Learn to buy tickets for public transport
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sadia: Hi from New York City. This is Sadia. |
| Keith: And I’m Keith. “Get What You Want Using English” |
| Sadia: In the last lesson, Lesson 7 - “Don't Answer the English Questions Incorrectly”, you learned how to get through immigration and customs at the airport. |
| Keith: You also learned about implied verbs and prepositions. |
| Keith: In this lesson, what you’re going to learn about-- getting transportation. |
| Sadia: The conversation takes place at around 3 pm, at a bus ticket counter. |
| Keith: And the conversation is between the main character, Zo, and a ticket seller. Alright, well let’s listen in to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Ticket seller: Next, please. |
| Zo: I'd like to go to Times Square. Please, what time is the shuttle bus? |
| Ticket seller: Four o'clock. |
| Zo: Okay. 1 ticket, please. |
| Ticket seller: $40. Cash or credit card? |
| Zo: Credit card. |
| Ticket seller: Sign, please. Here is the receipt and ticket. Stop number 3 at 4 p.m. |
| Zo: Thank you. |
| Ticket seller: Next. |
| Keith: One more time, slowly. |
| Ticket seller: Next, please. |
| Zo: I'd like to go to Times Square. Please, what time is the shuttle bus? |
| Ticket seller: Four o'clock. |
| Zo: Okay. 1 ticket, please. |
| Ticket seller: $40. Cash or credit card? |
| Zo: Credit card. |
| Ticket seller: Sign, please. Here is the receipt and ticket. Stop number 3 at 4 p.m. |
| Zo: Thank you. |
| Ticket seller: Next. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Keith: Our main character, Zo, has finally gotten through customs! |
| Sadia: Finally! I mean, after he was kind of contending and wrestling with that really icy, mean customs official! |
| Keith: That’s right.. Sometimes it takes quite a while, but now he's at the ticket counter waiting for a bus. |
| Sadia: It sounds like he's going to Times Square-- I guess that's where his hotel is? Personally, Times Square, it’s a little crowded for my taste. |
| Keith: Yeah, sometimes a little too many people, but I guess we'll have to listen and find out if Zo likes Times Square. It might be too crowded, but he might like it. |
| Sadia: He might enjoy it, so keep listening and find out if Zo likes Times Square. Anyway, it sounds like he's taking a shuttle bus. |
| Keith: What’s a shuttle bus? |
| Sadia: “Shuttle bus” sounds like a rocket ship or something, “shuttle bus,” but a shuttle bus transports people quickly between two locations. |
| Keith: When standard buses make many stops along one route, one road, I guess, and shuttle buses travel between maybe two, sometimes three, four, locations. |
| Sadia: Mm-hmm. |
| Keith: Just a short distance. |
| Sadia: Yes. Exactly. Um, some of them have, like, extra room for, like your luggage, or your suitcases. |
| Keith: And, a lot of airports have shuttle buses, of course, and I think the most well-known airport shuttle bus company in America is Supershuttle. Have you ever heard of Supershuttle? |
| Sadia: I have. I’ve never used it, though I see ads for Supershuttle all the time. |
| Keith: I think it’s like a blue bus... |
| Sadia: Yeah, a blue bus with yellow letters, I think. |
| Keith: Yeah. |
| Sadia: I’ve never used an airport shuttle before. |
| Keith: Yeah, me neither. |
| Sadia: Ever. I usually, it doesn’t matter what time my flight is, if it’s at, you know, noon, or five in the morning [laughs], I’ll get a ride from someone. |
| Keith: You have a lot of people that love you. |
| Sadia: I think I do. I think I do. |
| Keith: OK, well let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Keith: The first word we shall see is... |
| Sadia: next [natural native speed] |
| Keith: immediately following, adjacent, future |
| Sadia: next [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: next [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| please [natural native speed] |
| Keith: used for polite requests |
| please [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| please [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: go [natural native speed] |
| Keith: to move on a course; to proceed |
| Sadia: go [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: go [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| what [natural native speed] |
| Keith: used as an interrogative about the identity, nature, or |
| value of something |
| what [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| what [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: time [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a moment, hour, day or year |
| Sadia: time [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: time [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| bus [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a large motor vehicle that carries people |
| bus [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| bus [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: ticket [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a piece of paper that serves as a permit |
| Sadia: ticket [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: ticket [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| dollar [natural native speed] |
| Keith: United States (US) money |
| dollar [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| dollar [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: credit card [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a card used to purchase things on credit |
| Sadia: credit card [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: credit card [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| or [natural native speed] |
| Keith: used to show an alternative to something |
| or [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| or [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: receipt [natural native speed] |
| Keith: a writing acknowledging the receiving of goods or |
| money |
| Sadia: receipt [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: receipt [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| bus stop [natural native speed] |
| Keith: place at which to wait for a bus |
| bus stop [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| bus stop [natural native speed] |
| Next:" |
| Sadia: seller [natural native speed] |
| Keith: someone who offers something for sale or purchase |
| Sadia: seller [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Sadia: seller [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Keith: OK, well let’s have 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, "Next, please." |
| Keith: The ticket seller opens the dialogue with, "Next, please." What's that phrase for? |
| Sadia: This phrase is commonly heard in stores or banks, maybe post offices, or ticket counters-- anyplace where customers wait in line to be served. |
| Keith: Isn't it said to signal the next customer, the next person in line to come forward, to step forward, and be served? |
| Sadia: Right. "Next, please," is short for, "Next customer, please." What's the next phrase? |
| Keith: The next phrase is, "One ticket, please." |
| Sadia: Zo wants to buy a ticket for the 4 o'clock bus that the ticket seller tells him about, so he says, "One ticket, please." |
| Keith: He does. "One ticket, please" is short for, "I'd like to buy one ticket, please." |
| Sadia: What’s the next phrase? |
| Keith: $40. |
| Sadia: Zo tells the ticket seller that he would like to buy one ticket, right? So the seller responds with, "$40." Why? |
| Keith: Well, $40 simply means that one ticket costs $40. |
| Sadia: So instead of saying, "The cost of one ticket is $40," the seller shortens that sentence to, "$40," which has the same meaning, right? |
| Keith: That’s right. $40 means it costs $40. What's next? |
| Sadia: Next is, "Cash or credit card?"The ticket seller asks Zo, "Cash or credit card?" She wants to know how Zo will pay for his ticket. |
| Keith: The two methods of payment are cash and credit card. So Zo has to pick one of them. The ticket seller asks, "Cash OR credit card?" |
| Sadia: She wants to know which he’ll be using. |
| Keith: Exactly. The next phrase is "sign, please." |
| Sadia: Because Zo decides to pay with a credit card, he has to sign the receipt. So instead of saying, "Sign the receipt, please," the ticket seller shortens the phrase too, and she says, "Sign, please." |
| Keith: If you ever make a purchase with a credit card, and sometimes a debit card too, you’ll be asked, "Sign, please." |
| Sadia: Next is, "A receipt, please."Zo would like a receipt, so he uses yet another shortened version of, "May I have a receipt, please?" |
| Keith: He simply says, "Receipt, please." Which is short for, "May I have a receipt please?" |
| Sadia: You'll notice that a lot of language in this dialogue is shortened; I think, like, business, or customer service-type transactions like this are always, are always, they’re kind of expected to be very short. |
| Keith: Because there’s people waiting in line.. |
| Sadia: Mm-hm. |
| Keith: And you want things to move quickly.. |
| Sadia: Mm-hm. |
| Keith: So shortened things like, “Can I have a receipt, please?” to “Receipt, please,” that kind of language helps speed the cashiers, the ticket sellers, the postal workers, and other service professionals, for them to do their jobs quickly-- |
| Sadia: Right, very quickly and very efficiently! |
| Keith: Let's have a look at "Here is your receipt and ticket." |
| Sadia: After Zo pays and signs his receipt, the ticket seller presents Zo a copy of the receipt and his bus ticket. And then she says... |
| Keith: Here is your receipt and ticket. |
| Sadia: Finally, let's look at, "Bus stop number 3 at 4 pm." |
| Keith: The ticket seller finishes the transaction, finishes, you know, giving him the ticket, getting the money, and she finishes by telling Zo where to catch the bus-- |
| Sadia: Right-- at bus stop number 3-- |
| Keith: Reminding Zo what time the bus will arrive-- 4 pm. |
| Sadia: Bus stop number 3 at 4 pm. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Keith: Let’s take a look at the focus points of this lesson. The first is the infinitive, "to go"... |
| Sadia: And asking about train or bus times... |
| Keith: and the conjunction, "or." |
| Sadia: Let's start with the infinitive, "to go." In the dialogue, Zo says, "I'd like TO GO to Times Square." |
| Keith: Right. And "to go" means to move, start, continue, pass. And Zo tells the ticket seller, "I'd like TO GO to Times Square." |
| Sadia: Zo would like to move toward, or to start for, or to progress to Times Square. But he is at the airport, and he'd like TO GO to Times Square. |
| Keith: What part of speech-- what function does "to go" have? |
| Sadia: "To go" is the infinitive form of the verb, "go." An infinitive is created pretty easily. You start with the word "to"-- spelled t-o, and add the simple form of a verb. So the infinitive form of “go” is just “to go.” |
| Keith: How about to + sleep = to sleep? The infinitive is “to sleep.” |
| Sadia: How about to + walk = to walk! |
| Keith: to + study = that’s to study! |
| Sadia: So these are all INFINITIVES. |
| Keith: So then, infinitives can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. |
| Sadia: Right. and when they are, they become part of an infinitive phrase. |
| Keith: That means the infinitive, which is, "to go," that acts like a noun. |
| Sadia: Zo (subject) would like (which is the verb) to go (is the infinitive) to Times Square (which is the direct object). Zo would like to go to Times Square." |
| Keith: Usually when you say, “I want something,” that’s a noun. So when you want to do something, you want a verb, you use the infinitive. And this phrase is especially useful when you're taking a taxicab somewhere; get in and say, "I would like to go to..." And then.. |
| Sadia: Exactly. I would like to go to Chelsea Piers. Or, I would like to go to Canal Street. Or, I would like to go to the Apple Store. It’s pretty useful! |
| Keith: Very, very useful. Let's take a look at some other sentences that use the infinitive, "to go" - |
| Sadia: Okay. How about, "I want TO GO out." |
| Keith: Or, "I'd like to leave, but I don't know where TO GO." |
| Sadia: Or even, "Is it OK to go beyond the fence?" |
| Keith: Or, “I don’t want to go with you.” |
| Sadia: Why not? [laughs] |
| Keith: Because I want to talk about asking about train or bus times! |
| Sadia: OK, the next point of the lesson. Let's do it. |
| Keith: Asking about train or bus times is very, very simple. In the dialogue, Zo asks the ticket seller, "What time is the bus?" |
| Sadia: Actually, he says, "I'd like to go to Times Square. What time is the bus?" |
| Keith: Right. He says the name of the place he'd like to go to first, and then he asks for the bus time. |
| Sadia: So the easiest way to ask for a train or bus time is to use the phrase- What time is the |
| train/bus to New York? |
| Keith: So if you’re going to New Jersey or California, you could say, “What time is the bus to New Jersey?” or “What time is the bus to California?” |
| Sadia: So what time is the bus or train to and wherever you’re going. How would you ask when the train to Philadelphia is? |
| Keith: What time is the train to Philadelphia? |
| Sadia: What about the bus to Boston? |
| Keith: What time is the bus to Boston? |
| Sadia: Or the train to New Haven? |
| Keith: What time is the train to New Haven? |
| Sadia: Perfect. Our final grammar point is the conjunction, "or." |
| Keith: The ticket seller asks Zo, "Cash OR credit card?" |
| Sadia: We looked at this earlier. "Or" is a conjunction. You may remember from previous lessons that a conjunction is a word that links two words or phrases together. |
| Keith: OR links cash to credit card. |
| Sadia: In particular, "or" shows two choices or two possibilities. How else though, could one use “or”? |
| Keith: If you go to a restaurant, a diner, and they bring you some coffee or tea. |
| Sadia: Mm-hm. So would you like tea or coffee? How about, “Do you prefer to sit here or there?” |
| Keith: And there's also, “Would you like to eat inside or outside?” |
| Sadia: How about, “Would you rather live in New York or Los Angeles?” |
| Keith: New York. |
| Sadia: Yeah, I would say so. |
| Keith: Los Angeles is kind of cool sometimes. |
| Keith: We've covered a lot of ground today, and we focused on three very important points. |
| Sadia: We did. We covered the infinitive, "to go." |
| Keith: And that can be used as a noun, and it’s also used as an infinitive phrase. |
| Sandia: Mm-hm. Exactly. |
| Keith: And we also covered how to ask about a train or bus time. |
| Sadia: What time is the bus to Philadelphia? Or What time is the train to Boston? We also talked about the conjunction, "or." |
| Keith: And it’s giving people a choice. That's a lot that we did. |
| Sadia: Yeah, that is a lot. It is! |
| Keith: But I think it was a very good lesson. |
| Sadia: Mm-hm. |
| Keith: Congratulations, Sadia. |
| Sadia: Thank you. Congratulations to you, too. |
Outro |
| Keith: And congratulations to our listeners. Thanks for tuning in. |
| Sadia: We’ll catch you next time. Buh-bye. |
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