Review participles
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Intro |
|---|
| Barbara: Good morning! |
| Braden: Braden here. Is Your American Workshop Going in the Wrong Direction? |
| Braden: In this lesson, you’ll learn about Participles and Alternative energy. |
| Barbara: This conversation takes place in the morning, after a workshop for the seminar. |
| Braden: And it’s between Alexi and a woman from the audience. |
| Barbara: Alexi and the woman don’t know each other and it's just after his first workshop. Alexi will be speaking professionally but the woman will not. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
| Woman: How much involvement did you have in the recent Syrian revolution? |
| Alexi: Sorry, I think you may have misunderstood what I said. I have been living with my family in the United States for over ten years, and other than sending birthday cards to some old friends, I don't have much contact with anyone in Syria. |
| Woman: What influence do you have in the Syrian government? |
| Alexi: I no longer have any official capacity in the Syrian government. |
| Woman: So, who do you support in the Syrian revolution? |
| Alexi: I apologize, ma'am but I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding about the purpose of this workshop. If you'll remember, my workshop focused on alternative energies and how they are affecting the global economy. |
| Woman: So, what is Syria's policy on alternative energy? |
| Alexi: Well, as I said before, biofuels are pretty much not an option for them, but while I was preparing to return to the United States, there was considerable talk about a new technology that focused sunlight using mirrors and magnifying glasses to heat water into steam. That steam would be kept under high pressure and then used in turbines to generate electricity. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about Alternative energy |
| Barbara: Alternative energy is a category of energy used to describe any source of usable energy intended to replace fossil fuel energy sources. As such, the exact technologies and techniques which can be classified as alternative energy sources can and do change over time. |
| Braden: For example, many years ago petroleum was considered an alternative to whale oil and coal was an alternative to wood. |
| Barbara: Currently, the most common types of alternative energy are – solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels and. Ethanol, and hydrogen. We spoke previously about renewable energy sources. |
| Braden: One of the criticisms of the term alternative energy is that it includes both renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. For example, the hydroelectric dams and ethanol produced by Brazil are alternatives to standard fossil fuels. |
| Barbara: However, in the debate between renewable and nonrenewable energy sources and the debate about biological impact, wind and ethanol are alternatives to each other. This lack of specificity causes confusion in the media. |
| Vocabulary and Phrases |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Barbara: involvement [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the fact or condition of being involved with or participating in something |
| Barbara: involvement [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: involvement [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: development [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the process of developing |
| Barbara: development [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: development [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: contact [natural native speed] |
| Braden: communication, or relationship with someone |
| Barbara: contact [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: contact [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: whatsoever [natural native speed] |
| Braden: at all |
| Barbara: whatsoever [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: whatsoever [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: revolution [natural native speed] |
| Braden: wide-reaching change in how something works |
| Barbara: revolution [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: revolution [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: afraid [natural native speed] |
| Braden: feeling fear |
| Barbara: afraid [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: afraid [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: misunderstanding [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a failure to understand something correctly |
| Barbara: misunderstanding [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: misunderstanding [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: workshop [natural native speed] |
| Braden: meeting where a group of people engages in discussion |
| Barbara: workshop [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: workshop [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: alternative [natural native speed] |
| Braden: something that is available as another possibility, something that is free and able to be used |
| Barbara: alternative [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: alternative [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: energy [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity |
| Barbara: energy [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: energy [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: global [natural native speed] |
| Braden: relating to the whole world |
| Barbara: global [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: global [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Barbara: policy [natural native speed] |
| Braden: principle of action proposed or adopted by an organization |
| Barbara: policy [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: policy [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 Correcting Information |
| Braden: Specifically, Alexi said, “If you’ll remember, my workshop focused on alternative energies and how they are affecting the global economy.” |
| Barbara: The woman asking questions seemed to be focusing on something other than the workshop. |
| Braden: Alexi used a particular phrase to introduce his correction. He said, “I apologize, ma’am but I’m afraid there’s been a misunderstanding about the purpose of this workshop.” |
| Barbara: It may seem odd that he said “I apologize” because, up to that point, he hadn’t done anything he needed to apologize for. |
| Braden: This is a preemptive apology, or an apology made before offending someone. Alexi found it necessary to correct the woman in public to maintain the focus of the workshop. Publicly correcting someone is very rude in American culture. Therefore, he apologized in order to introduce his correction. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: I apologize (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: I apologize (fast) |
| Braden: Next, we’ll look at the phrase considerable talk |
| Braden: Literally, “considerable talk” means “talk or discussion that can be considered.” |
| Barbara: However, the idea Alexi is trying to convey is a bit simpler. When someone says there has been “considerable talk” they just mean there’s been a lot of talks. |
| Braden: You’ll more often hear this in a phrase such as, “There’s been a considerable number of robberies in the past six months.” meaning there have been quite a few robberies. |
| Barbara: It could also be used as a considerable amount of something. For example, Alexi could have also said, “There’s been a considerable amount of talk.” |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: considerable talk (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: considerable talk (fast) |
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
| Barbara: The focus of this lesson is participles |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase |
| Barbara: I think you may have misunderstood what I said. |
| Braden: There are two types of participles in English, and each type is used in a variety of ways. |
| Barbara: The first type of participle is the present participle. The present participle is often referred to as the '-ing' form of the verb. |
| Braden: For example, “The sun was shining so I went for a walk.” |
| Barbara: The participle is often confused with the gerund which is also casually referred to as the 'ing' form of the verb. |
| Braden: Let’s take a look at Past participles. Past participles are used in a similar manner to present participles. |
| Barbara: For example, “He has flown to São Paulo five times.” and “She has always walked to school.” Participles are used for four main purposes - First, As the main verb in tenses. |
| Braden: Second, As adjectives to describe a noun” |
| Barbara: Third, “As adverbs to describe how something is done.” |
| Braden: and fourth, “In phrases that look like clauses combined to provide additional, defining information.” |
| Barbara: Now let’s look at Present Participles. Present participles are used for continuous (or progressive) tenses. These include the present continuous, past continuous and future continuous. |
| Braden: First, let’s look at the Future Continuous. For example, “I'll be playing golf tomorrow at three o'clock.” |
| Barbara: Next let’s look at the Present Perfect Continuous. “I apologize, ma’am but I’m afraid there’s been a misunderstanding.” |
| Braden: Now a quick jump back to Past participles which are used with simple, perfect tenses (continuous perfect or progressive perfect tenses take the participle 'been' + the present participle - have been playing, will have been working, etc.). |
| Barbara: For example, in the Past Perfect tense and example would be - “My workshop focused on alternative energy.” |
| Braden: A future perfect example would be, “That steam would be kept under high pressure and then used in turbines to generate electricity.” |
| Barbara: Future Continuous - I'll be playing golf tomorrow at three o'clock. |
| Braden: Now let’s look at a way to use participles as adjectives. |
| Barbara: Participles can also be used as adjectives to describe nouns. The difference between the present participle and the past participle can make quite a difference in meaning – |
| Braden: For example, “The bored man went to sleep during the discussion.” |
| Barbara: Or “The boring man put other people to sleep during the discussion.” |
| Braden: In the first sentence the past participle 'bored' is used to mean that the man himself was bored, in the second sentence the present participle 'boring' is used to mean that the man was boring to others. |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for today. |
| Braden: Thanks for listening! |
| Barbara: See you later, bye! |
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