English practice: everyday requests and offers
For a request, say Can you...? or Could you...?. To offer your help, say Can I...? or Shall I...?. For a familiar offer of food, drink, or a place to sit, use Do you want...? and listen for the reply.
Start with short recordings, then work through longer phrases. Listen once for the situation and again for the words.
For a request, say Can you...? or Could you...?. To offer your help, say Can I...? or Shall I...?. For a familiar offer of food, drink, or a place to sit, use Do you want...? and listen for the reply.
For a polite order, say Could I have ..., please? or I would like ..., please. To ask for information, use Does this contain ...? or What comes with ...?
For everyday details, say the number in the form that fits its job. Use ordinal numbers for dates, say times with o'clock, past, or to when useful, and add a.m., p.m., morning, or evening when the time could be unclear.
Use the past simple for a completed past action, such as The bus arrived late. Use the past continuous for an action in progress at a past time, such as We were waiting at the stop.
For most past simple questions, use did before the subject and the base verb after it. For a negative, use did not or didn't before the base verb. Say Did he leave? and He didn't leave, not Did he left? or He didn't left.
Use at for a point, in for an enclosed area, and on for a surface or line. Use to for a destination, into for entry, through for movement inside a space, and across for movement from one side to another.
Use at for a precise time, on for a day or date, and in for a longer period. Say at 8:00, on Monday, and in July.
Use the present simple for what usually happens or is generally true. Use am, is, or are plus a verb ending in -ing for what is happening now or for a temporary situation.
Use do with I, you, we, and they. Use does with he, she, it, and one person or thing. After do or does, use the base verb: Does Maya work here? Yes, she does.
For many English questions, use a question word if needed, then a helping verb, then the subject and main verb. Use be directly when be is the verb. Use do, does, or did when a simple present or past question has an ordinary verb.
Use a subject pronoun for the person or thing that does an action. Use an object pronoun after a verb or preposition when the action happens to that person or thing.
For everyday travel situations, use short polite questions. Can I, Where is, What time does, and I have a booking are useful patterns to learn first.