Learn how to ask someone out on a date in the United States
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Jonathan: This is Jonathan. |
| Dede: And I'm Dede. English Pickup Lines. |
| Jonathan: In this lesson, we’ll learn about adverb clauses with the conditional tense, and listen to a conversation between Dave and Isabel over the phone. Dave is going to try and ask Isabel out on a date! |
| Dede: Ooh, I wonder how that goes! |
| Jonathan: The level of speech starts out a bit formally, because they still do not know each other well. However, after Dave asks out Isabel, the tone changes and becomes much more casual. |
| Dede: I think that’s it, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| ISABEL: Hello, may I ask who’s calling? |
| DAVE: Hi… is this Officer Fuentes? This is Dave Wiseman, I spoke with you after I got mugged and you gave me your card. |
| ISABEL: Ah hi Dave, how are you? Feeling any better? Did you remember anything that might aid our investigation? |
| DAVE: I’m doing fine, thanks, it was just a few scratches and bruises. Actually… I was calling you for another reason. |
| IsabelI |
| Yes, what was that? |
| DAVE: Well, I realize that this might be a little bit inappropriate. But I was wondering… Unless it’s against your rules, would you be free to get a drink sometime? |
| ISABEL: Are you asking me out? |
| DAVE: I am unless you think I shouldn’t be. |
| ISABEL: Well, it’s a bit irregular, but it’s adorable. In case you want to meet me, I’ll be over by the pavilion at the Eastern Market around 10 on Saturday. |
| DAVE: Really? That’s great! I’ll head over then. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Dede: Do people really ask each other out over the phone like this? Isn’t that a bit… not OK? |
| Jonathan: Well, asking someone out over the telephone the way Dave did is certainly not the most common manner, but the language that he used is very common and it usually wouldn’t be considered bad for him to do this. I would say the most common way to ask someone out on a first date is to ask them to coffee or a drink. |
| Dede: Wait a second… You asked me out for a drink when we first met… were you asking me out? |
| Jonathan: Haha, good point! In the States, just because someone asks if you are free for a drink it doesn’t mean that they are not necessarily asking you out on a date. They could be just trying to get to know you better as a friend. |
| Dede: So how do you know the difference? |
| Jonathan: Just do what Isabel did and ask! It’s perfectly appropriate to clarify what they are asking. |
| Dede: OK… So were you asking me out on a date? |
| Jonathan: Haha, well, no… sorry. |
| Dede: That’s OK, I would have said “no” then… |
| Jonathan: Ouch! Well, let’s move onto the vocab! |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Jonathan: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| Dede: The first word we shall see is: |
| Jonathan: to aid [natural native speed] |
| Dede: to assist, to help |
| Jonathan: aid [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: aid [natural native speed] |
| Next we have: |
| Jonathan: bruise [natural native speed] |
| Dede: a dark purple/brownish mark you get after being hit |
| Jonathan: bruise [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: bruise [natural native speed] |
| Next is: |
| Jonathan: inappropriate [natural native speed] |
| Dede: not acceptable, should not be done |
| Jonathan: inappropriate [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: inappropriate [natural native speed] |
| Next we have: |
| Jonathan: irregular [natural native speed] |
| Dede: abnormal, not regular, unusual |
| Jonathan: irregular [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: irregular [natural native speed] |
| Next is: |
| Jonathan: adorable [natural native speed] |
| Dede: very cute |
| Jonathan: adorable [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: adorable [natural native speed] |
| Next we have: |
| Jonathan: to wonder [natural native speed] |
| Dede: to think about, to speculate in an uncertain manner |
| Jonathan: wonder [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: wonder [natural native speed] |
| Next is: |
| Jonathan: Eastern Market [natural native speed] |
| Dede: A historic market in South-East Washington, D.C. known for its wide array of food, used goods, and inexpensive clothing |
| Jonathan: Eastern Market [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: Eastern Market [natural native speed] |
| Next we have: |
| Jonathan: actually [natural native speed] |
| Dede: as a true fact, really |
| Jonathan: actually [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: actually [natural native speed] |
| Next is: |
| Jonathan: to head over [natural native speed] |
| Dede: to go somewhere (casual) |
| Jonathan: head over [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: head over [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Jonathan: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Dede: The first word/phrase we’ll look at is.... |
| Jonathan: to wonder |
| Dede: In the dialogue, Dave starts one of his sentences with: “But I was wondering…” |
| Jonathan: As we saw in the vocab, “to wonder” something means to think about or speculate. We often say “I was wondering” before a question to someone to indicate that we had thought about it before asking it. Dave was doing this to show that he gave his question some thought before asking Isabel. |
| Dede: Ahh, I see... So Jonathan… |
| Jonathan: Yeah? |
| Dede: I was wondering… What’s your favorite color? |
| Jonathan: Sea-foam green of course! Hey Dede, I was wondering what kind of movies you liked. |
| Dede: I think you know that I love 1970s Italian horror films… |
| Jonathan: Haha, great! What’s the next phrase? |
| Dede: Actually |
| Jonathan: As a true fact, or really |
| Dede: Dave says: “Actually… I was calling you for another reason” |
| Jonathan: Dave says this before he changes the topic from his mugging to trying to ask Isabel out. “Actually” means “really”, but we often use it as a transition from one topic to another when we are trying to guide the conversation or express an opposite opinion in response to a question. Ready for the grammar explanation? |
| Dede: Actually, I was wondering if you could give me another example of these phrases! |
| Jonathan: Haha, we’ll sure! Try and ask me a question. |
| Dede: Uhm, ok. Do you want to get lunch soon? |
| Jonathan: Actually, I already ate lunch. OK, ready now? |
| Dede: Absolutely. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Jonathan: Our lesson focus is on using adverb clauses with the conditional tense. |
| Dede: Dave says “Unless it’s against your rules, would you be free to get a drink sometime?” |
| Jonathan: Adverb clauses, like noun clauses, are phrases that take the place of an adverb in a sentence. Can you think of any, Dede? |
| Dede: Sure… uhm… “I will get that to you when I have free time” |
| Jonathan: Right, the adverb clause is “when I have free time” |
| Jonathan: Adverb clauses answer the questions “When?”, “How?”, or “Why?”. |
| Dede: But this lesson focuses on using adverb clauses with the conditional tense. We use these regularly with the conditional tense to express the conditions. Often, we see “if” being used for the beginning of an adverb clause in this case. |
| Jonathan: Exactly, like “If I didn’t have work Sunday, I would go play golf” |
| Dede: The adverb clause is “if I didn’t have work” |
| Jonathan: Another example is “They would love to eat a slice of pizza if there are any left.” |
| Dede: The adverb clause there is “if there are any left.” |
| Jonathan: We can also express conditional tense, as this dialogue showed, by using “unless” as the beginning of the adverb clause. |
| Dede: “Unless” is a somewhat tricky word that is easy to confuse with “if”. Essentially, we use “Unless” for negative statements in questions. |
| Jonathan: So we can say something like: “Unless there is rain, the picnic will be tomorrow.” |
| Dede: This means:“If there is no rain, the picnic will be tomorrow.” |
| Jonathan: We could also say: “I’m going to relax unless I have to work.” |
| Dede: That means “If I don’t have work, I’m going to relax.” |
| Jonathan: By using this structure, Dave asks Isabel out, but gives her the opportunity to decline if it is against the rules of being a police officer. This is a very polite and timid way for Dave to ask her out. |
| Dede: Unless you have anything else to say, I would like to finish the lesson. |
| Jonathan: Sounds good! |
Outro |
| Dede: Thanks so much for joining us for this lesson. |
| Jonathan: Thanks for listening. Unless you’re busy, we hope you’ll be back soon. |
| Dede: Bye-bye for now! |
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