Learn more about using verbs with prepositions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Braden: Is This American Safe Safe? |
| Braden: In this lesson, you’ll learn about Verbs + Prepositions and Neutral commenting. |
| Barbara: This conversation takes place at work at the end of the shift. |
| Braden: And it’s between Alex and June. |
| Barbara: The speakers are co-workers but Alex, seems disconnected. June will be speaking professionally, butAlex will be speaking causally. |
| Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Alex: I'm so tired. I've worked so hard today! |
| June: Good for you! What did you get done? |
| Alex: I reorganized the filing cabinet. It took me all day. |
| June: What filing cabinet? |
| Alex: The silver one that's under the cash register. |
| June: You mean the safe? |
| Alex: I don't know. It had one of those dials in the middle of the door. |
| June: You're telling me you confused a filing cabinet with a safe? |
| Alex: There's a difference? |
| June: Alex, you impress me. Just thought you should know. |
| Alex: Thanks! |
| June: I'm curious, how did you open it? |
| Alex: I attribute it to my parents having a filing cabinet like that. |
| June: It's a safe, Alex. |
| Alex: Okay then, a safe. They always packed it with things they didn't want me to touch. It provided me with a lot of practice picking locks. |
| June: Wow, that makes me very nervous. Did you take anything out? |
| Alex: No. I did take a glance at the magazines, but there wasn't much else in there. |
| June: I'm lost as to why there were magazines in the store safe but, if there was hardly anything in it, why did it take you so long to organize? |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Braden: So, we wanted to talk a little bit about Neutral commenting. |
| Barbara: An important technique for conversation at the workplace is neutral commenting. This is when you comment on someone else's statement in a neutral manner in order to avoid confrontation, encourage conversation, promote friendship, or avoid direct conflict. |
| Braden: For example, one of your coworkers spends a considerable amount of time explaining to you why purple is the best hair color. You are not convinced by her argument but also don't really care. A good phrase in a situation like this is – |
| Barbara: “I see what you mean.” This is a neutral comment. You are not committed to agreeing with your coworker but you're also not disagreeing with your coworker. |
| Braden: Some other very useful neutral comments are – “That's interesting.” Or “I never thought about it that way before.” |
| Barbara: or “I get your point.” |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is: |
| Barbara: reorganized [natural native speed] |
| Braden: change the way in which something is organized |
| Barbara: reorganized [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: reorganized [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| safe [natural native speed] |
| Braden: metal container where valuables (money) are kept |
| safe [slowly - broken down by syllable] safe [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: dial [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a circular object used to make incremental adjustments to a larger mechanism |
| Barbara: dial [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: dial [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| combinations [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a joining or merging of different parts or qualities. |
| combinations [slowly - broken down by syllable] combinations [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: glance [natural native speed] |
| Braden: take a brief or hurried look |
| Barbara: glance [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: glance [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| organize [natural native speed] |
| Braden: arrange into a structure |
| organize [slowly - broken down by syllable] organize [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: pack [natural native speed] |
| Braden: cram a large number of things into |
| Barbara: pack [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: pack [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| lock [natural native speed] |
| Braden: a mechanism for keeping a door, lid, etc., fastened, typically operated only by a key of a particular form |
| lock [slowly - broken down by syllable] lock [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Barbara: pick (a lock) [natural native speed] |
| Braden: open a lock with an instrument other than the proper key |
| Barbara: pick (a lock) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Barbara: pick (a lock) [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Braden: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Barbara: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase Filing cabinet |
| Braden: if you’ve ever worked In office context, you will know what a filing cabinet is. If you haven’t, then it’s a tall metal cabinet where you put files. That isn’t particularly complicated, However, apparently Alex had a difficult time distinguishing it from a safe in the dialogue. |
| Barbara: This is partially, a true story. And no I was not Alex. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: Filing cabinet (slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: Filing cabinet (fast) |
| Braden: Perfect! What’s next? |
| Barbara: Our next phrase is cash register |
| Braden: A “cash register” Is a machine that registers the inflow and outflow of cash within a store. Depending on the size of the store there could be one or multiple cash registers. |
| Barbara: Most cash registers are standardized With a simple computer on the top to detail the inflow and outflow of merchandise and a drawer underneath where the money is kept. |
| Braden: Could you break this down? |
| Barbara: cash register(slowly) |
| Braden: And one time fast? |
| Barbara: cash register (fast) |
| Braden: Excellent! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Braden: Let’s take a look at the grammar point. |
| Braden: Barbara, what’s the focus of this lesson? |
| Barbara: The focus of this lesson is verbs and prepositions, Part 4 |
| Braden: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase… |
| Barbara: “I attribute it to my parents having a filing cabinet like that.” |
| Braden: This lesson is set up as a reference lesson. We've gathered together a list of over 100 verb/preposition combinations and put them together for this series. This is part 4 in the series. |
| Barbara: These are not phrasal verbs. However, they are verb/preposition combinations that are frequently used and maybe in the next 50 years, some of these might become phrasal verbs! |
| Braden: We have quite a few of these so we’ll go through them with minimal explanation. |
| Barbara: First let’s look at Verbs that are frequently used with the preposition “To.” First, to answer to someone. For example, "I answer to Ms Smith." |
| Braden: Second, to appeal to someone. For example, "Let me appeal to you for your help in this matter." |
| Barbara: Third, to apply oneself to (doing) something. For example, "I think you should apply yourself more at work." |
| Braden: Fourth, to apply to something. For example, "He applied glue to the board." |
| Barbara: Fifth, to attend to (doing) something. For example, "Chris attended to doing the grocery shopping." |
| Braden: Sixth, to attribute something to someone. For example, "Professor Samson attributes this painting to Leonardo." |
| Barbara: Next we’ll look at verbs that are frequently used with the preposition “With.” First, to acquaint someone with something. For example, "I acquainted Mary with French cuisine." |
| Braden: Second, to associate something with (doing) someone. For example, "Susan associates chocolate with childhood." |
| Barbara: Third, to be faced with (doing) something. For example, "She's faced with working overtime this weekend." |
| Braden: Fourth, to charge someone with (doing) something. For example, "The officer charged Mr Smith with blackmail." |
| Barbara: Fifth, to clutter with something. For example, "The office was cluttered with paper." |
| Braden: Sixth, to coincide with something. For example, "My birthday coincides with a national holiday." |
| Barbara: Seventh, to collide with something. For example, "The car collided with a truck and blocked traffic." |
Outro |
| Braden: That just about does it for today. Thanks for listening. |
| Barbara: See you later! |
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