Learn how to use the prepositions "till," "until," and "past"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to EnglishClass101.com. This is English Prepositions Made Easy Season 1 Lesson 16 - Making Plans for a Friday Night in the United States. Eric Here. |
| Becky: Hey I'm Becky. |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn the prepositions “till”, “until” and “past”. The conversation takes place at home. |
| Becky: It's between Kate and Sean. |
| Eric: The speakers are friends, so they will use informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Kate: What time do you finish work on Saturday? |
| Sean: I have to work until 5 p.m. I can't work past 5 p.m. as the office will close. |
| Kate: Do you want to meet at the bar past 5th Avenue? |
| Sean: I might be busy, but I won't know for certain till Thursday. |
| Kate: Text me when you know. |
| Sean: Sure. |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Kate: What time do you finish work on Saturday? |
| Sean: I have to work until 5pm. I can't work past 5pm as the office will close. |
| Kate: Do you want to meet at the bar past 5th Avenue? |
| Sean: I might be busy, but I won't know for certain till Thursday. |
| Kate: Text me when you know. |
| Sean: Sure. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: Kate and Sean are trying to arrange going out on Saturday. |
| Becky: It sounded a little difficult though as Sean didn’t know his schedule. |
| Eric: Yes, Kate asked him to text when he knew. |
| Becky: Texting is really convenient, isn’t it? |
| Eric: It is. It’s so easy to send a message to someone. And, you don’t have to worry about whether they are busy at the moment, because they can read it whenever they’re free. |
| Becky: Cell phones are very popular in the US, especially Androids and the iPhone. |
| Eric: Is that how people usually contact each other? |
| Becky: Yeah, the average American sends and receives 32 texts a day! There are messaging apps, but they aren’t as popular as in some other countries. |
| Eric: Other than Facebook messenger? |
| Becky: Yeah, Facebook is still popular! |
| Eric: Do many people have landlines these days? |
| Becky: I don’t think so. More calls are probably placed via Skype, especially with young people. |
| Eric: Interesting. Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Eric: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Becky: to finish [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to complete, to end |
| Becky: to finish[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to finish [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: Saturday [natural native speed] |
| Eric: the day of the week after Friday but before Sunday |
| Becky: Saturday[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: Saturday [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: to close [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to shut, for a store to stop service |
| Becky: to close[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to close [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: busy [natural native speed] |
| Eric: full of activity, engaged in activity, occupied |
| Becky: busy[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: busy [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: certain [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to be sure |
| Becky: certain[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: certain [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: Thursday [natural native speed] |
| Eric: the day of the week after Wednesday but before Friday |
| Becky: Thursday[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: Thursday [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: to text [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to send an SMS message (not an email) via a mobile phone |
| Becky: to text[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to text [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And last... |
| Becky: when [natural native speed] |
| Eric: used for time |
| Becky: when[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: when [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Becky: busy |
| Eric: ...meaning "full of activity, engaged in activity, occupied." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Becky: This is an adjective. |
| Eric: How is it used? |
| Becky: It can be used to describe a situation when we are occupied. It can also be a convenient excuse... |
| Eric: What do you mean by that? |
| Becky: If you’ve been invited somewhere but don’t want to go, you can just say “I’m busy,” and it usually won’t be questioned any further. |
| Eric: Good to know. Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “I'm really busy this week with all the work I have to do.” |
| Eric: Which means "I’m occupied and have little free time due to all of the work I have to do." |
| Eric: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: Certain |
| Eric: meaning "to be sure." What can you tell us about this word, Becky? |
| Becky: This is another adjective. |
| Eric: How do you use it? |
| Becky: It’s similar to “sure,” and you can use it to say that you are sure of something. You often hear it in sentences starting “I’m certain that…” |
| Eric: Is it a formal or informal word? |
| Becky: It can be both. In informal situations, you can also use “sure.” |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using “certain”? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “I'm certain that I've read this book before.” |
| Eric: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: To text |
| Eric: meaning "to send a message via a cell phone." |
| Becky: We heard this word in the conversation and spoke about it earlier too. |
| Eric: Right, it’s a verb you use for cell phone communication. |
| Becky: It can also be a noun, as the message we receive or send is called a text message. |
| Eric: So Sean will text Kate a text? |
| Becky: Well, you’re technically correct, but an American would never say this sentence. We would say “Sean will text Kate” or “Sean will send Kate a text.” The only thing we text are texts, so “text a text” sounds strange. Wow, that was a tongue twister. |
| Eric: (laughs) Well can you give us one last example using “text”? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “I'll text you when I get home.” |
| Eric: Which means "I’ll send you a message via cell phone when I get home." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you'll learn about the prepositions “until”, “till” and “past”. We have three to discuss in this lesson, so let’s jump right in. Our first preposition is “until.” |
| Becky: This is a preposition of time. It is used to say an action is occurring up to the time or place specified. |
| Eric: Can it only be used for time or place? |
| Becky: Yes, but you can’t use it for distance. |
| Eric: Let’s hear an example. |
| Becky: “I will study until 9pm.” |
| Eric: This means that she will study, and continue studying. She will stop studying when it is 9pm. |
| Becky: Another example is “Don’t open your present until your birthday!” |
| Eric: The person might have their present already, but they shouldn’t open it before their birthday. |
| Becky: I’ll give you one more sentence. “The bus won’t stop until New York.” |
| Eric: Wait, I thought you said this couldn’t be used for distance? |
| Becky: It can’t. That sentence isn’t talking about the distance to New York, it’s talking about the action of arriving in New York. |
| Eric: It’s the same as saying “The bus won’t stop until it arrives in New York.” |
| Becky: Yes. Just quicker! |
| Eric: Next is “till.” |
| Becky: We can cover this one quickly. It means exactly the same as “until,” only it is less formal. Sometimes you’ll hear it in formal poetry, however. |
| Eric: This is when the poet wants to keep the rhythm, right? |
| Becky: Exactly. |
| Eric: The final preposition is “past.” |
| Becky: We use this as a preposition of time to mean after the time, or after a place. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example? |
| Becky: “Don’t stay up past midnight!” |
| Eric: This means go to bed by midnight; don’t still be awake after midnight. |
| Becky: Or “He drove past the store.” |
| Eric: He didn’t stop at the store; he kept on driving further. |
| Becky: Listeners, don’t forget to check the Lesson Notes PDF to reinforce what you just learned. |
Outro |
| Eric: 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 Sergei,
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Feel free to shoot through any questions you have throughout your studies.
Cheers,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Thanks. With this lesson English becomes more understandable. So, can I say for example: "I was having to past this shop during commuting, I couldn't help but go into it"? Best
Hi Mây,
In this case "past" means "after." If you go to 5th Avenue and keep walking, you'll see the bar.
Hope that helps!
Kellie
Team EnglishClass101.com
What is meaning of "past" in "Do you want to meet at the bar past 5th Avenue?" ?