than to read a book .
   She is mad about watching TV more than reading a book. 
5. Parallelism is used with elements joined by a linking verb or a form of be
   To learn is understanding the world. 
   To learn is to understand the world. 
6. Parallelism is used with elements joined by linking words.
   The teacher not only wants his students to keep quiet but also to do the task . 
   The teacher wants his students not only to keep quiet but also to do the task .

Exercise - Parallelism

Choose the right parallel structure

1. Tom has                         a beautiful wife, a big house and he has  lovely children.            a beautiful wife, a big house and  lovely children.          
2. Complaints were made by                         teachers and administrators also.            teachers and administrators.          
3. I learned                         to be attentive to my teachers and to do my homework.             to be attentive to my teachers and I do my homework.              
4. She was known                         for her beauty and generous.            for her beauty and generosity.          
5. This is what I want:                         to study hard, to get the best grades and getting a good job when I graduate.            to study hard, to get the best grades and to get a good job when I graduate.          
6. I advise you                         to sleep early, eat healthy food and exercise regularly.            to sleep early, eat healthy food and to exercise regularly.          
7. I hate                         washing the linen by hand and to cook.            washing the linen by hand and cooking.          
8. I consider your behavior                           rude, irresponsible, and I think it is offensive.            rude, irresponsible, and offensive.             
9. She decided to                         forget about her ex-boyfreind, start a new relationship and work hard on her project.            forget about her ex-boyfreind, start a new relationship and to work hard on her project.             
10. To apply to this job you need                         to have university degree in linguistics and five year experience as an interpreter.            to have university degree in linguistics and having five year experience as an interpreter.          

Choose the right parallel structure

1. Tom has a beautiful wife, a big house and lovely children.
2. Complaints were made by teachers and administrators. 
3. I learned to be attentive to my teachers and to do my homework.
4. She was known for her beauty and generosity
5. This is what I want: to study hard, to get the best grades and to get a good job when I graduate.
6. I advise you to sleep early, eat healthy food and exercise regularly.
7. I hate washing the linen by hand and cooking.
8. I consider your behavior rude, irresponsible, and offensive.
9. She decided to forget about her ex-boyfreind, start a new relationship and work hard on her project.
10. To apply to this job to have university degree in linguistics and five year experience as an interpreter.