Review how to use the present and auxiliary verb tenses
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Intro |
|---|
| Barbara: Good evening! |
| Braden: Braden here. Discussing Tense Environmental Situations in English. |
| Barbara: In this lesson, you’ll learn about a Quick review of English verb tenses–present and auxiliary verbs and Nuclear power. |
| Braden: This conversation takes place at night, after the seminar keynote speech. |
| Barbara: And it’s between Jonathan and Jennifer, who are both on the committee. |
| Braden: The speakers are co-workers but, since they’ve worked together so much, they’ve become good friends. |
| Barbaran: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
| Jonathan: What a great speech! |
| Jennifer: I was impressed as well! Jeffery Nye comes off as a bit lost at times, but I've been studying energy for the better part of four years. His first-person perspective brought a lot to the table. |
| Jonathan: I really appreciated the tact with which he handled some of the topics. Especially after what happened in Japan, nuclear energy isn't kindly looked upon. |
| Jennifer: Too bad it's the most efficient energy source we know how to use. |
| Jonathan: But just like he said, the risks for nuclear energy can be very high. |
| Jennifer: I was also disappointed that Brazil is planning to build over seventy hydroelectric dams in the Amazon basin. |
| Jonathan: Me too. That's going to destroy a lot of biodiversity. Do you want to go talk to him? |
| Jennifer: I think we should wait a little bit. There is already a line about forty feet long. |
| Jonathan: Isn't there a public reception in a couple hours? |
| Jennifer: That's right. It's at the DoubleTree on Fifth street. Why don't you talk to him then? It starts at eight o'clock. |
| Jonathan: Well then, I recommend that we go get some cake. |
| Jennifer: Sounds like a great idea. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about Nuclear power |
| Barbara: Currently, nuclear power plants provide about six percent of the world's energy and just under 15 percent of the world's electricity. France, the United States and until recently Japan accounted for roughly 50 percent of nuclear-generated electricity. |
| Braden: Following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, many countries re-thought their plans for using nuclear power. France has long been a leader in nuclear power technology. |
| Barbara: Following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, many countries re-thought their plans for using nuclear power. France has long been a leader in nuclear power technology. One of the concerns of many world leaders is that of nuclear proliferation. Nuclear power plants can, as a side effect, produce uranium that could be used in a nuclear bomb. This is one of the many contention points regarding energy in the Middle East. |
| Braden: Proponents for nuclear energy point to the many errors both in construction and in operation of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant as the real causes for the disaster. |
| Barbara: Opponents to nuclear power point out that human error is always one of the risks and that had the plant been a regular coal burning plant, less damage would have been done. |
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| Vocabulary and Phrases |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Barbara: speech [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a formal address or discourse |
| Barbara: speech [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: speech [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: impressed [natural native speed] |
| Braden: to cause admiration or respect |
| Barbara: impressed [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: impressed [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: study [natural native speed] |
| Braden: to learn about something by reading or writing or memorizing |
| Barbara: study [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: study [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: firsthand [natural native speed] |
| Braden: coming from direct observation or experience |
| Barbara: firsthand [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: firsthand [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: perspective [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a particular attitude toward something |
| Barbara: perspective [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: perspective [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: brought [natural native speed] |
| Braden: past conjugation and past participle of “bring.” |
| Barbara: brought [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: brought [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: textbooks [natural native speed] |
| Braden: book used as a standard source of information for a study |
| Barbara: textbooks [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: textbooks [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: should [natural native speed] |
| Braden: used to indicate responsibility |
| Barbara: should [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: should [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: already [natural native speed] |
| Braden: before now, so soon |
| Barbara: already [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: already [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: about [natural native speed] |
| Braden: concerning; with regard to, concerning a topic |
| Barbara: about [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: about [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: public [natural native speed] |
| Braden: known to the general population |
| Barbara: public [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: public [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: reception [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a formal social occasion held to welcome |
| Barbara: reception [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: reception [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: couple [natural native speed] |
| Braden: two people or two things, a few |
| Barbara: couple [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: couple [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: remember [natural native speed] |
| Braden: to think of something that happened |
| Barbara: remember [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: remember [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: tact [natural native speed] |
| Braden: capacity to speak with sensitivity concerning other or difficult issues |
| Barbara: tact [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: tact [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: biodiversity [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the variety of life in a particular area |
| Barbara: biodiversity [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: biodiversity [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 looked upon |
| Braden: In this context, the phrase, “looked upon” means “seen” or “viewed.” |
| Barbara: So, in context, Alexander said that people don’t think highly of nuclear energy anymore. |
| Braden: The other point here is the preposition, “upon.” This is an archaic preposition that is usually only used in fixed phrases like, “looked upon,” and “once upon a time.” In most situations, “upon” has the same core meaning as “on.” |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: looked upon (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: looked upon (fast) |
| Braden: Our next phrase is I recommend that... |
| Braden: This is a formal phrase used for comic effect. Jonathan and Jennifer are friends now so they speak casually and this entire conversation is casual. |
| Barbara: But the phrase “I recommend that” and mostly just the verb “recommend” is formal and within the casual conversation, it sounds out of place. |
| Braden: That misuse of the verb recommend was intentional. Jennifer noticed the purposeful change in tone and matched it by responding with, “That sounds like a wonderful idea.” |
| Barbara: They probably had a good laugh about it after the dialog was recorded. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: I recommend that… (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: I recommend that… (fast) |
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
| Barbara: The focus of this lesson is a quick review of English present and auxiliary verb tenses. |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase |
| Barbara: Do you want to go talk to him? |
| Braden: This lesson provides a quick review of the basic tenses used in English to speak about the present moment in time and events or states which have happened up to the present moment in time. |
| Barbara: In English, tenses are formed by conjugating an auxiliary verb plus a standard form of the principal verb (the base form, the gerund form, or the past participle form). |
| Braden: It is important to focus on the variations in the auxiliary verb to properly use English tenses. |
| Barbara: So first we are going to look at the construction of positive sentences. |
| Braden: In a simple positive sentence you’ll have the subject then the Verb then the object. If you’ve ever heard that English is an SVO language, now you know why. |
| Barbara: In a simple negative sentence, it’s almost the same. Here you have subject then the Auxiliary (if there is one) then the not then the Verb then the object |
| Braden: Last of all is the question structure. This structure begins with the (question word) then the Aux then the subject then the Verb then the (object) |
| Barbara: So in the Present/Past Simple you can use the Auxiliary DO. Use the present simple to express regular routines and habits. The present simple is often used with adverbs of frequency. |
| Braden: For example, “Do you want to go talk to him?” and “Why don’t you talk to him then?” |
| Barbara: Next we’ll look at the Present/Past Continuous using the Auxiliary BE. |
| Braden: Use the present continuous when something is happening at or around the present moment in time. The present continuous is often used with 'now, at the moment, currently, today.' |
| Barbara: For example, “I was also disappointed that Brazil is planning to build over seventy hydroelectric dams in the Amazon basin.” or “Isn’t there a public reception in a couple hours?” |
| Braden: Next let’s look at the Present/Past Perfect using the Auxiliary HAVE. This forms the present perfect. Use the present perfect for things that have happened up to the present moment. |
| Barbara: For example, “I’ve been studying energy for the better part of four years.” |
| Braden: Second, For things which have happened at an unspecified point in time in the past. |
| Barbara: For example, “He's worked at this company since 1978.” |
| Braden: Third, for things which have recently happened. |
| Barbara: For example, “Have you ever been to Rome?” |
| Braden: lastly we’ll look at the Present/Past Perfect Continuous which uses the Auxiliary HAVE BEEN |
| Barbara: Use the present perfect continuous to express the duration of an activity that begins in the past and continues up to the present moment. |
| Braden: In many cases, BOTH the present perfect and present perfect continuous can be used. |
| Barbara: For example, “We've been driving for three hours.” and “How long have you been sitting at that table?” |
| Barbara: Let’s review this lesson. |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for today. |
| Braden: Thanks for listening! |
| Barbara: See you later! |
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