461. 25 Deceptively Difficult Questions (with Amber, Paul & Sarah)

461. 25 Deceptively Difficult Questions (with Amber, Paul & Sarah)

An episode about the tricky little questions that we use when socialising. What are the appropriate answers? What are the subtle differences? How do native speakers use these questions? Can you take the test and get all the right responses to my list of deceptively difficult questions?

Episode page: http://teacherluke.co.uk/2017/06/24/461-25-deceptively-difficult-questions-with-amber-paul-sarah/

Spoken offer: http://www.getspoken.com/lep

25 Deceptively Difficult Questions - Proper Introduction Transcript!

Hi everyone, This is an episode about social English, the kind of English you use when you’re socialising, particularly the little things you say when you greet someone or at the beginning of a conversation. There are many ways to say “hi” and also lots of ways to say “how are you?” or “what are you doing?” The tricky thing is being able to judge the subtle differences in the questions with the presence of auxiliary verbs or modals which change the meaning slightly from the past, to the present to the future or with slightly different levels of formality. I’d like to do a test in this episode today. I am going to test you, so get ready.

A Test

Here’s what’s going to happen. I’ve prepared a list of 25 questions. I’m going to read them to you in a moment. As I say each question, what I want you to do is to think really quickly and really naturally about the first thing you would normally say when you hear that question. What’s the first answer that comes into your mind? Let’s see if you answer correctly. To find out the proper answers we’re going to listen to me directing those questions at Amber, Paul and Sarah. Then you can listen out for how they answer them and the comments we make afterwards, which should explain these tricky little bits of English. Not only can you learn some essential social English in this episode, you can also hear plenty of humorous conversation between the four of us. Sarah’s baby is also there in the background. I’m sorry if this bothers anyone. I’ve removed some of those noises but a few are still there. I think it sounds fine and adds a bit of atmosphere and after all she is a very cute baby.

So, the test. Let’s get started.

Are you ready? Just give the first answer that comes to mind. Also, you should know that some of the questions are intentionally incorrect. So, if you hear a question which is grammatically wrong or just not used ever, you can say “wrong”. Ok, so, your quick answer to the question, or “wrong” if it’s incorrect. I’ll say the question once quickly, once slowly and once again quickly. Some of these questions may seem extremely simple - the point of this is the pragmatics of social English and how you should give certain stock answers to some questions. They get a bit harder as they go along. Also, you can try to repeat the questions too. They’re going to come pretty quick, so use the pause button if you want. Here we go. You might think these are easy, but that's why this is called 'deceptively' difficult questions. *4 questions are intentionally incorrect. Can you spot them?

  1. What are you doing?
  2. How are you doing?
  3. How’s it going?
  4. How are you going?
  5. What’s happening?
  6. What’s going on?
  7. What’s going down?
  8. What’s going up?
  9. What’s up?
  10. How do you do?
  11. How are you?
  12. How have you been?
  13. How have you been up to?
  14. What are you up to?
  15. What have you been up to?
  16. How long has it been?
  17. Can I use your phone?
  18. I can’t use your phone, can I?
  19. Do you mind if I open the window?
  20. You don’t mind if I open the window, do you?
  21. What are your plans for later?
  22. What are you up to later?
  23. Can you tell me where is the best bar in town?
  24. Do you know how long is it going to be?
  25. Would you be prepared to give me a 5% discount?

Ta = thanks You’re now going to hear all those questions and how Amber, Paul and Sarah will respond to them. See if you got them right or wrong! I’ll go through them again quickly at the end.

Listen to the whole episode for all the correct answers and explanations. Don't be a ninja! Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.

Cheers! Luke

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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929. Sarah Donnelly: The Only American In Paris 🇺🇸🇫🇷 US vs UK Accent Quiz

929. Sarah Donnelly: The Only American In Paris 🇺🇸🇫🇷 US vs UK Accent Quiz

Sarah Donnelly comes back onto LEP to catch up and to tell us about her stand-up special, now available to watch on YouTube, and to do a British English vs American English pronunciation quiz.Sarah’s show is called The Only American in Paris and we discuss some of the themes of the show - the real experience of being a US citizen living in Paris, the Netflix show Emily in Paris, cultural differences, learning French, plus a pronunciation quiz to help you compare UK and US English.📼 Watch Sarah's stand-up show here 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2_N_CRoRz0&ab_channel=SarahDonnelly @sarahdcomedy 📄 Get the episode PDF with quiz questions and full transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/929.-Sarah-Donnelly_-The-Only-American-In-Paris-US-vs-UK-Accent-Quiz.pdf🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/31/929-sarah-donnelly-the-only-american-in-paris/🏆 Sign up for LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

31 Maalis 20251h 21min

928. The Abduction 🛸 (Learn English with a Short Story)

928. The Abduction 🛸 (Learn English with a Short Story)

Learn English with another short story on Luke's English Podcast. This one is about a learner of English who has an extraordinary experience. Listen to me tell the story, and summarise it, then explain plenty of natural, commonly occurring, up-to-date English vocabulary.Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/24/928-the-abduction-learn-english-with-a-short-story/Get the PDF with transcript and vocabulary notes 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/928.-The-Abduction-Learn-English-with-a-Short-Story-1-1.pdf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Maalis 20251h 52min

927. Walk & Talk: Medieval Museum ⛫🦄 (with Amber, Paul & Kyle)

927. Walk & Talk: Medieval Museum ⛫🦄 (with Amber, Paul & Kyle)

Finally, it's here - the medieval museum episode with Amber & Paul. Join us as we visit the museum of the middle ages in Paris. Learn about the history of the middle ages, find out about some of the art and artefacts from that period, including some fantastic symbolic tapestries, sculptures and weapons, and have fun with a few jokes along the way.Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/17/927-walk-talk-medieval-museum-with-amber-paul-kyle/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17 Maalis 20251h 35min

926. Oral Storytelling Traditions and the Mental Health Benefits of Listening to Podcasts ☀️🎧

926. Oral Storytelling Traditions and the Mental Health Benefits of Listening to Podcasts ☀️🎧

The other day I was thinking about how podcasts must be good for your mental health, and how this could be connected to the tradition of collective oral communication which was the first form of mass media in most human civilisations, and how this has been central to human psychological and cultural development over the years. So, I made this podcast episode about it. Expect discussion of culture, history, psychology and communication, with plenty of vocabulary explained. Detailed PDF available.Get the PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/926.-Oral-Storytelling-Traditions-and-the-Mental-Health-Benefits-of-Listening-to-Podcasts.pdfEpisode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/11/926-oral-storytelling-traditions-and-the-mental-health-benefits-of-listening-to-podcasts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Maalis 20252h 3min

925. Walaa’s Experience in Syria - Walaa Mouma Returns (Part 2)

925. Walaa’s Experience in Syria - Walaa Mouma Returns (Part 2)

When Walaa was first on this podcast in episode 703 she talked about living in Syria as a student during the civil war (or people’s revolution) but at that time she felt she could not talk in detail about the situation. Now that the Assad regime is no longer in control of Syria, Walaa feels she can talk more candidly about what it was like to live near Damascus during those days. Walaa’s descriptions are both shocking and moving. This is the topic of this episode, which is part 2 of a two-part series.👉 Episode page on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/06/925-walaas-experience-in-syria-walaa-mouma-returns-part-2/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 Maalis 202553min

924. Walaa Mouma Returns (Part 1) 📚 PhD Studies in Wales & Teaching English for Refugees

924. Walaa Mouma Returns (Part 1) 📚 PhD Studies in Wales & Teaching English for Refugees

Walaa Mouma returns to the podcast after 4 years to give us an update about her academic studies and personal story, including getting married and moving to Wales, details of her PhD doctorate, as well as her other studies and volunteer work helping to teach English to refugees and asylum seekers. Walaa's passion for this work is inspired by her own personal story of learning English, seeking asylum in the UK and studying in the UK's academic system, which she first talked about in episode 703 of this podcast. Part 1 of a 2-part episode.Episode page with more information and links to Walaa's social media 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/03/924-walaa-mouma-returns-part-1-phd-studies-in-wales-teaching-english-for-refugees/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Maalis 20251h 18min

923. A Rambling Exercise for Fluency 🗣️ Late-Winter 2025 ❄️☀️

923. A Rambling Exercise for Fluency 🗣️ Late-Winter 2025 ❄️☀️

A rambling episode full of spontaneous speaking from me to you. Topics include; an exercise for you to practise your spoken fluency 🗣️, the benefits of extensive listening to spontaneous speech 🎧, overcoming mental blocks 🌳, the English of my daughter and raising our kids to be bilingual 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦, some reactions to recent episodes 🙉, some thoughts about upcoming content 🔮, some bird-related idioms 🐦, the phrasal verb "to follow through" including its rude meaning 💩 ...and more! PDF transcript available.Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/02/23/923-a-rambling-exercise-for-fluency-late-winter-2025/Get the PDF transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/923.-A-Rambling-Exercise-for-Fluency-_-Late-Winter-2025-Transcript.pdfLEP Premium info ℹ️ https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Helmi 20251h 19min

922. Words of the Year 📖 (with Amber)

922. Words of the Year 📖 (with Amber)

Amber joins me for a discussion of some words which reflect various cultural movements of the last 12 months or more. Learn some trending words and listen to discussions of topics such as the influence of online content on mental health, the Oasis concert ticket scandal, an exploration of the 'lore' of LEP, romantic fantasy books, the rise of AI and more. Includes a PDF with my episode notes and vocabulary lists.The Oxford Words of the Year is a shortlist of words chosen by OUP because they saw a significant increase in usage in 2024 and because they represent certain cultural moments of recent times.📄 Get the episode PDF here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/922.-Words-of-the-Year-with-Amber.pdfEpisode page on my website (with links for previous episodes) 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/02/17/922-words-of-the-year-with-amber/The Oxford Words of the Year (OUP website) 👉 https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/LEP Premium information ℹ️ https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfoSign into your premium account 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/accountSign up for LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17 Helmi 20251h 49min

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