Learn how to use phrasal verbs
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Ryan: Hello, I’m Ryan! |
| Chihiro: Hey everyone, it’s Chihiro. Thanks again for being here with us. The Art of Making Conversation in English. |
| Ryan: In this lesson, you'll learn how to make small talk. |
| Chihiro: This conversation takes place at Alex's house. |
| Ryan: The conversation is mainly between Drew and Alex. |
| Chihiro: The speakers are talking for the first time, but the conversation will be casual. |
| Ryan: Let’s listen to the dialogue. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Teddy: Hey, Drew, let me get you another drink! |
| Drew: Thanks, buddy… Oh, hey, Alex, thanks for hosting my party, you've got a nice place. |
| Alex: Hey, no problem. Besides, I like having people over. |
| Drew: So, Teddy tells me you're an artist? |
| Alex: Yeah, I do some painting, but recently I've been putting it on hold. |
| Drew: Oh yeah? Why's that? |
| Alex: You know, exploring my other talents, I suppose. I've just picked up my gymnastics again, coupling it with yoga. I forgot what regular air smells like after breathing in so much air full of paint fumes. |
| Drew: I guess breaking off from the regular is a good thing. I've tried yoga before; I'm stiff as a board… Hey, by the way, that's a really cool painting you've got up on your wall… Andy Warhol right? |
| Alex: Yup, "32 Campbell's Soup Cans." This is my particular favorite. It reminds me that even the most dull and ordinary things in life can be quite interesting once made into art. |
| Drew: Uhh…okay. Anyways. Nice painting. Looks pretty real I must say, although I've never seen the real thing myself. Probably never will now that it's been stolen. Haha! |
| Alex: Oh, I'm pretty sure mine is more than enough for your eyes. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Teddy: Hey, Drew, let me get you another drink! |
| Drew: Thanks, buddy… Oh, hey, Alex, thanks for hosting my party, you've got a nice place. |
| Alex: Hey, no problem. Besides, I like having people over. |
| Drew: So, Teddy tells me you're an artist? |
| Alex: Yeah, I do some painting, but recently I've been putting it on hold. |
| Drew: Oh yeah? Why's that? |
| Alex: You know, exploring my other talents, I suppose. I've just picked up my gymnastics again, coupling it with yoga. I forgot what regular air smells like after breathing in so much air full of paint fumes. |
| Drew: I guess breaking off from the regular is a good thing. I've tried yoga before; I'm stiff as a board… Hey, by the way, that's a really cool painting you've got up on your wall… Andy Warhol right? |
| Alex: Yup, "32 Campbell's Soup Cans." This is my particular favorite. It reminds me that even the most dull and ordinary things in life can be quite interesting once made into art. |
| Drew: Uhh…okay. Anyways. Nice painting. Looks pretty real I must say, although I've never seen the real thing myself. Probably never will now that it's been stolen. Haha! |
| Alex: Oh, I'm pretty sure mine is more than enough for your eyes. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Ryan: Small talk, some people love it, some people don't! |
| Chihiro: And whether you like it or not, it's a good idea to know how to do it! |
| Ryan: Yes. It's very important nevertheless. Some people may think this a shallow conversation, and that it's pretense. |
| Chihiro: And, you know what, in a way it kind of is. But the importance of small talk isn't so much about the content, although it's a good way to find out about basic things, but the main thing of small talk is to get communication going. |
| Ryan: Whether it's for a social occasion or business, it's very important to do. |
| Chihiro: Now, the topics for small talk differ depending on the situation. In the dialogue, Drew is meeting a friend of a friend. Therefore, the topic of the small talk was a little more casual compared to perhaps a business situation. |
| Ryan: Drew starts off by complimenting Alex's place, and then he goes on to asking questions about her. The conversation flows and is casual. In this situation, the topic is not too personal, which is how most small talk is. However, it wouldn't be strange to hear a conversation that might be a little more personal in such a casual setting. |
| Chihiro: Yes, I'm sure Ryan has started a few of those casual talks before. Remember to keep it less personal for business situations. For example, you wouldn't usually ask about religion or marital status in the first conversation you have with a new colleague or client. |
| Ryan: Good point. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Ryan: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Chihiro: drink [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: drinkable liquid, sometimes implies an alcoholic beverage |
| Chihiro: drink [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: drink [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: to host [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: to entertain and look after other people socially |
| Chihiro: to host [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: to host [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: artist [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: person who creates things along the lines of aesthetic principles |
| Chihiro: artist [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: artist [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: talent [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: ability considered special; the ability to do something very well |
| Chihiro: talent [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: talent [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: to explore [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: to learn more about something |
| Chihiro: to explore [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: to explore [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: to couple [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: to combine or put together |
| Chihiro: to couple [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: to couple [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: fume [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: gas or smoke that is usually harmful |
| Chihiro: fume [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: fume [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: stiff [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: hard to bend, firm |
| Chihiro: stiff [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: stiff [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: dull [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: not lively or exciting |
| Chihiro: dull [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: dull [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: gymnastics [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: sport that demonstrates strength, flexibility, and balance |
| Chihiro: gymnastics [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: gymnastics [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Ryan: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the phrases from this lesson. |
| Chihiro: The first phrase is, |
| Ryan: "I've been putting it on hold." |
| Chihiro: What this means is that the speaker has not actively been doing or been involved in something that he or she once used to do. |
| Ryan: Alex uses this phrase when telling Drew that she hasn't been painting recently. In other words she hasn't quit, but she's saving it for a later time. |
| Chihiro: Right, but some things unfortunately get out on hold for a long time! |
| Ryan: That's true. Like your promise to take me out to lunch? |
| Chihiro: And with that good example, let's take a look at the next phrase "stiff as a board." |
| Ryan: I'm hungry now, but this phrase is more important to describe then your lunch on hold. This phrase contains a simile, |
| Chihiro: Which means? |
| Ryan: Which means a phrase that uses the word "as" or "like" in order to compare things. Drew says that he is "stiff as a board," meaning that he is inflexible, and therefore he has difficulty bending, like a board is stiff. |
| Chihiro: We commonly use this phrase to say that something is "physically inflexible." |
| Ryan: Okay, let's then bend our way over to the grammar point for the lesson... and then maybe to lunch? |
| Chihiro: Maybe. |
Lesson focus |
| Chihiro: Let's see. The focus of this lesson is phrasal verbs. |
| Ryan: And what is a phrasal verb, Chihiro? |
| Chihiro: Well, most verbs are single words, but phrasal verbs have two or more words. The first part is a verb that has its own meaning when we use it by itself. The second part is an adverb, which is usually one or two words, that comes in the form of a preposition and sometimes changes the meaning of the verb or makes it informal. This grammar point is not always taught in ESL classes though. |
| Ryan: Why's that? |
| Chihiro: Because you don't use it in formal language, so you probably won't see it in formal writing either. |
| Ryan: So now you've got the listeners wondering, why the heck should they learn it? |
| Chihiro: And the reason is that even though you might choose not to use it, you'll definitely hear people using them. |
| Ryan: And since there are more than a handful, and the combinations are always changing, we'll start with three you've heard in the dialogue. |
| Chihiro: Right. Also know that American phrasal verbs and British phrasal verbs might be a little different in their prepositions. Okay, the first one we'll look at is "to have over" which means "to have somebody at your place as a guest." For example, |
| Ryan: "I like having people over." |
| Chihiro: Alex is saying that he enjoys having guests at his house. Notice how we place the word "people" in between the verb and the preposition. We usually place the person coming in this position. |
| Ryan: The next phrasal verb we'll look at is "to pick up," which means "to begin again." For example... |
| Chihiro: "I've just picked up my gymnastics." |
| Ryan: In this sentence, Alex is saying that he is starting to do gymnastics again. With this phrasal verb, you can put the word "gymnastics" in the middle if you want to, as in "I've just picked gymnastics up again." |
| Chihiro: The third phrasal verb we'll look at is "to break off," which means "to suspend doing something," as in "to discontinue something." So, for example... |
| Ryan: "I guess breaking off from the regular is a good thing." |
| Chihiro: Here, Drew is saying that he thinks discontinuing a daily routine is something good. When using the phrasal verb in this meaning, the verb and the preposition usually stay together. |
| Ryan: Here are the same three phrasal verbs used in different sentences. |
| Chihiro: “Have over.” "I had some guests over last week, and they stayed in the extra room." |
| Ryan: “Pick up.” "He picked piano up again last week, and he's practicing every day." |
| Chihiro: “Break off.” “He broke off from his mundane routine.” |
| Ryan: Some phrasal verbs may be easier to understand than others. Some will definitely make you think twice about the meaning. |
| Chihiro: That's true, and as we said, there are so many phrasal verbs to remember, but these three are a good start. |
Outro |
| Ryan: That just about does it for today. |
| Chihiro: We hope to see you there, everyone! |
| Ryan: Bye for now! |
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