Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Chihiro: Chihiro here.
Daniel: Daniel here. Beginner series, season one, lesson eight. I’ve been better. I'm joined in the studio by Chihiro, the newest member of the EnglishClass101.com team. Welcome, Chihiro!
Chihiro: Thanks Daniel! I'm very happy to be here.
Daniel: Everyone, please visit the website and leave a comment for Chihiro
Chihiro: Yes, That would be great! What are we studying in this lesson Daniel?
Daniel: In this lesson, you will learn how to talk about earlier events.
Chihiro: This conversation takes place on the campus of Innovative University (IU).
Daniel: The conversation is between Vicky and Oksana.
Chihiro: The speakers are friends, therefore the speakers will be speaking casually.
Daniel: Now. if you’re listening on an iPod..
Chihiro: Or an iTouch or iPhone..
Daniel: Click the center button of the iPod, or tap the screen on an iTouch or iPhone to see the notes for this lesson while you listen.
Chihiro: Read along while you listen.
Daniel: This technique will help you remember faster. OK. Let’s listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Oksana: Hey Vicky? How are you doing?
Vicky: I've been better.
Oksana: What's wrong?
Vicky: I found out that the guy I went to see "Attraction" with had seen the same movie the night before with another girl.
Oksana: Wait, is this that Marco guy?
Vicky: Uh huh.
Oksana: Oh, I have heard that he's like that, always dating several girls at once.
Vicky: Yeah, I feel sorry for the other girl, too.
Oksana: Um, let's change the subject.
Vicky: Yeah, let's.
Oksana: So, how is your reading class?
Vicky: It's pretty hard. I will have read 2000 pages when we finish.
Oksana: Dang! That's a lot of pages!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Daniel: So, Chihiro, do you know any guys like Marco?
Chihiro: I, fortunately or unfortunately, whichever point you look at it from, do.
Daniel: Mm. And what do you think about guys like Marco?
Chihiro: Well it’s not only guys, I guess. Girls can also do the same thing. Um, I guess it just depends on whether the other person knows or not.
Daniel: I guess you’re right. As long as the person who is dating more than one person is honest about it, then maybe it’s OK.
Chihiro: I agree with you, if neither party has any problems with it, then it should be fine.
Daniel: But if one of them doesn’t know...
Chihiro: And in this case Yuki and Vicky didn’t know..
Daniel: That could be a problem.
Chihiro: Yes, it could be a problem.
VOCAB LIST
Daniel: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Chihiro: I've been better [natural native speed]
Daniel: not great, there have been times when the person has felt better than now
Chihiro: I've been better [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: I've been better [natural native speed]
Next...
movie [natural native speed]
Daniel: recording of images as a story that people watch on a screen
movie [slowly - broken down by syllable] movie [natural native speed]
Next...
Chihiro: guy [natural native speed]
Daniel: man
Chihiro: guy [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: guy [natural native speed]
Next...
to date [natural native speed]
Daniel: to do an activity with someone with a possibility of a romantic relationship
to date [slowly - broken down by syllable] to date [natural native speed]
Next...
Chihiro: several [natural native speed]
Daniel: more than two but not many
Chihiro: several [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: several [natural native speed]
Next...
to find out [natural native speed]
Daniel: to become aware of something
to find out [slowly - broken down by syllable] to find out [natural native speed]
Next...
Chihiro: to change the subject [natural native speed]
Daniel: to talk about something else suddenly
Chihiro: to change the subject [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: to change the subject [natural native speed]
Next...
pretty [natural native speed]
Daniel: fairly, to a degree
pretty [slowly - broken down by syllable] pretty [natural native speed]
Next...
Chihiro: dang! [natural native speed]
Daniel: exclamation used to show surprise or anger or annoyance
Chihiro: dang! [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: dang! [natural native speed]
Next...
to finish [natural native speed]
Daniel: to reach the end of something
to finish [slowly - broken down by syllable] to finish [natural native speed]
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Daniel: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Chihiro: The first phrase we’ll look at is "what's wrong?"
Daniel: When we see someone who looks sad or unhappy, we often use this expression to ask the person about their situation.
Chihiro: It's a friendly way of showing your concern when you notice that a person has a problem, and it's also a way to urge the other person to talk about the situation with you.
Daniel: In the dialogue, Oksana has noticed that Vicky isn't doing well, therefore, she asks about her situation.
Chihiro: Other ways of asking are "Is everything ok?" or "What's the matter?"
Daniel: The next expression we will look at is "that so-and-so guy", as in "that Marco guy" from the dialogue.
Chihiro: As you can see, Oksana has never met Marco before, but only knows him from conversations with Vicky and Yuki.
Daniel: Right. "That so-and-so guy" is a way of talking about a person that one doesn't know personally with a slight
Chihiro: In the dialogue, Oksana addresses Marco, a person she has only heard of, in this way to express her slight lack of respect for him.
Daniel: Be sure to listen to the dialogue again and see how these words and phrases are used there.
Chihiro: Good idea. OK, so what is the grammar point for today?

Lesson focus

Daniel: The focus of this lesson is the perfect aspect
Chihiro: For example, in the dialogue we heard the sentence, “I’ve been better.”
Daniel: In Beginner Series, Season 1, Lesson 6, we learned that the 12 “tenses” in English are really three tenses* and four aspects. And, that by combining these tenses and aspects, we get this number 12.
Chihiro: Then, in lesson seven, we were introduced to the progressive aspect and looked at how it combines with present, past and future tenses to make meaning.
Daniel: In this lesson, we will look at the perfect aspect of verbs.
Chihiro: We will be contrasting the perfect aspect with the simple aspect and the progressive aspect, so we hope you remember them. If not, be sure to review by listening to Beginner Series, Season 1, Lessons 6 and 7 and reading the grammar points in the PDFs.
Daniel: Yes, we can't stress enough how useful the PDFs are. Chihiro, you've listened to the previous lessons, right?
Chihiro: Of course.
Daniel: Good. Do you remember what the core meaning (or the main meaning) of the simple aspect is?
Chihiro: I do. The core meaning of the simple aspect is that the event is thought of as a complete, unchanging event.
Daniel: That's right. How about the progressive aspect?
Chihiro: The core meaning of the progressive aspect is that the event is considered incomplete or temporary.
How about the perfect aspect?
Daniel: The core meaning of the perfect aspect is “prior” or “before”. You can notice the form of the perfect by the presence of the words “has, have, or, had” before the main verb and that the main verb is found in the form of the past participle** (that is, it often ends with an ~ed or ~en ending). Chihiro, please give us an example.
Chihiro: Sure. For example, "I have eaten dinner already." "Eaten" is the past participle form of "eat" and with "have" before it, the verb shows that the eating happened “prior” to now.
Daniel: Yes, good example. Now, let’s combine the perfect aspect with the verb tenses and see how they work together. Chihiro, what did we say the present tense is used for?
Chihiro: The present tense is used to talk about events that are happening now.
Daniel: That's right. So, we can combine the present tense with the perfect aspect to talk about events that happened before now, but are relevant to now. What's an example from the dialogue?
Chihiro: In the dialogue we heard Oksana say, "I have heard that he’s like that" talking about Marco. The "have" part of the verb is in the present tense and is combined with the past participle of "hear", which is "heard".
Daniel: Right. So, in our example, we are saying that Oksana heard about Marco sometime before now and is somehow related to the present condition.
Chihiro: Um-hmm. In this case it is relevant because it seems Marco has treated women the same way before.
Daniel: What a guy!
Chihiro: Hmm. OK, what other uses are there for the present perfect?
Daniel: The present perfect form can also be used to talk about situations that began in the past and continue to the present, and also for recently completed actions. We’ll look at some more uses of the present perfect when we study the present tense in more detail.
Chihiro: OK. How about the past tense? How is the perfect aspect used with it?
Daniel: OK, but first let me ask you, what did we say the past tense is used for?
Chihiro: We have said that we use the past tense to talk about events that happened before now. For example, when we talk about yesterday, we usually use the past tense.
Daniel: Right. So when we combine the past tense with the perfect aspect, we are usually talking about one action that was completed before another action or time. What's an example of this use from the dialogue?
Chihiro: In the dialogue Vicky said "I found out that the guy I went to see “Attraction” with had seen the same movie the night before." The "had" part of the verb is in the past tense and is combined with the past participle of "see", which is "seen".
Daniel: So, in our example, Vicky says that Marco saw the movie sometime before he and Vicky also went to see it. We’ll look at some more uses of the past perfect when we study the past tense in more detail.
Chihiro: That leaves the future tense, right?
Daniel: Right. And what did we say the future tense is used for?
Chihiro: We said that we use the future tense to talk about events that have not happened yet or may happen after now. For example, when we talk about tomorrow, we usually use the future tense.
Daniel: Exactly. So, if you use it with the perfect aspect, we are talking about an event that will be completed before another future event. What is the example in the dialogue for this use?
Chihiro: In the dialogue, Vicky says,"I will have read 2000 pages when we finish." The "will have" part of the verb is in the future tense and is referring to the end of the course, which has not happened yet. This is combined with the past participle of read (pronounced reed), which is read (pronounced red).
Daniel: So, in our example, Vicky predicts that before she finishes the course, she will read 2000 pages. We’ll look at some more uses of the future perfect when we study the future tense in more detail.
Chihiro: Sounds good.
Daniel: Also in future lessons, we will look at the present tense, past tense, and future tense more carefully. We will learn the main idea for each tense because we now understand that tense is not just about time. And when we look at each tense, we will also review the meaning of the perfect aspect again.

Outro

Chihiro: But before we go, we want to remind you of a tip we've been sharing for a few lessons.
Daniel: Yeah, it's so important, so we're repeating ourselves.
Chihiro: Our tip is that noticing the forms of language is a very important part of learning.
Daniel: Yes, and while practice is essential also, we hope these three lessons have helped you to notice language forms more.
Chihiro: Starting with the next lesson when we look at the verb tenses more carefully, we will give you plenty of opportunities to practice what you learn. Until then, use your new knowledge to notice, and you will be able to start using new grammar forms, catch your own mistakes quicker, and use the correct forms.
Daniel: Also, be sure also to review the grammar point for Beginner Series, Season 1, Lessons 6 and 7.
Chihiro: Review, review, review and review.
Daniel: Well, that just about does it for this lesson. OK, some of our listeners already know about the most powerful tool on EnglishClass101.com
Chihiro: Line by line audio.
Daniel: It’s the perfect tool for rapidly improving your listening comprehension.
Chihiro: by listening to lines of the conversation again and again..
Daniel: listen until every word and syllable becomes clear. Basically, we break down the dialogue into comprehensible, bite-size sentences.
Chihiro: You can try the line by line audio in the premium learning center at EnglishClass101.com
Daniel: Until next time. See you later.
Chihiro: Bye, guys

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