Dialogue - English

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Vocabulary (Review)

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you the one(s) being spoken to
how (American) in what way; the way in which
great large or very good; in a large or very good manner
yes used to express agreement
good positive in nature; not bad or poor
tomorrow the day after today
Wednesday the fourth day of the week
trip a journey from one place to another
secretary office worker
homework (American) school work that is done at home

Lesson Notes

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Lesson Focus

The Focus of This Lesson is Affirmative Sentences.
"Yes, tomorrow is Wednesday."

When asked a question, you can make an affirmative sentence by opening with "yes," and a form of the verb "to be."

Some examples:

  1. Question: "Are you going to the party tonight?"
    Affirmative Sentence: "Yes, I am."
  2. Question: "Will you be in class tomorrow?"
    Affirmative Sentence: "Yes, I will."
  3. Question: "Were you at the game last night?"
    Affirmative Sentence: "Yes, I was."

You can make informal affirmative sentences by simply using "yes," or more informal forms of "yes," such as, "sure," "yep," or "absolutely."

Some examples:

  1. Question: "Are you going to the party tonight?"
    Affirmative Sentence: "Absolutely!"
  2. Question: "Will you be in class tomorrow?"
    Affirmative Sentence: "Yep."
  3. Question: "Were you at the game last night?"
    Affirmative Sentence: "Yes."

The opposite of an affirmative sentence is a negative sentence. You can make a negative sentence by starting with, "no," and a form of the verb "to be."

Some examples:

  1. Question: "Are you going to the party tonight?"
    Negative Sentence: "No, I'm not."
  2. Question: "Will you be in class tomorrow?"
    Negative Sentence: "No, I won't."
  3. Question: "Were you at the game last night?"
    Negative Sentence: "No, I wasn't."

Read these questions and write your own answers:

  1. Question: "Do you enjoy studying English?"
    Answer:
  2. Question: "Is your English good?"
    Answer:
  3. Question: "Will you study English for a long time?"
    Answer:

 

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

The main character, Zo, opens the conversation with a greeting. He says, "Good evening," because he's talking to Ms. Walsh at nighttime.

All conversations begin with a greeting. Greetings are a nice way to break the ice—to start a good conversation. The other two most common greetings are, "Good morning," and "Good afternoon." In informal conversation or in conversation with a friend or family member, you can also just say, "Hello!"

Greetings make for nice conversation. It shows the person you're speaking to that you're interested in conversing with him or her and that you're a good person to talk to!

In the dialogue, Ms. Walsh tells Zo to, "Have a great trip!" We use this phrase when someone is going on a trip soon. We also use it when saying goodbye to someone who is leaving for a trip. For example, your friend is going away. You are with her, helping her pack the night before she leaves. When it is time for you to go home, instead of saying, "Goodbye," you can say, "Have a great trip."

"Have a great trip," is very friendly. But we can also use it in formal conversation where it will be read as a sign of kindness, as in the dialogue between Ms. Walsh and Zo.

Cultural Insights

Please "Stop By!"

 

Zo calls his teacher to find out if he can "stop by."

 

"I'm great! I just wanted to make sure you were in your office so I can stop by for the homework; I'm going on my big trip tomorrow!"

To "stop by" is to visit someone for a short time. Zo wants to stop by his teacher's office-he wants to visit her for a short time so he can get the homework.

Here are more sentences that include the phrase, "stop by."

  1. "Can you stop by later?"
  2. "You should stop by sometime!"
  3. "Let's stop by the store on the way home."
  4. "Do you mind if I stop by after work?"

The next time you want to visit a friend, call him up and ask if you can stop by!

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Grammar

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Lesson Transcript

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INTRODUCTION
Sadia: Hi, from New York! This is Sadia.
Keith: Hey, and I’m Keith. “Where Did You Learn to Speak English like That?!” Sadia, what are we looking at in this lesson?
Sadia: Well, in this lesson we’ll learn about basic greetings, asking about someone's well being, and asking simple questions.
Keith: OK, and this conversation takes place...
Sadia: It takes place on a Tuesday night on the telephone.
Keith: And this conversation is between...
Sadia: a student and his teacher.
Keith: Alright, well let’s listen in to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Zo: Good evening, Ms. Walsh. How are you?
Ms. Walsh: Good. And you? How are you, Zo?
Zo: I'm great! I just wanted to make sure you were in your
office so I can stop by for the homework; I'm going on
my big trip tomorrow!
Ms. Walsh: Ah, yes! Is tomorrow Wednesday?
Zo: Yep, tomorrow is Wednesday.
Ms. Walsh: How nice! Well, I'm going home now, but I'll leave the
homework with the secretary. Have a great trip!
Zo: Thank you, Ms. Walsh! See you later!
Keith: One more time slowly.
Zo: Good evening, Ms. Walsh. How are you?
Ms. Walsh: Good. And you? How are you, Zo?
Zo: I'm great! I just wanted to make sure you were in your
office so I can stop by for the homework; I'm going on
my big trip tomorrow!
Ms. Walsh: Ah, yes! Is tomorrow Wednesday?
Zo: Yep, tomorrow is Wednesday.
Ms. Walsh: How nice! Well, I'm going home now, but I'll leave the
homework with the secretary. Have a great trip!
Zo: Thank you, Ms. Walsh! See you later!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Sadia: Okay. So the main character, Zo, has called his
teacher to let her know that he won't be in class today.
Keith: That's right! He's going on a big trip-- and he seems
really excited about it!
Sadia: Yeah, he does! What's even better, though, it’s a little bit weird, is that his
teacher even seems excited about it!
Keith: Actually, yeah! That is a bit weird, and it’s kind of surprising! I mean, that’s a really, really nice teacher. I'm not sure I've ever had a teacher that
friendly!
Sadia: Really? I feel like I've had one or two.
Keith: Not me! I mean, in high school, if I were to tell
one of my teachers that I was going on some big trip,
they would've been like, “Hey, you’ve got to do three weeks of homework in advance, and they would be upset that I’m missing class. Not so happy for me.
Sadia: yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Really? Well, not all teachers are
that way, actually.
Keith: Yeah, I guess so.
Sadia: I mean, Zo’s teacher seems happy. Zo
says, "I just wanted to make sure you were in your
office so I can stop by for the homework."
Keith: Oh, that's right. Actually there’s a couple of good phrases in
that sentence.
Sadia: Yeah, I think the first is, "to make sure," which
means “to see” or “to be sure”.
Keith: Right. As in, "I just wanted to see if you were in your
office."
Sadia: Exactly.
Keith: The second important phrase that I thought was, "stop by."
Sadia: Oh, right, right. “Stop by”. What does this mean?
Keith: To "stop by" means to visit someone for a short time.
For example, "I'm going to stop by the store on my
way home."
Sadia: Right, right. “Stop by.” So Zo has called his teacher to see if she is in her
office so he can stop by.
Keith: Well, how about we “stop by” and take a look at some vocabulary.
Sadia: OK, let’s.
VOCAB LIST
Keith: The first word we shall see is...
Sadia: yes [natural native speed]
Keith: used to express agreement
Sadia: yes [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Sadia: yes [natural native speed]
Next:"
you [natural native speed]
Keith: the one(s) being spoken to
you [slowly - broken down by syllable]
you [natural native speed]
Next:"
Sadia: great [natural native speed]
Keith: large or very good; in a large or very good manner
Sadia: great [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Sadia: great [natural native speed]
Next:"
good [natural native speed]
Keith: positive in nature; not bad or poor
good [slowly - broken down by syllable]
good [natural native speed]
Next:"
Sadia: tomorrow [natural native speed]
Keith: the day after today
Sadia: tomorrow [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Sadia: tomorrow [natural native speed]
Next:"
Wednesday [natural native speed]
Keith: the fourth day of the week
Wednesday [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Wednesday [natural native speed]
Next:"
Sadia: trip [natural native speed]
Keith: a journey from one place to another
Sadia: trip [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Sadia: trip [natural native speed]
Next:"
secretary [natural native speed]
Keith: office worker
secretary [slowly - broken down by syllable]
secretary [natural native speed]
Next:"
Sadia: homework [natural native speed]
Keith: school work that is done at home
Sadia: homework [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Sadia: homework [natural native speed]
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Keith: OK, let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases for this lesson.
Sadia: The first phrase we’ll look at is, “Good evening.”
Keith: Oh, yeah. Zo, he opens the conversation with a greeting.
He says, "Good evening." because he's talking to Ms. Walsh at night time.
Sadia: Right.
Keith: Most conversations begin with a greeting, and greetings are a nice way to break the ice. And, Sadia, what does that mean, to “break the ice”?
Sadia: Ah, “break the ice” is a great phrase. “Break the ice” means to start a conversation.
Keith: Right, so if we’re meeting for the first time,
Sadia: Mm-hmm.
Keith: We’re going to “break the ice” with a greeting.
Sadia: Right, exactly.
Keith: And the particular greeting you use depends on the time of day.
Sadia: Right, so when I saw you earlier today, I said, "Good morning!"
Keith: You did! And when I get my lunch from the deli, I always greet the owner with, "Good afternoon!"
Sadia: Right, so in the dialogue, Zo says to his teacher, “Good evening” because he’s talking to her in the evening time.
Keith: Right, at night.
Sadia: Right. So greetings make for really nice conversation. It shows the person you're talking to that you're interested in talking to them-- that you're a great person to talk to!
Keith: Right!
Keith: I hope so.
Sadia: Like, yes. “Good night, now.”
Keith: Oh, wow! Well, what's the next phrase we’re going to take a look at??
Sadia: The next phrase is, "how nice!"
Keith: Ah, yes. So, when Zo reminds his teacher that he's going on this big trip, his teacher says, “how nice!”
Sadia: Lovely woman, she is! "How nice!" “How nice” is a great phrase. “How nice” shows happiness-- it shows that you're happy for the person you're talking to. In this case, the teacher, Ms. Walsh, is happy for Zo-- she’s happy that he's going on a little adventure!
Keith: Right, so if it’s something good that’s happening for someone else, you say, “How nice.”
Sadia: Exactly.
Keith: So Sadia, if you were getting married, I would say, “How nice!”
Sadia: You would? Let’s see if that ever comes to pass.
Keith: Let’s hope so soon, right. So the next phrase we’re going to take a look at is, "Have a
great trip!"
Sadia: Ah, my favorite!
Keith: Why is that your favorite?
Sadia: I love to travel. I love to travel, so “Have a great trip” is music to my ears. I love hearing, “Have a great trip.” So when someone tells you they’re going on a trip, it's nice to say to them, "have a great trip!"
Keith: OK, well, how about saying, "have a good trip?"
Sadia: Eh, “have a good trip..” that’s okay, too, but it just doesn't have the same power-- It doesn’t have the same feeling-- that "have a GREAT trip" has!
Keith: That's so true. So, good is good, and great is even better!
Sadia: That's right! Great job, Keith!

Lesson focus
Sadia: The focus of this lesson is affirmative sentences.
Keith: In this dialogue, Ms. Walsh asks, "Is tomorrow
Wednesday?"
Sadia: That's right-- "Is tomorrow Wednesday?" She asks a
simple question about the day of the week.
Keith: Right. Questions. Very important to conversations.
Sadia: Ah, they are. So, Ms. Walsh asks, "Is tomorrow
Wednesday?" and Zo answers, "Yep. Tomorrow is
Wednesday."
Keith: That's right. He's AFFIRMING that tomorrow is in
fact Wednesday.
Keith: When someone asks you a question, you can create
an affirmative answer by opening with "yes," (or in
this case, in the dialogue, what Zo used, was the more casual "yep") and a form of the
verb “to be”.
Sadia: That's right. So one more time, you can make an affirmative statement, or say yes, by opening with “yes” and a form of the verb “to be.” So if I ask, "Are you going to the party tonight?" You could say...
Keith: Yes, I am.
Sadia: How about, "Will you be in class tomorrow?"
Keith: Yes, I will.
Sadia: Were you at the game last night?
Keith: Yes, I was.
Sadia: Perfect.
Keith: And you can make informal affirmative sentences by simply using "yes," or more casual forms of "yes," like, "yeah," "sure," "yep," or "absolutely." So,
Sadia:, if I ask you, "Are you going to the party tonight?" How could you answer casually?
Sadia: I could say, “Absolutely!”
Keith: And if I ask, "Will you be in class tomorrow?"
Sadia: I could answer, "Yep."
Keith: And what about, "Were you at the game last night?"
Sadia: Yeah. Or, I could say, “Yeah, I was”.
Keith: So, that was answering in casual affirmative sentences.
Sadia: Yep!
Keith: So answering in the affirmative, giving a positive answer, a “yes” answer, is easy.
Sadia: Yes, it is.

Outro
Keith: Yep! Alright, well that’s going to do it for this lesson. Thanks for listening.
Sadia. Thanks for listening. Bye-bye.
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