Learn how to use the prepositions "off" and "on"
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Getting Invited to a Thanksgiving Dinner in the United States. Eric Here. |
| Becky: Hey I'm Becky. |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn the prepositions “on” and “off”. The conversation takes place at home. |
| Becky: It's between Kate and Sean. |
| Eric: The speakers are friends, so they will use informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Sean: Hey Kate, thanks for inviting me to your Thanksgiving dinner. |
| Kate: Thanks for coming early to help me. Can you put the cranberry sauce on the table? |
| Sean: Should I leave those candles on the table? |
| Kate: Can you take them off the table? |
| Sean: Sure. I'll switch the TV off, too. |
| Kate: No, leave the TV on. I want to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Sean: Hey Kate, thanks for inviting me to your Thanksgiving dinner. |
| Kate: Thanks for coming early to help me. Can you put the cranberry sauce on the table? |
| Sean: Should I leave those candles on the table? |
| Kate: Can you take them off the table? |
| Sean: Sure. I'll switch the TV off, too. |
| Kate: No, leave the TV on. I want to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: Oh, Thanksgiving dinner! That’s an important date on the calendar for any American. |
| Becky: It is. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November every year. |
| Eric: So the date always changes, but it’s always a Thursday. |
| Becky: The first Thanksgiving is said to have been celebrated by the Pilgrims in the 17th century as part of a harvest celebration. |
| Eric: What is a 21st century Thanksgiving like? |
| Becky: It’s an important family day. |
| Eric: Yes, families gather together to give thanks. |
| Becky: And eat lots of food. |
| Eric: And sometimes argue. |
| Becky: Families do that sometimes! There is a traditional Thanksgiving meal that is centered around turkey and all of the trimmings. |
| Eric: There’s so much food… I like Thanksgiving because I love to watch the football games that day. |
| Becky: Yeah? I like watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! |
| Eric: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Eric: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Becky: to invite [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to ask someone to attend |
| Becky: to invite[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to invite [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: dinner [natural native speed] |
| Eric: the final meal of the day, the meal after lunch |
| Becky: dinner[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: dinner [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: sauce [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a liquid served with food to add flavor or moisture |
| Becky: sauce[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: sauce [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: candle [natural native speed] |
| Eric: an object made of wax with a wick in the middle that can be lit to provide light |
| Becky: candle[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: candle [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: to switch [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to change, to shift |
| Becky: to switch[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to switch [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: table [natural native speed] |
| Eric: an item of furniture with a flat surface that objects can be placed upon |
| Becky: table[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: table [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have…. |
| Becky: TV [natural native speed] |
| Eric: an appliance that can receive broadcast signals |
| Becky: TV[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: TV [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And last... |
| Becky: parade [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a moving line of people and displays called floats in celebration of a holiday or other important event |
| Becky: parade[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: parade [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Becky: to invite |
| Eric: ...meaning "to ask someone to attend." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Becky: This is a verb that you can use to politely ask someone to attend a party or event. |
| Eric: If you’re being polite and formal, you might give people a card or letter with the details. |
| Becky: Yes, this is called an “invite” or an “invitation.” |
| Eric: If someone comes but hasn’t been invited, you can say that they are “an uninvited guest.” |
| Becky: In fact, you can use that in any situation when someone you don’t want arrives. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using the verb invite? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “Have you been invited to the office party?” |
| Eric: Which means "Have you been asked to come to the office party?" |
| Eric: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: To switch |
| Eric: meaning "to change, to shift." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Becky: This is a verb that conjugates in a regular way. |
| Eric: When do you use it? |
| Becky: You often use it when talking about electrical objects. To “switch on” and to “switch off.” |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “Switch off the lights before you leave the room.” |
| Eric: Which means "Turn off the lights before you leave the room." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you'll learn about the prepositions “on” and “off”. The two prepositions in this lesson are quite closely linked, so let’s look at them in detail. |
| Becky: Yeah. We’ve looked at the preposition “on” a couple of times. |
| Eric: Yes, in lesson one in relation to time, and in lesson two in relation to place and position. |
| Becky: This time, we’ll look at it again for position. |
| Eric: So how do you use it for position? |
| Becky: You use it for surfaces. It is often teamed with verbs such as “to put.” |
| Eric: Can you give us an example? |
| Becky: Sure. “I put it on the desk.” |
| Eric: Where did you put it? Look at the desk! |
| Becky: “The clock is on the wall.” |
| Eric: Where is the clock? Look at the wall! |
| Becky: Another example is “I can’t go to bed yet, because my dog is sleeping on my bed.” |
| Eric: On top of the bed, is the dog. |
| Becky: Yeah, we don’t want to disturb the dog! Like the expression says, let sleeping dogs lie. |
| Eric: What does that mean? |
| Becky: It means don’t start trouble; let things stay the way they are. |
| Eric: Okay, the next preposition is “off.” |
| Becky: “Off” is also a preposition of position. It’s used to say that an object has moved away or down from something. |
| Eric: It’s often used with verbs like “to fall” or “to take.” |
| Becky: It has the opposite meaning to “on” sometimes. As in, “I put the pen on the table.” or “I took the pen off the table.” |
| Eric: They are opposite actions. Okay, let’s hear some examples for “off.” |
| Becky: “I fell off the ladder.” |
| Eric: I was on the ladder, but I fell. |
| Becky: “You should pick up your dog and take him off the bed.” |
| Eric: Ah, earlier you said you couldn’t go to bed because the dog was on the bed. |
| Becky: Yes, a solution is to pick up the dog and take him off. |
| Eric: So I guess you shouldn’t let all sleeping dogs lie. |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! |
| Becky: Bye. |
Comments
Hide