Learn about using the impersonal "it"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natalie: Good afternoon! |
| Braden: Braden here. It's Important to Rest in the US. |
| Braden: In this lesson, you'll will learn about using the impersonal “it” |
| Natalie: This conversation takes place on the plane during the shift. |
| Braden: And it’s between Jessica and Matthew. |
| Natalie: Jessica and Matthew are now friends, they are speaking casually. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Jessica: I'm so happy that we'll be able to spend the night in Houston and then have all day off tomorrow. |
| Matthew: Me too. I really need to rest. I think I'm coming down with something. |
| Jessica: I have some meds in my bag if you need them. |
| Matthew: Thanks but I think I'll be fine. Some extra rest should be enough. |
| Jessica: Well, we'll be landing in an hour. Then you can get something to eat. |
| Matthew: Then I'm off to the hotel to sleep. |
| Braden: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Jessica: I'm so happy that we'll be able to spend the night in Houston and then have all day off tomorrow. |
| Matthew: Me too. I really need to rest. I think I'm coming down with something. |
| Jessica: I have some meds in my bag if you need them. |
| Matthew: Thanks but I think I'll be fine. Some extra rest should be enough. |
| Jessica: Well, we'll be landing in an hour. Then you can get something to eat. |
| Matthew: Then I'm off to the hotel to sleep. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about Houston. |
| Natalie: Houston is the largest city in the state of Texas and the fourth-largest city in the United States. As of 2012 the city has a population of 2. 1 million people in the greater metropolitan area. |
| Braden: Houston is a major port city and the port of Houston ranks 1st in the United States in international waterborne cargo handled. |
| Natalie: It is also home to the largest number of Fortune 500 companies of any US city except New York. |
| Braden: Houston is recognized worldwide for its energy industry specifically the oil industry. |
| Natalie: Some of the energy companies based in Houston are Halliburton, Shell Oil Company, Pennzoil, Noble energy, Marathon oil, ConocoPhillips, diamond offshore drilling, frontier oil, and Gulf South pipeline. |
| Braden: Even though Exxon Mobil has its corporate headquarters in Irving Texas most of its employees are based in Houston. |
| Natalie: The corporate offices for Hewlett-Packard and Imperial sugar, and Minute Maid can all be found near Houston. |
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Braden: The first word we're going to look at is... |
| Natalie: bag [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a container of flexible material with an opening at the top used for carrying things |
| Natalie: bag [slowly - broken down by syllable] bag [natural native speed] |
| Braden: Next |
| Natalie: meds [natural native speed] |
| Braden: abbreviation for – medications |
| Natalie: meds [slowly - broken down by syllable] meds [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. |
| Natalie: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase “spend the night.” |
| Braden: The phrase “spend the night” has the idea of showing the place where they are staying during the night. |
| Natalie: So they're going to “spend the night” in Houston. This phrase is often used by children when they're talking about “spending the night” at a friends house for a “sleepover.” |
| Braden: Now, the word “spend” usually has to deal with money. However not in this case. There doesn't necessarily have to be any money involved. |
| Natalie: For example, you could say about a woman who travels a lot that, “She spends a lot of time traveling.” |
| Braden: Could you break this down for us? |
| Natalie: (slowly) spend the night |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Natalie: (fast) spend the night |
| Braden: Perfect! What’s next? |
| Natalie: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase “coming down.” |
| Braden: This phrase is very interesting because it has several different forms. For example, to “come down” literally means for something to fall down like a building or some other kind of structure. |
| Natalie: However, this phrasal verb “come down” is special because you can add a second preposition at the end. |
| Braden: In fact, there are three different prepositions that you can add and each one will have a different meaning. |
| Natalie: The first one is, “coming down on.” This means that you're criticizing someone. |
| Braden: The second one is, “coming down to.” This means that you become dependent on something or that a situation is dependent on some specific factor. |
| Natalie: The last one is the meaning that is used in the dialogue. Here we have, "coming down with.” The idea transmitted here is “to begin to suffer from,” and is very specific with sickness or illness. |
| Braden: So, an example would be, “I am coming down with a cold.” |
| Braden: Could you break this down for us? |
| Natalie: (slowly) coming down |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Natalie: (fast) coming down |
| Braden: Excellent! Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Braden: So Natalie, what’s the focus of this lesson? |
| Natalie: The focus of this lesson is the impersonal "it" |
| Braden: In the dialogue we heard the phrase |
| Natalie: Then it’s off to the hotel to sleep. |
| Braden: The most common word in English is probably the word "it." You'll find it in many different kinds of sentences. |
| Natalie: It can be in a subject position, an object position, or an indirect object position. |
| Braden: When it is in the subject position, sentences that use "it" are often "impersonal" sentences. That means there is no natural subject. |
| Natalie: In this lesson, you'll learn about when to use "it" in impersonal sentences. |
| Braden: You use "it" when you're talking about weather, identifying something, talking about time, or talking about distance. |
| Natalie: First we’ll look at the “Weather.” |
| When you're talking about weather you frequently use “it” in impersonal sentences. |
| Braden: For example – “It's raining.” |
| Natalie: Here, “it” isn't acting as a normal pronoun. It's acting impersonally or without a natural subject. |
| Braden: 2 other examples would be – “It's hot.” Or “It will be sunny tomorrow.” |
| Natalie: Next we’ll look at Identifying. When you're trying to identify something or someone you will often use “it" in an impersonal way. |
| Braden: For example, when you knock on your friend's door you will probably hear them say – |
| Natalie: “Who is it?” |
| Braden: Here, the "it" is again acting impersonally. A correct response would be – |
| Natalie: “It's me.” |
| Braden: You also use “it” in an impersonal way when you're talking about time. For example, you could ask your friend – |
| Natalie: “What time is it?” |
| Braden: Your friend would then naturally respond with something like – |
| Natalie: “It's seven o'clock.” |
| Braden: In these impersonal sentences, the “it” is necessary. If you leave it off, English speakers will become confused. |
| Natalie: Last will look at talking about distance and using the impersonal “it.” This is another common question/answer situation. |
| Braden: For example, your boss may ask you – “How far is it to Toronto?” |
| Natalie: Since you have driven to Toronto recently, you know the answer. So you respond with – |
| Braden: “It's about 2000 miles.” |
| Braden: Notice how the “it” is used again in this impersonal way. Let's review this lesson. |
| Natalie: The word “it” is often a stumbling block for English learners. |
| Braden: Part of the reason for this is because “it” can be impersonal. |
| That means that “it” doesn't always need to refer to a natural subject. In other words, it isn't always a pronoun. |
| Braden: Luckily, there are several situations in which using “it” is expected. |
| Natalie: So, whenever you talk about those subjects, you know that you will probably use the impersonal “it.” |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for this lesson. Thanks for listening. |
| Natalie: See you later! |
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