You are here

Home » General English » Word on the Street » Snowdon

Snowdon Scene 2 - Language Focus

Rob talks to Stephen about different ways to use the word 'what'.

Watch the video and then try the activities below.

Task 1

Language Task

Match the beginnings and endings.

Exercise

Task 2

Language Task

Choose the right group for each expression.

Exercise

Download
PDF icon Download Support Pack (570KB)

Language level

Intermediate: B1

Comments

Stephane's picture Stephane replied on France

Good morning Learn English Team,

I don't understand why it's "what horrible soup" and no "what a horrible soup", it seems to be very difficult and subtle the difference between what a and what...

Thanks a lot,
Stéphane

Kirk's picture Kirk replied on Spain

Hello Stephane,

'soup' can be used as both a count and uncount noun. When it is uncount, we say 'what soup' and when it is used as a count noun, 'what a soup'.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

lenhatsang's picture lenhatsang replied on Vietnam

Hi learn English team.
can we say : "i wonder what time is the last train" ?
Thanks

Kirk's picture Kirk replied on Spain

Hello lenhatsang,

That is correct except that the word order should be 'I wonder what time the last train is'. Since this sentence is structured like a question, it has the word order of a reported question.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Sukie's picture Sukie replied on Japan

Hi there. I'm not sure if I can catch what Stephen said at the end of the video... Did he say "catch you next time"? Also, is this something like "see you later", the words you can say when parting with someone, and is it quite informal?

Thank you in advance.

Peter M.'s picture Peter M. replied on Poland

Hi Sukie,

The sentence is actually 'Chat to you next time' but 'Catch you later' or 'Catch you next time' would also be quite normal ways to finish the conversation. All of these are quite informal, as you say.

 

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Sukie's picture Sukie replied on Japan

Hi Peter

Ah, "chat to you"! I thought I heard something like "chat" but guessed I misheard it as I didn't know the expression "chat to you next time". Thank you!

Chat to you next time

fariba93's picture fariba93 replied on Iran

Hello learn English team,
How can I improve my speaking. my English speaking is poor and I want to improve it.
I know a lot of words but I can't make sentences. please help me.
Thanks a lot for this amazing website.

Kirk's picture Kirk replied on Spain

Hello fariba93,

Please see my response to philip thet Paing -- I'd recommend the same thing to you. Let us know how you get on!

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

spaceface's picture spaceface replied on Vietnam

So Peter is there any thing wrong if say: "What a wonderful holiday"?

Pages