Learn about adverb placement in the English language
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Braden: An Awkward English Situation. In this lesson, you’ll learn about Adverb Placement and Bluegrass Music. |
| Barbara: This conversation takes place on the phone while on break. |
| Braden: And it’s between June and Mitch. |
| Barbara: The speakers are co-workers, but Mitch is a bit strange, so June will be speaking professionally and Mitch will be speaking casually. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| (on the phone) |
| June: So, how do you categorize your music? Who are some of your major influences? |
| ... |
| June: You know, I'm actually not familiar with your uncle's bluegrass band. However, thank you anyway and have a nice day! |
| (hang up the phone) |
| Mitch: What was that about? |
| June: I'm helping my sister find a band for her wedding. |
| Mitch: Then today, sir, is your lucky day! Just giving you a heads up, I'll handle it from here. |
| June: You're going to help me find a band? |
| Mitch: No, no, no! You misunderstand. You've found your band! I'll play your sister's wedding. |
| June: Wait a minute. You have a band? |
| Mitch: I started a new-age punk band last week. |
| June: And you want to play punk music at my sister's wedding? |
| Mitch: Won't it be awesome! My big debut! In the spotlight! Next step, the big time. |
| June: You know, my sister's tastes run a little more classical. |
| Mitch: But you haven't heard us play. I'd hate to think you'd unfavorably prejudge us. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: Ok, so it seems that Mitch is a bit confused as to the appropriateness of music at weddings, right? |
| Barbara: Yeah. he’s thinking about himself. |
| Braden: Yeah, not particularly concerned about the wedding in general, just focusing on his own big debut. |
| Braden: Earlier in the conversation they talked about Bluegrass music, let’s talk a little bit about that for a second. |
| Barbara: Bluegrass is a form of roots music. And could be considered a sub genre of country music. |
| Braden: To the trained ear, influences from Scotland, Ireland, England, and even some jazz can all be heard in bluegrass music. |
| Barbara: Bluegrass is typically a dance music and consists of a fiddle (violin), an upright bass, a mandolin, an acoustic guitar, and a banjo. Bluegrass music is traditionally played on acoustic string instruments. |
| Braden: Rarely will a bluegrass musicians use any kind of amplification. |
| Barbara: Bluegrass is typically very fast with the rapid rhythms played simultaneously throughout a piece. |
| Braden: One famous bluegrass singer and fiddler (violinist, for those of you who care) is Alison Krauss. She has won multiple Grammy awards for her music. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we'll look at is... |
| Barbara: categorize [natural native speed] |
| Braden: place in a particular class or group |
| Barbara: categorize [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: categorize [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: influence [natural native speed] |
| Braden: power to affect something or somebody |
| Barbara: influence [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: influence [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: major [natural native speed] |
| Braden: big, very important |
| Barbara: major [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: major [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| bluegrass [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a kind of country music influenced by jazz and blues |
| bluegrass [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| bluegrass [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: however [natural native speed] |
| Braden: used to introduce a statement that contrasts with or seems to contradict something previously said |
| Barbara: however [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: however [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: handle [natural native speed] |
| Braden: to feel, manipulate, drive or control with the hands or influence |
| Barbara: handle [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: handle [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: misunderstand [natural native speed] |
| Braden: fail to interpret or understand |
| Barbara: misunderstand [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: misunderstand [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: prejudge [natural native speed] |
| Braden: form a judgment on prematurely |
| Barbara: prejudge [slowly - broken down by syllable] prejudge [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: punk [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a fast and loud style of rock music which often features |
| aggressive or offensive lyrics and performances |
| Barbara: punk [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: punk [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: new-age [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a movement characterized by alternative approaches to |
| traditional Western culture |
| Barbara: new-age [slowly - broken down by syllable] new-age [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: debut [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a first appearance |
| Barbara: debut [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: debut [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 noun “heads-up.” |
| Braden: Which is part of an expression “give you a heads up”. |
| Barbara: This phrase refers to the movement of lifting up your head in order to pay attention to something. It was frequently used in situations where something would be coming from above. The classic example is a baseball game where the ball is hit high in the air and the players have to look up in order to see and catch it. |
| Braden: Could you break this down for us? |
| Barbara: heads-up (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: heads-up (fast) |
| Braden: Perfect! What’s next? |
| Barbara: Our next phrase is “the big time.” |
| Braden: which means “to be famous.” |
| Barbara: This phrase refers to the concept of fame and fortune, performing at important events, and being a respected artist. One way to remember this phrase is to remember that famous artists always have “bigger” time slots at concerts. |
| Braden: Could you break this down for us? |
| Barbara: the big time (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: the big time (fast) |
| Braden: Perfect! Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Braden: Barbara, what’s the focus of this lesson? |
| Barbara: The focus of this lesson is adverb placement in English. |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase… |
| Barbara: However, thank you anyway and have a nice day! |
| Braden: Adverbs provide information about how, when, or where something is done. It's easy to understand what adverbs do by breaking the word apart "ad" - "verb" – adverbs add something to the verb. |
| Barbara: Adverbs are actually a category which can be subdivided based on function. Generally, adverb placement is taught relative to the type of adverbs. |
| Braden: Adverb placement at the beginning of a clause or sentence is referred to as “initial position.” |
| Barbara: Initial position adverbs are used when a connecting adverb joins a statement to the preceding clause or sentence. It's important to remember that these connecting adverbs require adverb placement at the beginning of a phrase in order to connect it to the phrase that comes before. |
| Braden: Some common connecting adverbs are however, consequently, then, next, and still. |
| Barbara: For example, “Life is hard. However, life can be even harder.” or “My friend Jeffrey never enjoyed school. Still he went and got his degree and now has a good job.” |
| Braden: Time adverbs are another type of adverb.Time adverbs are also used at the beginning of phrases to indicate when something should happen. It's important to note that time adverbs are the most flexible of all adverbs in their placement. |
| Barbara: For example, “Tomorrow Alexander will travel to his uncle's apartment in New York.” or “Sometimes, Sarah enjoys a relaxing day at the park.” |
| Braden: Now let’s look at adverb in the middle or mid-postion. First we look at focusing adverbs. |
| Barbara: Adverb placement of focusing adverbs generally takes place in the middle of a sentence, or in the “mid-position.” Focusing adverbs put the emphasis on one part of the clause in order to modify, qualify, alter, or add additional information. |
| Braden: Adverbs of frequency (sometimes, usually, never, etc.), adverbs of certainty (probably, certainly, etc.), and comment adverbs (adverbs expressing an opinion such as “intelligently, expertly, etc.”) can all be used as focusing adverbs. |
| Barbara: For example, “Christie calmly put her keys in her purse as she got out of the car.” or “We will certainly buy a legal copy of Microsoft Office.” |
| Braden: Note, remember that adverbs of frequency are always placed before the main verb, rather than the auxiliary verb. for example, “I don't often go to San Francisco.” Not “I often don't go to San Francisco." |
| Barbara: Now let’s look at adverb placement in the end position. Adverb placement is usually at the end of the sentence or phrase. While it's true that adverbs can happen in the initial or middle position, as we discussed, it is also true that adverbs are generally placed at the and of a sentence or phrase. |
| Braden: Let's look at the three most common types of adverbs placed at the end of the sentence or phrase. First we’ll look at Adverbs of manner. |
| Barbara: Adverb placement of adverbs of manner usually occurs at the end of a sentence or clause. Adverbs of manner tell us “how” something is done. For example, “Alana hasn't done her report accurately.” or “Paul does his English homework carefully.” |
| Braden: Adverbs of place also occur in end position. Adverbs of place tell us “where” something is done. For example, “Barbara is cooking chicken stock downstairs.” or “I'm working in the yard outside.” |
| Barbara: Last we’ll look at adverbs of time. Adverb placement of adverbs of time usually occurs at the end of the sentence or clause. Adverbs of time tell us “when” something is done. |
| Braden: For example, “Their meeting took place at nine o'clock.” or “Cynthia is going to the dentist tomorrow morning.” |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for today. Thanks for listening. |
| Barbara: See you later! |
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