Learn about using adverbs clauses to show opposition
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Braden: A Surprise Demotion at your American Job |
| Braden: In this lesson, you’ll learn about Adverb clauses to show opposition and Figure of speech. |
| Barbara: This conversation takes place in the morning in Big John’s office. |
| Braden: And it’s between Big John, June, and Sarah. |
| Barbara: All the speakers are in management positions so they will be speaking professionally. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Big John: June, even though you've only been assistant manager for a week, I'm going to have to demote you. |
| June: What? What did I do wrong? |
| Big John: Nothing. Corporate is trying to light a fire under this store because our sales are so low. So they're sending a new assistant manager, a specialist in efficiency, to take your place. |
| June: When is he going to arrive? |
| Big John: She is already here. Her name is Sarah, and I've already called a meeting to introduce her to the staff. |
| ......... |
| Big John: It's time for you people to get moving around here. Show some initiative. And I have just the gal to help. Meet Sarah. She's your new assistant manager. Sarah has been sent here by corporate to bring some efficiency into this outfit. |
| Sarah: Thank you the introduction, Big John. |
| Big John: I'll be in my office if you need me. |
| Sarah: Thank you! |
| (Big John Leaves) |
| Sarah: While it is just so nice to be here with you, my visit here isn't going to be all fun and games. I'm going to be interviewing you and giving you performance evaluations and perhaps even removing some of the employee baggage. That should help us achieve synergy. So, who would like to go first? |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about Figure of speech. |
| Barbara: A figure of speech is using a word or words in a way that is different from its usual meaning. There are many different types of figures of speech including idioms, metaphors, similes, hyperbole is, or personification. |
| Braden: For example, in the dialogue Sarah said, “Trim the employee baggage.” Literally, this phrase doesn't make much sense. However, in a figurative sense, she's referring to firing employees. "Trimming the employee baggage" would be getting rid of the employees that are not necessary. |
| Barbara: There are also many types of figures of speech. Some are fixed within language, such as idioms, and others are situationally dependent, such as a metaphor that only makes sense in a particular culture. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is: |
| Barbara: seamlessly [natural native speed] |
| Braden: flowing smoothly |
| Barbara: seamlessly [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: seamlessly [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| initiative [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the ability to assess and initiate things independently |
| initiative [slowly - broken down by syllable] initiative [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: outfit [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a group of people undertaking a particular activity together |
| Barbara: outfit [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: outfit [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| gal [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a girl or young woman |
| gal [slowly - broken down by syllable] gal [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: corporate [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a corporate company or group. |
| Barbara: corporate [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: corporate [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| efficiency [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the ratio of work performed to the total energy expended |
| efficiency [slowly - broken down by syllable] efficiency [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: unfortunately [natural native speed] |
| Braden: that which is unfortunate |
| Barbara: unfortunately [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: unfortunately [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| performance [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the execution of an action; something accomplished |
| performance [slowly - broken down by syllable] performance [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: evaluation [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a judgment about the amount, number, or value of something |
| Barbara: evaluation [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: evaluation [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| baggage [natural native speed] |
| Braden: past experiences, ideas, or items regarded as |
| impediments |
| baggage [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| baggage [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: synergy [natural native speed] |
| Braden: cooperation of two or more entities which produces a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects |
| Barbara: synergy [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: synergy [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 synergy |
| Braden: Which is when two inputs create more benefit than the resources required. Some people do not consider “synergy” to be a word and in their defense some dictionaries do not listed. |
| Barbara: However, Almost any native English speaker will understand this word. Therefore, it’s obviously in somebody’s vocabulary. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: synergy (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: synergy (fast) |
| Braden: Perfect! What’s next? |
| Barbara: Our next phrase is performance evaluations |
| Braden: A “performance evaluation” Can take a number of forms. in general, a performance evaluation tries to measure the value a particular individual has to the company by evaluating his performance. |
| Barbara: Performance evaluations are typically not looked upon kindly by employees because they are somewhat subjective to the opinion or perspective of the person giving the evaluation. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: performance evaluations (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: performance evaluations (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 clauses that show opposition |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase... |
| Barbara: June, even though you’ve only been assistant manager for a week, I’m going to have to demote you. |
| Braden: Adverb clauses can show an unexpected or non self-evident result based on the dependent clause. |
| Barbara: For example, imagine your friend saying about you “You bought the car even though it was expensive.” |
| Braden: When an adverb clause begins the sentence, use a comma to separate the two clauses. |
| Barbara: For example, “Even though it was expensive (comma) he bought the car on Friday.” |
| Braden: When the adverb clause finishes the sentence there is no need for a comma. |
| Barbara: For example, “He bought the car on Friday even though it was expensive.” |
| Braden: Now we are going to cover five adverb clauses that show opposition – Even though, though, although, whereas, and while. These five phrases can be broken into two categories. |
| Barbara: Category number one, “Even though, though, although” |
| Braden: These words show a situation which is contrary to the main clause. In this way, they express opposition. Even though, though, and although are all synonyms. |
| Barbara: For example, “Even though it was expensive, he bought the car.” |
| Braden: Or “Although the course was difficult, he passed with the highest marks.” |
| Barbara: Between “though,” “even though,” and “although,” using the word “though” has the most formal feeling. |
| Braden: For example, “Though he loves the highlands of Scotland, he has given them up for his family.” |
| Barbara: Now let’s take a look at Whereas, while. "Whereas" and "while" show clauses in direct opposition to each other. |
| Braden: For example, “Whereas you have lots of time to do your homework, I have very little time indeed.” |
| Barbara: Notice that you should always use a comma with "whereas" and "while" whether the adverb clause begins a sentence or ends it. |
| Braden: So, in that last sentence it was “Whereas you have lots of time to do your homework (comma) I have very little time indeed.” |
| Barbara: And to wrap things up, our last example is “Mary is rich(comma) while I am poor.” |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for today. Thanks for listening. |
| Barbara: See you later! |
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