Learn how to use contractions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Braden: Hello, and welcome to EnglishClass101.com, |
| the fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn English! |
| Barbara: I'm Barbara, and thanks again for being here with us |
| for this Lower Advanced S1 lesson. |
| Braden: Use Contractiosn to Expand Your English Skills! |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn about Using contractions in English and Idaho. |
| Barbara: This conversation takes place in the afternoon, on break. |
| Braden: And it’s between June and Cody. |
| Barbara: The speakers are co-workers and are still developing a friendship so they’ll be speaking semi-professionally. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| June: Cody, I've been meaning to ask you something. |
| Cody: Yeah? |
| June: Where're you from? |
| Cody: I'm from Idaho. |
| June: Idaho? Wow! I've never met anyone from Idaho. Don't you drive tractors to school and stuff like that? |
| Cody: Only when the horses're sick. |
| June: Really? |
| Cody: No. |
| June: Oh! So, how did you get to school? |
| Cody: I lived next to the bus stop, so I just walked to the park and took the big yellow school bus, just like everybody else. Why'd you want to know? |
| June: It's just that I'm from New York and the image we have of the Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana region is that of farm country. |
| Cody: Well, there're a lot of farms and ranches around there, but I grew up in a city, just like you. Albeit, a smaller city. |
| June: How many inhabitants? |
| Cody: About sixty thousand. |
| June: Yeah, just a bit. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about Idaho and the Rocky Mountain states |
| Barbara: Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States and is probably best known for its potatoes. I was also nicknamed the gem State because nearly every known type of gemstone has been found within the borders of Idaho. |
| Braden: Idaho is landlocked by the states of Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Montana and by the Canadian province of British Columbia. |
| Barbara: This region, with the exception of the coastal areas of Washington and Oregon, are heavy agricultural producers. For example, Idaho has the largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States due to a number of privately owned farms and ranches. |
| Braden: Each of the surrounding states also have unique characteristics. For example, every land speed record for the past ten years has been made in the Utah Salt Flats. |
| Barbara: And Many of those beautiful mountain landscape pictures you see in stores were taken in Colorado. |
| Braden: Wyoming is home to Yellowstone national Forest and Montana has tremendous ranches. |
| Barbara: And just for trivia, Wyoming was the first US state to grant women the right to vote. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we'll look at is... |
| Barbara: Idaho [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a state in the western USA |
| Barbara: Idaho [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: Idaho [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: tractors [natural native speed] |
| Braden: powerful machine used on farms to haul heavy loads |
| Barbara: tractors [slowly - broken down by syllable] tractors [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: horses [natural native speed] |
| Braden: large, domesticated, four-legged mammal with mane and tail used by humans for riding, racing, and to carry an pull loads |
| Barbara: horses [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: horses [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: image [natural native speed] |
| Braden: the general impression that a person |
| Barbara: image [slowly - broken down by syllable] image [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: Wyoming [natural native speed] |
| Braden: state in western USA |
| Barbara: Wyoming [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: Wyoming [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: Montana [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a state in the western USA. |
| Barbara: Montana [slowly - broken down by syllable] Montana [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: farm [natural native speed] |
| Braden: an area of land and its buildings used for growing and storing crops |
| Barbara: farm [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: farm [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: inhabitants [natural native speed] |
| Braden: an individual who lives in or occupies an area |
| Barbara: inhabitants [slowly - broken down by syllable] inhabitants [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 “yellow school bus.” |
| Braden: This is a simple phrase But for those of you who never participated in primary education in the United States, yellow is the de facto color for school buses. This is such a common phrase in fact, that songs are written with this phrase in them. |
| we also wanted to note the intonation In this phrase. |
| The strong part is in the word school. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: yellow school bus (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: yellow school bus (fast) |
| Braden: Great! What’s next? |
| Barbara: Our next phrase is “farm country.” |
| Braden: the term “farm country” Is used to describe an area of land used for farming. that may seem obvious, And frankly, it is. However, there is an added connotation of “backward” or “unintelligent.” |
| Barbara: To many Americans, saying that you grew up in “farm country” is nearly the same thing as saying that you have no formal education, can’t drive, and don’t speak English properly. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: farm country (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: farm country (fast) |
| Braden: Perfect! |
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 using contractions in English |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase… |
| Barbara: Only when the horses’re sick. |
| Braden: As you have noticed throughout your English studies, the rule to never use contractions in written English is really more of a guideline. Contractions are frequently used in many types of writing. However, rarely in formal or academic writing. |
| Barbara: The contractions you see in writing are contractions with nouns and pronouns. |
| Braden: For example, “I'm working this morning.” Or, "You're a great friend.” |
| Barbara: Contractions can also happen with question words. |
| For example, “Who's on the telephone?” |
| Braden: Beyond these basics, there are a number of contractions that, while non-existent in written English, are common in spoken English. |
| Barbara: First, “am” can contract with question words. For example, 1. "What'm I supposed to do?" |
| Braden: Here the verb "am" is contracted with the question word "what. Without the contraction it would be, “What am I supposed to do?” |
| Barbara: Next, we the verb “Have” can contract with plural nouns. For example, "The teachers've finished their meeting." |
| Braden: Here the verb "have" is contracted with the plural noun "teachers." Without the contraction it would be, “The teachers have finished their meeting.” |
| Barbara: Next, “Have” can also contract with question words. for example, "Where've you been all day?" |
| Braden: Here the verb "have" is contracted with the question word "where." Without the contraction it would be, “Where have you been all day?” |
| Barbara: Our next example is “Had” contracting with proper nouns. A sample sentence of this would be "Jeff'd worked there before." |
| Braden: Here the verb "had" is contracted with the proper noun "Jeff." Without the contraction it would be, “Jeff had worked there before.” |
| Barbara: Almost done! Next we have “Had” contracting with question words. For example "What'd he done before coming here?" |
| Braden: Here the verb "had" is contracted with the question word "what." Without the contraction it would be, “What had he done before coming here?” |
| Barbara: Lastly, the modal Would can be contracted with question words. For example, "Where'd you like to go?” |
| Braden: Here the auxiliary "would" is contracted with the question word "where." Without the contraction it would be, “Where would you like to go?” |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for today. Thanks for listening. |
| Barbara: See you later! |
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