Learn how to use the prepositions "behind" and "beyond"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Make Sure You Don't Miss Any Important American Meetings! Eric Here. |
| Becky: Hey I'm Becky. |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn the prepositions “behind” and “beyond”. The conversation takes place at work. |
| Becky: It's between Rachel and Sean. |
| Eric: The speakers are co-workers, and they will use both formal and informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Rachel: Have you seen the updated meeting calendar for this year? |
| Sean: No, I haven't. |
| Rachel: The old calendar doesn't go beyond April, but I need to attend my daughter's graduation in June. |
| Sean: Hopefully there aren't any important meetings that day. |
| Rachel: I hope not! |
| Sean: Maybe Mr. Anderson has a copy on his desk. Check behind his PC monitor. |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Rachel: Have you seen the updated meeting calendar for this year? |
| Sean: No, I haven't. |
| Rachel: The old calendar doesn't go beyond April, but I need to attend my daughter's graduation in June. |
| Sean: Hopefully there aren't any important meetings that day. |
| Rachel: I hope not! |
| Sean: Maybe Mr. Anderson has a copy on his desk. Check behind his PC monitor. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: I hope Rachel can attend the graduation ceremony. |
| Becky: Me too! That’s such an important day for students. |
| Eric: What is the school system like in America? When do children generally start school? |
| Becky: Most kids start around five or six years old by going to kindergarten, although some start older. |
| Eric: After kindergarten is elementary school, right? |
| Becky: Yes. Children usually spend five years there before going to middle school, or junior high school. |
| Eric: And then high school starts in 9th grade and goes until 12th grade. |
| Becky: Each year in high school has a special name. The first year, for children aged 14 to 15, is called freshmen year. |
| The second year, for children aged 15 to 16, is called sophomore year. |
| Then it’s junior year, and finally senior year for 17 to 18 year olds. Education after that is optional. |
| Eric: What about graduation ceremonies? |
| Becky: At the end of senior year, if your grades are high enough, you graduate high school and receive a high school diploma. |
| Eric: 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 update [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to bring up to date, to make current |
| Becky: to update[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to update [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: calendar [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a system for dividing the parts of a year, or a chart that shows these divisions |
| Becky: calendar[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: calendar [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: April [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a month of the year after March but before May |
| Becky: April[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: April [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: to need [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to be in a state or condition that requires something |
| Becky: to need[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to need [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: daughter [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a female child |
| Becky: daughter[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: daughter [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: graduation [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to receive a diploma or degree upon completing school |
| Becky: graduation[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: graduation [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: hopefully [natural native speed] |
| Eric: in a hopeful, expectant way |
| Becky: hopefully[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: hopefully [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: important [natural native speed] |
| Eric: of great significance |
| Becky: important[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: important [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And lastly... |
| Becky: to check [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to confirm, to look at |
| Becky: to check[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to check [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: to update |
| Eric: ...meaning "to bring up to date; to make current." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Becky: This is a verb. It’s often used to say that things such as documents or news have been brought up to date. |
| Eric: You also hear it a lot with computers and technology. |
| Becky: That’s right. If you install a new version of some software, you have “updated” the program. |
| Eric: There is also a noun “update.” |
| Becky: We can also say that something is “up to date,” or the act of bringing something up to date. |
| Eric: Can you give us another example using “update” as a verb? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “The computer updated overnight.” |
| Eric: Which means "The computer upgraded to the latest version overnight." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: Daughter |
| Eric: meaning "a female child." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Becky: This is a noun. If you have a child and it is a girl, then she is your daughter. |
| Eric: If the child is a boy, then he is your son. |
| Becky: There is also “step-daughter” - this is a child that isn’t your blood relative, but is the daughter of your partner. |
| Eric: And a “daughter-in-law” is a girl that is married to your child. |
| Becky: And finally, a “granddaughter” is the daughter of one of your children. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using the word daughter? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “He has three daughters.” |
| Eric: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: Important |
| Eric: meaning "of great significance." How do you use this word? |
| Becky: This is an adjective. You can use it to describe something of great value, or something that you think has great value. |
| Eric: It’s easy to say that something isn’t of importance. |
| Becky: Just add “un-” to the start. “Unimportant.” |
| Eric: A common phrase that uses “important” is VIP. |
| Becky: This stands for “very important person.” |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using “important”? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “It is very important that this work is finished today.” |
| Eric: Which means "It is essential and of great significance that this work is finished today." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you'll learn about the prepositions “behind” and “beyond”. Just two new propositions for this lesson. |
| Becky: Yes, but they’re important ones! |
| Eric: In that case, let’s get started. The first preposition is “behind.” |
| Becky: This is a preposition of place. It’s used to say that something is at the back of something else. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example? |
| Becky: “The pen is behind the TV.” |
| Eric: Imagine there is a TV. At the back of the TV is a pen. |
| Becky: You probably wouldn’t be able to see the pen if it was behind the TV. |
| Eric: Probably not! TVs are much bigger than pens. Can we have another example? |
| Becky: “The library is behind the supermarket.” |
| Eric: At the back of the supermarket is the library. |
| Becky: Note the sentence structure - the thing that is furthest back, comes first. |
| Eric: We can also use “behind” to say that things are running later than expected. |
| Becky: Yes. We can say “The train is running behind schedule.” |
| Eric: So there is a schedule, but the train is late - it is behind the time on the schedule. |
| Becky: You can also use “behind” for showing support. For example, “The entire town was behind the football team.” |
| Eric: This means the entire town was supporting the football team. The next preposition is “beyond.” |
| Becky: This is another preposition of place. It’s very similar to “past,” which we learned in a previous lesson. |
| Eric: So, how do you use “beyond”? |
| Becky: You can use it to say that an action has gone past a certain point. This is more formal than “past,” though. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example? |
| Becky: “The party went beyond midnight.” |
| Eric: The party kept going past midnight and didn’t stop. |
| Becky: “I thought that I could manage this new job, but it is beyond my ability level.” |
| Eric: My ability level is, for example, intermediate level. But this new job needs someone who is at an advanced level. So, it’s past my level. |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! |
| Becky: Bye |
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