Learn how to use the prepositions "across" and "opposite"
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 |
| John: Where's the Nearest Post Office in the United States? John Here. |
| Becky: Hey I'm Becky. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn the prepositions “across” and “opposite.” The conversation takes place at work. |
| Becky: It's between Rachel and Sean. |
| John: The speakers are co-workers, and they will use both formal and informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Rachel: Sean, can you take this package to the post office? |
| Sean: Where is it? |
| Rachel: It's across the street. |
| Sean: Is it next to the bank? |
| Rachel: No, it's opposite the pizza place. |
| Sean: Sure. I'll be back soon. |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Rachel: Sean, can you take this package to the post office? |
| Sean: Where is it? |
| Rachel: It's across the street. |
| Sean: Is it next to the bank? |
| Rachel: No, it's opposite the pizza place. |
| Sean: Sure. I'll be back soon. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Ah, the United States Postal Service. |
| Becky: USPS delivers mail and packages across the country. If you need it to be delivered quickly, or it’s of special importance, you can pay extra for quicker shipping and tracking. |
| John: Regular post can be slow and I’ve had so much mail never arrive. |
| Becky: Really? I’ve never had a problem with the mail service. |
| John: Never? I’ve received damaged packages too. |
| Becky: Honestly, I’ve never had a problem. |
| John: Yeah, I have friends that have had problems too, and then others that never have. |
| Becky: I guess it’s just luck of the draw? |
| John: Maybe! If it’s something important, these days I use a private courier service like FedEx or UPS. |
| Becky: They’re more expensive. |
| John: But more reliable, in my experience at least. |
| Becky: Maybe you should tip your mailman so you don’t get any more missed mail or damaged packages. |
| John: Maybe I should! Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Becky: can [natural native speed] |
| John: to be able to |
| Becky: can[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: can [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: package [natural native speed] |
| John: box or large envelope that is delivered |
| Becky: package[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: package [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: post office [natural native speed] |
| John: a building where postal services, such as sending mail, can be obtained |
| Becky: post office[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: post office [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: street [natural native speed] |
| John: a public road, usually with houses and buildings lining it |
| Becky: street[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: street [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: bank [natural native speed] |
| John: a business that offers financial services such as loans and accounts |
| Becky: bank[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: bank [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: pizza [natural native speed] |
| John: a food that originated in Italy and is usually a flat, round dough covered in various toppings |
| Becky: pizza[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: pizza [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: place [natural native speed] |
| John: location, room, or space |
| Becky: place[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: place [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: back [natural native speed] |
| John: to return to a previous place or position |
| Becky: back[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: back [natural native speed] |
| John: And lastly... |
| Becky: soon [natural native speed] |
| John: in or after a short time |
| Becky: soon[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: soon [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: ...can... |
| John: ...meaning "to be able to." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Becky: This is a special class of verb called a modal verb. |
| John: You use “can” to say that you have the ability to do something. |
| Becky: You often use it in questions, such as “can you swim?” |
| John: And also statements like “I can swim.” |
| Becky: You can also use it to give permission, as in “You can borrow my bike.” |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “I can juggle.” |
| John: ..which means "I am able to juggle." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: Post office... |
| John: ...meaning "a building where postal services, such as sending mail, can be obtained." What can you tell us about this? |
| Becky: There are two words. The first is “post,” which means “mail” or “to send mail.” |
| John: The second is “office,” which is “a building or room used as a place of business.” |
| Becky: So it’s a place of business for mail! |
| John: As we heard earlier this lesson, in the US it’s called the US Postal Service. |
| Becky: But informally, it can be called the Post Office or Postal Service. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: For example, you can say, “The letter was delivered by the post office.” |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: Place... |
| John: ...meaning "location, room, or space" How do you use the word “place”? |
| Becky: It’s a general term for a specific location or space. |
| John: What do you mean by specific location? |
| Becky: For example, you can say “let’s meet at the library.” But, if everyone knows that it will be the library, you can say “let’s meet at that place” instead. |
| John: You also hear things like “his place” or “my place.” |
| Becky: A possessive plus “place” usually means that person’s home. So “my place” is the same as “my home.” |
| John: What’s an example using this word? |
| Becky: You can say, “We go to the same place every Friday.” |
| John: ...which means "We go to the same location every Friday." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn about the prepositions “across” and “opposite.” Another two prepositions for this lesson! |
| Becky: We’re getting through a lot of these in this series. |
| John: We are! So let’s get going and start with “across.” |
| Becky: This is a preposition of movement or place. It can be used for moving from one side to another. |
| John: Like “walked across the street.” |
| Becky: When you use it for movement, there is usually a verb there, such as “walk.” |
| John: Or “run,” or “swim,” things like that. |
| Becky: “Across” can also be used for the position of something related to something else. |
| John: For example, “Across the road.” Let’s look at some sentence examples. |
| Becky: “We walked across the street to the playground.” |
| John: “The science lab is across the hall.” |
| Becky: There are a couple of idioms with “across” also. |
| John: Such as “across the board.” |
| Becky: This means that something is affecting everyone or everything. |
| John: For example, “There will be job cuts across the board.” |
| Becky: That means that every department in the company will be losing staff. |
| John: Another idiom is “across the pond.” |
| Becky: In this case “the pond” is the Atlantic Ocean. So, it means America and Europe. But because it’s used a lot by British people, it often means England or the UK. |
| John: “He is going on vacation across the pond.” |
| Becky: If you say that in America, it means he’s going on vacation in Europe, probably in the UK. |
| John: The next preposition is “opposite.” |
| Becky: This can be used to talk about position related to something else. |
| John: As in, “There is a bus stop opposite the high school.” |
| Becky: Or to say that two actors are in the same movie or TV show. |
| John: “Jennifer Lawrence is starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio.” |
| Becky: “Opposite” sounds pretty similar to “across,” but you can’t use “opposite” for movement. “I walked opposite the street is wrong. |
| John: And “Jennifer Lawrence is starring across Leonardo DiCaprio” is wrong too. |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Becky: Bye |
Comments
Hide