Learn how to talk about your reluctance to leave America using the present simple negative form, and questions using "can"
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! Thanks for listening. This is Sadia. |
| Keith: And I’m Keith. Where Does Your English Go From Here? |
| Sadia: In our last lesson, you learned how to leave a message and navigate voice mail. |
| Keith: And we also reviewed the present progressive tense. |
| Sadia: As well as the simple past tense. |
| Keith: In this lesson you’ll learn how to give a good reason. |
| Sadia: This conversation takes place at the hotel front desk on Zo’s last day In America. |
| Keith: And the conversation is between Zo, and the hotel front desk worker. Let’s listen in to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Front desk worker: Good morning, Mr. Viljoen. |
| Zo: Good morning! Checkout, please! |
| Front desk worker: Yes, sir. Also, you have some messages. |
| Zo: Oh, thank you. |
| Front desk worker: What's wrong? |
| Zo: I don't want to leave. |
| Front desk worker: So why leave? |
| Zo: Well...because I have work. And because I live in South Africa. |
| Front desk worker: That's a good reason. Hmmm...can you work here in the US? And live here? |
| Zo: Hmm, well maybe I can. That’s a good idea, I’ll have to think about it. Thanks |
| for everything. |
| Keith: One more time, slowly. |
| Front desk worker: Good morning, Mr. Viljoen. |
| Zo: Good morning! Checkout, please! |
| Front desk worker: Yes, sir. Also, you have some messages. |
| Zo: Oh, thank you. |
| Front desk worker: What's wrong? |
| Zo: I don't want to leave. |
| Front desk worker: So why leave? |
| Zo: Well...because I have work. And because I live in South Africa. |
| Front desk worker: That's a good reason. Hmmm...can you work here in the US? And live here? |
| Zo: Hmm, well maybe I can. That’s a good idea, I’ll have to think about it. Thanks for everything. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Keith: In this dialogue, Zo’s preparing to return to his home in South Africa, but he doesn’t seem happy to get back to his life. |
| Sadia: Aww I know, he sounds so pathetic. But the front desk worker’s pretty cool, right? |
| Keith: Yeah, the front desk worker suggests that if Zo doesn’t want to leave, he shouldn’t! |
| Sadia: The worker suggests that Zo considers moving to and working in New York. Zo hadn’t thought about this before, but... |
| Keith: Maybe! And the front desk worker seems to have been able to inspire Zo to think differently. Maybe he’ll move to New York after all. |
| Sadia: Maybe so! Listeners, if you were Zo, would you move to New York? |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Keith Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Sadia maybe [natural native speed] |
| Keith possibly, but not certainly, perhaps |
| Sadia maybe [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia maybe [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: reason [natural native speed] |
| Keith fact that explains why something is |
| Sadia: reason [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: reason [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia some [natural native speed] |
| Keith a small number or amount |
| Sadia some [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia some [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: to want [natural native speed] |
| Keith to wish for |
| Sadia: to want [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: to want [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia wrong [natural native speed] |
| Keith not correct; unpleasant or bad |
| Sadia wrong [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia wrong [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Keith: All right Sadia, let’s take a deeper look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Sadia: Okay. The first phrase we’ll look at is “Checkout, please.” Zo approaches the hotel front desk and says, “Checkout, please.” |
| Keith: This phrase is a short version of the sentence, “I’d like to check out, please.” |
| Sadia: And to check out of a hotel means to let the hotel know that you are ending your stay, to pay your hotel fees, and to return the room keys. |
| Keith: Next is, “What’s wrong?” The hotel front desk worker, “What’s wrong?” The worker can sense, he can feel, that Zo isn’t feeling very well and would like to know what’s wrong, or unpleasant, for Zo. |
| Sadia: That’s right. Ask “What’s wrong,” when you can sense that someone you’re either friendly with or know very well appears to not be feeling well. “What’s wrong?” is a friendly expression that gives the person you are talking to the feeling that you care about him or her and would like to help them feel better. What’s the next phrase? |
| Keith: The next phrase is, “To live in.” Zo tells the front desk worker that he can’t stay in New York because he lives in South Africa. |
| Sadia: This means that his home is in South Africa. His life is in South Africa. So staying in America is not really realistic for him. Our last phrase is, “Maybe I can.” The front desk worker suggests to Zo that he could work in America. |
| Keith: And to show that he will give the idea some thought, Zo says, “Maybe I can.” |
| Sadia: It’s a short version of the phrase, “That’s a good idea. Maybe I can do it.” |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Sadia: The focus points of this lesson are the phrase, “don’t want to”, giving a reason, |
| Keith: And asking questions using “can.” Let’s go ahead and start with “Don’t want to.” |
| Sadia: OK. The front desk worker notices that Zo is not feeling so well and asks what’s wrong. In response, Zo says, “I don’t want to leave.” |
| Keith: Of course, “don’t” is a contraction or a short form of “do not.” “Do not” is the present, simple negative form of the verb, “to do.” |
| Sadia: That’s right. And using the present, simple, negative form of the verb “to do” to express something that you do not want is easy. OK, it’s just Subject + Do Not + Want + the infinitive, or the “to” form of the verb. |
| Keith: Some examples. She + does not + want + to come + with us. She doesn’t want to come with us. |
| Sadia: And They + do not + want + to have dinner.. They don’t want to have dinner. |
| Keith: So basically, it’s Subject + Do Not + Want + the infinitive. |
| Sadia: Mm-hm. The infinitive is the “to” form of the verb. I do not. You do not. He, she, or it does not. |
| Keith: And the plural, We do not. You do not. They do not. |
| Sadia: Zo does not want to go back home. |
| Keith: And Zo does not want to leave New York. |
| Sadia: Poor thing. And let’s move on to giving a reason. |
| Keith: Whenever the question “Why” is asked, a typical, a usual response for conversation or informal English would begin with the word “because,” which means, “for that reason.” |
| Sadia: In the dialogue, the front desk worker asks Zo, “So why leave?” The worker wants to know why Zo is leaving New York if he doesn’t want to. |
| Keith: And Zo says, “Because I have work. And because I live in South Africa.” |
| Sadia: What Zo is really saying is that he can’t stay in New York for the reason that he has to work and live in South Africa. Let’s give some more examples. Why can’t you come to dinner tonight, Keith? |
| Keith: Because I have a lot of work to finish and I have to do laundry. |
| Sadia: How about, Why don’t you want to come in early? |
| Keith: Because I know I’ll be awake until late tonight. |
| Sadia: You should know, listeners, that these responses are only used in conversation. Technically, you can only begin a sentence with “because,” which is a conjunction, when the sentence opens with a dependent clause and ends with an independent clause. |
| Keith: So if you think back to your early studies of English, you may remember studying independent and dependent clauses. |
| Sadia: An independent clause is a group of words that can stand on its own as a sentence. |
| Keith: And a dependent clause is a group of words that cannot stand alone as a sentence. |
| Sadia: A dependent clause contains a subject and a predicate, but it sounds incomplete on its own. |
| Keith: And spotting dependent clauses, that’s easy. They begin with either a conjunction or a relative pronoun. |
| Sadia: So the technically correct of the sentences we gave you, the versions we gave you are, “Because I have a lot of work to finish and I have to do laundry, I can’t come to dinner tonight. |
| Keith: “Because I have a lot of work to finish and I have to do laundry” is dependent clause. |
| Sadia: And “I can’t come to dinner tonight” is an independent clause. |
| Keith: “Because I have a lot of work to finish and I have to do laundry, I can’t come to dinner tonight,” is what you’d write. |
| Sadia: But in conversation I’d ask, “Why can’t you come to dinner tonight? |
| Keith: And I could say, in conversation, “Because I have a lot of work to finish and I have to do laundry.” |
| Sadia: Giving a reason in a conversation is quite easy. Just open with “because” and state your reason. Now let’s talk about questions using “can.” The word “can” shows ability. To say you can do something means you are able to do that thing. |
| Keith: In the dialogue, the front desk worker says, “Zo, can you work here in the States?” This is the same as, “Are you able to work here in the U.S.?” |
| Sadia: Or more casually, “Is working in the States a possibility?” |
| Keith: To ask someone if they can do something is to ask if they are able or if something is possible. Ask questions with “can” by using this simple formula. |
| Sadia: Can + Subject + Simple Present Tense Verb + Object. |
| Keith: Can you speak Spanish? |
| Sadia: To which I’d answer, “No, I can’t.” And I could ask you for example, “Can you write your name in Arabic?” |
| Keith: And I would answer, “No, I can’t.” |
| Sadia: Man, can we do anything? |
| Keith: Yes, of course we can! |
| Sadia: What can you do, listeners? Let us know, within reason. And ask around. Ask others what they can do. |
Outro |
| Keith: Well, that’s going to do it. Thanks for listening. Bye-bye, everyone. |
| Sadia: Bye-bye. Thanks for listening. |
Comments
Hide