At School
Primary 3 · English
At School
Lesson 3 of 3
12 min
Let's begin
Umutoni is new in the class. She does not know the name of the girl sitting beside her, and she cannot find her own ruler anywhere.
She feels shy. But she only needs two small words to fix both problems.
Today you will learn to ask questions — and to ask for things so kindly that people are happy to help you.
Umutoni looks at the girl beside her and asks:
Who is that? → "That is Keza."
Then she picks something up from the desk and asks:
What is this? → "This is a ruler."
Then she looks for her own ruler and asks:
Where is my ruler? → "It is under your chair."
Now look at what each question word went hunting for:
Answer with a whole sentence when you can. It sounds much better:
Small place words help you answer a Where question: on the desk, in my bag, under the chair, near the door.
This is close to you — close enough to touch. That is further away — you have to point at it.
So the ruler in your hand is this, and the boy across the room is that.
Look at these two sentences side by side:
Asking → ? Telling → . Never forget the question mark; it is the little hook that shows you are waiting for an answer.
Byiringiro's pencil snaps in half. He needs to borrow Keza's pencil.
He does not say Give me your pencil. — that sounds like an order to a stranger. Instead he says:
May I borrow your pencil, please?
Keza smiles. "Yes, of course. Here you are."
And Byiringiro says: "Thank you."
Two shapes will carry almost every polite request you ever need:
Use May I when you want to do something. Use Can you when you want somebody else to do something.
Both end with a question mark, because you are asking, not telling.
Tip
Three question words, three hunts:
And when you want something: begin with May I, finish with please?
Think first, then tap Show answer to check.
Your friend answers, "That is Habimana." What question did you ask?
Answer: Who is that? Habimana is a person, so the question word is Who.
Your friend answers, "It is in my bag." What question did you ask?
Answer: Something like Where is my pencil? The answer names a place, so the question started with Where.
You are thirsty and you want to leave the classroom to drink water. Ask politely.
Answer: May I go out and drink water, please? You want to do it yourself, so you begin with May I.
Full stop or question mark? Where is the chalk ___ and Close the door ___
Answer: Where is the chalk? (asking) and Close the door. (telling)
You are holding a rubber in your hand and you want to know its English name. Do you ask "What is this?" or "What is that?"
Answer: What is this? — it is in your hand, so it is close to you.
What you learned today
Quick check
You want to know the name of a boy across the room. What do you ask?
