 Speak English faster, did ya? Have you ever noticed that native speakers of English say some words faster than others? For example, where did you go? What did you do? How did you like it? Can you hear the pronunciation patterns here? In English, we tend to squish some words together and lengthen others. For example, da-da-da-da. Where did you go? If you say each word with the same length, it sounds a bit strange. Where did you go? Kind of like a robot. This video will focus on one phrase, did ya? This phrase is more common than you think. It is used in questions when talking about past events. We combine the words did you into a type of contraction. Did you, did ya, did ya? Say did ya faster and lengthen the words right after it. Did you close the window? Did you clean up the mess? Where did you put the money? Why did you do it? Think of an accordion. Squeeze some words together, did ya, and expand others. Da-da-da-da. What did you do? Let's see how this is used in questions. Number one, yes-no questions. For past questions that can be answered yes or no, simply reduce the first two words did you to did ya. Did you finish your meal? Did you finish your meal? Did you pay the bill? Did you pay the bill? Did you leave a tip? Did you leave a tip? You'll notice that some other words can also be reduced. For example, da-da-da-da. Did you pay the bill? Did you finish your meal? Now you try it. I'll make a statement and you respond with a follow-up question using did ya. For example, I say I just finished my breakfast. Here are some sample questions. Did you clear the table? Did you put the food away? Did you wash the dishes? Ready? Here's some practice. Number one, I just came back from Miami. Number two, I lost my wallet yesterday. Number three, I left my house a few minutes ago. Number four, I saw a new movie last night. Number five, I finished my homework late. Here's some sample answers or questions for you. I just came back from Miami. Did you have a good time? I lost my wallet yesterday. Did you find it? I left my house a few minutes ago. Did you lock the door? I saw a new movie last night. Did you like it? Or how did you like it? I finished my assignment late. Did you turn it in? Or what did you do about it? Notice that for the last ones, questions four and five, we asked more information and when we want more information, we often use a WH word in front of the did ya. Two, WH questions. When more information is required, you can start your question with a WH word. With a WH word before did ya. For example, I just bought a new computer. Where did you buy it? WH questions. What we call WH questions, ask for more specific information and start with a WH word. The WH words are as follows, who, what, when, where, why, which, what time, what kind of. Also we include these, they're not WH, they're more like HW, how, how much, how many, how long, how often, how far, how old. Which questions enable you to get deeper into a conversation? For example, I went to Las Vegas last week. Oh really? Who did you go with? What did you do there? When did you get back? How did you like it? How much did you spend? Practice. Ask, ask some follow up questions with WH words in response to these situations. For example, I got a new dog last week. Oh really? What kind of dog did you get? Number one, I just came back from North Carolina. Two, I started a new project last week. Three, I can't find my cell phone. Sometimes we also say the WH word more quickly. For example, da-da-da-da. Where did you go? When did you get back? Who did you go with? Why did you leave so soon? How much did you pay for the trip? Three, tag questions. You might hear did-ya once in a while in tag questions, but it is not common. For example, you didn't park your car over there, did ya? That sounds a bit condescending like you're talking down to them. It's better to say you didn't park your car over there, did you? A more common and positive way of doing this would be with a negative tag question. You parked your car in a good spot, didn't you? Four, variations. Did-ya is quite common, but it only applies when you're talking directly to someone about himself or herself. If you're talking about others, different variations are used. Here are some examples. When did he go? When did he go? The word he is reduced to e. How did it go? How did it go? The did is reduced to id. How did it go? Where did they go? Where did they go? Again, did is reduced. Five, when not to use did ya? For past questions involving be, use was or were. For example, was she at the party? Were you playing baseball? For questions involving other auxiliary words, use those words and not did ya. Have you been to Nebraska? Could he fix it? Also be careful with using did ya in very professional situations. Some people might consider it too informal. Also, never use did ya in formal writing. Normally, we don't have to wait and respond with a did ya question. In most cases, we can tell from the situation and ask directly. For example, I just got back from Dallas. Did you have a good time? What did you do there? Sometimes you don't have to wait for the person to tell you what they did. You can see from the situation and ask directly. For example, here's the situation. You see a friend who you know just returned from Dallas. You can start the conversation. For example, you can say, how was Dallas? Did you have a good time? When did you get back? Practice initiating conversations with did ya. Here are some situations. Situation number one, you see that your friend has a new car. What do you say? Situation two, you didn't go to Paris with your classmates. Ask them about the trip. Situation three, you were sick and had to miss a couple's wedding. Ask them about it. Situation four, you couldn't attend a business meeting. Ask a coworker for the details. Situation five, you are a reporter. Ask an eyewitness about a recent news event. Feel free to pause the video and take as much time as you'd like to practice these situations. Now think of your own situations. Use did ya or wh word plus did ya to ask about recent occurrences or events. Go ahead. Talk. Feel free to pause the video and take as much time as you need for speaking. Hope that was helpful. Did you get some good practice? What did you talk about? If you like this video, please remember to give it a thumbs up in the comments section below. And don't forget to subscribe to our channel. Thanks for watching. If you have ideas for future videos, please let us know at the link below. This video was brought to you by the following English learning websites, www.eslgold.com and www.freeenglishstudy.com.