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What size are these boots? What questions for shopping

What questions for shopping are the heart of this A1 ESL lesson plan, set at a yard sale.

Grammar
What + noun + is or are (What color is it? What size are they? What kind of books are they?), a pair of with jeans and boots, and the verbs fit and cost.
Topic
Shopping at the 127 Yard Sale, about 690 miles of yard sales from Michigan to Alabama every August, with words such as cheap, bargain, size and sign.
Activities
A yard sale poster to read, a dialogue about cowboy boots and a voicemail, self-checking drills, a chat with a seller, buy-and-sell role-plays and a for-sale post to write.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Hello, yard sale!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: at the yard saleVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: 690 miles of yard sales

    • Look at the photo: the 127 Yard SalePictureUnlock
    • Read the posterReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: cowboy boots!

    • Listen to Olivia and TundeListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to a voicemail from GraceListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen to Grace and choose the right wordChoose the optionUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: What size are they?

    • Study the scheme: What color is it?Grammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right wordChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: questions with What, fit and costFill in the gapsTry it
    • Drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: buy and sell!

    • Choose the right replies: buy at a yard saleChatTry it
    • Open a box and play: buy and sell at a yard saleOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Write a post: things for saleWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record a voice message: at a yard saleSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

25 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Shopping vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • sign
  • old
  • cheap
  • bargain
  • sunglasses
  • jeans
  • size

Grammar: what questions and a pair of

Shoppers ask about things with What and a noun: What color…?, What size…?, What kind of…? At yard sales from Michigan to Alabama, learners build these what questions, pick is or are by counting the things, name one item of jeans or boots with a pair of, and say what fits and what it costs.

What color is it? What size are they?

Ask about things with What + a noun (color, size, kind of, time) + is or are.

One thing: What + noun + is

The noun follows What directly, then come is and the thing: What color is it? What size is this T-shirt? What kind of book is it? As in every question with be, the verb goes before it.

Whatcolor / size / kind of …isit / the lamp?

What color is it?

What size is this T-shirt?

What kind of book is it?

Two or more: What + noun + are

Plural things and pair words take are: What color are they? What size are these boots? Answers match the question, It's white for the lamp and They're brown for the boots, or give just the size: Size 8. Medium.

Two or more, and pairs: What + noun + are

Whatcolor / size / kind of …arethey / these boots?

What color are they?

What size are these boots?

What kind of books are they?

Ask and answer

QuestionAnswer
What color is the lamp?It's white.
What color are the boots?They're brown.
What size are your shoes?Size 8.
What size is the T-shirt?Medium.
What kind of books are they?They're picture books.
What time is it?It's nine o'clock.
How much is it? / How much are they?It's $5. / They're $5.

is or are with a pair of

Jeans, pants and sunglasses always end in -s and take are: These jeans are blue. One item is a pair of + the -s word, and it takes is: A pair of jeans is $6. Never a jean.

is or are?

is: one thing

  • this hat
  • the lamp
  • a pair of jeans
  • a pair of boots

are: two or more, and pair words

  • these hats
  • jeans, pants
  • boots, sneakers, shoes
  • sunglasses

a pair of

jeans, pants, sunglasses always end in -s: These jeans are blue. (Not: a jean.) boots, sneakers, shoes come in twos. One = a pair of + the -s word: a pair of jeans, a pair of shoes. A pair of jeans is $6.

fit, cost and What kind of…?

Fit means the right size for you: These boots fit. This jacket doesn't fit. Cost gives the price, as in The lamp costs $4, and kind of means type of: What kind of books are they? Picture books.

fit and cost

  • This T-shirt fits. These boots fit.= the right size for you
  • This jacket doesn't fit. It's very big.
  • The lamp costs $4. The sunglasses cost $3.
  • How much are they? = How much do they cost?

What kind of …?

kind of = type of. What kind of books are they? – Picture books. What kind of music do you like? – Pop.

Common mistakes

  • What color it is?

    What color is it?

    questions: is before it

  • What size is these boots?

    What size are these boots?

    two or more: are

  • I'd like a jean.

    I'd like a pair of jeans.

    jeans: always -s

  • It's a pair of shoe.

    It's a pair of shoes.

    a pair of + the -s word

More lessons on this grammar: Questions lessons and exercises

Try the what questions exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 11 auto-checked exercises
  • 3 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • ask about things with What + a noun: What color is it? What kind of books are they?
  • choose is for one thing and are for two or more: What size is the T-shirt? What size are these boots?
  • use a pair of with words that always end in -s: a pair of jeans, a pair of sunglasses
  • buy and sell at a yard sale with fit, cost and It's a bargain!

Lesson 3 comes third in Shopping, the first unit of English A1.2 · Out and About. It builds on lessons 1 and 2, whose -s and doesn't come back in It fits and It doesn't fit, and on lesson 11 of English A1.1 · Hello, World, where How much is…? and How much are…? asked about prices. At a yard sale, buyers ask about one used thing after another, so What color…? and What size…? have a real job.

After a spin wheel about colors, sizes and old things, students learn ten words with pictures and audio, from fit and cost to bargain and sunglasses. The poster sums up the 127 Yard Sale: four days, six states, and families selling old things, clothes and toys in front of their houses. Students hear Olivia and Tunde talk about a pair of cowboy boots (an AI-voiced dialogue), then his mom's voicemail. The scheme is followed by four exercises that check themselves: choosing the right word, a gap-fill of questions with What, fit and cost, a drag-and-drop of color, size, kind, time and day, and a choice of the right sentence. In the speaking chapter, students message a seller to buy jeans and sunglasses, then play buyer and seller from open boxes.

Homework checks itself first, with sentences to unjumble and words to match, and then asks for a for-sale post about three of the student's things and a voice message from a yard sale, both for the teacher to review.

Grammar:
What + noun questions · What color / size / kind of…? · is or are · a pair of
Topic:
127 Yard Sale · yard sales · shopping · clothes · buying and selling

Teaching tips

  • Hold a classroom yard sale: students put two or three of their own things on a desk, and buyers ask What color is it?, What size is it? and How much is it?
  • Sort nouns into is and are before the drills: lamp, T-shirt, boots, sunglasses, then a pair of jeans, which goes with is.
  • Pause the dialogue after each What question and let students guess the answer before Tunde gives it: the things on his mom's table, the color of the boots, their size.
  • Show a pair of sunglasses or gloves to explain why a pair of is one thing, then ask What color are they? and How much is this pair?

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The whole course: English A1.2 · Out and About

32 lessons that pick up where English A1.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present simple with he and she to was and were. Eight units cover shopping, the weather, getting around, celebrations, health, animals and nature, jobs and weekends. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Shopping

    clothes and colors, he and she in the present simple, sizes and prices, paying in a store

    1. Lesson 1What does she wear on Aloha Friday?Present simple with he, she and it
    2. Lesson 2A basket on wheels?Present simple negatives with don't and doesn't
    3. Lesson 3 · you're hereWhat size are these boots?What questions and a pair of
    4. Lesson 4Can I try it on? The Santa Fe Indian MarketRequests and permission with Can I and Can you

  2. Unit 2 Weather and seasons

    the weather, seasons and months, the present continuous, how often it rains or snows

    1. Lesson 5Is the Windy City windy?Weather adjectives with It's
    2. Lesson 6Does it rain in the desert?Yes/no questions with does
    3. Lesson 7Baseball at midnight?The present continuous for now
    4. Lesson 8Is it always windy on Mount Washington?Adverbs of frequency and their place

  3. Unit 3 Getting around

    transport, timetables, where places are, tickets with want and need

    1. Lesson 9How do you get to work?By + transport, take the bus and on foot
    2. Lesson 10What time does the ferry leave?Wh- questions with does
    3. Lesson 11Where's the streetcar stop?Between, behind, in front of and across from
    4. Lesson 12Do you need a ticket?Want and need with a noun

  4. Unit 4 Celebrations

    dates and holidays, in and on, party invitations, object pronouns

    1. Lesson 13Why is it called Juneteenth?Ordinal numbers for saying dates
    2. Lesson 14Never on a Sunday? The Rose ParadeIn, on and at for dates and times
    3. Lesson 15Come to our Lunar New Year party!Some and any with plural nouns
    4. Lesson 16Thank you, teacher!Object pronouns me, you, him, her, it, us and them

  5. Unit 5 Healthy me

    the body, how often, at the pharmacy, steps with first and then

    1. Lesson 17Does your back hurt?Hurt and hurts with parts of the body
    2. Lesson 18How often do you walk?How often questions and expressions of frequency
    3. Lesson 19What's the matter?Have and has for health problems
    4. Lesson 20Clean hands in five stepsSequence words with imperatives

  6. Unit 6 Animals and nature

    there is and there are, what animals are doing, parks, a, an and the

    1. Lesson 21Which frog sings its name?There is and there are for what's in a place
    2. Lesson 22What's the bear doing now?Present continuous questions and negatives
    3. Lesson 23Are there any horses on the beach?Questions with is there and are there any
    4. Lesson 24Where do the baby turtles go?A, an and the for first and second mention

  7. Unit 7 Jobs people do

    jobs and workplaces, the present simple and continuous, job interviews, possessive pronouns

    1. Lesson 25Who makes the sounds in movies?Present simple vs present continuous
    2. Lesson 26Nurses on horses?At, in and on with workplaces
    3. Lesson 27Can you be a lifeguard?Verbs with prepositions
    4. Lesson 28Whose hat is this?Possessive pronouns from mine to theirs

  8. Unit 8 Weekend stories and plans

    was and were, how long and how tall, and, but and or, camping food

    1. Lesson 29Why do we have two days off?Was and were, the past of be
    2. Lesson 30How long is a blue whale?How + adjective questions about size
    3. Lesson 31A cow made of butter?And, but and or for joining ideas
    4. Lesson 32What do you need for s'mores?Containers and quantities with of

Questions about this lesson

How do you use "what kind of" in English?
What kind of asks about the type of something: What kind of books are they? Picture books. The noun can be singular or plural, and be agrees with it: What kind of book is it? With other verbs, add do: What kind of music do you like? Pop. In the A1 lesson What size are these boots? on edio.ai, a dialogue asks what kind of things are on a yard sale table.
How do you make questions with what?
A what question starts with What, often followed by a noun, then the verb and the subject: What color is it? What size are these boots? With be, the verb comes before the subject; with other verbs, add do or does: What kind of music do you like? What alone asks about a thing (What is it?), and What time is it? asks the time.
How do you ask "What color is it?" and answer it?
Ask What color is it? about one thing and What color are they? about two or more, then answer with It's or They're and the color: It's white. They're brown. Keep is before it: What color it is? is a common mistake. In the dialogue of What size are these boots? on edio.ai, Olivia asks What color are they? about a pair of cowboy boots.
When do you use "a pair of"?
A pair of counts things that come in twos, like boots and shoes, and words that always end in -s, like jeans and sunglasses. The noun keeps its -s, but the phrase is one item and takes is (A pair of jeans is $6.), while jeans alone takes are. A voicemail in the A1 lesson What size are these boots? on edio.ai says A pair of red sunglasses is a gift for her too.
Is it "What size is these boots?" or "What size are these boots?"
It's What size are these boots?, because boots is plural: plural nouns, these and those take are. One thing takes is: What size is this T-shirt? Count the pair as one, though, and is comes back: What size is this pair of boots? The answer is often just a number or a word: Size 8. Medium.
Is it "a jean" or "a pair of jeans"?
Say a pair of jeans or just jeans, never a jean, because the word for the pants is always plural. I'd like a pair of jeans, please. These jeans are blue. Pants, shorts and sunglasses work the same way: a pair of sunglasses, not a sunglass. In the chat of What size are these boots?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, Do you have a jean too? is a trap.
What shopping vocabulary do beginners need?
Beginners need words for prices, sizes and how good a deal is: cost, cheap, bargain, size, fit and old, with How much is it? and What size is it? to ask. A bargain is a good thing at a very low price. In What size are these boots? on edio.ai, these words come as cards with pictures and audio, along with yard sale, sign, sunglasses and jeans.
How do you ask about clothes sizes in English?
Ask What size is it? or What size are they?, and answer with a number or a word: Size 8. Medium. Large. To say whether something is the right size, use fit: This T-shirt fits. These boots fit. This jacket doesn't fit. It's very big. To ask about the other person, say What size are your shoes?
How do I teach what questions to beginners?
Start with real objects students can hold, so every question has an answer in the room: What color is it? What size is it? Bring in are with plurals and pair words next, then What kind of…? The yard sale lesson follows that order: a poster and a dialogue first, then the scheme and four drills, and finally a chat in which students ask a seller about sunglasses and jeans.
What's a good game for practicing what questions?
A buy-and-sell role-play works well: the seller holds a card such as a pair of jeans, blue, size 8, $7, and the buyer finds out the details with What color…?, What size…? and How much…? before saying It's a bargain! In this lesson, those cards are open boxes, and the last one asks students to sell a thing from their own bag.
What's good homework for practicing shopping vocabulary?
Good homework is a for-sale post about three of your own things, with the color, size and price of each: For sale! A pair of black boots, size 9. Only $12! A green lamp: $5. The homework of What size are these boots? on edio.ai opens with an unjumble and a word match that mark themselves, then asks for this post and a yard sale voice message, which the teacher reviews.
Are there interactive exercises for what questions?
Yes: gap-fills that turn word prompts into what questions check each answer. You can try four parts of What size are these boots?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, on this page with no account: the 127 Yard Sale poster, Olivia and Tunde's dialogue about cowboy boots, a gap-fill of questions with What, fit and cost, and a chat in which students buy from a yard sale seller. The rest stays locked, including the drag-and-drop.
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