Learn how to use the prepositions "before," "after," and "during"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Will Your Stomach Interrupt this American Show? John Here. |
| Becky: Hey I'm Becky. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn the prepositions “before,” “after” and “during”. The conversation takes place at home. |
| Becky: It's between Kate and Sean. |
| John: The speakers are friends, so they will use informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Kate: I have tickets for a play tomorrow evening. Do you want to come? |
| Sean: Sure! What time does it start? |
| Kate: It starts at 6pm. Should we get something to eat before the show? |
| Sean: I have work, so I won't have time. We can eat after. |
| Kate: Okay. I hope my stomach doesn't start growling during the show. |
| Sean: Maybe you should eat a snack. |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Kate: I have tickets for a play tomorrow evening. Do you want to come? |
| Sean: Sure! What time does it start? |
| Kate: It starts at 6pm. Should we get something to eat before the show? |
| Sean: I have work, so I won't have time. We can eat after. |
| Kate: Okay. I hope my stomach doesn't start growling during the show. |
| Sean: Maybe you should eat a snack. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Kate and Sean are trying to work out plans for a night out. |
| Becky: I wonder what play they’re going to see? |
| John: I hope it’s a good one! What’s a typical plan for a night out in the States? |
| Becky: I think the most popular places are bars, restaurants, and clubs. |
| John: Yeah, they’re great places to socialize. There’s so many of them and you don’t need to buy tickets. |
| Becky: Some restaurants might need a reservation. |
| John: I guess going to a play, concert, or musical is less common and more of a special occasion. |
| Becky: For most people, yes. Another popular evening out is going to a sports game. |
| John: Yeah, there’s plenty of sports to watch and play after work! |
| Becky: It’s good to see families out together in the evenings. |
| John: You’ll also see groups of friends or couples out, too. |
| Becky: Whoever you want to go with, and whatever you want to do, you can do it in America! |
| 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: ticket [natural native speed] |
| John: a piece of paper that allows you entry to an attraction or event |
| Becky: ticket[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: ticket [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: evening [natural native speed] |
| John: the time of day after 6 or 7 o'clock but before night |
| Becky: evening[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: evening [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: to come [natural native speed] |
| John: to move or go towards a place near the speaker |
| Becky: to come[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to come [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: time [natural native speed] |
| John: a moment measured in hours and minutes |
| Becky: time[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: time [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: start [natural native speed] |
| John: to begin doing something |
| Becky: start[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: start [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: something [natural native speed] |
| John: a thing that isn't specified or is unknown |
| Becky: something[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: something [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: to eat [natural native speed] |
| John: to consume food |
| Becky: to eat[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to eat [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: show [natural native speed] |
| John: a play, stage performance, or concert |
| Becky: show[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: show [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: stomach [natural native speed] |
| John: an internal organ where food is digested |
| Becky: stomach[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: stomach [natural native speed] |
| John: And last... |
| Becky: growl [natural native speed] |
| John: a low sound an animal makes when threatened |
| Becky: growl[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: growl [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 word is... |
| Becky: evening |
| John: ...meaning "the time of day after 6 or 7 o'clock but before night." What can you tell us about this word, Becky? |
| Becky: We can split the day into 4 broad categories: morning, afternoon, evening and night. |
| John: With evening being that time starting around 6 or 7 o’clock and running until…? |
| Becky: There’s not really a set time! Maybe around 9 or 10, but you can hear it being used until later than that. |
| John: And there is a greeting too - “good evening.” |
| Becky: Yeah. Sometimes you’ll hear that at night, as saying “good night” sounds much more like a goodbye than a greeting. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say “I study English every evening.” |
| John: ...which means "I study English every day after 6pm but before nighttime." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: Something |
| John: ...meaning "a thing that isn't specified or is unknown." That’s a pretty non-specific definition. Can you tell us more about this word? |
| Becky: “Something” is a pronoun, and you can use it in the same way you’d use a noun. |
| John: What is it used for? |
| Becky: If you want to eat, but don’t know what, you can say “I want to eat something.” |
| John: So you’re not specifying what you want. |
| Becky: And it fits into the sentence like a noun would. “I want to eat pizza.” |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “My throat is dry, I need something to drink.” |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: Show |
| John: ...meaning "a staged performance" What can you tell us about this? |
| Becky: You can use “show” to mean a play, concert, musical... |
| John: anything that is staged. |
| Becky: Yes. You often hear people say “enjoy the show” instead of “enjoy the concert” for example. |
| John: And there’s that famous idiom “the show must go on.” |
| Becky: That’s right. That means that even if there are problems, you must carry on. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “The show was amazing.” |
| John: ...which means "The performance was amazing." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn about the prepositions “before,” “after” and “during”. We have three more prepositions to knock down in this lesson. |
| Becky: So let’s get started! |
| John: Okay! First on our list is “before.” |
| Becky: This is a preposition of time. It’s used for order, to say that one thing happened earlier than something else. |
| John: Let’s take an example. At 5:30, I will study. At 6pm, I will have dinner. How would we use “before” in this situation? |
| Becky: We can say “Before I have dinner, I will study.” Or, “I will study before I have dinner.” Either pattern is fine. |
| John: The important part is “before I have dinner.” |
| Becky: Yes. That little clause shows that dinner is the second of the two actions. |
| John: Let’s hear another example. |
| Becky: “The essay must be submitted before Tuesday.” Here it isn’t an action, but a time - “before Tuesday.” |
| John: Now, let’s look at “after.” |
| Becky: We use “after” to say that one thing will happen later than something else. It’s the opposite of “before”. |
| John: Let’s take the same example we used earlier - “At 5:30, I will study. At 6pm, I will have dinner.” |
| Becky: “After I study, I will have dinner.” “I will have dinner, after I study.” |
| John: Here, the important part is “after I study.” |
| Becky: It shows that “study” is the first of the two actions. |
| John: Do you have another example using “after?” |
| Becky: Always! “I always drink water after running.” |
| John: And finally for this lesson, is “during.” |
| Becky: We use “during” to say something is happening within a period of time. This can’t be used with verbs, only nouns. |
| John: Back to our example again. This time, I’ll eat dinner from 5pm to 6pm. And at 5:30 I’ll study. |
| Becky: We can say “During dinner, I will study.” Or, “I will study during dinner.” |
| John: Again, the important part is “during dinner.” |
| Becky: This shows that “dinner” is the longer period of time and it is a noun. |
| John: Can you give us another example? |
| Becky: “Everyone was silent during the movie.” |
| John: Listeners, make sure to check the Lesson Notes PDF for more examples and information about these prepositions. |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Becky: Bye! |
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