Learn how to ask a negative question
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Ryan: Ryan here! Do Doctors in America Have What You Need? |
| Chihiro: Hey, everyone! I’m Chihiro. |
| Ryan: In this lesson, you'll learn about a conversation at the doctor's office. |
| Chihiro: This conversation takes place at the doctor's office. |
| Ryan: The conversation is between Drew and the administration staff. |
| Chihiro: The admin staff will be speaking formally, and Drew will be speaking casually. |
| Ryan: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Administrative Staff: Hello, how can I help you? |
| Drew: Hi, I have an appointment with Dr. Reyes at eleven o'clock. My name is Drew English. |
| Administrative Staff: Okay, do you have your insurance card with you? |
| Drew: Yes, here you go. |
| Administrative Staff: Great, I just need you to fill out this form and sign at the bottom. And it'll be twenty-five dollars please. |
| Drew: …What? Twenty-five dollars? For what? Won't my insurance cover that cost? |
| Administrative Staff: No, sir, it's the deductible for doctor visits. |
| Drew: Oh jeez, nobody told me. Must have been in the fine print. |
| Administrative Staff: It always is. Nobody knows about it and everybody has to pay it. That's why people say to read the fine print. |
| Drew: They should just print it in a normal font. |
| Administrative Staff: Would you have read it then? |
| Drew: Probably not. |
| Administrative Staff: …twenty-five dollars, please. And please fill out the form. Your name will be called when the doctor is ready. |
| Drew: Okay. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Administrative Staff: Hello, how can I help you? |
| Drew: Hi, I have an appointment with Dr. Reyes at eleven o'clock. My name is Drew English. |
| Administrative Staff: Okay, do you have your insurance card with you? |
| Drew: Yes, here you go. |
| Administrative Staff: Great, I just need you to fill out this form and sign at the bottom. And it'll be twenty-five dollars please. |
| Drew: …What? Twenty-five dollars? For what? Won't my insurance cover that cost? |
| Administrative Staff: No, sir, it's the deductible for doctor visits. |
| Drew: Oh jeez, nobody told me. Must have been in the fine print. |
| Administrative Staff: It always is. Nobody knows about it and everybody has to pay it. That's why people say to read the fine print. |
| Drew: They should just print it in a normal font. |
| Administrative Staff: Would you have read it then? |
| Drew: Probably not. |
| Administrative Staff: …twenty-five dollars, please. And please fill out the form. Your name will be called when the doctor is ready. |
| Drew: Okay. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Chihiro: I think people in general don't like visiting the doctor. What do you think? |
| Ryan: No, it's not the kind of place people get excited about going to. |
| Chihiro: No, it's not. But listeners, on the bright side American doctors tend to be friendly. Well, at least the ones I've visited before. |
| Ryan: Also, if you visit the doctor, remember that sometimes there are fees that you might not know about before that you need to pay once you're there, so remember to bring extra money with you. |
| Chihiro: Yes, I think many people have come across that experience where they have to pay something extra when they thought they didn't, at the doctor’s office or anywhere else. It should be written somewhere in your insurance policy booklet actually. Or if you're anything like me, you'll find out at the office! |
| Ryan: When in doubt, ask whether your health insurance would pay for it or not. |
| Chihiro: Right, better to ask than to pay. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Ryan: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Chihiro: appointment [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: arrangement for a meeting |
| Chihiro: appointment [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: appointment [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: insurance [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: agreement where a person makes payments to a company, in promise that the company will pay money in the case of injury or thing agreed upon |
| Chihiro: insurance [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: insurance [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: to fill out [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: to write in the required information completely |
| Chihiro: to fill out [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: to fill out [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: to sign [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: to write your name on something usually to agree to something |
| Chihiro: to sign [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: to sign [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: deductible [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: money needed to be paid by you before insurance pays the rest |
| Chihiro: deductible [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: deductible [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: fine print [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: part in a document written in small letters that contains important information |
| Chihiro: fine print [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: fine print [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: font [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: style of letters and numbers and punctuation marks |
| Chihiro: font [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: font [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: probably [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: without much doubt; likely to happen |
| Chihiro: probably [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: probably [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: "Please fill out this form and sign at the bottom" |
| Chihiro: This iss a common phrase you'll hear in many places. The phrasal verb "fill out" can also be "fill in." If you don't know what to write in certain parts of the form, ask the staff for help. Most forms require your signature at the bottom of the paper, so make sure you have no mistakes when writing your information. Also, write clearly. You don't want them to misspell your name or input the wrong information in the computer because they couldn't read your handwriting! |
| Ryan: Well, actually, even if you do write clearly, they may input it wrong anyways. The second phrase we'll look at is |
| Chihiro: “Read the fine print.” |
| Ryan: This is some advice that is often given to people who sign documents. The fine print is the small writing usually at the bottom of the document that contains information. It has the kind of information that people wouldn't think of until it happens. Therefore, before you sign an official paper, it's always a good idea to read the information in small writing. |
| Chihiro: Now, Ryan, honest answer, do you read the fine print? |
| Ryan: Of course. You Chihiro |
| Chihiro: No, I guess what it is unless I'm signing my life away. |
| Ryan: Aren't you doing that every time you sign something anyways? |
Lesson focus |
| Ryan: The Focus of This Lesson Is Negative Questions. We can use negative questions to confirm whether a negative belief is true or a positive belief is true. |
| Chihiro: Drew says in the dialogue, "Won't my insurance cover that cost?" |
| Ryan: In this case, Drew knows that he has to pay the twenty-five dollars, but he is asking for confirmation that his insurance will not in fact pay for it. The answer to the question is “no, the insurance will not pay for it0”. If the insurance would pay for it, then the answer would be yes, the insurance will pay for it. |
| Chihiro: Often times a negative question expects a no answer. So for example... |
| Ryan: "Didn't you read the book before the test?" |
| Chihiro: "No, I didn't have time." Here, Ryan has kind of already guessed that I haven't read the book for the test, but he's asking for confirmation of whether his guess is right. |
| Ryan: Right, here's another example. |
| Chihiro: "Hasn't she finished dinner yet?" |
| Ryan: "No, she's only halfway through." Here, Chihiro is asking for confirmation whether or not the person has finished dinner. By using the negative question, it sounds as though she's a little surprised as well by the fact that she might still be eating. |
| Chihiro: Now, negative questions can also be asked when expecting a positive answer as well. After all, it's a question right? |
| Ryan: So, here are some examples of negative questions used to express positive beliefs. |
| Chihiro: "Wouldn't it be easier to go this way?" |
| Ryan: "Yes, it would be." Here, I'm agreeing that it would be easier to go the way Chihiro is saying. Chihiro, "Haven't you watched the movie already?" |
| Chihiro: "Yes, just yesterday." I'm telling Ryan, that I have watched the movie. |
| Ryan: Okay, the way you form a negative question is by adding the word "not" to the question. Often times this gets contracted with the verb "to do". |
| Chihiro: And if you’re like me, you probably won't pronounce the "t" so watch out for that. |
| Ryan: That's true. One other thing to watch out for and this confuses some people is to not get your answers mixed up. For example, if the question is, "don't you like my painting?" What would the answer be? |
| Chihiro: Well, if you're trying to say that you do like the painting, it is "yes, I do like the painting. But if you don't like the painting, then it's "no, I don't like the painting." |
| Ryan: Sometimes this can confuse some English learners so be aware of that. |
| Chihiro: Right, because answering a question like that one correctly could be important to say the least! |
| Ryan: True. Okay Chihiro, shouldn't we finish the grammar point here? |
| Chihiro: Yes, let's do that. |
Outro |
| Ryan: That just about does it for today. |
| Chihiro: Thanks for listening everyone. |
| Ryan: Bye for now. |
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