A. Read the two questions below.

1. What is the most popular ice cream flavor in the U.S.?
2. Do you know what the most popular ice cream flavor in the U.S. is?

The two questions have the same meaning, but they are different grammatically. Question 2 has a noun clause. The noun clause is: what the most popular ice cream flavor in the U.S. is. It is the object of the verb know. Notice that question word order is not used in a noun clause. When people need information, they often begin questions with Do you know or Can you tell me. It is a polite way to ask questions. (By the way, the most popular ice cream flavor in the U.S. is vanilla.)

B. Rewrite the questions below. Begin each question with Do you know. The first one is done for you.

1. How long is the flight from London to Istanbul?
Do you know how long the flight from London to Istanbul is?
2. What is the most stolen car in the U.S.?
___________________________________________________________________
3. What is the capital of Brazil?
___________________________________________________________________
4. Who are the tallest people in the world?
___________________________________________________________________
5. How high is Mount Everest?
___________________________________________________________________
6. Why is the Los Angeles airport called LAX?
___________________________________________________________________
7. What is the world’s tallest animal?
___________________________________________________________________
8. What is the most popular soft drink in the world?
___________________________________________________________________

C. Ask a partner the questions that you wrote. Your partner will respond with the answers below.

1. It’s about 4 hours.
2. Two cars top the list: the Honda Civic and the Honda Accord.
3. It’s Brasilia.
4. The Dutch are the tallest people in the world.
5. It’s 8,848 meters high. (29,029 feet)
6. Every airport code has three letters. LA is for Los Angeles. The X doesn’t mean
anything.
7. It’s the giraffe.
8. It’s Coca-Cola. (Pepsi and Diet Coke are also popular.)

Answer Key
1. Do you know how long the flight from London to Istanbul is?
2. Do you know what the most commonly stolen car in the U.S. is?
3. Do you know what the capital of Brazil is?
4. Do you know who the tallest people in the world are?
5. Do you know why the Los Angeles airport is called LAX?
7. Do you know what the world’s tallest animal is?
8. Do you know what the most popular soft drink in the world is?

Copyright © 2017 Sandra Heyer. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.
Photo © Okea | Dreamstime.com. Reprinted with permission.