Good and taboo questions with irregular plurals

Good and taboo questions with irregular plurals

Ask each other questions from below, picking the most normal questions to ask a

classmate first. Your teacher will tell you which sections to look at (or if you can use all the

sections). Be careful to avoid taboo questions/ questions which are too personal.

Useful phrases for avoiding too personal questions
“I’d rather not say (if you don’t mind)”
“I’m afraid that’s a bit personal”

Ask about any questions which you don’t understand, can’t answer, are not sure if they are

taboo or not, etc, answering or refusing to answer them each time.

Without looking at the questions below, make as many good small talk questions as you

can out of the nouns on the following page, making them plural if the question needs it.

Find good questions in the list for nouns that you weren’t able to use, making sure that you

avoid taboo questions.

Test each other on the plurals by:

- saying the singular and plural and seeing if your partner can remember which one is

plural and repeat it back

- saying the singular and seeing if your partner can say the plural

- saying the plural and seeing if your partner can say the singular

Without looking at the questions below, make as many good small talk questions as you

can out of the nouns below, making them plural if the question needs it.

foot

man/ woman

person

child

tooth

mouse

wife/ housewife

fish

knife

loaf

thief

life

leaf

series

crisis

referendum

yourself

sheep

alumnus

aircraft

deer

wolf

goose

phenomenon

bacterium

biceps

species

louse/ headlouse

spacecraft

boar/ wild boar

salmon

criterium

grouse

calf

neurosis

faux pas

vertebra

rendezvous

Together try to remember the plural forms of all the words above.

p. 1

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2022

Suggested good and taboo questions with irregular plurals

1. I’d like to learn to dance but I have two left feet. Do you think it’s worth taking lessons?

2. What size are your feet?

3. How many different (wo)men have you dated?

4. Do you really think men are better at parking than women?

5. How many people are there in your family?

6. Would you like to have (more) children?
7. How often do you clean your teeth?

8. What do you think about mice as pets?

9. Should housewives be paid, do you think?

10. Have you ever had pet goldfish?

11. Those are nice knives. How much did they cost?

12. Those are nice knives. Where did you get them?
13. How many loaves of bread do you eat in a week?

14. Have you ever had thieves in your house?

15. Do your friends have more interesting lives than you?

16. Can you recommend anywhere good to see autumn leaves?
17. How many series of Game of Thrones have you seen?

18. Have you had any big crises recently?

19. How did you vote in the recent referenda?

20. Did you and your family enjoy yourselves on holiday?

21. Don’t you think that sheep are too cute to eat?

22. Do you keep in touch with any fellow alumni?

23. They seem to pack more and more people into aircraft, don’t you think?

24. What do you think about hunting deer?

25. I’m terrified about them reintroducing wild wolves. How about you?

26. Is that geese I can see flying past? Do geese migrate here too?
27. Have you ever seen any supernatural phenomena?

28. Do you really think this mask can block 99% of bacteria?

29. You’ve got great biceps. How did you get them?

30. What species of pet have you had?

31. Was there ever headlice in your primary school?

32. Do you think we’ll have the chance to live on spacecraft?

33. Are there wild boar in your country?

34. Do you agree that wild salmon taste nicer?

35. What are your criteria for a good husband or wife?

36. Would you shoot grouse if you had the chance?

37. Can you recommend an exercise to improve my calves?

38. Do you have any neuroses?

39. Are there any faux pas that I really should avoid when I visit your country?

40. Your vertebrae look out of line. Shall I give you a massage?

41. Do you have any romantic rendezvous lined up?

p. 2

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2022