English Learning Podcast Conversation Episode 54|Intermediate| Podcast For Advanced English Learners

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Hello English learners, welcome back to EnglishPod.
My name is Marco.
And I'm Erika.
And today we're going to be talking about a really common situation with parents.
Yeah, when you're a teenager, you always need to ask your parents for money, ask your parents for the car, or ask your parents if you can do something.
Exactly, and that's what we're going to be looking at is how you can ask for permission for the car, for money.
Right, and these phrases are not only for your parents, right?
No, you could use them in your office, with your boss, or for any situation where you need to ask politely.
Yes.
Okay, so let's take a look at Vocabulary Preview.
Vocabulary Preview.
We have one word for you today, concerts.
Concerts.
Concerts.
A concert.
A concert is an event, right?
Yeah.
Where people play music.
Right.
So you have different types of concerts, like a rock concert.
They play rock music.
Or a pop concert.
Yeah, a pop music, or even a classical music concert.
Exactly, where you have people playing violins and pianos.
Yeah.
Okay, concert.
So concerts are always for music.
Yeah, exactly.
They're always for music.
Well, with that, let's go into our dialogue.
Marco, what happens here?
Well, basically we have a teenage girl who needs to go to a concert and is asking her something.
All right, let's listen.
Hey, Daddy.
You look great today.
I like your tie.
By the way, I was wondering, can I...
No.
I haven't even told you what it is yet.
Okay, okay.
What do you want?
Do you think I could borrow the car?
I'm going to a concert tonight.
Um, I don't think so.
I need the car tonight to pick up your mother.
I told you about it last week.
Smelly Toes is playing, and Eric asked if I would go with him.
Who is this Eric guy?
Duh.
He's like the hottest and most popular guy at school.
Come on, Dad.
Please?
No can do.
Sorry.
Fine then.
Would you mind giving me 100 bucks?
No way.
Ugh.
That's so unfair.
Teenagers, huh?
Yeah.
They're always asking for something.
Yeah, this brings back memories, but I'll tell you about that later.
Why don't we take a look at the vocabulary in Language Takeaway?
Alright, we've got a few interesting words here.
The first one, hottest.
Hottest.
Hottest.
So, this is the superlative of hot.
Right.
So, the hottest guy in school is...
The most handsome.
Yeah, the most sexy guy in school.
Exactly.
So, if somebody is hot, they are really attractive.
Really good looking.
Really good looking.
So, Marco, is this a word that is only used for men?
No, you can also use it for women.
And what about things?
You know, recently with Paris Hilton, it's more popular with things like, wow, I got a new car.
Wow, that's hot.
Right.
But I guess we maybe should tell our listeners to be careful with this word.
Yeah, you don't really want to tell somebody you're hot.
No.
It's not very polite.
But with your friends, you can use this word.
Exactly.
If I'm talking with my friends and I see a girl, like, wow, she's hot.
Okay.
Yeah, but just don't tell her.
Yeah, don't go up to her and say, wow, you're hot.
Okay.
Our next word, most popular.
Most popular.
Most popular.
Most popular.
Another superlative.
Exactly.
And popular means...
Means having a lot of friends.
Exactly.
Having a lot of friends or being well-known.
Or well-liked.
Well-liked.
Yeah.
So, in every school, there's always, like, the most popular guy in school, the most popular girl.
Yeah.
Were you the most popular guy?
Not really.
No, I wasn't the most popular guy, but I wasn't unpopular.
Okay.
So, that's the opposite.
Yeah.
So, I was okay.
All right.
Our last phrase, fine then.
Fine then.
Fine then.
Fine then.
Well, this is a phrase made up of two simple words, but why don't we listen to some examples so we can understand the meaning of these two words together.
Example one.
Fine then.
If you won't go with me, I'll go by myself.
Example two.
Fine then.
If you want to break up, I don't care.
Example three.
You want to go out with your friends?
Fine then.
Go.
So, you would use this when you agree with somebody, but you're not really happy about it.
Yeah.
It's like saying, I agree, but I'm really angry.
Right.
Maybe sometimes because you don't have a choice.
Yeah.
Right.
Like the girl.
Fine then.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, even though we have the word fine in there, it's not really a nice thing to say to someone.
No.
No.
This is definitely not one to use with your boss.
Right.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Okay.
Okay.
Let's listen to our dialogue again, and then we'll talk about some more phrases.
No.
Okay.
Okay.
What do you want?
Hmm.
I don't think so.
I need the car tonight to pick up your mother.
Who is this Eric guy?
No can do.
Sorry.
No way.
That's so unfair.
There's a lot of phrases in this dialogue that we can use to ask for something.
Right?
Exactly.
And in a very polite way.
Okay.
So, we're going to look at three ways of asking for something.
And the first way is, I was wondering.
I was wondering.
I was wondering.
So, I could say, I was wondering, can I borrow your car?
Yeah.
Or, I was wondering, can I stay at your house?
Okay.
It's a very nice way to ask something.
Yeah.
It's like to begin a question.
To begin.
Yeah.
All right.
Let's take a look at the next one.
And it's basically the same thing.
Do you think I could...
Do you think I could...
Do you think I could...
Do you think I could...
Borrow the car?
Yeah.
Or, do you think I could use your computer?
I can say, I was wondering, can I use your computer?
Do you think I could use your computer?
Yeah.
They mean the same.
Right.
Now, let's look at the last one.
Would you mind...
Would you mind...
Would you mind...
Would you mind...
So, I could say, would you mind holding this for me?
Yep.
Or, would you mind finishing this report for me?
Now, there's an interesting thing here that you have the verb in a gerund form, right?
Right.
The ing form.
Exactly.
Giving, holding, finishing.
So, we've got, I was wondering, can I do something?
Right.
And, would you mind doing something?
Yeah.
So, you have the ing.
Be very, very careful.
Be sure to not say, would you mind to give me?
Right.
That's wrong.
Right.
That's wrong.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
So, you would say, would you mind giving me?
Yep.
Okay.
Let's listen to some more examples of these three phrases.
Example one.
Would you mind cooking dinner tonight?
I'll be home late.
Example two.
We were wondering if you could buy the tickets for us?
Example three.
Do you think you can have those reports finished by today?
All right.
So, I think it's really clear now, and it's a very useful way of asking for things.
Okay.
So, let's listen to our dialogue for the third time, and then we'll come back and talk a little bit more.
Hey, Daddy.
You look great today.
I like your tie.
By the way, I was wondering, can I?
No.
I haven't even told you what it is yet.
Okay, okay.
What do you want?
Do you think I could borrow the car?
I'm going to a concert tonight.
I don't think so.
I need the car tonight to pick up your mother.
I told you about it last week.
Smelly Toes is playing, and Eric asked if I would go with him.
Who is this Eric guy?
Duh.
He's like the hottest and most popular guy at school.
Come on, Dad.
Please?
No can do.
Sorry.
Fine, then.
Would you mind giving me 100 bucks?
No way.
Ugh.
That's so unfair.
So, Marco, you said that this dialogue really brought back some memories for you.
Yeah, my dad was exactly the same way.
I would just say, Dad, and he would be like, No.
So, he would always cut me off before I ask anything.
Sounds like a pretty strict guy.
No, but it was a lot of fun.
Sometimes he would just say it just to make me angry or something like that.
Like, just as a joke.
Yeah, exactly.
But it was difficult to get him to lend me the car, for example.
Really?
Oh, yeah.
I mean, he wouldn't just lend me the car.
And sometimes, if he did lend me the car, then the next day, he would be like, Hey, you need to wash the car or something like that.
Oh, okay.
So, you had to pay him back.
I had to pay him back with something.
In my family, I was always allowed to borrow the car because we lived really, really far away from the city, so there were no buses or subways.
But I always got to borrow the worst car, you know, the most terrible car.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
Which led to so many problems, like my car stopping working in the middle of the street, which was never good.
We did used to live a little bit further away from downtown, but we had a good bus system.
Yep.
So, he'd just be like, Take the bus.
It's cheaper.
Stuff like that.
So, I didn't really get the car that often until I bought my own or until I had a motorcycle of my own and then problem solved.
All right.
Well, I want to know from our listeners, what did they ask for from their parents?
Exactly.
Did you ask for the car?
Did you ask for money?
Or did you ask for a pony?
Did you ask for a pony?
I had a friend who had a summer home.
Really?
So, he would ask for the keys to the summer home.
Okay.
Well, come to our website, EnglishPod.com.
Exactly.
Leave your questions and comments.
We want to hear from you.
We want to know what you think.
And Erica and I are definitely there to answer any doubts.
All right.
Well, guys, thanks for listening and until next time.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
Informal word for dollars.
Not fair, not just.
A set of clothes that usually consists of a jacket and a skirt or a pair of pants that are made out of the same material.
No way.
Drop off.
No way.
Lend.
Let's try that faster.
No way.
Informal word for dollars.
Think about if something is possible.
Play.
Unfair.
Drop off.
Concert.
By the way.
Lend.
It usually consists of a jacket and a skirt or a pair of pants that are made out of the same material.
Suit.
Go and get.
Pick up.
Very well known and well liked.
Popular.
Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.
Concert.
There is a rock concert tonight.
Do you want to go?
Concert.
Nightwish is playing live in concert tonight.
Let's go.
Concert.
I went to an amazing classical music concert last night.
Wonder.
Wonder.
I was wondering, can I use your computer?
Wonder.
Carrie was wondering if she could stay at your house on Saturday.
Wonder.
We were wondering if you could buy the tickets for us.
Do you think you can have those reports finished by today?
Do you think I can have some of your sandwich?
Do you think you can help me with my homework?
Popular.
Brad Pitt is one of the most popular actors in the world.
Popular.
When I was in high school, I was the most popular kid in school.
Popular.
The TV series Friends was a very popular show.
Would you mind buying a soda for me?
Would you mind cooking dinner tonight?
I'll be home late.
Would you mind lowering your voice?
I'm trying to watch a movie.