Grammar
Questions: review
1. Read the passage.
In a small village in the north, there is a stilt house. In the house, a Tay family are living together: the grandparents called Dinh and Pu, the parents called Lai and Pha, and three children called Vang, Pao and Phong. Every day the grandparents stay at home to look after the house. Mr Lai and Mrs Pha work in the fields. They grow rice and other plants. Mrs Pha goes to the market twice a week to buy food for the family. Mr Lai sometimes goes hunting or cutting wood in the forests. Pao and Phong go to the primary school in the village, but Vang studies at the boarding school in the town about 15 kilometres away. He goes home at the weekend.
The family live simply and they enjoy their way of life. There are a few difficulties of course. But they say they live more happily in their stilt house than in a modern flat in the city.
2. Now write questions for these answers.
Example:
Answer → In the north.
Question → Where is the small village?
Answers:
1. A Tay family.
________________________________________?
2. Three children.
________________________________________?
3. Yes, they stay at home to look after the house.
________________________________________?
4. Twice a week.
________________________________________?
5. It is about 15 kilometres.
________________________________________?
6. At the weekend.
________________________________________?
7. They live happily.
________________________________________?
8. No. They like living in their stilt house.
________________________________________?
Look out!
Which is used instead of what or who to ask somebody to be exact about one or more people or things from a limited number:
• Which way leads to the town? This one.
• Which of you has to cook dinner? I do.
3. Complete the questions using the right question words.
1. A: is the class monitor?
B: Dan is.
2. A: __________ is the biggest house in this village?
B: The communal house (nha rong) is.
3. A: __________ do you think is the most interesting museum in Ha Noi?
B: The Museum of Ethnology.
4. A: __________ is more colourful, the Nung's or the Hoa's costume?
B: The Hoa's, of course.
5. A: __________ is the waterwheel used for?
B: It is used to get water to the fields.
4. Work in pairs. Make questions and answer them.
1. Who/ do/ shopping/ your family?
________________________________________
2. Who/ principal/ our school?
________________________________________
3. Which subject/ like better/ English/ Maths?
________________________________________
4. What/ most important festival/ Viet Nam?
________________________________________
5. Which ethnic group/ larger population/ Khmer/ Cham?
________________________________________
Articles: a, an, and the
a: - used before a countable singular noun:
Pao needs a costume for the festival.
- used to mean 'any, every':
A lion lives in the jungle..
an: - used instead of a before a noun beginning with a vowel sound:
There is an exhibition of Cham arts in the city.
the: - used before a noun that has already been mentioned or is easily understood:
There's a festival in my village. The festival is very old.
- used to refer to a noun that is the only, or obvious one of their kind:
The Kinh speak Vietnamese.
- used before superlative comparison of adjectives and adverbs:
The Odu have the smallest number of people.
Look out!Whether we use a or an depends on the sound, not the spelling. Be careful with the following: an hour/ an honest person a uniform/ a university |
5. Circle the correct article to finish the sentences.
1. Viet Nam is (a/ an/ the) multicultural country with 54 ethnic groups.
2. Among the ethnic minorities, (a/ an/ the) Tay have the largest population.
3. (A/ An/ The) ethnic minority people in the village are very friendly.
4. The Lao are one of (a/ an/ the) many Thai-speaking peoples.
5. The Lolo women's dress is among (a/ an/ the) most striking styles of clothing worn by ethnic peoples.
6. The Yao have (a/ an/ the) rich culture of folk literature and art, with tales, songs, and poems.
6. Insert a, an or the in each gap to finish the passage.
When you travel to a north-west mountainous region and you want to have (1) __________ great time, you can go to (2) __________ local open-air market. (3) __________ sight there is beautiful. Local people in colourful clothing are smiling as they sell or buy their local products. The goods there are diverse. You can buy all kinds of fruit and vegetables, which are fresh and cheap. You can also buy a nice costume of (4) __________ ethnic group you like. If you don't want to buy anything, just go round and enjoy looking. You can also taste some specialities of (5) __________ local people sold right there at the market. I am sure you will have (6) __________ unforgettable time.
