Learn how to pair some prepositions and verbs in the English language
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Braden: Talking Pro Sports in English Like a Pro. In this lesson, you’ll learn about Verbs and prepositions and a bit about Football vs. basketball. |
| Barbara: This conversation takes place in the morning just before the store opens. |
| Braden: And it’s between Cody and June. |
| Barbara: The speakers are Friends so they’ll be speaking informally. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| June: Did you watch the big game last night? |
| Cody: I did. It was awesome! |
| June: Some of those plays were just amazing! |
| Cody: I know! They spent like fifteen minutes talking about the execution and how they trained for months to get them right. |
| June: I bet they did! It was like clockwork! These guys block while that guy runs through. |
| Cody: Which distracts the opponent so they can make the pass and score. |
| June: I haven't seen a game like that in years. Both teams were so great! |
| Cody: Me neither. I was on the edge of my seat the entire second half. |
| June: Wasn't it amazing how, right at the end, they made the winning points? |
| Cody: I saw that! Right at the end for a three-pointer. |
| June: Three-pointer? There aren't any three-pointers in football. |
| Cody: Football? I was talking about the Bulls/Lakers game. |
| What were you talking about? |
| June: I was talking about the Falcons/Giants game. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about Football vs. basketball |
| Barbara: The National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) are the two largest professional sporting agencies in the United States. Typically the best athletes in the United States can be found in one of these two sporting agencies and there is a constant debate between which is the “better” sport. |
| Braden: I don't share my opinions about this topic but be aware that around the water cooler work this can be a very heated topic. |
| Barbara: On a side note, I have always found it odd that United States shuns soccer, or more correctly football. I have never been able to find a acceptable explanation as to why Americans have such disdain for soccer. |
| Braden: Once specialist in American history pointed out that nearly 200 years ago the conflicts between the United States and then Great Britain were so great that anything that came from great Britain was considered bad. Since soccer was invented in Britain, it wasn’t worth their time. |
| Barbara: For that same reason, Americans had little affinity for tea, pipes, or poetry because at that time those things were typically imported from Great Britain. |
| Braden: That disdain or dislike was passed on to the next generation of Americans but the explanation was not. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we'll look at is... |
| Barbara: winning [natural native speed] |
| Braden: gaining victory |
| Barbara: winning [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: winning [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| point [natural native speed] |
| Braden a critical or decisive position |
| point [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| point [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: watch [natural native speed] |
| Braden: to view |
| Barbara: watch [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: watch [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| opponent [natural native speed] |
| Braden: someone who competes against or fights another in a contest, game, or argument |
| opponent [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| opponent [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: clockwork [natural native speed] |
| Braden: very smooth and regular |
| Barbara: clockwork [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: clockwork [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| distracts [natural native speed] |
| Braden: prevent (someone) from giving full attention to something |
| distracts [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| distracts [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Braden: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Barbara: In the dialogue, we heard the word “three-pointer.” |
| Braden: A three-pointer” is a basketball term that refers to a shot made from beyond a certain distance from the basket. This was the trigger point in the conversation because not very many sports have three point increments. |
| Barbara: That’s how they noticed they were talking about different things. Other than that, it seems, the games were pretty similar. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: three-pointer(slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: three-pointer(fast) |
| Braden: Perfect! What’s next? |
| Barbara: Our next phrase is “the bulls/lakers game.” |
| Braden: When talking about sports matches, Americans usually use the names of the teams involved to identify the game. This the dialogue it was a game between the “bulls” and the “lakers.” hence, the “Bulls/lakers game.” |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: the bulls/lakers game (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: the bulls/lakers game (fast) |
| Braden: Excellent! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
| Braden: So, Barbara, what’s the focus of this lesson? |
| Barbara: The focus of this lesson is verbs and prepositions, part 1 |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase… |
| Barbara: They spent like fifteen minutes talking about the execution. |
| Braden: This lesson is set up as a reference lesson. We've gathered together a list of over 100 verb/preposition combinations and put them together for this series. This is part 1 in the series. |
| Barbara: These are not phrasal verbs. However, they are verb/preposition combinations that are frequently use and maybe in the next 50 years, some of these might become phrasal verbs! |
| Braden: We have quite a few of these so we’ll go through them with minimal explanation. |
| Barbara: First let’s look at Verbs used with About. First, to be about something. For example, "That book is about his experiences in Idaho." |
| Braden: Second, to argue about (doing) something. For example, "The girls argued about which train to take." |
| Barbara: Third, to be concerned about (doing) something. For example, "I'm concerned about going to that spa." |
| Braden: Fourth, to be worried about (doing) something. For example, "She is worried about her children." |
| Barbara: Fifth, to boast about (doing) something. For example, "Thomas boasted about his swimming ability." |
| Braden: Sixth, to decide about (doing) something. For example, "Anna decided about her future." |
| Barbara: Seventh, to dream about (doing) something. For example, "Mark dreams about becoming a ballet dancer." |
| Braden: Eighth, to protest about (doing) something. For example, "The students protested about the tuition increase." |
| Barbara: Now let’s take a look at Verbs that are frequently used with the preposition For. First, to be for something / someone. For example, "I'm for Mayor Martini." |
| Braden: Second, to account for something. For example, "That accounts for his success." |
| Barbara: Third, to allow for something. For example, "I think you need to allow for misunderstandings." |
| Braden: Fourth, to apologize for something / someone. For example, "Jackson apologized for his rude behavior." |
| Barbara: Fifth, to blame someone for (doing) something. For example, "I blame Janet for the broken pottery." |
| Braden: Sixth, to care for (doing) something / someone. For example, "He doesn't care for playing golf." |
| Barbara: Seventh, to charge someone for (doing) something. For example, "The accountant charged him $400 for his advice." |
| Braden: Eighth, to count for something. For example, "Your good marks count for 50% of your grade." |
| Barbara: To finish things off let’s look at some verbs that are commonly used with the preposition "at." |
| Braden: First, to be at something. For example, "The exhibition is at the modern art gallery." |
| Barbara: Second, to glance at something. For example, "Can I glance at that for a moment?" |
| Braden: Third, to guess at something. For example, "She guessed at the answer." |
| Barbara: Fourth, to hint at something. For example, "My mom hinted at my present." |
| Braden: Fifth, to marvel at something. For example, "I marvel at your math abilities." |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for today. Thanks for listening. |
| Barbara: See you later! |
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