Board games. You love them or hate them. I personally love a good game night! Let’s look at question structures in English while we read the story of the missing Jenga game (Torres de Madera).
One of my good friends, Ben, and I decided to plan a game night last weekend. We invited a group of friends to come over to my apartment for a fun night of board games. Since I’m such a huge fan of playing games, I had at least ten games in my closet.
“Monica, do you have Settlers of Catan?” (1) my Chilean friend, Maria Jose, from Puerto Montt asked me when we were talking on the phone.
“Yes, it’s one of my favorite games!” I responded. “But I don’t have Monopoly. Will you please bring your Monopoly game?” (1)
Maria Jose responded, “Sure thing!”
Right after I got off the phone with Maria Jose, Ben Whatsapped me and asked, “How many people are gonna be at game night? (2) I’m gonna make some empanadas but I’m not sure how many to make.”
“About six, give or take” I wrote back. “Empanadas sound delicious! What kind are you gonna make? (2)” I asked.
“I’m not sure yet. If everyone eats meat, I’ll make Chilean beef empanadas (empanadas de pino),” Ben wrote back.
To make a long story short, game night was a huge hit! We all had a blast playing games, laughing, eating mouthwatering appetizers and drinking flavorful refreshments. Although, the next morning I couldn’t find my favorite Jenga game. It was nowhere to be found!
I asked myself, “What could’ve happened to my Jenga game?” (2) After I looked all over my apartment for it, I sent a group Whatsapp to find out if anyone had seen it or accidently taken it home.
I wrote, “Hey everyone! Thanks for a great game night 😊 Has anyone seen my Jenga game by chance? (1) I can’t seem to find it….
That’s when Raul immediately called me and said, “Hey, I have something to tell you about your Jenga game.”
I responded with curiosity and confusion, “What happened? (2) Is this a joke? (1) Or did I miss something last night?” (1)
“Well, when you went to the store to get some more ice for our drinks the concierge knocked on your apartment door to tell us she was going to fine you for being too loud. We apologized, explained that we were just playing board games and asked her to please not give you a fine.” Raul started to nervously tell me the story.
He continued, "then she asked, "what games are you playing?" (2) We told her all the games we were playing and she seemed to be particularly interested in the Jenga game.”
She said to us, “Well, my nephew’s birthday is tomorrow and his favorite game is Jenga. I have to work all day tomorrow and I’m not going to get a chance to buy him a present before his birthday party. If you give me the Jenga game then I won’t give Monica a fine. Does that sound like a deal?” (1)
“Raul, did you really give my favorite Jenga game to the concierge?!” (1) I asked in disbelief.
There was a long pause before he sheepishly responded, “Yeah. We did. I’m sorry. We were planning on getting you a new one today and telling you the whole story but you noticed the game was missing sooner than we expected.”
I thought about the scenario and laughed to myself. What a crazy story! I said, “Don’t worry about it, Raul. If everyone can contribute to buying a new Jenga game then that's fine with me."
Raul breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Of course, we’ll buy you a new Jenga game!”
Right before I said good-bye, I asked Raul, “Hey, I have one more question. Has anyone seen my microwave?” (1)
Raul paused for a long time and finally said, “Yeah, about that….”
1. Yes/No questions: the answer is “yes" or "no”
[auxiliary verb (be,do,have)] + [subject] + [main verb] + [other information]+?
Do you like dogs?
Did you see the movie?
Will she eat lunch there?
Have you been to Thailand?
Has he seen my sister?
Is she coming over tonight?
Note: these can also be made into “choice” questions. For example, “Do you like chocolate or mango ice cream?”
2. Information questions: “How” and “Wh” questions (who, what, where, when, why, how, how much, how many, how often, etc)
[“Wh” question word or "How" phrase] + [auxiliary verb] + [subject] + [main verb] + [other info]+?
Where does she work?
When will they have the meeting?
Why did he go to the store?
Who has she interviewed?
What do you do for a living?
How is she going to paint the house?
What other topics do you want to learn about?! Write in the comments below or write me monicajones4276@gmail.com or @monicayourprofe and let me know!