Multiplication
Open-ended questions ask for an unknown answer. As with the previous chapters for addition and subtraction, this chapter is organized by the “to-be” and “non-to be” verbs.
The “To Be” Open-Ended Questions–To Be Verb “is”
Remember, one of the words for the equal sign can be “is”.
Look at the simple equation:
4 x 5 = 20 “four times five is twenty
The 3rd-person singular grammar rule is used to form questions.
For example,
4 x 5 = 20 “Is four times five twenty?”
This question asks for a confirmation that the correct answer is 20.
The operation of multiplication, “four times five” is the singular subject. It changes places with the verb “is” used for the equal sign.
When the answer is unknown, what is the question?
The subject and verb change places, and we use the question word “what” to ask for the answer.
For example, questions that use “what”
4 x 5 = _____
The question is, “what is four times five?”
24 x 13 = _____
The question is, “what is 24 multiplied by 13?”
Your Turn — Practice making open-ended questions with “what” and “is”
Just like addition and subtraction, each side of the math equation is singular.
For example,
10 x 23 = 230
On the right side, the answer is 230. For English grammar, the answer is a 3rd-person singular noun. Even when the answer is unknown, it is still a 3rd-person singular noun.
The phrase “how much” is used to ask about the unknown answer of a math problem because “how much” is used for singular and non-count nouns.
In the example above, we do not know what 230 is counting. We know, simply, that the answer is grammatically singular. The answer is a non-count noun. The correct question is:
“How much is 10 times 23?”
Another example:
22 x 13 = _____ The question is, “How much is 22 times 13?”
Your Turn — Practice making open-ended questions with “how much” and “is”
The “To Be” Open-Ended Questions–To Be Phrases
The equal sign can also be said with a variety of “is” phrases.
- is equal to
- is equivalent to
Let’s look at a couple of examples about forming questions with “is” phrases.
For example:
12 x 13 = ______
“What is 12 times 13 equal to?”
or
“What is 12 times 13 equivalent to?”
Another example:
56 x 79 = ______
“How much is 56 multiplied by 79 equal to?”
or
How much is 56 multiplied by 79 equivalent to?”
We can use the question words “what” or “how much” at the beginning of the question. The word “is” moves in front of the multiplication operation. The other words in the phrase stay to the right of the multiplication operation. The “is” phrases are split into two when we form these questions with the phrases.
Your Turn — Practice identifying open-ended questions with “what”, “how much” and the “is equal to” phrase.
Next, practice writing open-ended questions with “what”, “how much” and the “is equivalent to” phrase.
The other “is” phrases use the word “same”. Remember, the following:
- is the same as
- is the same amount as
- is the same value as
Let’s look at a couple of examples of questions with the “is the same as” phrase.
6 x 16 = ______
What is 6 times 16 the same as?
or
How much is 6 times 14 the same as?
We can use the question words “what” or “how much” at the beginning of the question. The word “is” moves in front of the multiplication operation. The other words in the phrase stay to the right of the multiplication operation. The “is” phrases are split into two when we form these questions with the phrases.
Your Turn — Practice identifying open-ended questions for “what”, “how much” with “is the same as” phrase
Next, practice writing open-ended questions with “what”, “how much” and the “is the same amount as” phrase.
Practice one more time with writing open-ended questions with “what”, “how much” and the “is the same value as” phrase.
All of these examples above are grammatically 3rd-person singular. The numbers do not count anything. The operation (e.g. multiplication) and the answer are non-countable terms.
The “To Be” Open-Ended Questions–Other Verbs (not To Be)
The equal sign can also be said without using the “To Be” verb “is”. Do you remember the other ways we can say the equal sign?
- equals
- makes
Notice the final -s at the end of both of the words “equal” and “make” used for the equal sign. The final -s identifies the verb as a 3rd-person singular verb as we saw with the word “is”. Let’s review the “equals” verb first.
“equals”
Let’s look at the equation.
4 x 7 = ______
We must use the 3rd-person singular verb grammar rule to make an open-ended question with non-to be verbs. We begin the sentence with a question word, e.g. “what”, then use “does”, write the multiplication operation, and then drop the final -s from the word “equals”.
For example,
4 x 7 = ______ The question is, “What does seven times four equal“?
17 x 14 = _____ The question is, “What does 17 multiplied by 14 equal?
The same process is true for the question phrase “how much”.
Use the question phrase “how much” then “does” at the beginning of the question. Drop the final -s from make.
For example:
7 x 4 = ______ The question is, “How much does seven times seven equal“?
17 x 14 = _____ The question is, “How much does 17 multiplied by 14 equal?
Your Turn — Practice making open-ended questions with “what”, “how much”, and “equals”
Here’s the other one-word way to say the equal sign. It is an Other Verb (not to be).
“makes”
It follows the same 3rd-person singular grammar pattern to form a question. Use a question word, e.g. “what” and “does” before the math operation. Drop the final -s from makes.
For example:
5 x 3 = ______ The question is, “What does five multiplied by three make“?
23 x 19 = ____ The question is, “What does 23 times 19 make?
The same process is true for the question phrase “how much”.
Use the question phrase “how much” then “does” at the beginning of the question. Drop the final -s from make.
For example:
5 x 3 = ______ The question is, “How much does five times three make“?
23 x 19 = ____ The question is, “How much does 23 multiplied by 19 make?
Your Turn — Practice open-ended questions with “what” “how much” and “makes”
Summary
The multiplication operation on one side of the equal sign (=) is singular.
The answer on the other side of the equal sign (=) is also singular.
The grammar for question formation uses 3rd-person singular rules for making questions that ask for the answer.
