Learn how to ask someone out on a date in the United States
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| Jonathan: In this lesson we’ll learn about adverb clauses with the conditional tense, and listen to a conversation between Dave and Isabel over the phone. |
| Dede: Dave is going to try and ask Isabel out on a date! |
| Jonathan: Ooh-la-la… The level of speech starts out a bit formally, because they still do not know each other well. However, after Dave asks out Isabel, the tone changes and becomes much more casual. |
| Dede: I think that’s it, let's listen to the conversation. |
| Dede: |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Isabel: Hello, may I ask who's calling? |
| Dave: Hi…is this Officer Fuentes? This is Dave Wiseman, I spoke with you after I got mugged, and you gave me your card. |
| Isabel: Ah, hi, Dave, how are you? Feeling any better? Did you remember anything that might aid our investigation? |
| Dave: I'm doing fine, thanks, it was just a few scratches and bruises. Actually, I was calling you for another reason. |
| I: Yes, what was that? |
| Dave: Well, I realize that this might be a little bit inappropriate. But I was wondering… Unless it's against your rules, would you be free to get a drink sometime? |
| I: Are you asking me out? |
| Dave: I am, unless you think I shouldn't be. |
| I: Well, it's a bit irregular, but it's adorable. Well, in case you want to meet me, I'll be over by the pavilion at the Eastern Market around ten o'clock on Saturday. |
| Dave: Really? That's great! I'll head over then. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Isabel: Hello, may I ask who's calling? |
| Dave: Hi…is this Officer Fuentes? This is Dave Wiseman, I spoke with you after I got mugged, and you gave me your card. |
| Isabel: Ah, hi, Dave, how are you? Feeling any better? Did you remember anything that might aid our investigation? |
| Dave: I'm doing fine, thanks, it was just a few scratches and bruises. Actually, I was calling you for another reason. |
| I: Yes, what was that? |
| Dave: Well, I realize that this might be a little bit inappropriate. But I was wondering… Unless it's against your rules, would you be free to get a drink sometime? |
| I: Are you asking me out? |
| Dave: I am, unless you think I shouldn't be. |
| I: Well, it's a bit irregular, but it's adorable. Well, in case you want to meet me, I'll be over by the pavilion at the Eastern Market around ten o'clock on Saturday. |
| Dave: Really? That's great! I'll head over then. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Dede: Do people really ask each other out over the phone like this? Isn’t that a bit… not OK? |
| Jonathan: Well, asking someone out over the telephone the way Dave did is certainly not the most common manner, but the language that he used is very common and it usually wouldn’t be considered bad for him to do this. |
| Dede: So next time I’m in the States, should I ask someone out like this? |
| Jonathan: Maybe! The most common way to ask someone out on a first date is to ask them to coffee or a drink. |
| Dede: Wait a second… You asked me out for a drink when we first met… were you asking me out? |
| Jonathan: Haha, good point! In the States, just because someone asks if you are free for a drink it doesn’t mean that they are not necessarily asking you out on a date. They could be just trying to get to know you better as a friend. |
| Dede: So how will I know the difference. |
| Jonathan: Just do what Isabel did and ask! It’s perfectly appropriate to clarify what they are asking. |
| Dede: OK… So were you asking me out on a date? |
| Jonathan: Haha, no… sorry. |
| Dede: That’s OK, I would have said “no” then… |
| Jonathan: Ouch! Let’s move onto the vocab! |
| Vocabulary and Phrases |
| Dede: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Jonathan: aid [natural native speed] |
| Dede: to assist, to help |
| Jonathan: aid [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: aid [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: bruise [natural native speed] |
| Dede: a dark purple/brownish mark you get after being hit |
| Jonathan: bruise [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: bruise [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: inappropriate [natural native speed] |
| Dede: not acceptable, should not be done |
| Jonathan: inappropriate [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: inappropriate [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: irregular [natural native speed] |
| Dede: abnormal, not regular, unusual |
| Jonathan: irregular [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: irregular [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: adorable [natural native speed] |
| Dede: very cute |
| Jonathan: adorable [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: adorable [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: wonder [natural native speed] |
| Dede: to think about, to speculate in an uncertain manner |
| Jonathan: wonder [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: wonder [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: Eastern Market [natural native speed] |
| Dede: A historic market in South-East Washington, D.C. known for its wide array of food, used goods, and inexpensive clothing |
| Jonathan: Eastern Market [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: Eastern Market [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: actually [natural native speed] |
| Dede: as a true fact, really |
| Jonathan: actually [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: actually [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Jonathan: head over [natural native speed] |
| Dede: to go somewhere (casual) |
| Jonathan: head over [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jonathan: head over [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Dede: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Jonathan: The first word/phrase we’ll look at is.... |
| Dede: That’s our vocab for this lesson. Let’s examine some of the phrases we have from this dialogue. |
| Jonathan: Sure thing. We have two and the first is… |
| Dede: “But I was wondering…” |
| Jonathan: As we saw in the vocab, “to wonder” something means to think about or speculate. We often say “I was wondering” before a question to someone to indicate that we had thought about it before asking it. Dave was doing this to show that he gave his question some thought before asking Isabel. |
| Dede: Ahh, I see... So Jonathan… |
| Jonathan: Yeah? |
| Dede: I was wondering… What’s your favorite color? |
| Jonathan: Sea-foam green of course! Hey Jonathan, I was wondering what kind of movies you liked. |
| Dede: I think you know that I love 1970s Italian horror films… |
| Jonathan: Haha, great! Good usage of “I was wondering!” What’s the next phrase? |
| Dede: “Actually… I was calling you for another reason” |
| Jonathan: Dave says this before he changes the topic from his mugging to trying to ask Isabel out. “Actually” means “really”, but we often use it as a transition from one topic to another when we are trying to guide the conversation or express an opposite opinion in response to a question. Ready for the grammar explanation? |
| Dede: Actually, I was wondering if you could give me another example of these phrases! |
| Jonathan: Haha, we’ll sure! Try and ask me a question. |
| Dede: Uhm, ok. Do you want to get lunch soon? |
| Jonathan: Actually, I already ate lunch. OK, ready now? |
| Dede: Absolutely. |
Lesson focus |
| Jonathan: Our lesson focus is on using adverb clauses with the conditional tense. |
| Dede: Dave says “Unless it’s against your rules, would you be free to get a drink sometime?” |
| Jonathan: Adverb clauses, like noun clauses, are phrases that take the place of an adverb in a sentence. Can you think of any, Dede? |
| Jonathan: Sure… uhm… “I will get that to you when I have free time” |
| Dede: Right, the adverb clause is “when I have free time” |
| Jonathan: Adverb clauses answer the questions “When?”, “How?”, or “Why?”. |
| Dede: But this lesson focuses on using adverb clauses with the conditional tense. We use these regularly with the conditional tense to express the conditions. Often, we see “if” being used for the beginning of an adverb clause in this case. |
| Jonathan: Exactly, like “If I didn’t have work Sunday, I would go play golf” |
| Dede: The adverb clause is “if I didn’t have work” |
| Jonathan: Another example is “They would love to eat a slice of pizza if there are any left.” |
| Dede: The adverb clause there is “if there are any left.” |
| Jonathan: We can also express conditional tense, as this dialogue showed, by using “unless” as the beginning of the adverb clause. |
| Dede: “Unless” is a somewhat tricky word that is easy to confuse with “if”. Essentially, we use “Unless” for negative statements in questions. |
| Jonathan: So we can say something like |
| Dede: This means |
| Jonathan: We could also say |
| Dede: That means “If I don’t have work, I’m going to relax.” |
| Jonathan: By using this structure, Dave asks Isabel out, but gives her the opportunity to decline if it is against the rules of being a police officer. This is a very polite and timid way for Dave to ask her out. |
| Dede: Unless you have anything else to say, I would like to finish the lesson. |
| Host: Sounds good! |
31 Comments
HideHello Listeners! What is your favorite pickup line?
Hello Gary,
Thanks for taking the time to post and share. 👍
Please feel free to ask us any questions you have throughout your studies.
Sincerely,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
A: Unless it is against your rules, would you be free to get a drink with me sometime?
B: That sounds fabulous. I will meet you at the main entrance to the train station on Saturday at around ten o'clock.
A: That sounds great. See you there!
Hello Alba,
You're very welcome. I'm happy to know you're finding EnglishClass101 so useful, and I wish you the best in your studies.
Don't hesitate to let us know if you need anything! 😄
Cheers,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Unless I do not dedicate time to studying I am no going to learn a lot.
Thanks for the amazing lesson.
Hi again Green,
You're very welcome! Glad to have you on board! 😄
The sentence you have noted is written in mixed conditional tense.
Chat to you soon!
Regards,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Thank you for your reply.
You can find the sentence in the lesson note.
- They would love to eat a slice of pizza if there are any left.
My question is:
Is this a sentence grammatically correct if we review it strictly?
Hello Green,
Thank you for your comment!
I'm hope you're finding EnglishClass101 useful, and I wish you the best in your studies.
Don't hesitate to let us know if you need anything! 😄
Cheers,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
First conditional:
- They would love to eat a slice of pizza if there are any left. --> They will love to eat a slice of pizza if there are any left.
Second conditional:
- They would love to eat a slice of pizza if there are any left --> They would love to eat a slice of pizza if there were any left.
Hello Akira,
Thanks for writing to us.
A 'conditional tense' is not one of the 12 basic tenses (e.g. Present Simple, Present Continuous, Present Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous, Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous, Future Simple, Future Continuous, Future Perfect, Future Perfect Continuous). It is used to show what could happen, what might happen or something that someones wishes would happen.
Conditional tenses are used to speculate about what could happen, what might have happened, and what we wish would happen. The word 'if' is mainly used to show conditional tense.
I hope this makes sense and helps with your understanding.
Sincerely,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
In this lesson, the phrase “the conditional tense” is used. Then this is my question: Is a conditional one of the tenses?
I do not think it makes sense to say “the conditional tense” since the word conditional itself has nothing to do with tense, namely present or past.
According to Cambridge Grammar of English, “Tense A grammatical category to indicate the relationship between the form of the verb and the reference of an event or action. English has two tenses, present, and past: …” (p926)
Thank you!