Alternative questions

Is there a newspaper or a magazine on the table? — A magazine.

Are there good films on TV tonight or tomorrow? — Tonight.

Exercise 30. Ask alternative questions with the following words. Give answers.

Example: A film / a concert / at the club tonight? — Is there a film or a concert at the club tonight? — There’s a concert at the club tonight.

1. Tea / coffee / in the pot?

2. Any interesting sights / in the city centre / on the outskirts?

3. Chairs / armchairs / in the sitting room?

4. Photos / posters / on the walls in her room?

5. A football match / a hockey match / on TV this weekend?

6. Books / on the shelves / on the table?

Special questions

What	is	there	in your bag? — Two books and a pencil.
How many girls	are		in your group? — Only three.
How much furniture	is		in your flat? — Not much.
What kind of (books)	are		in the library? — On different subjects.

NOTE: You can’t ask Where is/are there...?

There’s always a lot of traffic in the centre.

Where is always much traffic? — In the centre.

Exercise 31. Complete the sentences.

Example: How much money is there on you? — Only 10$.

How many people are there at your party? — Twelve.

What is there on the chair? — My clothes.

1. ___ ___ dollars ___ ___ in your wallet? — 25$.

2. ___ ___ ___ on the floor? — My shoe.

3. ___ ___ furniture ___ ___ in your flat? — Not much.

4. ___ ___ ___ in your pencil case? — Some colour pencils and a pen.

5. ___ ___ apple trees ___ ___ in your garden?

6. ___ ___ money ___ ___ in his bank account? — Quite a lot, I think.

Exercise 32. Ask general questions and “How much / many ...” questions. Give short negative answers.

Example: books on the shelf? — Are there any books on the shelf?

— How many books are there on the shelf? — There aren’t any.

1. letters for me?

2. money on you?

3. restaurants in the park?

4. clothes in the wardrobe?

5. people in the street?

6. butter in the fridge?

7. furniture in the room?

8. supermarkets on the outskirts?

Exercise 33. Ask questions about the information in italics.

Example: There are some good hotels in London. — What kind of hotels are there in London?

There are two armchairs in the room. Where are the armchairs?

1. Yes, there are some very cheap restaurants in Soho in London.

2. There’s a telephone near here.

3. There are a lot of beautiful parks in Moscow.

4. There’s a bottle of sparkling water in the fridge.

5. No, there aren’t many high buildings in my home town.

6. There’s a man at the door.

7. There are only four major TV channels in Britain.

Exercise 34. Put in there or it.

Remember: There’s a train at 9.30. It’s a fast train. (It = the 9.30 train)

There’s a lot of sugar in this cake. It’s too sweet. (It = this cake)

1. — ___ (a) is a good programme on TV tonight. ___ (b) is about computers.

— I’m not interested in computers. Is ___ (c) a long programme?

— No, only half an hour. Why?

— Because ___ (b) is another programme I want to watch at 10.30.

2. — Excuse me, is ___ (a) a bank near here?

— Yes, ___ (b) is one on the corner of Broad Street.

— Is ___ (c) open at lunchtime?

— Yes, I think so.

3. — This is a new Chinese restaurant.

— Is ___ (a) expensive?

— I don’t think so. Look, ___ (b) is an empty table. Let’s go in.