Learn how to admit that you forgot something
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Apologizing When You Forget Something in the United States. Becky here. |
| John: Hi, I'm John. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to admit that you forgot something. The conversation takes place at an office. |
| John: It’s between Linda and her coworker, Thomas Gray. |
| Becky: And because the speakers are co-workers, they will speak formal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Linda: Did you bring the data? |
| Thomas Gray: The data...? |
| Linda: Yes, the data for the advertisement campaign. |
| Thomas Gray: ...oh, I'm so sorry! I completely forgot to print it out! |
| Linda: That's a problem... can we print it out now? |
| Thomas Gray: Sure, I’ll get it ready in half an hour. |
| Linda: Great, that's perfect. |
| Thomas Gray: Once again, I'm really sorry for this. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Linda: Did you bring the data? |
| Thomas Gray: The data...? |
| Linda: Yes, the data for the advertisement campaign. |
| Thomas Gray: ...oh, I'm so sorry! I completely forgot to print it out! |
| Linda: That's a problem... can we print it out now? |
| Thomas Gray: Sure, I’ll get it ready in half an hour. |
| Linda: Great, that's perfect. |
| Thomas Gray: Once again, I'm really sorry for this. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: It sounds like Thomas forgot something important! |
| John: Yeah, he said that he could have it ready in half an hour. I hope that will be good enough! |
| Becky: So, this data is for an advertisement campaign. What’s the advertising market like in the US? |
| John: Advertisements are everywhere in America. As you may already know, advertising laws aren't as strict in the U.S. as they are in some countries, so it's not unusual to see TV shows with sponsorships and products placed squarely on camera so that the viewers can clearly see the products. |
| Becky: I also think that many sports arenas are named after their main sponsors, and in return, are endorsed by popular athletes. |
| John: That’s right. There are also many advertisements during breaks on TV and radio, and there are billboards advertising products everywhere. |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| John: to bring. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To take with. |
| John: To bring. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To bring. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Data. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Facts and statistics used for information or research. |
| John: Data. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Data. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Advertisement. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: A notice or piece of media to promote a product or service. |
| John: Advertisement. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Advertisement. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Campaign. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: A short-term promotion to increase awareness or sales. |
| John: Campaign. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Campaign. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Completely. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: thoroughly, entirely. |
| John: Completely. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Completely. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: to print out [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To produce documents from a computer onto paper. |
| John: to print out [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to print out [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: To get ready. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To prepare, to produce. |
| John: To get ready. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To get ready. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And lastly... |
| John: Once again [natural native speed] |
| Becky: One more time. |
| John: Once again. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Once again. [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is... |
| John: To get [something] ready. |
| Becky: You can use this phrase to say that you are preparing something. You can put a noun or pronoun in between "get" and "ready" to say what you are preparing. |
| John: There isn’t any limitation to this phrase, and you can use it whenever something is being prepared. |
| Becky: You can also use it in the past tense by saying, "got [something] ready," or in the future tense by saying, "will get [something] ready." |
| John: Here is a sample sentence. “I'll get the documents ready for the meeting.” |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| John: Once again. |
| Becky: "Once" is an adverb and comes from "one." "Again" means to repeat. Together, they mean to repeat one more time. Other adverbs, such as "twice" or "three times," aren't used in this way. |
| John: This phrase can be used if you have to say or do something again and want to show that it has happened before. It is often used to apologize for something. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say, “Once again, the train is late.” |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to admit that you forgot something. |
| John: In the office as well as during our regular, day-to-day duties, we are often asked to do extra things by other people. |
| Becky: Sometimes they ask us quickly; other times they ask us when we are busy or when we’re about to leave for the day, and it’s easy to forget what has been said. Sometimes we’re too busy to remember everything we need to do. |
| John: Right! It’s likely that at some point you will forget something. |
| Becky: If this happens, you should tell the right person that you forgot. Is there a sentence pattern we can use? |
| John: Yes, you can say, “I forgot,” plus the noun of what you forgot, or “I forgot to,” followed by the verb. |
| Becky: Let’s give some examples. |
| John: Sure, for example, “I forgot the paperwork,” or “I forgot to call him.” |
| Becky: And if we need to explain a little more, we can include the word “that.” |
| John: For example, “I forgot that I shouldn’t call him before ten a.m,” or “I forgot that the deadline was yesterday.” |
| Becky: When you forget something, you should also make sure to apologize |
| John: To apologize, we can use phrases such as “I’m sorry” or “I apologize.” You can also use adverbs, such as “really,” “very,” and “so,” to show how sorry you are. |
| Becky: Let’s give some sample sentences. |
| John: “I forgot the meeting, I’m sorry,” and “I forgot that the deadline was yesterday. I’m really sorry.” |
| Becky: When you apologize you should sound sincere, but don’t overdo it if it’s only a small mistake. |
| John: That’s because, often, people are more concerned about fixing the situation rather than listening to apologies. |
| Becky: The last step is about what to say to someone who apologizes for forgetting something. |
| John: The reaction changes depending on how serious the situation is. If they’ve forgotten something simple that doesn’t cause any problems, you can react differently than you would to someone forgetting something major that can ruin a meeting. |
| Becky: Let’s see both cases. What would you say if the situation is not so bad? |
| John: You can say, “It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” or “It’s okay, it doesn’t matter.” |
| Becky: If the situation is more serious, forgiving the person might also be tied to figuring out how to solve the problem. |
| John: Right. In that case you can just suggest the solution by saying, “Okay, well, can you quickly get the figures together?” or “Can you call him now?” |
| Becky: It’s very rare in English for people to actually say “I forgive you” when somebody has done something wrong. |
| John: Right, instead, we usually act as if the error isn’t that big of a deal and move on quickly. |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| John: See you! |
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