Learn to greet an old friend or business colleague
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 |
| Sadia: Hey, everyone. This is Sadia. |
| Keith: And I’m Keith. “The Proper Way to Do Business in America.” |
| Sadia: In our last lesson, Lesson 12, you learned how to commute using a taxi and how to engage in small talk. |
| Keith: You also learned about the verb, “to speak,” about questions with verbs-- |
| Sadia: And about adjectives with nouns. |
| Keith: In this lesson, what you’ll learn about is visiting an office and meeting with a business associate. |
| Sadia: This conversation takes place in the lobby of a business office. |
| Keith: And this conversation is between the office receptionist, and the main character, Zo, and also Ms. Clarke, one of the business managers. Alright, well let’s listen in to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Receptionist: Good morning, and welcome to Alta. |
| Zo: Good morning. I have a 9 A.M. appointment with Ms. Clarke. |
| Receptionist: Your name? |
| Zo: Viljoen. |
| Receptionist: Just a moment, Mr. Viljoen. |
| Receptionist: Sorry to keep you waiting. Right this way. |
| Ms. Clarke: Zo, long time, no see! |
| Zo: I know! It’s good to see you again! Here's a little something from South Africa. |
| Ms. Clarke: Thanks, but you shouldn't have! You look great. How are you? |
| Zo: I'm good. And you? You're looking good, too! |
| Ms. Clarke: I'm doing very well. Busy, but good. Today we have a long day. A very long day. Are you ready? |
| Zo: Yes, ma’am! |
| Keith: One more time, slowly. |
| Receptionist: Good morning, and welcome to Alta. |
| Zo: Good morning. I have a 9 A.M. appointment with Ms. Clarke. |
| Receptionist: Your name? |
| Zo: Viljoen. |
| Receptionist: Just a moment, Mr. Viljoen. |
| Receptionist: Sorry to keep you waiting. Right this way. |
| Ms. Clarke: Zo, long time, no see! |
| Zo: I know! It’s good to see you again! Here's a little something from South Africa. |
| Ms. Clarke: Thanks, but you shouldn't have! You look great. How are you? |
| Zo: I'm good. And you? You're looking good, too! |
| Ms. Clarke: I'm doing very well. Busy, but good. Today we have a long day. A very long day. Are you ready? |
| Zo: Yes, ma’am! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sadia: OK, so a little bit of change in pace here I think-- |
| Keith: What does that mean, Sadia? A change in pace... |
| Sadia: The earlier dialogues were very light and they were very fun, and some of them were very brief, even if they weren’t fun. But here, the mood has changed. The feeling has changed so you can say there has been a change in pace. Zo has now found himself in a business, or professional, situation. |
| Keith: Yeah, that’s very true. Unlike his talk with his friend, Michelle, or some of the taxi driver talk, and unlike those situations, Zo's |
| communication with the people in this dialogue is similar to the talking he did with the hotel front desk worker. |
| Sadia: Ah, definitely. Both situations show very brief but very polite language. |
| Keith: Yep. Both have the same relationship to Zo; they are serving him. |
| Sadia: They also both address him by his last name, Mr. Viljoen. |
| Keith: You may have noticed that his tone is slightly different with the manager, Ms. Clarke, than it is with the receptionist. |
| Sadia: Right, the feeling he is expressing is a little bit different with the receptionist, and with the hotel worker, you know, he keeps his responses kind of polite and short, but with Ms. Clarke, it’s kind of clear that they’ve known each other for a long time, and so they’re able to have a more relaxed, like a more loose kind of conversation I think. |
| Keith: And it’s also interesting that Zo presents Ms. Clarke with a gift, which is not typically done. You don’t usually do that at American business meetings. |
| Sadia: Yeah, I don’t think we do, I mean, maybe during the holidays or something, but it is pretty unusual that he gives her a gift, and it kind of shows us even further, proves that he and Ms. Clarke have a bond that’s probably a little bit more personal. They’ve known each other for a while. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Keith: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Sadia: appointment [natural native speed] |
| Keith: arrangement for a meeting |
| Sadia: appointment [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: appointment [natural native speed] |
| Next... |
| with [natural native speed] |
| Keith: alongside; by using |
| with [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| with [natural native speed] |
| Next... |
| Sadia: moment [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a short period of time |
| Sadia: moment [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: moment [natural native speed] |
| Next... |
| apology [natural native speed] |
| Keith: an admission of a mistake; |
| apology [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| apology [natural native speed] |
| Next... |
| Sadia: to keep [natural native speed] |
| Keith: to hold on to; to maintain |
| Sadia: to keep [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: to keep [natural native speed] |
| Next... |
| to wait [natural native speed] |
| Keith: to stay in place |
| to wait [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| to wait [natural native speed] |
| Next... |
| Sadia: something [natural native speed] |
| Keith: some unspecified thing |
| Sadia: something [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: something [natural native speed] |
| Next... |
| Saida: US [natural native speed] |
| Keith: United States |
| Saida: US [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Saida: US [natural native speed] |
| Next... |
| Sadia: busy [natural native speed] |
| Keith: full of activity, engaged in activity, occupied |
| Sadia: busy [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: busy [natural native speed] |
| Next... |
| Saida: today [natural native speed] |
| Keith: the present day; after yesterday but before tomorrow |
| Saida: today [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Saida: today [natural native speed] |
| Next... |
| Sadia: long [natural native speed] |
| Keith: not short; of great length |
| Sadia: long [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: long [natural native speed] |
| Next... |
| Saida: day [natural native speed] |
| Keith: the time of light between one night and the next |
| Saida: day [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Saida: day [natural native speed] |
| Next... |
| Sadia: ready [natural native speed] |
| Keith: prepared to continue or move on |
| Sadia: ready [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: ready [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 from this lesson. |
| Sadia: OK, the first phrase we’ll look at is. “I have a 9 am appointment with Ms. Clarke.” |
| Keith: After the receptionist greets him, says hello, Zo lets her know that he has a meeting scheduled with Ms. Clarke. |
| He says, "I have a 9 am appointment with Ms. Clarke." |
| Sadia: OK.This is common in an office; the receptionist welcomes visitors, who are expected to let her know whom they are in the office to see. |
| Keith: Use this phrase the next time you visit business associates. |
| Sadia: The next phrase is, "Your name?" |
| Keith: This is short for, "What is your name?" |
| Sadia: Right. So, "Your name?" What's next? |
| Keith: Apologies for keeping you waiting." |
| Sadia: Of course. This is a formal apology that’s quite common in professional settings where the secretary, or the receptionist or an assistant-- must first tell |
| her boss that she has a visitor. |
| Keith: OK, and the receptionist in the dialogue, she must let Ms. Clarke know that Mr. Viljoen has arrived, so he is kept waiting while the receptionist lets her boss know that she has a visitor. |
| Sadia: And when she returns to take Zo to Ms. |
| Clarke's office, the receptionist says, "Apologies for keeping you waiting." What's the next phrase? |
| Keith: Well, the next phrase is, "Right this way." |
| Sadia: Ah, "Right this way." |
| Keith: Yeah, it is a very polite phrase that means, "Come with me." |
| Sadia: Yeah, I think it’s also used pretty often in restaurants by the host, when he or she is ready to show you to your table. They say, “Right this way.” |
| Keith: Right. And here’s your table. |
| Sadia: “Follow me.” |
| Keith: But in this case, it's used to show Zo to Ms. |
| Clarke's office. Here’s Ms. Clarke’s office. Right this way. |
| Sadia: Next are the phrases that all have kind of the same meaning. They are, "Long time, no see” and “It's been too long” and “A very long time.” and “Way too long." |
| Keith: They're used by friends or maybe longtime business friends or people you do business with, who haven't seen one another for a long time, and you’re happy that you’re seeing them again. |
| Sadia: Next is, "Here is a little something from South Africa." Zo brings a gift for Ms. Clarke and he tells her, "Here's a little something from South Africa." The phrase means “here's a small gift." |
| Keith: Even if the gift is large or important, the gift giver might still say "here's a little something." This is used to express modesty so the recipient, the person getting the gift doesn’t feel like they have to return the favor or like they have to give a gift back. |
| Sadia: The next phrase is, "Thank you, but you shouldn't have," which is, ah, like a phrase of appreciation. |
| Keith: So basically what this means is, "thank you for the gift, but you shouldn't have given it to me-- you shouldn't have bought it." |
| Sadia: Just like "here's a little something," "you shouldn't have" is also meant to express modesty-- The person receiving the gift, who says, “Oh, you shouldn’t have,” they’re kind of expressing a slight embarrassment, perhaps because they feel bad that they don’t have anything to give in return. |
| Keith: Yeah, so if you don’t have a gift packed, you should say, “You shouldn’t have.” because I don’t have a gift to give. What's our next phrase? |
| Sadia: Our next phrase is, “How are you?” |
| Keith: Oh-- everyone should know this one. And this is short for, "How are you doing?" |
| Sadia: Exactly. How are you? Next is, "Are you ready?" |
| Keith: And this usually means, "Are you ready to go on, or are you ready to move on?" |
| Sadia: Right, but in this dialogue, while this meaning is intended, |
| but there's also an element of warning in Ms. Clarke's tone; She’s warning Zo that the day will be very long. She wants Zo to understand that they really do have a busy day ahead! So she asks in kind of a dark tone, |
| "Are you ready?" For this busy day we have ahead? |
| Keith: Are you ready to move on to the grammar points? |
| Sadia: I am! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Keith: The focus points of this lesson are adverbs and the verb, to "look." |
| Sadia: Let's start with adverbs. Some of you may already |
| know that adverbs modify verbs. They tell you how something is done. |
| Keith: In this dialogue, Ms. Clark tells Zo that she is "doing well." |
| Sadia: , WELL modifies HOW Ms. Clark is doing-- how she's getting along. |
| Keith: Well is the adverb. |
| Sadia: Right. Let's think of some other sentences that use adverbs to modify VERBS... |
| Keith: Sure, how about, "The girl happily ran home." |
| Sadia: HOW did the girl run home? She ran home happily. How about, "The dog barked loudly." |
| Keith: HOW did the dog bark? |
| Sadia: The dog barked loudly. |
| Keith: OK, one more - "The woman yelled angrily." HOW did the woman yell? |
| Sadia: She yelled angrily. And I think I've done that a few times. |
| Keith: I think everyone has. Adverbs are often formed by adding -ly to an adjective-- Like happy, the adverb is, happiLY, And the adjective loud, the adverb is loudLY, The adjective angry, the adverb is angriLY. You should also know that adverbs can also be used to modify adjectives. |
| Sadia: Mm. Good point. So Ms. Clarke, in addition to "doing well," also tells Zo, "I'm very good." |
| Keith: Right. The adverb "very" modifies how "good" Ms. Clark feels. VERY is an adverb that modifies the adjective GOOD. |
| Keith: Ms. Clarke also warns Zo about the day ahead. We just talked about this. |
| Keith: HOW long will the day be? Very long. |
| Sadia: Exactly. So very is an ADVERB that modifies the ADJECTIVE long. |
| Keith: How about a few sample sentences that use adverbs to modify ADJECTIVES? |
| Sadia: Her brother is really smart. |
| Keith: REALLY modifies SMART. How about. The weather is wonderfully warm. |
| Sadia: Even, the opposite. It's terribly cold outside. |
| Keith: So, to review, ADVERBS can be used to modify verbs-- such as, She sang the song loudly. LOUDLY modifies HOW she sang the song. |
| Sadia: Adverbs can also be used to modify ADJECTIVES-- as in, This story is awfully sad. |
| AWFULLY modifies HOW SAD the story is. Now let's take a LOOK at the verb, TO LOOK |
| Keith: But let's start small and take a look at how it's used in the dialogue. |
| Sadia: OK, good idea. So Zo and Ms. Clarke are meeting again for the first time in a very long time. Zo presents her with a gift, and she thanks him. She then tells him that he "looks great!" |
| Keith: Right. And Zo responds he says, "You're looking good, too!" Now, what do they mean? |
| Sadia: The most common definition of to look-- the way the word is used most of the time, it means to focus attention on something with the eyes. To look is to use your eyes to put your attention on something. |
| Keith: For example, "Look at me," or "don't look!" |
| Sadia: Right. Exactly. Zo and Ms. Clarke, however, are referring to one another's PHYSICAL APPEARANCE. |
| Keith: Okay, so "to look" also means "to appear." |
| Sadia: Exactly.. |
| Keith: So, "you look good!" really means, "you appear well!" or, "your physical appearance is good!" |
| Sadia: Precisely. But these "translated" phrases "you appear well!" and, "your physical appearance is good!" they sound a bit weird so we just say, "You look good!" |
| Keith: Other phrases that use "to look" in this way are, How do I look? Or, He doesn't look so good. |
| Sadia: Yeah, or maybe even “She looks afraid.” And, “He looks happy.” |
| Keith: Well, that was pretty easy. |
| Sadia: Yeah, yeah, it’s useful too. |
| Keith: Definitely useful. So, next time you catch up with an old friend and you're feeling super confident, ask him-- How do I look? |
| Sadia: Or better yet, when you see someone you've been wanting to see for a while, say to him, "You look GOOD!" [laughs] |
| Keith: Everyone, take note of Sadia’s intonation. “You look good.” Thank you for listening. |
Outro |
| Sadia: Thanks so much. Buh-bye. |
| Keith: Bye. |
Comments
Hide