Dialogue

Want to Understand & Master the English Dialogue 100%?

Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

Do you know how to ask about amenities in English?
Hi, my name is Alisha, and this is Three Step English by EnglishClass101.com.
In this lesson, you'll learn "how to ask about amenities in English" through a quick conversation.
Let's look at the dialogue.
Two characters are talking to each other in a movie theater.
As you listen, pay attention to how they ask about the topic and how the other person responds.
Do they have any vending machines here?
Yeah, they’re back by the entrance.
I saw those, but all they had was pop. I just wanted some water.
There’s a water fountain by the bathroom.
Thanks.
By the way, we don’t normally say “pop” here. Usually, people say “soda.”
I heard that, but keep forgetting. When I was small, my English teacher was from Ohio.
Let's go over the dialogue again, more slowly this time.
Do they have any vending machines here?
Yeah, they’re back by the entrance.
I saw those, but all they had was pop. I just wanted some water.
There’s a water fountain by the bathroom.
Thanks.
By the way, we don’t normally say “pop” here. Usually, people say “soda.”
I heard that, but keep forgetting. When I was small, my English teacher was from Ohio.
Let's focus on the key part of the conversation.
In this part of the dialogue, this person
Is asking this person
If there are any vending machines in the place where they're talking.
She does this by asking, "Do they have any vending machines here?"
When she asks, "do they have…," what she's saying has basically the same meaning as the phrase "is there a…?"
However, referring to the theater as "they," and phrasing the sentence as though it's a person who "has" things rather than a place where things "are," is grammatically correct in English and can sometimes be the more natural sounding sentence.
She ends the sentence with "here?," which makes it clear that in this sentence, "they" is referring to the movie theater that the two are in. When talking about a business or company in English, the pronoun "they" can be used in place of saying the full name.
Let's look at the sentence pattern.
This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow.
[Do or Does] [Noun] have [Noun]?
When we are referring to a business or group, we say "Do they", the subject "they" is often used in a general way, especially if we don’t know exactly who is in charge, but if you are referring to a singular noun, for example, a business name, you switch to "Does," like "Does Starbucks have Wi-Fi?"
Let’s see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern.
Do they have any vending machines here?
First is "Do," which is used because the subject is a pronoun.
Next is "they," the pronoun referring to the movie theater the characters were in.
After that is "have."
And lastly, "any vending machines here?"
The sentence would be complete with just "vending machines," which is the second "noun." The words "any" and "here" help make the question more specific, but aren't needed for the pattern.
In many everyday situations, "Do they have ~~?" and "Is there ~~?" can be interchangeable, but the nuance is slightly different.
We use a “do they have” pattern when we are in places owned or operated by a company or government. This could be a company building, a park, a station, or a cafe. We tend to use “is there” or “are there” patterns when we are in public places, like on the street, where there is no clear owner of the surrounding space. Although this nuance exists, people can use either pattern in any location.
Now let's look at some speaking examples.
Do you have a menu?
Can you see how the pattern applies here?
"You" is a pronoun, taking the place of the first noun. "You" is being used here to refer to both the listener that the speaker is talking to, and also to generally refer to the business the listener works for.
"Menu" is the second noun, the amenity.
Next...
Do they have umbrellas?
"They" is a pronoun taking the place of the first noun, and "umbrellas" is the second noun, the amenity the speaker is asking about.
Let's try one more,
Does the restaurant have a terrace?
Here, the first noun is "the restaurant." Since it is a singular noun, we use "Does."
"A terrace" is the second noun.
Another one.
Does the library have a water fountain?
"The library" is a singular noun, so we use "does" instead of "do." A "water fountain" is the second noun.
Let's do another.
Do they have a student discount?
The pronoun "they" is used, so we start with "Do." The amenity is "a student discount."
One last example.
Does New York have a subway system?
"New York" is not only a noun, but it's a proper noun - a specific, named place. Just like common nouns, we use "Does" here. Then, "a subway system" takes the place of the second noun in the pattern.
Let's review.
Using the sentence pattern we learned, do you know how the words should be ordered?
Do
Do they
Do they have
Do they have a
Do they have a bathroom?
Do they have a bathroom?
Using the sentence pattern we learned, do you know how the words should be ordered?
Do
Do you
Do you have
Do you have a
Do you have a garbage
Do you have a garbage can?
Do you have a garbage can?
Thank you for watching.
Now you know how to ask about amenities in English.
...and now you can move on to the practice.

Comments

Hide