Learn how to use three key English prepositions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Chihiro: Hey, everybody! I’m Chihiro. Can You Follow English Directions? |
| Ryan: Hello, Ryan here! |
| Chihiro: In this lesson, you'll will learn how to talk about an apartment. |
| Ryan: This conversation takes place in a car. |
| Chihiro: The conversation is between Drew and Teddy. |
| Ryan: The speakers will be speaking casually. |
| Chihiro: Alright, let’s listen to what they have to say. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Teddy: So, it looks like you’re feeling better. |
| Drew: Yeah, thanks for coming to visit me the other day by the way. |
| Teddy: Don’t mention it. We were just a little worried about you after the party. |
| Drew: And you wanted to check out the pool |
| Teddy: That too. |
| Drew: Well, I hope my apartment is as comfortable as the hotel. They told me that it’s on the fifth floor and it has a living room, kitchen, bedroom, and a bathroom. It’s furnished with laundry facilities on the first floor and a parking space. |
| Teddy: Hey, doesn’t sound bad at all! And it’s in the middle of the city! Right next to a doughnut shop right? That’s a deal made in heaven!! |
| Drew: Yeah, but I’m on a diet, trying to lose the rest of my baby fat… for the past ten years. |
| Teddy: Well then you can at least bring Sandra and me some doughnuts… So we're at the gas station now.... and it's on Eleventh and Market… third building on the right with a brown roof… I think that’s it! |
| Drew: Yeah! That’s it! |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Teddy: So, it looks like you’re feeling better. |
| Drew: Yeah, thanks for coming to visit me the other day by the way. |
| Teddy: Don’t mention it. We were just a little worried about you after the party. |
| Drew: And you wanted to check out the pool |
| Teddy: That too. |
| Drew: Well, I hope my apartment is as comfortable as the hotel. They told me that it’s on the fifth floor and it has a living room, kitchen, bedroom, and a bathroom. It’s furnished with laundry facilities on the first floor and a parking space. |
| Teddy: Hey, doesn’t sound bad at all! And it’s in the middle of the city! Right next to a doughnut shop right? That’s a deal made in heaven!! |
| Drew: Yeah, but I’m on a diet, trying to lose the rest of my baby fat… for the past ten years. |
| Teddy: Well then you can at least bring Sandra and me some doughnuts… So we're at the gas station now.... and it's on Eleventh and Market… third building on the right with a brown roof… I think that’s it! |
| Drew: Yeah! That’s it! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Chihiro: Finding an apartment can be a difficult thing to do when you're new to an area. Contracts also can be a hurdle especially if it's not in your first language. I know I've had my fair share of contracts in another language! |
| Ryan: Watch out for things like the amount of deposit you have to pay, how long the contract is, and how many months notice you need to give before moving out. |
| Chihiro: You might want to ask for things such as parking space, laundry, noise in the neighborhood, pet rules, and other questions. Also, be careful with any damages in your place before you move in, since you don't want to be held responsible for things that you didn't do. |
| Ryan: If in doubt, always ask somebody who is better informed than you are. It never hurts to be informed. |
| Chihiro: Yes, and it never hurts to double-check as well. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Ryan: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Chihiro: to mention [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: to say or to talk about |
| Chihiro: to mention [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: to mention [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: apartment [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: a rented room or set of rooms to live in within a larger building |
| Chihiro: apartment [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: apartment [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: comfortable [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: relaxed and pleasant |
| Chihiro: comfortable [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: comfortable [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: furnished [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: having furniture |
| Chihiro: furnished [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: furnished [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: facility [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: a place built for a particular purpose |
| Chihiro: facility [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: facility [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: doughnut [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: cake made of fried dough that is usually shaped like a ring |
| Chihiro: doughnut [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: doughnut [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: heaven [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: place where good people go to after death according to some religions |
| Chihiro: heaven [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: heaven [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: diet [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: act of modifying food intake usually by restriction in an attempt to lose weight |
| Chihiro: diet [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: diet [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: baby fat [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: extra fat that a child or baby has |
| Chihiro: baby fat [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: baby fat [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: “don't mention it.” |
| Chihiro: This is used to say you're welcome. In other words, the thing you are thanking the person for is so trivial that it's not worth mentioning. It's a friendly phrase to use. |
| Ryan: You can also say things like no problem, or no worries. |
| Chihiro: Yes, there are a few ways to say you're welcome. |
| Ryan: The next expression is |
| Chihiro: “it's a deal made in heaven.” |
| Ryan: This means that what is presented or offered is really good, as if it were made in heaven. It's an exaggeration of course, but it's a phrase used to say that the subject at hand is that good. |
| Chihiro: Yes, something that is so good that it is heavenly. |
Lesson focus |
| Chihiro: Now the focus of this lesson is preposition. Prepositions can be a tricky thing to get right when learning English. They're the words that show the relationship between things. We will concentrate on only three prepositions in this lesson. |
| Ryan: On, in, and at. The famous three. These are easy to mixup too. But let's talk about them individually so that the listeners have a better idea of when to use what. |
| Chihiro: Conceptually, the preposition “on” is used when you visualize a flat surface with something on top of it. Now, different from "on," think of "in" as something inside something. And the third preposition "at" indicates a specific point. |
| Ryan: Now remember, these are only concepts to help you remember when to use which. The usage for these three will not always follow your concept of "on, in and at" but knowing these will help you. |
| Chihiro: So, let's take a look at some of these prepositions from the dialog. Drew says that his place is, |
| Ryan: "On the 5th floor." |
| Chihiro: If you think of the floor as a flat surface and the room being on it, then the preposition on is appropriate. So that's why Drew uses "on" to say that his place is "on the 5th floor." |
| Ryan: Teddy mentions that the location is, |
| Chihiro: "In the middle of the city." |
| Ryan: The preposition "in" is used for cities. You can remember it as the buildings are tall in a city and that since you are surrounded by high rises, you are inside the city. As if enclosed by the buildings. That's why Teddy uses the preposition "in" to say that the place is "in the city." |
| Chihiro: And, another one that Teddy says is, |
| Ryan: "They're at the gas station." |
| Chihiro: In this case, since the gas station is a very specific point, the preposition "at" is used. If you think of a map having many points and locations, then the gas station is a specific point on a map. In which case you want to use the preposition "at." |
| Ryan: Okay, now compare these two sentences. |
| Chihiro: “I'm in the office.” |
| Ryan: and |
| Chihiro: “I'm at the office.” |
| Ryan: What do you think the difference would be? Chihiro may be in the same location, the office, but note how the nuance is a little different. |
| Chihiro: When I use the preposition "in" I'm saying that I'm physically in an enclosed space, being the room or building that I am in. When I use the preposition "at," I'm talking about the location of the office, that that's where I am at that moment. So I could be standing outside next to the office, but if I point out my location on a map, then I would point out the location of the office. |
| Ryan: So see how the nuance is slightly different? Now some of you may be thinking... how do we analyze every detail that we say like this and hope we get it right? |
| Chihiro: Yes, I know the feeling. So, Ryan, let’s give out some common words that go with the three prepositions. Go ahead Ryan, you start. |
| Ryan: Okay, usually, the word "room" goes with "in the room" because it's an enclosed space. |
| Chihiro: The word "bus" uses "on the bus", think of it as a long surface as opposed to an enclosed space. |
| Ryan: If you're catching a train, then you wait "at the station" which is a specific point. |
| Chihiro: If you've ever been to London, then you can say that you were "in London" |
| Ryan: Similar to the concept of being on a bus, you can say you were "on the plane." |
| Chihiro: And if you're telling somebody the location of your house, imagine yourself pointing it out on a map and saying that you live "at 31 Darling Street". |
| Ryan: Like you use the "in" preposition to say that you are in the city, use the same one to say that you are "in town" |
| Chihiro: Now, unlike the bus and plane which are long vehicles, a car is smaller, therefore the concept changes and becomes, "in the car". If you are "on the car" that means you would be riding on the roof. That's very dangerous. |
| Ryan: Also, if you aren't going to be specific and not mentioning your house number when telling someone where you live, then you say "on Darling Street". |
| Chihiro: Keep in mind that the concepts are to help you remember which to use when. Some may not make sense such like "in the car" and "on the bus", but the concepts should aid in coming up with reasons, like you can say “in” for cars because it's an enclosed space, “on” for buses because they're long in shape, like a board. Of course some are just simple memorization in the end. |
| Ryan: Also, note that British and American English might use different prepositions from time to time. So don't be surprised to see different prepositions to mean the same thing. |
| Chihiro: Okay, I think that's enough for today's grammar point. |
Outro |
| Ryan: That just about does it for today. I’ll see you guys soon! |
| Ryan: Bye for now! |
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