Learn how to use the prepositions "for" and "since"
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| English Prepositions Made Easy Season 1 Lesson 12 - The American Traffic Jam to End All Traffic Jams |
| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to EnglishClass101.com. This is English Prepositions Made Easy Season 1 Lesson 12 - The American Traffic Jam to End All Traffic Jams. John Here. |
| Becky: Hey I'm Becky. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn the prepositions “for” and “since”. The conversation takes place in a car. |
| Becky: It's between Rachel and Sean. |
| John: The speakers are co-workers, and they’ll use both formal and informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Rachel: Hi Sean, have you made it to your destination yet? |
| Sean: No, I've been in a traffic jam for three hours. |
| Rachel: Really? |
| Sean: Yes, I've been here since 1p.m. |
| Rachel: You will be late for the appointment. |
| Sean: I called the client and apologized. |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Rachel: Hi Sean, have you made it to your destination yet? |
| Sean: No, I've been in a traffic jam for three hours. |
| Rachel: Really? |
| Sean: Yes, I've been here since 1pm. |
| Rachel: You will be late for the appointment. |
| Sean: I called the client and apologized. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Wow, that sounds like a crazy traffic jam! |
| Becky: Yeah, three hours! I’d be going crazy. |
| John: And it’ll make Sean late for his appointment, but at least he called ahead and apologized. |
| Becky: That’s the right thing to do. If you get something wrong or cause offense, then apologize. |
| John: I think that people can be forgiving if it’s an honest mistake and your apology is sincere. |
| Becky: I think so too. Fake apologies can make the situation worse though, so make sure you mean what you’re saying! |
| John: You should apologize even if your actions aren’t intentional. |
| Becky: Like Sean in the traffic jam. He didn’t mean to be late, but he is, so he should apologize. |
| John: Apologizing is easy, you can just say “I’m sorry for…” or “I apologize for…” and then fill in the blank as to why you’re sorry. |
| Becky: Or you can say “I’m sorry for causing you trouble.” |
| John: Yes, that’s a good phrase that works in many situations. |
| Becky: Or, “I apologize for upsetting you.” |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Becky: to make [natural native speed] |
| John: to arrive at a place or time |
| Becky: to make [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to make [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: destination [natural native speed] |
| John: the place that you are going to |
| Becky: destination [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: destination [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: yet [natural native speed] |
| John: up until a certain time |
| Becky: yet [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: yet [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: traffic [natural native speed] |
| John: vehicles driving on the road around the same area |
| Becky: traffic[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: traffic [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: jam [natural native speed] |
| John: things that are stuck |
| Becky: jam[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: jam [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: hour [natural native speed] |
| John: a period of sixty minutes |
| Becky: hour[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: hour [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: really [natural native speed] |
| John: truly, in actual fact |
| Becky: really[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: really [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: late [natural native speed] |
| John: recently, over the last few days |
| Becky: late[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: late [natural native speed] |
| John: And lastly... |
| Becky: to apologize [natural native speed] |
| John: to say that you are sorry for a mistake or incident |
| Becky: to apologize[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to apologize [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is.. |
| Becky: traffic jam |
| John: ...meaning "the situation of having too many cars on the same road, making movement slow or difficult". What can you tell us about this word? |
| Becky: This phrase has two words. The first word is “traffic,” which means the vehicles traveling down a road. |
| John: The second word is “jam,” which in this case means things that are stuck. |
| Becky: So it literally means vehicles stuck on a road. |
| John: This is usually due to a traffic accident or too many cars on the road. |
| Becky: You can use “jam” to describe other things that are stuck, such as a “paper jam” in a printer. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “If we leave at 5am, we can avoid any traffic jams.” |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: To apologize |
| John: meaning "to say that you are sorry for a mistake or incident." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Becky: This is a verb. We talked about this a lot earlier this lesson. |
| John: That’s right. It means to say that you are sorry. |
| Becky: There is also the noun, “apology.” |
| John: “He owes you an apology.” |
| Becky: Good example! |
| John: Can you give us an example using “apologize”? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “She apologized for being late, but we had already missed the bus.” |
| John: ...which means "She said she was sorry for being late, but we had already missed the bus." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn about the prepositions “for” and “since”. Two more prepositions for this lesson! |
| Becky: Shall we jump straight in? |
| John: I think we should! The first preposition is “for.” |
| Becky: This is a preposition of time. We use this to say how long something has lasted. |
| John: It is used for a period of time, such as “for three hours.” |
| Becky: An example sentence is “I have been waiting for one hour.” |
| John: That means that for one hour, she’s been sitting there waiting. |
| Becky: So rude to keep me waiting! |
| John: It is! Another example is “He worked at the company for 10 years before finally being promoted.” |
| Becky: And here’s one last example - “I was in Canada for one year.” |
| John: Let’s move on to the next preposition, “since.” |
| Becky: “Since” is also a preposition of time. It’s used to say when an action started. |
| John: So you don’t use it with a period of time, but a point in time. |
| Becky: For example, “since this morning”, or “since yesterday”, or “since 2002.” |
| John: Sentences using “since” are usually in the present perfect or past perfect tenses. |
| Becky: Right, let's look at some examples! |
| John: “I haven’t slept since yesterday.” |
| Becky: “I’ve studied English since last year.” |
| John: “I’ve been waiting for a phone call since Tuesday.” |
| Becky: Do you want to hear an idiom with “since”? |
| John: Yes, please! |
| Becky: You might hear the idiom “greatest thing since sliced bread.” |
| John: What does that mean? |
| Becky: It means a great thing, a great innovation. |
| John: An example is “3D printers are the greatest thing since sliced bread.” |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Becky: Bye |
5 Comments
HideHi Listeners! Try making a sentence using each one of the prepositions we learned on this lesson.
*Post them at the comments.
Hello Gustavo,
I hope you brought an umbrella!
If you ever have any questions throughout your studies, please feel free to ask us along the way.
Sincerely,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Hello.
I've been waiting for the bus for 30 minutes and now it starts raining.
Hi there Arelis,
I hope you didn't have to wait too much longer!
Thanks for the comment!
We are constantly updating the lessons on our site so please stay tuned! 👍
Kindly,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
I’ m waiting in the doctor’s office for 5 hours.
I have been waiting in the doctor’s office since 9:00 AM.