Learn how to use the prepositions "plus" and "minus"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: What's Missing from this American Restaurant Check? Eric Here. |
| Becky: Hey I'm Becky. |
| Eric: In this final lesson of the series, you’ll learn the prepositions “plus” and “minus.” The conversation takes place at a bar. |
| 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: Wait, I don't think this check is right. |
| Sean: What's wrong? |
| Kate: We ordered everything on here, minus this pizza. |
| Sean: And I think it should be plus another plate of fries. |
| Kate: Oh, you're right. We should ask the bartender to correct it. |
| Sean: Maybe he will take a little more off the total to apologize for the mistake. |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Kate: Wait, I don't think this check is right. |
| Sean: What's wrong? |
| Kate: We ordered everything on here, minus this pizza. |
| Sean: And I think it should be plus another plate of fries. |
| Kate: Oh, you're right. We should ask the bartender to correct it. |
| Sean: Maybe he will take a little more off the total to apologize for the mistake. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: Wow, sounds like the bar made a mess of their order. |
| Becky: I know! They put something extra on, and left something else off. |
| Eric: We spoke about customer service in an earlier lesson, but what happens if the service has been bad? |
| Becky: You might need to complain. |
| Eric: What kind of things do people complain about? |
| Becky: Late or cold food, slow service, broken products… There are many things to complain about. |
| Eric: How should we complain if we need to? |
| Becky: First, speak to a member of staff. If possible, speak to the staff member who served you. |
| Eric: If it was an online purchase, the website should have a complaints procedure. |
| Becky: You can also sometimes voice your complaint publically via social media. |
| Eric: The ultimate and most formal complaint is in writing. |
| Becky: These last two are often a last resort. I think most people these days would rather talk things through. |
| 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: check [natural native speed] |
| Eric: notice of amount owed at a restaurant |
| Becky: check[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: check [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: right [natural native speed] |
| Eric: correct |
| Becky: right[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: right [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: pizza [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a food that originated in Italy and is usually a flat, round dough covered in various toppings |
| Becky: pizza[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: pizza [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: fries [natural native speed] |
| Eric: potatoes that have been cut and fried |
| Becky: fries[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: fries [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: to ask [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to request something from someone |
| Becky: to ask[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to ask [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: bartender [natural native speed] |
| Eric: someone that works in a bar serving drinks |
| Becky: bartender[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: bartender [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have... |
| Becky: correct [natural native speed] |
| Eric: free from error |
| Becky: correct[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: correct [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And last... |
| Becky: mistake [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to get something wrong, to make an error |
| Becky: mistake[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: mistake [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: check |
| Eric: ...meaning "a notice of the amount owed at a restaurant." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Becky: This is a noun, and we use it to describe the list of food and drinks we bought in a restaurant and the total cost. |
| Eric: You usually only see the check at the end of the meal. |
| Becky: Yes. In some restaurants, you have to ask for the check and it’s a clear way to show that you’re finished. |
| Eric: You can say something as simple as “Check, please!” |
| Becky: Or you can be more polite and say “Can I have the check, please?” |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “Shall I ask for the check?” |
| Eric: Which means "Shall I ask for the bill?" Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: Right |
| Eric: No, I’m asking you. |
| Becky: I know. Right! |
| Eric: So what’s the word? |
| Becky: The word is “right”. |
| Eric: Oh, meaning "correct." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Becky: “Right” has many meanings. It can be used to mean you agree, which is why Eric and I got confused. It can also be a direction. |
| Eric: But in the conversation, it means “to be correct”. |
| Becky: Yes. “Correct” means the same but is more formal. |
| Eric: The opposite to “right” is “wrong.” Can you give us an example using right? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “I think this is the right way to the hotel.” |
| Eric: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: Mistake |
| Eric: meaning "to get something wrong, to make an error." What can you tell us about this? |
| Becky: This kinda follows on from the last word. |
| Eric: Yes, I guess it does! |
| Becky: The last word was “right” but this word, “mistake,” means wrong. |
| Eric: A mistake can be anything that is wrong, from a spelling mistake to going to the wrong place. |
| Becky: A more formal word for it is “error.” |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using mistake? |
| Becky: For example, you can say, “I made a mistake when I counted how many people were coming.” |
| Eric: Which means "I got it wrong when I counted how many people were coming." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you'll learn about the prepositions “plus” and “minus”. And it’s the last lesson! |
| Becky: It is! 24 down, only one to go. |
| Eric: So let’s make it a good lesson! The first preposition is “plus.” |
| Becky: We use this to add two or more things together. |
| Eric: It’s mainly used in informal writing and speech about finance and numbers. |
| Becky: And math. I’m not a fan of math! An example is “It costs $100, plus $10 in fees.” |
| Eric: I’m not a fan of math either, but I’m pretty sure that means that it costs $110 total. |
| Becky: That’s right! Another example is “I owe you money for the tickets and hotel, plus gas.” |
| Eric: So, I owe you money for the tickets, the hotel, and the gas. |
| Becky: By saying “tickets and hotel, plus gas,” you’re putting emphasis on owing gas. Maybe it wasn’t part of the original deal, maybe it’s something that’s just been added… There’s a small difference with saying “plus” instead of “and,” but the basic meaning is the same. |
| Eric: The next preposition is “minus.” |
| Becky: This is basically opposite to “plus.” |
| Eric: More math? |
| Becky: More math! But this time we are taking away. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example? |
| Becky: “It cost $100 minus a $10 discount.” |
| Eric: So it’d cost $90, after the discount has been taken into account. |
| Becky: That’s right. Do you want an example that isn’t math? |
| Eric: Yes please! |
| Becky: “I bought all of my clothes in this store, minus the coat.” |
| Eric: So everything was bought in this store, but the coat was bought somewhere else. |
| Becky: Yes. And one last example “It’s $200, minus the $20 deposit you already paid, so you owe $180.” |
| Eric: I like that example. The math was already done. |
| Becky: I thought you might! |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson, |
| Becky: and for this series. |
| Eric: We hope you enjoyed it and found it useful. |
| Becky: Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you in another series! |
| Eric: Bye! |
| Becky: Bye! |
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