Changing Nationalities?
Eight famous Americans who are also something else: Greek, Mexican, German, Canadian, Austrian, South African, Slovenian, Pakistani. Two passports each — and the perfect excuse to learn Is he…? and Yes, he is.
Warm-up
Guess. Half of these surprise everybody. Tap a card when you have answered it.
Two passports, two nationalities. Today's people are all American — and also something else. By the end you will be asking me questions instead of answering them.
Useful language
Eight more nationalities
Click a country, then click its nationality. Correct pairs turn green. The audio button says both words.
Country or nationality?
Read the other sentence first — it tells you the answer. Click a word, then click a gap.
Maria is from
_____. She is Greek.
Ahmed is
_____. He is from Pakistan.
Peter is
_____. He comes from Austria.
Juan is from
_____. He is Mexican.
Thabo is from South Africa. He is
_____.
Ana is from Slovenia. She is
_____.
Emma is from
_____. She is Canadian.
Lukas is from Germany. He is
_____.
They are American and…
Eight famous people with two nationalities. The audio button reads each one aloud.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are American, and they are also Greek. Greece gave them passports in 2020, after they helped the country with a big fire.
Salma Hayek is American and Mexican. She isn't from Los Angeles — she's from Veracruz, in Mexico, and her first movies are in Spanish.
Sandra Bullock is American and German. Her mother is from Germany, so Sandra has two passports and she speaks German very well.
Jim Carrey is American and Canadian. He's from Ontario, in Canada, and he is also American now. Two countries, one face.
Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't German — this is the classic mistake. He's Austrian, from a small village near Graz, and American too.
Charlize Theron is South African and American. She's from a farm near Johannesburg, and her first language isn't English — it's Afrikaans.
Melania Trump is American and Slovenian. Slovenia is a small country in Europe, next to Italy and Austria.
Kumail Nanjiani is American and Pakistani. He's from Karachi, a very big city in Pakistan, and he's an actor and a comedian.
Multiple choice
Click an answer and you get the result right away, with the reason.
-
Are Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson Greek?
Greek and American. Greece gave them passports in 2020.
-
Why did Greece give them a passport?
The passport was a thank-you.
-
Where is Salma Hayek from?
And her first movies are in Spanish, not in English.
-
Is Sandra Bullock German?
Her mother is from Germany, so Sandra has a German passport too — and she speaks the language.
-
Is Jim Carrey Canadian?
From Ontario, and American as well.
-
Is Arnold Schwarzenegger German?
Everybody says German. He's Austrian, from a village near Graz. Austria and Germany are two different countries.
-
Is Charlize Theron South African?
From a farm near Johannesburg, and American too.
-
What is Charlize Theron's first language?
One of the languages of South Africa. English came later for her.
-
Where is Melania Trump from?
A small country in Europe, next to Italy and Austria.
-
Is Kumail Nanjiani Pakistani?
From Karachi, a very big city in Pakistan.
-
What do all eight people have?
That is what dual citizenship means: two passports, two countries.
-
Which two countries in the reading are next to each other?
Slovenia and Austria are both in Europe, and they are next to each other.
Questions: Am, Is, Are
You already know this verb. Now turn it around. To make a question with to be, put the verb in front of the person. That is the whole rule — no extra word, nothing else changes.
- Am I late? · Are you Spanish? · Is he from Brazil?
- Is she South African? · Is it from China? · Are we in class 1? · Are they Austrian?
- No do and no does: Is she Greek?, never
Does she is Greek? - Watch the little word from: country → Is he from Brazil? · nationality → Is he Brazilian?
- Question words go first: Where is she from? · What is your name?
-
___ she Greek?
She takes is, in a statement and in a question.
-
___ they Austrian?
More than one person, so are.
-
___ I late?
The one and only place where am lives.
-
Which sentence is WRONG?
The verb to be makes its own question. It never needs do or does.
-
Is he ___ Pakistan?
Pakistan is the country, so you need from.
-
Is he ___ Pakistani?
Pakistani is the nationality, so from goes away. Compare it with the question above.
-
___ is she from?
Where asks about a place. The verb still comes before the person.
-
Which question is correct?
Verb, then person, then the rest. Always that order.
Short answers
- Am I late? → Yes, you are. / No, you aren't.
- Are you Spanish? → Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.
- Is he from Brazil? → Yes, he is. / No, he isn't.
- Are they Austrian? → Yes, they are. / No, they aren't.
- The person changes: a question with you gets an answer with I.
- Never short in the positive: Yes, I am, never
Yes, I'm. The short form cannot end a sentence.
-
Is Charlize South African? — Yes, ___ .
One woman, so she — and a positive short answer never uses the contraction.
-
Is Arnold German? — No, ___ .
He's Austrian. In the negative the short form is normal and expected.
-
Are you Brazilian? — Yes, ___ .
The question says you, so the answer says I. That swap catches everybody at first.
-
Are Tom and Rita Greek? — Yes, ___ .
Two people, so they, and the full form at the end.
-
Is Melania Canadian? — No, ___ .
She's Slovenian. And the verb to be never borrows doesn't.
-
Am I in class 1? — No, ___ .
A question about I comes back as an answer about you. The person always flips.
-
Which answer is WRONG?
A short form cannot be the last word of a sentence. In the positive answer, say the whole verb.
-
Is sushi Chinese? — No, ___ .
Food is a thing, so the pronoun is it.
Complete with Am, Is or Are
Write one word. Then answer each question out loud with your teacher — some of them are traps.
One word each, and then the fun part. After you write the ten words, we answer all ten out loud with a short answer. Four of them are not what you think.
-
a___ Lionel Messi from Argentina?
-
b___ The Beatles English?
-
c___ Taylor Swift British?
-
d___ Cristiano Ronaldo Portuguese?
-
e___ Barack Obama from Canada?
-
f___ Elon Musk South African?
-
g___ Shakira and Maluma from Spain?
-
h___ Malala Yousafzai Pakistani?
-
i___ Drake and The Weeknd Canadian?
-
j___ Leonardo DiCaprio from Italy?
Make the question
Write the full question. Careful with from: a country or a city needs it, a nationality does not. Example: Julia / Mexican? → Is Julia Mexican?
-
ayou / Canada?
-
bArthur / American?
-
csamba / Spanish?
-
dMario and Carlos / American?
-
eBeyoncé / American?
-
fsushi / Chinese?
-
gyou / Rio de Janeiro?
-
hwe / in class 2?
Ask and answer
Ask me the question, listen to my short answer, then correct me if I am wrong. Every answer must have a person and a verb.
Useful language
Five questions for your teacher
40–70 words. Write five questions about famous people, with your own answer under each one. Example: Is Shakira Spanish? No, she isn't. She's Colombian. Use Is three times and Are twice.
My results
Check your score, then copy it and send it to your teacher on WhatsApp.
One job for this week. Every time you watch something, ask yourself one question about an actor: Is she American? Then look it up. You get the grammar and a fact at the same time.