Learn how to make plans to meet a friend using the present progressive tense, and about how to use "here" and "there"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sadia: Hey everyone. Thanks for joining in. This is Sadia. |
| Keith: And I’m Keith. “Make the Most of Your English Skills - Get in the Game with This Tactic” |
| Sadia: In our last lesson, Lesson 23, you learned how to ask for directions and take control of a situation. |
| Keith: And you also learned about simple imperatives. |
| Sadia: And ordinal numbers. |
| Keith: In this lesson you’ll learn how to talk about ongoing action. |
| Sadia: The conversation takes place on a Friday afternoon, at a coffee shop. |
| Keith: And the conversation is between Zo and his friend from the |
| plane, I think you might remember, Michelle! Let’s listen in to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Zo: [clears throat] "So, do you come here often?" |
| Michelle: Huh? Zo? What are you doing here? |
| Zo: [laughs] I'm sightseeing. What are you doing here? |
| Michelle: I'm working. I'm waiting for a client. So how’s New York? |
| Zo: It's great. Really, it's unbelievable! |
| Michelle: Ah, that's my client over there. I really want to hear about your trip, but... |
| Zo: Do you have time this weekend? |
| Michelle: Yes, I do. How about tomorrow? |
| Zo: Tomorrow, I'm going to a barbecue with my homestay family. |
| Michelle: Aww, that's so American! How about Sunday? |
| Zo: Perfect. |
| Michelle: I'll send you an email. |
| Zo: Great. See you then... |
| Michelle: Bye! |
| Keith: One more time, slowly. |
| Zo: [clears throat] "So, do you come here often?" |
| Michelle: Huh? Zo? What are you doing here? |
| Zo: [laughs] I'm sightseeing. What are you doing here? |
| Michelle: I'm working. I'm waiting for a client. So how’s New York? |
| Zo: It's great. Really, it's unbelievable! |
| Michelle: Ah, that's my client over there. I really want to hear about your trip, but... |
| Zo: Do you have time this weekend? |
| Michelle: Yes, I do. How about tomorrow? |
| Zo: Tomorrow, I'm going to a barbecue with my homestay family. |
| Michelle: Aww, that's so American! How about Sunday? |
| Zo: Perfect. |
| Michelle: I'll send you an email. |
| Zo: Great. See you then... |
| Michelle: Bye! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sadia: Zo and Michelle meet again! How awesome. |
| Michelle was of course, the girl who sat next to Zo on the plane. Remember her? |
| Keith: Yeah, I do! And even though New York is a big city, it’s huge, the two friends manage to run into one another, that means they meet again unexpectedly, by chance. |
| Sadia: That's right. Zo sneaks up behind Michelle. He walks up to her while she isn’t looking—and then he gets her attention by using one of the pickup lines Tom told him was no good. |
| Keith: Oh, he's a brave man! |
| Sadia: He is. But it’s all in good humor and Michelle isn’t bothered by it—she’s a pretty easy going girl. |
| Keith: It sounds like they make a plan to meet again on the following Sunday. |
| Sadia: Zo and Michelle can’t meet on Saturday because Zo’s going to a barbeque with his homestay family. |
| Keith: Barbeque. Let's talk about that. |
| Sadia: A barbeque is an outdoor party that includes grilling and eating food—usually meat like hamburgers, and chicken, and hot dogs—and it’s outside. |
| Keith: Michelle says barbeques are “very American”. Do you know why? |
| Sadia: Why? |
| Keith: because it is! |
| Sadia: Indeed, that's for sure. So if you ever visit America during the summer, you can be sure that at least once you'll smell burning charcoal and cooking meats-- and you might smell some vegetables too. |
| Keith: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Sadia: to sightsee [natural native speed] |
| Keith: to visit famous or interesting sites |
| Sadia: to sightsee [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: to sightsee [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| to work [natural native speed] |
| Keith: to perform a job |
| to work [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| to work [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: to wait [natural native speed] |
| Keith: to stay in one place and expect someone or something |
| Sadia: to wait [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: to wait [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: for [natural native speed] |
| Keith: used as a function word to indicate purpose |
| Sadia: for [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: for [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: client [natural native speed] |
| Keith: customer |
| Sadia: client [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: client [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: how [natural native speed] |
| Keith: in what way; the way in which |
| Sadia: how [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: how [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: really [natural native speed] |
| Keith: truly, very |
| Sadia: really [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: really [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: unbelievably [natural native speed] |
| Keith: in a way that is very hard to believe, in an incredible way |
| Sadia: unbelievably [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: unbelievably [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: over there [natural native speed] |
| Keith: in the place far from here |
| Sadia: over there [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: over there [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: to hear [natural native speed] |
| Keith: to perceive with the ears; to learn |
| Sadia: to hear [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: to hear [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Keith: Alright, well let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Sadia: The first phrase we’ll look at is “Really unbelievable!” Michelle asks Zo how he’s enjoying his trip. In response, Zo says, “It’s great. It’s really unbelievable!” What's this mean, Keith? |
| Keith: It means that he can’t believe he’s having such a good time—It’s so much fun, it’s such a good time, he can’t believe it. He didn’t expect to have such a good time. |
| Sadia: So to say something is “unbelievable” is to say that something is very, very surprising. |
| Keith: Our next phrase is, “to wait for” |
| Sadia: To wait for someone or something is to expect someone or something, and to stay in one place until that person or thing arrives. |
| Keith: When Zo meets Michelle, she says she’s “waiting for a client.” |
| Sadia: She’s staying in one place until her client arrives. |
| Sadia: Next is, “to hear about.” Now, to hear about something means to find out about something or to learn about something. |
| Keith: Yeah, Michelle wants to “hear about” Zo’s trip—she wants to find out what he’s been doing. The next phrase is, “Do you have time this weekend?” |
| Sadia: This phrase is short for, “Do you have any free time this weekend?” |
| Keith: Our next phrase is, “I'm going to a barbeque with my homestay family.” |
| Sadia: Michelle suggests meeting the next day, but Zo refuses her invitation. He says no because he already has plans. |
| Keith: But instead of saying, “No, I can’t,” Zo tells Michelle what his plans are. |
| Sadia: The next phrase is, “Oh, that's so American!” |
| Keith: And Michelle thinks that barbeques are “so American,” What that means is that they’re typical of Americans, or something most Americans do. |
| Sadia: And barbeques are definitely on the list of "Very American" things. [laughs] |
| Keith: Definitely. Finally, is our word, Perfect |
| Sadia: Oh, yes. Can't forget that one. Michelle suggests meeting on Sunday. In response, Zo says, “Perfect.” |
| Keith: This means that the time is perfect for me to meet you because I’m free then.” |
| Sadia: “Perfect” also shows that Zo is excited to meet with Michelle on Sunday. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Sadia: The focus points of this lesson are the Present Progressive Tense and the words, Here and There. |
| Keith: Can we start with the PRESENT PROGRESSIVE? |
| Sadia: The present progressive verb tense is used to describe what is happening now, or what will happen in the future. |
| Keith: And it’s formed by combining the verb "to be" with the present participle-- and what that means is, the –ing form of a verb. |
| Sadia: Subject + the verb “to be” + ing verb. So, I am + running. = I am running. |
| Keith: Or, She + is + walking. She is walking. |
| Sadia: They + are + working = They are working. |
| Keith: And We + are + speaking. That’s we are speaking. |
| Sadia: Many of the verbs used in this dialogue are in the present progressive tense, right? |
| Keith: Yeah, they are. Let’s have a closer look. |
| Sadia: Okay. |
| Keith: Michelle doesn’t expect to run into Zo. They don’t expect to meet. But when Zo |
| approaches her—using one of his “pickup lines”—she’s surprised and says, “What ARE YOU |
| DOING here?” And the verb “doing” is in the present progressive tense because Michelle is asking about Zo’s action NOW. What’s he doing right now? |
| Sadia: What + are + you + doing + here? Because it’s a question, this sentence uses a slightly different formula. |
| Keith: That's right. A question word + the verb “to be” + the subject + the adverb. "What are you doing here?" |
| Sadia: Let's not forget - Zo tells Michelle, “I’m sightseeing.” Zo is sightseeing right NOW so he uses the present progressive tense. |
| Keith: I am + sightseeing. |
| Sadia: Then Michelle tells Zo, “I’m working. I’m waiting for a client.” I am + working. I’m working. |
| Keith: And I am + waiting + for a client. I’m waiting for a client. |
| Sadia: In that sentence, “For” is a preposition, and “a client” is the object. This sentence uses this formula, Subject + the verb to be + present participle + object. |
| Keith: The verb to be + -ing verb + object. |
| Sadia: That's the PRESENT PROGRESSIVE tense. Use it to describe what is happening NOW, or what will happen in the future! Now for the words, "here" and "there." |
| Keith: Michelle asks Zo, “What are you doing HERE?” |
| Sadia: In that sentence, the word “here” is being used as an adverb. It means, IN THIS PLACE. |
| Keith: So what Michelle is really asking Zo is, “What are you doing IN THIS PLACE?” |
| Sadia: Let's go through some other sentences that use the adverb, “here”- I told them to meet me here! Or, Can you bring those books here? |
| Keith: Or, Did you walk here? And, Is it okay if I sit here? What about the word "there?" |
| Sadia: As she’s talking to Zo, Michelle sees the person she is looking for in the distance and says, “Ah, that's my client over there.” |
| Keith: In this sentence, “there” is being used as an adverb. It means, IN THAT FAR PLACE—not near, but far. So what Michelle is really saying is, “That’s my |
| client IN THAT FAR PLACE.” That’s my client there. |
| Sadia: So another example - Stand over there. |
| Keith: Or stop right there. |
| Sadia: Or there she is! Or, I’ve been there before. |
| Keith: Here and there. |
| Sadia: Use HERE for things that are NEAR. |
| Keith: And THERE for things that are FAR. |
Outro |
| Keith: Well, that just about does it. Thanks for listening. |
| Sadia: Thanks for listening. Bye-bye. |
| Keith: Bye. |
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