Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Chihiro: Hey, everybody! Chihiro here. Going on an All-English Diet.
Ryan: Hey, everyone! This is Ryan. In this lesson, you'll learn how to talk to people you haven't seen in a while.
Chihiro: This conversation takes place in the office.
Ryan: The conversation is between Drew, Teddy, and Sandra.
Chihiro: The speakers are colleagues and friends, therefore they will be speaking casually.
Ryan: Let's listen to the conversation.

Lesson conversation
Teddy: And look who's here! Drew! How've you been? Good to see you again!
Drew: Hey, Teddy! I'm good. Just arrived yesterday so a little jet lagged.
Teddy: Oh yeah, I know how that feels. How long did you say you were staying with us this time?
Drew: Looks like you're stuck with me for half a year.
Teddy: Really! Hey, you're with us for quite a while!
Sandra: Hey, Drew! Good to see you again! Heard you were coming to work with us; I didn't know it was so soon though!
Drew: Hey, Sandra, good to see you too! Hey, you look great! Did you lose weight?
Sandra: Well yeah, a whole baby's worth! The last time you saw me I was pregnant, remember?
Drew: Oh, right! How's your baby?
Sandra: Baby's great! Starting to walk and causing trouble already.
Teddy: I'm the one who has lost weight, Drew. I'm on this new protein milkshake diet. Didn't you notice?
Drew: No, not at all.
English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Teddy: And look who's here! Drew! How've you been? Good to see you again!
Drew: Hey, Teddy! I'm good. Just arrived yesterday so a little jet lagged.
Teddy: Oh yeah, I know how that feels. How long did you say you were staying with us this time?
Drew: Looks like you're stuck with me for half a year.
Teddy: Really! Hey, you're with us for quite a while!
Sandra: Hey, Drew! Good to see you again! Heard you were coming to work with us; I didn't know it was so soon though!
Drew: Hey, Sandra, good to see you too! Hey, you look great! Did you lose weight?
Sandra: Well yeah, a whole baby's worth! The last time you saw me I was pregnant, remember?
Drew: Oh, right! How's your baby?
Sandra: Baby's great! Starting to walk and causing trouble already.
Teddy: I'm the one who has lost weight, Drew. I'm on this new protein milkshake diet. Didn't you notice?
Drew: No, not at all.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Chihiro: Well, I guess Teddy didn't lose enough weight!
Ryan: No... I guess not!
Chihiro: Something tells me that it's a common outcome for many dieters.
Ryan: Mmm, maybe. Nevertheless, controlled food intake, otherwise known as dieting, is very popular among people in the United States.
Chihiro: Its popularity has started many different kinds of diets, and each of them has a name. The popularity of a diet comes and goes
Ryan: But, these different kinds of diets are popular and Americans talk about and debate them... a lot.
Chihiro: Yes, they seem to be a great topic of discussion!
Ryan: Have you tried any diets Chihiro?
Chihiro: Mmm, the only diet I've tried and failed is the "I'll start tomorrow" diet.
Ryan: Tomorrow never came?
Chihiro: Never did!
VOCAB LIST
Ryan: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
: The first word we shall see is:
Chihiro: jet lag [natural native speed]
Ryan: feeling of tiredness when traveling due to change in time and lack of sleep
Chihiro: jet lag [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: jet lag [natural native speed]
: Next:
Chihiro: stuck with [natural native speed]
Ryan: left to handle or deal with something unpleasant
Chihiro: stuck with [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: stuck with [natural native speed]
: Next:
Chihiro: worth [natural native speed]
Ryan: value of something
Chihiro: worth [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: worth [natural native speed]
: Next:
Chihiro: pregnant [natural native speed]
Ryan: of a female having a baby inside the body
Chihiro: pregnant [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: pregnant [natural native speed]
: Next:
Chihiro: protein [natural native speed]
Ryan: necessary substance for proper nutrition that can be found in foods like egg
Chihiro: protein [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: protein [natural native speed]
: Next:
Chihiro: milkshake [natural native speed]
Ryan: sweet, creamy, blended drink that is made of milk and sometimes fruit and ice cream
Chihiro: milkshake [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: milkshake [natural native speed]
: Next:
Chihiro: weight [natural native speed]
Ryan: amount of heaviness, how heavy something is
Chihiro: weight [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: weight [natural native speed]
: Next:
Chihiro: to notice [natural native speed]
Ryan: to become aware
Chihiro: to notice [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: to notice [natural native speed]
: Next:
Chihiro: diet [natural native speed]
Ryan: act of modifying food intake usually by restriction in an attempt to lose weight
Chihiro: diet [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chihiro: diet [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Ryan: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Chihiro: The first phrase is, "And look who's here"
Ryan: This is a common and fun way to greet somebody. We often use it teasingly among friends, as if the person walking in deserves the attention of the room.
Chihiro: We usually don't make this announcement to everyone in the room though, because basically its just a friendly greeting. That's why Teddy says this when Drew walks in because he hasn't seen him for a while.
Ryan: Let's take a look at the phrase which is,
Chihiro: "to be stuck with."
Ryan: We usually use this phrase jokingly because it means to be left with a burden to deal with. Drew says that he'll be here for half a year, so other people are going to have to cope with him.
Chihiro: We can use it both as a joke and seriously, as in "I was stuck with the cleaning," meaning the person had to take care of the cleaning, which is an unpleasant task.
Ryan: Okay, what else do we have?
Chihiro: Well, it looks like the listeners are stuck with the grammar point.

Lesson focus
Ryan: We're going to talk about subject omission in this lesson.
Chihiro: And what does this mean?
Ryan: This means that the pronouns in a sentence can be taken out from time to time.
Chihiro: Now you may have heard us say before that you shouldn't leave out the subject in a sentence unless it’s a command.
Ryan: We're still sticking to our word on that, but we would like you to know what happens in a conversation sometimes.
Chihiro: Because in a conversation, it's common to drop the subject if it's clear to the listener who the subject is. Now I know you might be thinking that you've wasted your energy in always making sure you say the subject.
Ryan: Don't worry, because of course this is not wrong. And since you need it in writing, your energy hasn't gone to waste!
Chihiro: You also need it in formal speech. But just be aware that you won't always hear it when people are talking. So, for example, in the dialogue, Drew says,
Ryan: "Just arrived yesterday so a little jet lagged."
Chihiro: He doesn't say "I" at all here. This is because it is obvious to Sandra that he is talking about himself.
Ryan: Here are two other examples from the dialogue.
Chihiro: "Heard you were coming to work with us."
Ryan: The subject again is "I" in this sentence, and is said by Sandra,
Chihiro: "Starting to walk and causing trouble already."
Ryan: Sandra is speaking again in this sentence but her baby is the subject. Either way, the subject is clear for both Drew and Sandra.
Chihiro: You also hear this in command form. For example, if your father tells you,
Ryan: "Clean up this mess!"
Chihiro: You don't need him to add your name in front of the command to know he's talking to you.
Ryan: You may also see this on signs such as,
Chihiro: “Be Back in 30min”
Ryan: This means the people in the shop will be back in half an hour.
Chihiro: This is a good one to know, because even if the speaker doesn't take out the pronoun completely, they may say it very fast, fast enough to miss it.
Ryan: For example, if Chihiro says,
Chihiro: “(I'm) going for a walk outside.”
Ryan: You can barely hear the "I'm". So it is similar to the pronoun drop, because it's very soft.
Chihiro: That's why this is a good one to remember, that the speaker may not always say who, or they may say it very softly.
Ryan: With this said, be careful when you take out the subject, especially if your native tongue doesn't require a subject.
Chihiro: In other words, don't get carried away and always leave out the subject. If you develop a habit of always deleting the subject, your speech will start sounding unnatural.

Outro
Ryan: That just about does it for today.
Chihiro: We’ll see you soon!
Ryan: Bye for now!

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