Conversation Questions and Activities to Aid in the Learning of English

Grammar Focus: Use of “to” 
Use ―to‖ to designate a place = I’m going 
to
 the store / 
to
 the beach / 
to
 my job / 
to
 work / 
to
 GPO.
You must specify the place. 
Do not use ―to‖ with: home, here, there, up-, down- NOT = I’m going to go 
to home / 
to there, etc
. 
Do not use ―to‖ with a gerund (verb + -ing) NOT = I like to swimming / to eating / to 
reading, etc. Do not use ―to‖ to designate a gerund. Not = I’m going to go 
to swimming 
/ to jogging / to shopping, etc
Use ―to‖ as part of many infinitives = I like 
to
 watch / 
to
 eat / 
to
 go / 
to
 dance / 
to
 sing,
etc. ―To‖ is used to designate a verb, if it’s the reason for the action = 
We are going to go 
to Colorado to ski. We are going to go to watch a move.
When not a reason, the ―to‖ is 
not necessary in such sentences = We are going to go (to) shop. We’re gonna go (to) eat 
now. Exception: ―We are going to go to sleep,‖ which would not normally mean the 
reason for going, but simply the act of sleeping. Using ―to‖ with infinitives is complex. 
See appendix p.111 for further discussion
.
 
3
The terms for secondary school or college are: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior. 

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Conversation Questions and Activities to Aid in the Learning of English 
Arranged according to tense, topic, and levels of difficulty 
By Prof. Mark McDowell, M.A. Mark’s ESL World ~ http://www.marksesl.com 
9 
13.
What time do you usually wake up?
“I usually wake up at seven o’clock / seven-thirty.”
4
 
 
14.
What are some things you do every morning? 
“Well, I take a shower, brush my teeth, and get dressed. After that, 
I usually have breakfast.” 
 
15.
What do you usually have for breakfast? 
“I usually have rice and kimchi. Once-in-a-while, I have bacon and 
eggs. I like scrambled eggs.”
5
 
 
 
16.
Explain
how articles are used.
6
 
17.
How do you go to work / school? 
“I walk.” / “I take the bus.” / “I drive my car.” 
 
18.
What is the first thing you do at work / school? 
“I usually clock-in
7
 / drink a cup of coffee / go to my first class / talk 
to some friends.” 
 
19.
What time do you have lunch at work [school]? 
“I have lunch at twelve o’clock / twelve-thirty.” 
 
20.
What do you usually like to have for lunch? 
4
Note: Only say ―o’clock‖ when the time is exactly on the hour: six o’clock, nine o’clock, but never six-
thirty o’clock. 
5
There are several ways to prepare eggs for breakfast: fried, sunny-side-up, basted, scrambled, over-easy, 
over-hard, pouched, and soft-boiled or hard-boiled. 
6