Learn how to use the prepositions "to," "towards," and "toward"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: A Chance Meeting in the United States. John Here. |
| Becky: Hey I'm Becky. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn the prepositions “to”, “toward” and “towards”. The conversation takes place in the street. |
| Becky: It's between Rachel and Sean. |
| John: The speakers are friends, so they’ll use informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Rachel: Hi Sean! It's unusual to see you in this neighborhood. |
| Sean: I'm visiting a new client. |
| Rachel: Are you walking to their office? |
| Sean: Yes, it's toward the park. |
| Rachel: Oh, I'm going to Starbucks and that's also towards the park. |
| Sean: Let's walk together. |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Rachel: Hi Sean! It's unusual to see you in this neighborhood. |
| Sean: I'm visiting a new client. |
| Rachel: Are you walking to their office? |
| Sean: Yes, it's toward the park. |
| Rachel: Oh, I'm going to Starbucks and that's also towards the park. |
| Sean: Let's walk together. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Rachel is off to Starbucks. |
| Becky: Coffee shops like Starbucks are very popular in the States. |
| John: I think that Starbucks is famous in many countries these days. |
| Becky: That’s true, but it started out in Seattle, Washington in 1971. |
| John: And from there, it took over the world. |
| Becky: Sometimes it feels like that! But, coffee shops are a great place to meet friends. |
| John: They’re also a great place to study or get some work done. |
| Becky: And all while drinking coffee. |
| John: Each coffee shop, or chain of coffee shops, has its own signature drinks. |
| Becky: Right. You can also get things like frappuccinos, which are often low on coffee but high on sugar. |
| John: I’m not the biggest fan of coffee, so I usually get cocoa or tea. |
| Becky: Yeah, most coffee shops have a wide variety on the menu. |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Becky: unusual [natural native speed] |
| John: not common |
| Becky: unusual[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: unusual [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: neighborhood [natural native speed] |
| John: area where people live, usually having distinguishing characteristics |
| Becky: neighborhood[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: neighborhood [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: to visit [natural native speed] |
| John: to go somewhere to see a thing or person |
| Becky: to visit[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to visit [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: new [natural native speed] |
| John: something fresh that has been created or born very recently |
| Becky: new[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: new [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: client [natural native speed] |
| John: customer |
| Becky: client[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: client [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: to walk [natural native speed] |
| John: to move on foot by putting one foot in front of the other while always having one foot on the ground |
| Becky: to walk[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to walk [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: office [natural native speed] |
| John: a place where people work, usually on computers |
| Becky: office[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: office [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: park [natural native speed] |
| John: area of land for recreational activities |
| Becky: park[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: park [natural native speed] |
| John: And lastly... |
| Becky: together [natural native speed] |
| John: with one another |
| Becky: together[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: together [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Becky: unusual |
| John: ….meaning "not common". What can you tell us about this? |
| Becky: This is an adjective used to describe things that aren’t common. |
| John: It comes from the word “usual,” which means common. |
| Becky: You can also make it into an adverb, “unusually.” |
| John: Or a noun “unusualness.” |
| Becky: It’s really flexible! |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “This heavy rain is unusual for summer.” |
| John: ...which means "This heavy rain is not common for summer." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: To visit |
| John: ...meaning "to go somewhere to see a thing or person." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Becky: This is a verb, and it means that we’re going somewhere with the intention of seeing something or someone. |
| John: The intention to see something is the key part. |
| Becky: Yes. It can be going to see a friend, going to a country to sightsee… anything. |
| John: There is also the noun “visit.” |
| Becky: You can say things like “I will pay her a visit soon.” |
| John: Can you give us another example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “I visited the Pyramids when I went to Egypt.” |
| John: ... which means "I went to Egypt with the intention of seeing the pyramids." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: Together |
| John: ...meaning "with one another." |
| Becky: This means to be with someone else or something else. |
| John: You usually use it to describe people, but it can also be used for objects and concepts. |
| Becky: It can relate to two or many things. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: For example, you can say, “Let's go to the park together.” |
| John: ... which means "Let’s go to the park with one another." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn about the prepositions “to”, “toward”, and “towards.” There are three prepositions for this lesson, so let’s jump right in with the first one, “to.” |
| Becky: This is used for movement and place. You use it to say where you are going. |
| John: You use “to” before the destination. |
| Becky: For example, “I will walk to the library.” As “library” is a common noun, it needs the article “the.” |
| John: Proper nouns generally don’t need the article. |
| Becky: “We are moving to Detroit next month.” |
| John: Yes, good example! |
| Becky: Another example using “to” is “My husband is changing jobs, so it means that we have to move to the countryside.” |
| John: Or “I need to study, so I will go to the coffee shop.” |
| Becky: Of course, only the second “to” in that sentence is being used as a preposition. |
| John: The next preposition is “toward.” |
| Becky: This is used for movement, and is about the direction of the movement. |
| John: So it actually refers to the action of moving, not the end result. |
| Becky: Right. It puts emphasis on being on the way to somewhere, more so than arriving. |
| John: Can you give us an example? |
| Becky: “He was walking toward work when the accident happened.” |
| John: “I was driving toward the station when my car broke down.” |
| Becky: In both cases, the emphasis is that the event happened while on the way somewhere. |
| John: The last preposition is “towards.” |
| Becky: In modern English, “toward” and “towards” are interchangeable. Technically and historically they aren’t, but in modern usage there is no difference. Overall, most Americans tend to use “toward,” so it’s best to stick with that. |
| John: Let’s have some examples with “towards” anyway. |
| Becky: Of course! “The plane was heading towards San Francisco.” |
| John: “He was driving towards Dallas, but changed his mind and drove back.” |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Becky: Bye! |
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