Learn about concessive, time, place, and reason clauses
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Barbara: Good morning! |
| Braden: Braden here. An American Seminar You Won't Want to Miss! |
| Barbara: In this lesson, you’ll learn about Concessive, time, place, and reason clauses and Cold calling. |
| Braden: This conversation takes place in the afternoon, on the phone. |
| Barbara: And it’s between Jennifer and the receptionist. |
| Braden: Jennifer and the receptionist have never met and Jennifer is calling on official business so the conversation is formal. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Jennifer: My name is Jennifer Arnold, and I'm calling on behalf of the Department of International Relations at the University of Indiana. |
| Receptionist: Yes, ma'am. How may I help you? |
| Jennifer: May I speak with Mister Jonathan Myers, please? |
| Receptionist: In regard to? |
| Jennifer: We're organizing an international seminar in March, and we'd like him to participate because of his expertise in engineering. Do you know if he will be available the first week of March? |
| Receptionist: Not for certain. Although, I only have his official work schedule. The dates are so far in advance, that could change. |
| Jennifer: Could I speak with him directly? |
| Receptionist: He's currently unavailable. Would you like him to call you back? |
| Jennifer: Yes, please. That would be great. |
| Receptionist: If you could leave your number, I'll pass the message on to him as soon as he's available. |
| Jennifer: Our phone number is 555–5555. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, in this lesson, we wanted to talk a little bit about cold-calling. |
| Barbara: Cold calling is a marketing and sales process of approaching prospective customers or clients. |
| Braden: In this dialog, Jennifer takes the position of the seller, and she is trying to “sell” the seminar to Jonathan Myers. |
| Barbara: However, she’s intercepted by the receptionist. She still needs to “sell” the seminar to the receptionist so that she knows the call is legitimate. Jennifer has never spoken with Jonathan or the receptionist, so this is considered a “cold” call. |
| Braden: Even though she’s not selling a product and therefore not really a salesperson, many principles of sales still apply. For example, she describes the seminar clearly and explains why she’s calling, |
| Barbara: “Because of his expertise in engineering.” |
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Barbara: behalf [natural native speed] |
| Braden: in the interests of another |
| Barbara: behalf [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: behalf [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: regard [natural native speed] |
| Braden: attention to or concern for something |
| Barbara: regard [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: regard [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: seminar [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a conference or other meeting |
| Barbara: seminar [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: seminar [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: international [natural native speed] |
| Braden: existing, occurring, or carried on between two or more nations |
| Barbara: international [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: international [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: participate [natural native speed] |
| Braden: take part |
| Barbara: participate [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: participate [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: expertise [natural native speed] |
| Braden: expert skill or knowledge in a particular field |
| Barbara: expertise [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: expertise [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: field [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a particular area of study or sphere of activity |
| Barbara: field [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: field [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: directly [natural native speed] |
| Braden: in a direct manner; expressly; without delay |
| Barbara: directly [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: directly [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 the phrase - in regard to |
| Braden: This is a formal way to ask, “What for?” or “Why?” |
| Barbara: You might hear some people say, “In regards to” (with an “s”) but that’s incorrect. |
| Braden: “In regard to” is often heard in business settings. In general, the word “regard” and any phrase containing it will only be used in formal settings. |
| Barbara: You can often replace this phrase with words like “regarding,” “about,” “concerning,” “in,” or “with.” |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: In regard to (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: In regard to (fast) |
| Braden: Our next phrase is "on behalf of" |
| Braden: This is a formal way to say, “for.” and means “representing.” or “as a representative of.” |
| Braden: The phrase “on behalf of” is typically only used in official settings. By definition, representing another person or group is an official action, so the phrase isn’t necessarily formal. It can be used in a casual setting as well. |
| Barbara: In the dialog, Jennifer said, “I’m calling on behalf of the Department of International Relations.” She is representing the Department officially on this telephone call. |
| Braden: Another context where this phrase might be heard is at official dinners. Often speeches are made where a phrase like “on behalf of my company,” or “on behalf of the shareholders,” or, on a more personal note, “on behalf of my family.” |
| Barbara: Just remember it’s better to avoid the word “myself” when using “on behalf of.” Many people say it, but technically, it isn’t correct because you are already representing yourself. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: On behalf of (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: On behalf of (fast) |
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
| Braden: So Barbara, what’s the focus of this lesson? |
| Barbara: The focus of this lesson is subordinate clauses |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase |
| Barbara: Although, I only have his official work schedule. |
| Braden: In this lesson, we're going to look at four types of subordinate clauses, namely concessive clauses, time clauses, place clauses, and reason clauses. |
| Barbara: Just to make the definition clear, a subordinate clause is a clause that supports ideas stated in the main clause. |
| Braden: Subordinate clauses are also dependent on main clauses and wouldn't make sense without them. |
| Barbara: For example, the phrase “Because he was sitting.” by itself, makes no sense, but if put into the sentence, “He couldn’t see very far because he was sitting.” |
| Braden: Now it makes sense. The “because he was sitting is a subordinate clause.” |
| Barbara: Now let’s take a look at Concessive Clauses. Concessive clauses are used to concede a given point in an argument. |
| Braden: The principle concessive conjunctions introducing a concessive clause are – Though, although, even though, while, and even if. |
| Barbara: These can be placed at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a sentence. |
| Braden: When placed at the beginning or internally, they serve to concede a certain part of an argument before proceeding to question the validity of the point in a given discussion. |
| Barbara: That was probably a bit complex so let’s look at an example sentence. |
| Braden: Let's. For example, “Even though there are many advantages to working the night shift, people who do generally feel that the disadvantages greatly outweigh the advantages.” |
| Barbara: So here, the phrase “Even though there are many advantages to working the night shift” is the part that served to concede a certain part of an argument. |
| Braden: The next segment questions the validity of a point given in a discussion. That phrase was “people who do generally feel that the disadvantages greatly outweigh the advantages.” |
| Barbara: So, when a concessive clause is placed at the end of a sentence, the speaker is admitting a weakness or problem in that particular argument. |
| Braden: For example, “I tried hard to complete the task, though it seemed impossible.” |
| Barbara: Now let’s look at Place Clauses. Place clauses define the location of the object of the main clause. |
| Braden: Place conjunctions include “where” and “in which.” They are generally placed following a main clause in order to define the location of the object of the main clause. |
| Barbara: For example, “I will never forget the Rocky Mountains where I spent so many wonderful summers.” |
| Braden: Next we’ll look at Reason Clauses. Reason clauses define the reason behind a statement or action given in the main clause. |
| Barbara: Reason conjunctions include “because,” “as,” and “due to.” |
| Braden: They can be placed either before or after the main clause. If placed before the main clause, the reason clause usually gives emphasis to that particular reason. |
| Barbara: For example, “Because of the lateness of my submission, I was not allowed to enter the contest.” |
| Braden: Generally, the reason clause follows the main clauses and explains it. For example, “I studied hard because I wanted to pass the exam.” |
| Barbara: Next we'll take a look at time clauses. Time clauses are used to indicate the time that an event in the main clause takes place. The main time conjunctions are – “when,” “as soon as,” “before,” “after,” “by the time,” and “by.” |
| Braden: They are placed either at the beginning or the end of a sentence. Most often, time clauses are placed at the end of a sentence and indicate the time that the action of the main clause takes place. |
Outro |
| Braden: That's about does it for today. Thanks for listening. |
| Barbara: Bye-bye. |
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