Are the questions given appropriate to the statement? (2)

[learning54]

Hi teachers,
In relation to the statement, 'The man was cold now, and very, very tired.', are these questions appropriate:
a) How was the man now?
b) How did he feel now?
c) What was the man like now?

Thanks in advance

[emsr2d2]

Hi teachers,
In relation to the statement, 'The man was cold now, and very, very tired.', are these questions appropriate:
a) How was the man now?
b) How did he feel now?
c) What was the man like now?

Thanks in advance

I think you might have trouble with these. As a native speaker, if I had not seen questions b) or c), I would have answered a) with "He was cold and very, very tired" because both of those are correct answers to "How was he?" The placement of "now" in the original statement is not helpful because in fact, presumably, the man is both cold and tired now.

Also, c) doesn't prompt "tired" as an answer. When you ask someone "What is/was he like?" they normally answer "He's very nice/friendly/horrible/rude" etc. It wouldn't be answered with "He's tired". That might be the response to "How is he?" (as you have put in the very first question).

There are only two statements about the man's condition yet you have asked three questions. I'm not sure what answers you were trying to elicit from the three questions.

My suggestions would be perhaps:

a) How did the temperature affect the man?
(It made him cold.)
OR
a) Was the man affected by the temperature?
(Yes, he was cold.)
b) Was he lively and energetic? (Yes/No and give further information)
(No, he was very, very tired.)
c) Do you think he was happy? (Extrapolate information)
No, I don't think he was happy.

[learning54]

I think you might have trouble with these. As a native speaker, if I had not seen questions b) or c), I would have answered a) with "He was cold and very, very tired" because both of those are correct answers to "How was he?" The placement of "now" in the original statement is not helpful because in fact, presumably, the man is both cold and tired now.

Also, c) doesn't prompt "tired" as an answer. When you ask someone "What is/was he like?" they normally answer "He's very nice/friendly/horrible/rude" etc. It wouldn't be answered with "He's tired". That might be the response to "How is he?" (as you have put in the very first question).

There are only two statements about the man's condition yet you have asked three questions. I'm not sure what answers you were trying to elicit from the three questions.

My suggestions would be perhaps:

a) How did the temperature affect the man?
(It made him cold.)
OR
a) Was the man affected by the temperature?
(Yes, he was cold.)
b) Was he lively and energetic? (Yes/No and give further information)
(No, he was very, very tired.)
c) Do you think he was happy? (Extrapolate information)
No, I don't think he was happy.

Hi,
Thanks a lot again.
Let me tell you what my idea about this exercises is.
The students have a CD to listen, never the text. I give them the questions in order to be answered with the listening.
Eg. What did he do, and what happened?
He ran into a tree and nearly broke his arm.

What is underlined and bold is what they are suppposed to write according to what they listen to on the CD. So I can't definitively change the answers because that's what they will listen to. My questions are usually 'wh-questions' though 'yes/no questions' are more than welcome. Do I make myself clear now?

L54

[5jj]

The problem as I see it is that you are obliged to ask not very natural questions in order to elicit too much factual information at one time. Is it really necessary to get all that information in one go? If so, then try: 'What happened after X (the previous occcurrence)?'

If you can't specify X, because that's the answer to the previous question, then consider elicting less information.'How did he hurt himself?' is a natural question, though 'He ran into a tree' and 'He nearly broke his arm' are both perfectly acceptable answers to that.

[learning54]

[QUOTE=5jj;857561]The problem as I see it is that you are obliged to ask not very natural questions in order to elicit too much factual information at one time. Is it really necessary to get all that information in one go? If so, then try: 'What happened after X (the previous occcurrence)?' That's a very good idea. Whenever I find that the questions are not very natural I'll do as you say.

If you can't specify X, because that's the answer to the previous question, then consider elicting less information.'How did he hurt himself?' is a natural question, though 'He ran into a tree' and 'He nearly broke his arm' are both perfectly acceptable answers to that.Thank you for this one too.[/QUOTE]

Hi,
Though I will post them, just to be sure.
L54