Learn about English causative verbs
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Braden: How to Break a Special Deal with your Boss in the US |
| Braden: In this lesson, you’ll learn about Guide to English causative verbs and Work breaks. |
| Barbara: This conversation takes place at work in the morning. |
| Braden: And it’s between Mitch and June. |
| Barbara: June and Mitch are co-workers but not friends. Mitch seems to have trouble remembering this and speaks very casually. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Mitch: Good morning, June. How was your night? |
| June: Uh...fine, Mitch. Thanks for asking. |
| Mitch: Are you liking your new employees? |
| June: Now Mitch. I'm just the assistant manager. You're |
| not my employee; you're my co-worker. |
| Mitch: Okay, then. Are you enjoying your new co-workers? |
| June: You remember, right, that I've been working here for almost three weeks now. |
| I know you all pretty well. |
| Mitch: Right. |
| June: Hey, I got a request from a customer for a Samsung LR4. |
| I tried to have Cody do it, but he's making cold |
| calls and I can't interrupt him. Could you take care of that for me? (handing him the request) |
| Mitch: You know, I'd love to, but I'm on break. |
| June: But it's only nine-fifteen a.m.? How could you be on break already? |
| Mitch: I made the C-level deal with me. |
| June: The C-level deal with you? Wow. What kind of a deal have you made? |
| Mitch: The details are confidential. |
| June: Hmmm. Well, while I go check on that deal, could you take care of this customer's request? |
| Mitch: As soon as my break is over. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about Work breaks |
| Barbara: A break at work. Time during a normal shift in which an employee is allowed to take time off from his or her job. There are quite a few different types of breaks depending on the link and the employer's policies the break may or may not be paid. |
| Braden: There are a few types of breaks in American business society. The first and typically longest, is the lunch break. Lunch break usually range from 30 minutes to an hour and in several states are legally mandated if the shift is eight hours or more. |
| Barbara: A second is a coffee break. Coffee breaks are usually from 10 to 20 minutes and typically have been about every 2 to 3 hours in a typical shift. |
| Braden: In a store like Big Buys, coffee breaks are probably taken in shifts so that there are always salesmen on the showroom floor to assist customers. |
| Barbara: The third type of break we are going to talk about is a restroom break also called a bathroom break or in UK, a trip to the WC. At least that's how my British boss said it. These basic typically less than 10 minutes and most American companies expect employees to use the restroom during the regularly scheduled breaks or lunches. |
| Braden: Companies typically disapprove of employees who are perceived as taking too many restroom breaks and in extreme situations could be cause for termination. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is: |
| Barbara: request [natural native speed] |
| Braden: an act of asking politely or formally for something |
| Barbara: request [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: request [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| break [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a pause in work or during an activity or event |
| break [slowly - broken down by syllable] break [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: C-level [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Slang denoting the executive level of a corporation |
| Barbara: C-level [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: C-level [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| confidential [natural native speed] |
| Braden: intended to be kept secret |
| confidential [slowly - broken down by syllable] confidential [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: employee [natural native speed] |
| Braden: person who works for a company for money |
| Barbara: employee [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: employee [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| assistant [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a person who helps (assists) |
| assistant [slowly - broken down by syllable] assistant [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 adjective C-level |
| Braden: This refers to the CEO, CFO, and/or COO, among others. Not all businesses have CEOs. So if yours doesn’t don’t worry. |
| Barbara: in general, this refers to upper management or the directors of the company. This can also sometimes, be referred to as the C–suite. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: C-level (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: C-level (fast) |
| Braden: Perfect! What’s next? |
| Barbara: Our next phrase is I’m on break. |
| Braden: “I’m on break,” As we said in an earlier lesson, refers to a period of time while the employee is at work by the employee does not need to work. This phrase is frequently used by employees to avoid doing unpleasant or unattractive tasks. |
| Barbara: Just like Mitch did. |
| Braden: That's right. Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: I’m on break (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: I’m on break (fast) |
| Braden: Excellent! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
| Braden: Barbara, what’s the focus of this lesson? |
| Barbara: The focus of this lesson is English Causative Verbs |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase... |
| Barbara: I made the C-level deal with me. |
| Braden: Causative verbs are used to describe when someone caused something to take place. |
| Barbara: For example - "Renée had her house renovated." |
| Braden: This sentence is similar in meaning to - Someone renovated Renée's house. OR Renée's house was renovated by someone. Causative verbs bring about, lead to, create, or produce some result. |
| Barbara: Causative verbs can be similar in meaning to passive verbs, however, they are distinct. |
| Braden: For example - "My hair was cut." (passive) and now listen to "I had my hair cut." (causative) |
| Barbara: Both "make" and "have" can be used as causative verbs. Let’s look at the causative verb “Make” first. |
| Braden: "Make" as a causative verb expresses the idea that the subject requires another person to do something. |
| This is usually used in the past tense, however, this is just a tendency, not a rule. |
| Barbara: The construction for these sentences is Subject + Make + Person + Base Form of Verb. The base form of a verb is the infinitive form without the “to.” |
| Braden: For example, "Peter made her do her homework." or "The teacher made the students stay after class." |
| Barbara: This same structure can also be easily extended. For example, "Peter is going to make her do her homework." or "The teacher will not make the students stay after class." |
| Braden: Modals can also be used. For example, "Peter should make her do her home work." or "The teacher might make the students stay after class." |
| Barbara: Now let’s look at the verb "Have" as a causative verb. |
| Braden: The verb have" can also be used as a causative verb. It expresses the idea that the person causes something to be done for them. |
| Barbara: This causative verb is often used when speaking about various services. There are two forms of the causative verb "have". |
| Braden: The first form is constructed like this – Subject + Have + Person + Base Form of Verb |
| Barbara: For example, "They had John arrive early." or "She had her children cook dinner for her." |
| Braden: The second construction form is similar. It is Subject + Have + Object + Past Participle |
| Barbara: Some example sentences are – "I had my hair cut last Saturday." and "She had the car washed at the weekend." |
| Braden: Be careful because this meaning is similar in meaning to the passive. |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for today. Thanks for listening. |
| Barbara: See you later! |
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