Learn English - Asking 'Where are you from?'

Welcome to EnglishClass101.com’s English in Three Minutes. The fastest, easiest, and

most fun way to learn English.

Hey everyone, I’m Alisha!

This series explains some easy ways to ask and answer common questions in English. It’s

really useful, and it only takes three minutes!

In this lesson, you’re going to learn some different ways people will ask you, “Where are you from?”

First, though, “Where are you from?” can mean many things. It can mean, What city are

you from? or What state are you from? In fact, Americans ask this question to each other

all the time to learn what part of America the other person comes from.

Of course, though, it can also mean “What country are you from?”

If you want to answer this question, there are two ways to do it. You can say

“I’m...” plus, your nationality as in

“I’m Japanese.” or

“I’m Brazilian.”

Or you can say

“I’m from...plus, the country you are from”

As in I’m from Italy. or

I’m from Thailand.

If you’re from a really famous city or place, you can say that, too.

For example,

I’m from Beijing.

or

I’m from New Delhi.

Many times, though, Americans won’t ask, “What country are you from?” Or even “Where

are you from?”

In many casual situations, they will say it in a simpler way.

“Where you from?”

This is just like “Where are you from?” but they take out the “are”

Where you from?

You can use this too in casual situations.

Of course, in the United States, as in other parts of the world, people may be a little

more indirect because they want to be polite.

To do this, they might ask you if you are from the place where they meet you.

For example, if you meet someone in New York, they might ask.

Are you from New York?

or if you are in San Diego, they might ask

Are you from San Diego?

Many parts of the United States are very multi-cultural, so asking the question this way avoids what

could be an embarrassing mistake.

You can answer this the same way you answer “Where are you from?” Just add a simple

“No” in front.

For example, you can say, No + I’m + nationality

No, I’m French.

or No + “I’m from + country

No, I’m from Russia.

Now it’s time for Alisha’s Advice!

Since the United States is very large, people you meet may take great pride in the place

or region they come from. If you ask someone about where they’re from, they may respond

by saying something like, West Coast, or the East Coast, or California, or the South or

the Midwest. If they answer in this way, it usually means they are interested in talking

more about their region and how it differs from others.

In this lesson, we learned some different ways to ask, “Where are you from?”

Do you know what to ask when you don’t know someone’s name? Of course you do! But what

do you say when you’ve forgotten someone’s name?

Find out next time in the fifth English in 3 Minutes Lesson! See you next time!