Review the usage of gerunds
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Intro |
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| Barbara: Good afternoon! |
| Braden: Braden here. Finding a Place to Call Home in the US. In this lesson, you’ll learn about English gerunds and renting locations. |
| Barbara: This conversation takes place at a property rental company. |
| Braden: And it’s between Jonathan and the company manager. |
| Barbara: Jonathan and the manager have never met, so they are speaking professionally. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
| Jonathan: Hello ma'am. I'm here today about reserving your 3rd Avenue property. |
| Manager: When will the event take place? |
| Jonathan: The first week of March. |
| Manager: What is the purpose of this function? |
| Jonathan: An international seminar. |
| Manager: Let me see. The 3rd Avenue property; that would be the Stratford Mansion, correct? |
| Jonathan: Yes. I'd just like to check into reserving it for the first week in March. |
| Manager: It is currently unreserved. We advise reserving properties as early as possible. |
| Jonathan: That would be fine. I would like to reserve for the "Department of International Relations at the University of Indiana." |
| Manager: We do require a fifty percent down payment to reserve. |
| Jonathan: And how much would that be? |
| Manager: Five thousand dollars. |
| Jonathan: Five thousand dollars? Is it more than $2000 per day to rent the Stratford Mansion? |
| Manager: That's including our winter discount. Usually it's three thousand dollars per day. |
| Jonathan: I'm going to have to get back to you about that reservation. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about rental locations. |
| Barbara: Renting is typically defined as an agreement where payment is made for the temporary use of a service or property owned by another person. |
| Braden: There are several different types of rental agreements, including leasing, as well as an almost infinite number of reasons to rent or lease. |
| Barbara: In the dialogue, Jonathan is beginning to negotiate for the rental of a Stratford mansion. |
| Braden: By definition, a mansion is a large, impressive house and they are typically very old although not necessarily. |
| Barbara: In recent years, the rental industry in the United States has grown considerably. This is thought to be because of the 2007-2010 financial crisis. The logic is that during times of financial difficulty, consumers are more likely to consider renting instead of buying a home. |
| Braden: A United States survey published in 2010 indicated that as much as 27 percent of current renters have no plan to purchase a home. |
| Vocabulary and Phrases |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Barbara: property [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a thing or things that belong to someone, often used for land |
| Barbara: property [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: property [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: reserve [natural native speed] |
| Braden: retain or hold for someone |
| Barbara: reserve [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: reserve [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: mansion [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a large impressive house |
| Barbara: mansion [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: mansion [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: unreserved [natural native speed] |
| Braden: without reservation |
| Barbara: unreserved [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: unreserved [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: shall [natural native speed] |
| Braden: expressing the future tense |
| Barbara: shall [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: shall [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Braden: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Barbara: In the dialogue, we heard phrases that demonstrated Stating Principal Objectives |
| Braden: When you meet with someone in a business setting, it’s common practice to identify the reasons for the meeting. |
| Barbara: These reasons are often referred to as principal objectives. |
| Braden: Clarifying the objectives before a meeting starts is also an expected business practice. Usually, the person who called the meeting is expected to state these principal objectives at the start of the meetings |
| Barbara: Some other ways to State principal objectives are, “We're here today to ...” and then state the objectives or, “I'd like to make sure that we ...” and then state your reasons. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: Principal objectives (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: Principal objectives (fast) |
| Braden: Our next phrase is down payment. A “down payment” is the initial payment when something is purchased using credit. |
| Barbara: Technically, the way the Manager used this phrase is incorrect. However, this conversation is from real life, and it’s useful to know that many people will use it incorrectly. |
| Braden: A “down payment” refers to purchased goods. In the dialog, Jonathan is discussing the short term rental of a property. He’s not trying to purchase the Stratford Mansion. |
| Barbara: This is a technicality. However, in some business contexts, such as banking or real estate, such distinctions are important. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: down payment (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: down payment (fast) |
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
| Barbara: The focus of this lesson is a review of English Gerunds. |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase |
| Barbara: I advise reserving properties as early as possible. |
| Braden: The English gerund form of the verb is the 'ing' form of the verb. Gerunds are verbs that are used as nouns. In other words, by adding 'ing' to any verb, you can change that verb into a noun. |
| Barbara: Gerunds are often used at the beginning of sentences when focusing on activity as the subject of conversation. |
| Braden: Some sample sentences would be, “Playing tennis is good for your health, and good fun!” and “Listening 10 minutes a day to English will help you improve your understanding of the language.” |
| Barbara: It's also possible to use gerunds as a direct object of a verb. |
| Braden: Some examples would be, “Hanna enjoys listening to classical music.” and “Jason admits spending too much money on toys.” |
| Barbara: Let’s take a look at Prepositions and Gerunds. Gerunds are also objects of prepositions. This means that whenever a verb follows a preposition, use the gerund or 'ing' form of the verb. |
| Braden: This is especially important for adjective and preposition combinations and phrasal verbs which generally end in prepositions. |
| Barbara: For example, “I looked into buying a new computer.” and “Sally was afraid of walking alone in the dark.” |
| Braden: Now let’s look at Verbs and Gerunds. There are many verbs that are almost always followed by the gerund form. |
| Barbara: Some of the most important are “admit,” “avoid,” “consider,” “delay,” “discuss,” “enjoy,” “finish,” “keep,” “postpone,” “recommend,” “risk,” “suggest,” and “tolerate.” |
| Braden: Some example sentences would be, “He avoided paying late fees on the account.” and “She denied knowing anything about it.” |
| Barbara: Be aware that the negative gerund form is 'not + verb + -i-n-g'. For example, “She regrets not studying French in college. |
| Braden: Now let’s look at Phrasal Verbs and Gerunds. Gerunds are used with phrasal verbs that end in prepositions. Phrasal verbs are verb phrases which are made up of two or more words, generally the verb plus one or two prepositions. |
| Barbara: Not all phrasal verbs combine with other verbs. Here are some common phrasal verbs that combine with other verbs in the gerund form, “bring about,” “call off,” “check into,” “cut out,” “figure out,” “get over,” “look into,” “put off,” and “take over.” |
| Braden: Some example sentences would be, “The coach called off practicing for the day.” and “Tom looked into finding a new job.” and “She took a long time to get over losing her dog.” |
| Barbara: Now let’s look at some Adjective Combinations and Gerunds. Gerunds also follow common adjective and preposition combinations. Remember that prepositions are always followed by the gerund form. |
| Braden: For example, “accustomed to,” afraid of,” “bored with,” “concerned about,” “convinced of,” “dedicated to,” “disappointed in,” and “exposed to.” |
| Barbara: In other words, any adjective and preposition form you learn will always be followed by the gerund if used in combination with a verb. |
| Braden: Here are some common adjective and preposition combinations. |
| Barbara: “filled with,” “guilty of,” “innocent of,” “interested in,” “known for,” “proud of,” “remembered for,” “scared of,” “tired of,” “upset with,” and “worried about.” |
| Braden: And to finish things off, how about a sample sentence. “She's interested in taking French lessons.” |
Outro |
| Braden: Excellent! That just about does it for today. |
| Barbara: Thanks for being with us! |
| Braden: Thanks for listening! |
| Barbara: See you next time! |
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