In-Depth Tips from Dr English

doceng3 Dr English is the resident expert in language and communication training at Workplace English Training E-Platform (WETE). The informative and often in-depth articles below will help more advanced learners to understand and improve various aspects of their English, especially the English they need for work. You can read Dr English's tips on your PC, laptop or mobile device. These articles are only available for members of WETE. If you would like to subscribe and receive email notifications of future postings, please subscribe by clicking the Newsletter link above.

Questioning Techniques: 5 Types of Question Structures

23 Apr 2024

questions Within the English language, there are five kinds of common question structures. These are as follows:

Open questions

What/What sort of .…..?

Could you tell me…...?

I 'd be interested to know if/whether…...?

How/Why did you …...?

These are called open questions because we don't know what the answer will be. The number of possible answers is infinite.

Closed questions

Is there...?

Did you...?

Are you going to…?

These questions are seeking a Yes/No answer. The number of answers is limited to two possibilities. These questions are commonly used to get a definitive answer, although they are not good question structures for developing a conversation.

Leading questions

Shouldn't we...?

There isn't..., is there?

These questions force an answer in a certain direction. You have your own opinion of what you think is correct or you want to get a certain answer, so the question structure tries to force the listener to agree with you, yet it is still a question.

Probing questions

What exactly do you mean by...?

May I know more about ……?

Could you go into more detail about .......?

These questions are seeking further information on the topic being discussed. They are commonly used for interviewing people or in meetings/discussions to extract further information.

Reflective questions

So you're worried about…….....?

If I understand you correctly, you mean….………..

I 'm not sure I really understand...

These questions support the person answering. They show that you have been listening and appreciate the point that is being made; they help you to clarify the answer.

Overall, all these question structures are commonly found in English language, although, obviously, open, closed and probing questions are the most commonly used in everyday speech. Probing, leading and reflective questions can also be commonly used in business throughout meetings and discussions.

Knowing When to Use the Passive Voice

09 Apr 2024

writing If you use a grammar-check feature, your sentences probably get flagged at times for a fault called “Passive Voice.” This flag is typically accompanied by advice to “Consider rewriting with an active voice verb.”

Is this fault serious? No! In fact, our grammar-checker has already flagged three of our sentences at the beginning of this Business Writing Tip, and we aren’t worried a bit.

We aren’t worried, but we do pay attention. That’s because there is a lot of good advice about limiting the use of passive verbs. For instance, we are told to change:

“The surface should be primed” (passive)

to

“Prime the surface” (active).

This change makes sense. Readers need precise instructions.

“Your gift is appreciated” (passive)

to

“We appreciate your gift” (active).

This is another fine suggestion. “Is appreciated” sounds impersonal, whereas “We appreciate” feels warm.

When we make these changes, we are replacing wordy, vague phrases with concise, direct words. That’s excellent.

But there are four places where passive verbs fit just right:

1. When you don’t know who performed the action.

Passive:

Her car was stolen twice.

Not:

Someone stole her car twice.

2. When it doesn’t matter who performs the action.

Passive:

The boards are pre-cut.

Not:

A worker pre-cuts the boards.

3. When we want to avoid blaming someone.

Passive:

The drawings were lost.

Not:

Andy lost the drawings.

4. When we want to soften a directive.

Passive:

This paragraph could be shortened.

Not:

Shorten this paragraph.

Passive verbs are perfect in these four instances. Likewise, the passive verbs in our opening sentences also work well (“get flagged” and “is typically accompanied”).

Know where passives verbs belong, and you won’t be intimidated by your grammar-check software again. Our grammar-checker just flagged the previous sentence, but we know the passive verb there suits our purpose and sounds just right!