english spoken conversation

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Jack."

Another common question to ask is

"What do you do for a living?"

You can respond to this by saying,

"I work at a restaurant."
"I work at a bank."
"I work in a software company."
"I'm a dentist."

Usually, you will not need to ask for a name. It is implied that each person should say their name. But in case they don't, you can ask,

"What is your name?"

Many times, I don't hear the name. If you would like for them to repeat their name, you can say,

"What was that again?"
"Excuse me?"
"Pardon me?"

Greeting Someone you Know

"Hey John, how have you been?"
"Hi Bob, how are you?"
"Hi Nancy, what have you been up to?"
"Andy, it's been a long time, how are you man?"

If you meet someone unexpectedly, you can say,
"Hey Jack, it's good to see you. What are you doing here?"
or
"What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?"

If you see the person at a restaurant, you can say, "Do you come to this restaurant often?"
Or at the movie theatre, "What movie did you come to see?"

Appropriate responses:

"Hi Steve, my name is Mike. It is nice to meet you as well."

"I heard a lot about you from John. He had a lot of good things to say."

"Wow. How long has it been? It seems like more than a year. I'm doing pretty well. How about you?"

A typical response to this type of greeting is simple.

"Not too bad."

If asked what you have been up to, you can respond with, "Same ole same ole." Or, "The same as usual."

Here are some other example responses.

"I'm pretty busy at work these days, but otherwise, everything is great."
"I'm doing very well."
"I finally have some free time. I just finished taking a big examination, and I'm so relieved that I'm done with it."

Restaurant Responses

"I've been here a couple of times, but I don't come on a regular basis."
"I come pretty often. This is my favorite restaurant."
"I can't believe we haven't seen each other before. I come here at least twice a week."

 

Greeting - Example Conversations

Let's look at several example conversations. Then we can move on to the practice section.

Person A: "Hi, my name is Steve. It's nice to meet you."
Person B: "I'm Jack. It's a pleasure to meet you, Steve."
Person A: "What do you do for a living Jack?"
Person B: "I work at the bank."

Person A: "What is your name?"
Person B: "Jackson."
Person A: "What was that again?"

Person A: "Hey John, how have you been?"
Person B: "What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?"
Person A: "I'm doing very well. How about you?"
Person B: "I finally have some free time. I just finished taking a big examination, and I'm so relieved that I'm done with it."

Person A: "Hi Nancy, what have you been up to?"
Person B: "The same ole same ole." Or, "The same as usual. How about you?"
Person A: "I'm pretty busy at work these days, but otherwise, everything is great."

Person A: "Andy, it's been a long time, how are you man?"
Person B: "What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?"
Person A: "Do you come to this restaurant often?"
Person B: "I've been here a couple of times, but I don't come on a regular basis."

Greeting - Interactive Practice

Click on Listen All and follow along. After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, become Person A by clicking on the Person A button. You will hear only Person B through the audio file. There will be a silence for you to repeat the sentences of Person A. Do the same for Person B. The speed of the conversation is native speed. Use the pause button if the pause between each sentence is too fast for you. After practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

1 

A: "Hi, how are you doing?"

B: "I'm doing great. How about you?"

A: "Not too bad."

B: "Do you come to this restaurant often?"

A: "I've been here a couple of times, but I don't come on a regular basis. What have you been up to?"

B: "I'm pretty busy at work these days, but otherwise, everything is great."

A: "Well, have a good evening."

B: "You too."

2 

A: "It's nice to meet you. My name is Jack."

B: "I'm Steve. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A: "What was your name again?"

B: "Steve."

A: "So Steve, What do you do for a living?"

B: "I work at the public library. How about you?"

A: "I'm a University student."

B: "That's great. It was nice meeting you."

A: "Yeah. It was a pleasure meeting you."

3   

A: "Hey Jack, it's good to see you."

B: "Wow. How long has it been? It seems like more than a year. I'm doing pretty well. How about you?"

A: "Not too bad."

B: "What movie did you come to see?"

A: "I came here to see Matrix Revolution. How about you?"

B: "I'm going to watch Finding Nemo."

Bored - General Phrases

Being bored means having nothing to do. When someone is bored, they often call people and try to entertain themselves or try to find something to do with a friend. So being bored is a good starting point for conversational English.

There are a couple of situations you can express to someone that you are bored. Most commonly, you will call a friend and tell them that you are bored or ask them to do something together. The other time is when someone asks you how you are doing. We will cover both situations in this session.

General Phrases

"I'm dying from boredom."
"I hate being bored."
"I don't have anything to do."
"My life is so boring."
"Life is so boring."
"I'm just watching TV until I find something to do."
"I was bored all weekend."
"I am so bored today."

"I get bored very easily."
"I get bored all the time."

A common place to get bored is when you have to visit family members.

"It's always boring whenever we go to our relatives."
"It's nice to visit my grandmother, but it gets boring after a couple of hours."
"My cousins are so boring. All they do is watch tv."

"There's nothing to do in the country side. I'm always bored there."

If you think you are a boring person, here is a way to say that you are boring.

"I think I'm a little boring."
"I'm a boring person."

Boring can be used to describe someone.

"He is a boring person."
"His personality is very boring."
"It's boring whenever she's around."

Using bored to answer a question is very common. Here are some general questions that someone might ask.

"How was your trip?"
"How was your vacation?"
"How was your weekend?"
"How was the lecture?"
"How was the class?"
"How was the game?"

Any of these types of questions can be answered with a simple answer.

"It was pretty boring."
"It was boring. I didn't do much."
"It wasn't as fun as I thought. It was a little boring."
"I was bored most of the time."
"Because it was disorganized, we had too much extra time. I was bored during our free time."

Bored - Calling Someone

The conversation when you call someone might sound something like this.

"Hello"
"Hi Jane, this is Jill. Do you have time to talk?"
"Hi Jill, sure, I was just watching TV."
"What are you watching?"
"I was just watching a re-run of friends. How about you? What are you doing?"
"Nothing much. I really wanted to start studying for the Psychology test coming up, but I can't seem to motivate myself."

As you can see, Even though Jill is very bored, she didn't say that she was bored. To sensitive people, they can misinterpret the situation. If I am bored and I call you, then that could mean that I am only calling you because I have nothing better to do. So if you are not very close friends, it is better to say something like, 'nothing much' instead of 'I am bored.'

If you are very close friends with someone, then the conversation can be more direct and honest.

"What are you doing?"
"I'm doing the laundry."
"I'm so bored. I have nothing to do."
"Why don't you come over and help me with the laundry?"
"I'd rather do my own house chores. Hey, you wanna take a break from your house work and have coffee at Starbucks with me?"
"Sure, that sounds great. I'll meet you there in thirty minutes."

                          Bored - Boring Work

A different situation you can tell someone you are bored is when you are simply talking with a friend concerning a part of your life that is boring. For example, if you have a boring job, you can explain to your friend how boring it is.

"How is your work these days?"

"Work is so boring that I'm going crazy."

"I ran out of things to do and management is too busy to give me more work. I tried to find things to do with no luck. I'm basically sitting in my chair pretending to work."

"That sounds so boring."

"Tell me about it. Time goes so slow when you're bored. I'd rather be busy. Then at least the day would go by faster."

Similar type of boring work is when doing something that is routine. Some sentences expressing boring work are:

"I'm doing the same thing over and over again."

"My work is so repetitious that I am getting bored of it."

"My work does not interest me."

"I'm only working to pay the bills."

"I wish I had your job."

Because some people are so busy, they envy people who have nothing to do at work.

"I'm so bored. I have nothing to do at work. I just surf the Internet all day long."

"Dang! I'm so busy at work, it's driving me crazy. I really wish I had your job." 

 

           Bored - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Hey there. What have you been up to?"

B: "Nothing really."

A: "How about your work?"

B: "It's so boring there. I really wish I had a different job."

A: "Is it really that bad?"

B: "Yeah. Most of the time, I have nothing to do. But whenever I have something to do, it's boring work because it is the same old thing."

A: "Why don't you find a different job then?"

B: "Maybe I should."

2 

A: "Hi Steve, what's your plan for tonight?"

B: "I don't have any plans. Are you doing anything special?"

A: "Well, if you're bored, let's plan on meeting up tonight."

B: "That sounds like a good idea. Should we invite Bob?"

A: "He's a little boring."

B: "What do you mean?"

A: "Well, he doesn't drink, play video games, pool, or really anything. The only thing he talks about is history."

B: "You do have a point. We'll leave him out tonight."

A: "Aright. Let's meet at 8:30 in front of the university bookstore."

B: "Perfect. I'll see you later tonight."

3 

A: "Hello"

B: "Hi Jane"

A: "Oh, hi Jill."

B: "What are you doing?"

A: "I'm doing the laundry."

B: "I'm so bored. I have nothing to do."

A: "Why don't you come over and help me with the laundry?"

B: "I'd rather do my own house chores. Hey, you wanna take a break from your house work and have coffee at Starbucks with me?"

A: "Sure, that sounds great. I'll meet you there in thirty minutes."

How is your Day - General Statements

In this lesson, we are going to learn how to communicate to someone using the present tense. However, because this isn't a site teaching grammar, I do not want to spend too much time on details. I wanted to include this section primarily to show many different sentences using present tense and to have a dedicated practice section with only present tense sentences.

This lesson is a little shorter than others because speaking in the present tense is not as common as speaking in the future or past tense. Although speaking in the future tense or the past tense is more common, it is still important to know how to communicate in the present tense. Here are some example sentences:

"I see Bob over there by the newspaper stand."

"I'm going to the library."

"I'm on my way home."

"I'm going to the bus stop."

"Jack is going to the store."

"Jill is stopping by now."

"The meeting is starting now."

"The manager is waiting for you in her office."

"Tell the receptionist that you are here to see Mr. Hwang."

Questions:

A very common question you will run into is,

"How are you doing?"

"How is your day going?"

"What are you doing now?"

To answer these types of question, you must remember that you are talking about what is currently going on now, so you must use the present tense.

Here are some ways to answer the above question.

"I'm enjoying the beautiful weather without any worries in the world."

"I'm playing a video game on my computer because I have nothing to do."

"I'm at the grocery store buying ingredients for tonight's dinner."

"I'm at the gym working out."

As you can see, each sentence is starting with, 'I am' instead of 'I will be' or 'I was.' We will discuss past tense and future tense in the next sessions.

More descriptive answers you can give are the following:

"I'm pretty busy now. I'm doing my homework because I have an exam tomorrow."

"My project deadline is coming up, so I'm currently in the process of finishing my tasks."

"I'm taking the day off from work today because I have so many errands. I'm going to the post office to send some packages to my friends."

"I'm looking for a job. The job market does not look that great, but I can't give up."

"I'm applying for a job at a consulting firm in Taiwan."

"I'm listening to music while thinking about my situation." 

                       How is your day - Example Conversation

The present tense is more common in writing. As you can see by all the explanations I am giving, they are all written in the present tense. That is because it is instructional. Instructional writing is more commonly written in present tense. However, stories in novels are written in past tense.

The reason past and future tense is used more commonly than present tense when speaking is because usually you are telling someone what you have done or what you plan on doing. Speaking in the present tense is used primarily to tell someone what you are currently doing.

As in previous lessons in 'Bored and Greeting' it is very common to have a conversation using the present tense when you run into somebody or when you make or receive a phone call.


Person A: "Hi Jack. What are you doing?"
Person B: "Hi Mary. I'm filling out a job application."
Person A: "Are you finished with school already?"
Person B: "No. I have one more semester, but it would be great to have a job lined up."

Person A: "How is your day going?"
Person B: "Quite busy. I'm preparing for my presentation tomorrow on our marketing strategy. I'm not even half done yet."
Person A: "You must feel stressed out now."
Person B: "That's an understatement."

Person A: "What are you doing now?"
Person B: "I'm playing pool with my friends at a pool hall."
Person A: "I didn't know you play pool. Are you having fun?"
Person B: "I'm having a great time. How about you? What are you doing?"
Person A: "I'm taking a break from my homework. There seems to be no end to the amount                                                 of work I have to do."
Person B: "I'm glad I'm not in your shoes."

How is your day - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "What are you doing now?"

B: "I'm watching TV."

A: "What are you watching?"

B: "I'm watching Friends. What are you doing?"

A: "I'm doing my homework, but I really need to take a break."

B: "You want to do something?"

A: "Yes. But I shouldn't. I got to finish my assignment now."

B: "Alright. Call me later then."

A: "OK. Bye."

 2 

A: "Where are you going now?"

B: "I'm going to the bank."

A: "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

B: "I'm working now. I'm making a deposit for our company."

A: "Where do you work?"

B: "I work for a restaurant as a controller."

A: "Wow. That's great."

B: "Great seeing you. I have to go now. I'll talk to you later."

 3 

A: "Hi Steve. What are you doing here?"

B: "I'm meeting a friend here for dinner. How about you?"

A: "I'm on my way home but I needed to stop by the book store to buy a text book."

B: "Didn't you finish school yet?"

A: "I have one more year, and then I'm done."

B: "What are you majoring in?"

A: "I'm majoring in Sociology"

B: "How do you like your major?"

A: "I really find the subject very interesting. I'm enjoying all my classes."

B: "That's great."

A: "I better go now. I don't want to miss the bus."

B: "Aright, I'll talk to you later."

A: "Okay. See you later."

Tomorrow's Plan - I am going to

Talking about the future is something that is done very frequently. Whether we are talking about our dreams or simply telling someone what we will do tomorrow is all spoken in the future tense. As in the previous lesson, this isn't a grammar lesson. This lesson is to provide many different sentences using the future tense.

In the previous lesson, we concentrated on present tense using 'I am'

When we speak in the future tense, we can still use 'I am' but it is important what follows the two words that will make it future tense. Here are a couple of examples.

"I'm going to see Bob tomorrow"

"I'm going to meet John at the airport at 6 O'clock tonight"

"I'm going to go home in an hour"

"I'm going to go to the bus stop right after class"

"I'm going to do that tomorrow"

When using 'going to' after 'I am' it is important that a future indicator is present. For example, if I say, 'I am going to meet John', this can also be present tense that we practiced previously. But if you add a future indicator like 'at 6 O'clock tonight' then it becomes future tense.

Other future tense indicators are:

'going to go'

'going to be'

'I will'

'I have to'

Let's practice using these words:

"I'm going to be dead if I don't finish this project by tomorrow"

"I'm going to go home next week"

"I'll meet you there at five"

"I can't go tonight because I have to work late" 

        Tomorrow's Plan - Questions and Answers

When asking questions about the future, you can ask questions like:

"What are you going to do tonight?"
"What are you doing next week?"
"When do you plan on doing your homework?"
"When are you going to eat dinner?"
"What time do we have to leave for the airport?"
"What should we do tonight?"
There are many different questions you can ask. By changing a few words, you can make numerous questions properly about the future.

When you are answering questions that relate to the future, remember to use the future tense. Here are some ways to answer the questions directly above:

"What are you going to do tonight?"

"I plan on meeting John after dinner. We're going to go to a night club."
"I'm going to go to take my girlfriend out to dinner. And if we have time, we might try to see a movie."

"What are you doing next week?"

"Since I'm on vacation next week, I plan on going to Pusan to visit some friends down there."
"Next week I have to go shopping for all the Christmas presents. I have to buy a present for my dad, mom, and my two sisters."

"When do you plan on doing your homework?"

"I think I'm going to do my homework after I watch the world cup. I don't think I'll be able to concentrate until after the game is over."
"I'm so unmotivated to do my homework. But I'll eventually have to do it, so I'll get around to them probably after dinner."

"What time do you have to leave for the airport?"

"The flight comes in at 4:30, so I plan on leaving at about 3:30"
"The security is pretty tight so I should get there early. I plan on arriving there 2 hours before my flight leaves."

"What should we do tonight?"

"After dinner, let's go grab a couple of beers. Then we can go shopping for a couple of hours, and afterwards, we can rent a video and watch it at my place."
"I'm pretty busy tonight. I have to do the laundry, vacuum, and then make dinner, so I won't be able to meet you tonight."

        Tomorrow's Plan - Example Conversation

Let's use this time to incorporate what we have learned so far.

Person A: "Bob is in the hospital, did you get a chance to visit him?"
Person B: "I'm going to see Bob tomorrow"
Person A: "I thought you had to meet John tomorrow?"
Person B: "I'm going to meet John at the airport at 6 O'clock tonight"

Person A: "I'm going home now, do you want to head out together?"
Person B: "No Thanks. I'm going to go home in about an hour"/
Person A: "Didn't you need to buy a present for you brother's birthday?"
Person B: "I'm going to do that tomorrow"

Person A: "I'm going to go to the bus stop right after class, so I won't have time to meet you"
Person B: "That's OK. We can always get together tomorrow."

Person A: "Why do you look so stressed?"
Person B: "I'm going to be dead if I don't finish this project by tomorrow"
Person A: "I thought you had 2 weeks to finish this project"
Person B: "I don't have time to explain now. I'll talk to you later."

Person A: "Since we are done with school, when are you going back home?"
Person B: "I'm going to go home next week"
Person A: "Me too. Do you want to meet at the train station on Sunday?"
Person B: "Sure. I'll meet you there at five"

Practice asking questions:

"What are you going to do tonight?"
"What are you doing next week?"
"When do you plan on doing your homework?"
"When are you going to eat dinner?"
"What time do we have to leave for the airport?"
"What should we do tonight?"

    Tomorrow's Plan - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Do you have any plans tonight?"

B: "I have class until 5 O'clock, but I'm free after that."

A: "Do you want to grab dinner?"

B: "I don't have any dinner plans so that sounds great."

A: "What time should we meet?"

B: "I need to go to the book store first, so let's meet at 6 O'clock."

2 

A: "Let's go to Everland next week"

B: "I can't. I'm way too busy."

A: "What are you doing next week?"

B: "On Monday, I'm going to meet my professor. Tuesday, I have a job interview. Wednesday, I'm going to the dentist. And on Thursday, I have to go visit my parents."

A: "Why are you so busy?"

B: "I've been procrastinating for a long time."

3 

A: "What are you doing over the weekend?"

B: "I'm going to exercise, meet some friends, and then watch tv."

A: "Who are you going to meet?"

B: "My friend from middle school is visiting, so we are going to have dinner on Saturday."

A: "How long is he going to stay?"

B: "He is only here for a day."

A: "Where are you going to eat dinner?"

B: "I plan on taking him to an Italian restaurant."

Yesterday - The Past - General Statements

In daily conversation, talking about the past is done very frequently. Whenever you meet a friend, you always tell each other what you have been doing recently. Friends are always interested in each other so they want to know how you have been spending your time in the past.

Today's lesson is going to target past tense communication. This goes hand in hand with the last two lessons and changing a few words around can make a future or present tense sentence into a past tense sentence.

To begin, here are a couple of sentences that are common to say:

LBPNP 00001412013
"I went to the airport yesterday."
"I met Bob last week."
"I was an hour late for my meeting."
"I went to the bus stop, but I was 30 seconds late. A person on the street told me the bus just went by."
"I completed that task this morning."

Speaking in the past requires past tense words. Let's take a closer examination for the sentences above.

Past Tense	Present Tense	Future Tense
Went	Go	Going to go
Met	Meet	Will meet
Was	Am	Going to be
Completed	Complete	Will complete

As you can see by some of the examples in the chart, some words change when speaking in the past tense.

Besides some words that change, many times a word with the letter 'd' or 'ed' at the end changes the word to past tense. Here are some examples:

"I was being polite so I opened the door for him."
"I stapled the papers together to keep them organized."
"The paper ripped on the bottom, so I taped them together."
"I switched the presents around because I found out Jane doesn't like red lipstick."
"I was very interested in the topic so I paid close attention."

The tricky part is to know when to add a 'd' to the end of a word to make it past tense. There are exceptions that can cause confusion, for example,

"I rode my bike to school." It would be incorrect to say, 'I rided...'
"I built the house from scratch." Incorrect way is to say, 'I builded...'
"I sat on the chair next to the emergency exit." Incorrect way is to say, 'sitted...'

So remember to use past tense words correctly or the other person might not understand what you are saying.

Yesterday - The Past - Questions and Answers

When asking questions about the past, you can ask questions like:

"How did you enjoy the movie?"
"What time did you get home last night?"
"How was your date with Jackie?"
"How was the traffic going to the airport?"
"What have you been up to?"
"What did you do last weekend?"
"How was the party?"
"How come you didn't come to class yesterday?"
"How did your presentation go?"

Here are some ways you can answer these types of questions. Remember to use past tense because these actions already occurred.

"How did you enjoy the movie?"
"It was a long movie, but overall all, the movie was great."
"I really didn't like the movie. It was slow and boring."
"I enjoyed the movie so much that I saw it again."

"What time did you get home last night?"
"I got home at two in the morning."
"I didn't make it home until eleven last night."
"I made it home at midnight."

"How was your date with Jackie?"
"The date went so well. We had dinner at a seafood restaurant. And then we saw a movie together."
"I don't think it went too well. We hardly had anything to talk about. I really thought Jackie was bored to death."
"The date was alright. She called me this morning to go out again, but I haven't responded yet."

"What have you been up to?"
"I just graduated from school. I'm so happy that I'm done."
"I met Jackie yesterday and we spent the evening together in a nice restaurant."
"The only thing I have done in the last three months is computer games."

"What did you do last weekend?"
"Last weekend, I visited my parents."
"I went golfing on Saturday. I shot a great score."
"I stayed home and watched TV all weekend long."

"How come you didn't come to class yesterday?"
"I was very sick yesterday."
"I missed the bus and by the time I got to campus, class was already over."
"I slept in because I didn't hear the alarm ring."

"How did your presentation go?"
"It went ok. A few of the people asked some tough questions, but overall it was good."
"I messed up so bad. I brought the wrong folder from my office so I didn't have any notes."
"It was the best presentation of the day. My boss told me I was organized, focused, and spoke clearly."

Yesterday - The Past - Example Conversation

Study some examples and then we will be at the practice session.

Person A: "Why didn't you come to my party last night?"

Person B: "I'm sorry I couldn't make it. I had to go visit my grandmother at the hospital."

Person A: "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is she doing ok?"

Person B: "They just completed a small operation and the doctors said she should recover."

Person A: "Did you get a chance to go to that new restaurant down the street?"

Person B: "Yeah. I ordered the special, but the server screwed up my order."

Person A: "That sucks. So what ended up happening?"

Person B: "They finally got my steak out, but it was overcooked. It was a terrible experience."

Person A: "What did you do last weekend?"

Person B: "I went on a date with Sammy."

Person A: "Really? How was it?"

Person B: "I couldn't ask for a better night. We talked all through out our two hour dinner, and then we sat by the river and cuddled in the night."

Person A: "Didn't you finish finals week?"

Person B: "Don't remind me. I think I failed most of the exams."

Person A: "Why did you do so terrible?"

Person B: "My mind just went blank. I think I overloaded my brain. I just couldn't concentrate during the exams." 

Yesterday - The Past - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "What did you do last night?"

B: "I met some friends and we had some drinks at a bar."

A: "Did you drink a lot?"

B: "I got so drunk that I don't remember how I got home."

A: "Why did you drink so much?"

B: "I was so depressed. I just wanted to forget about everything."

 2 

A: "How was the airplane ride?"

B: "It was a twelve hour flight. It was so boring. I tried to sleep but it was too uncomfortable on the plane."

A: "How about the movies they play on international flights?"

B: "I saw both movies they played. I was just unlucky?"

A: "Did you take a book with you?"

B: "I accidentally packed it with my luggage that I checked in."

 3 

A: "What did you do last weekend?"

B: "I went to a party."

A: "How was the party?"

B: "It was way too crowed and the food was gone before I got there."

A: "What time did you get home?"

B: "It was pretty boring so I left at ten and got home before eleven."

Weather - Summer and Autumn

Summer:

Depending on the location, summer can be warm and pleasant or unbearably hot and humid. Although you will describe summer in one particular way, you should be aware of how other people describe summer in different parts of the world.

In Nevada, Arizona, Egypt, or other places that are like deserts, people might say,

"Summer is very hot and dry. It's not so bad when we are in the shade."
"Summer is extremely hot. The sun will burn you if you don't wear sunscreen."
"Because it's not humid, it is easy to get used to."

In Seattle, the summer is the best season,

"Summer is the only time of year that it doesn't rain much."
"Summer is like paradise in Seattle."
"If summer wasn't so good here, I would move to a different city."

In New York, Korea, or other hot and humid places, people can say,

"Summer is both hot and humid here."
"I am always sticky because I sweat so much during the summer."
"Without air conditioning, I don't know how I would survive."

Spring and Fall / Autumn

From my perception, I noticed that spring and autumn are generally pleasant seasons for many areas of the world. I haven't heard enough to say one way or another, so I can only write down what I know.

"My favorite season is autumn."
"The only reason I don't like the fall is due to all the leaves I have to rake up."
"Fall is so beautiful because of all the different color leaves everywhere."
"It rains a lot around here during the fall."
"It gets cold in late autumn."
"In our country, autumn is just like summer. It's hot and humid."
"My favorite season is spring because of the budding flowers."
"I love the spring because it's not cold nor hot."
"The spring season here causes a lot of people to sneeze due to all the flowers appearing. Many people with allergies hate the spring."

 

                         Weather - Winter

Winter has many differences between locations. Some places might be extremely cold like Korea, New York, Alaska, Greenland, etc, and some places might be perfect like Hawaii, Los Angeles, Mexico and other hot places.

Hot places that enjoy pleasant summer warmth:

"I don't think we have a winter here. During the winter months, it's still 80 degrees. So everyone loves the winter months because it's not too hot."
"Winter time is the best time to visit because the temperature is the best during January."
"I like to go to Hawaii for my winter vacations because it's so cold in my home city."

Cold places:

"It's freezing out."
"It doesn't snow often, but when it does, it stays around for several weeks because it stays cold."
"For 3 months, this city will be covered with a layer of snow because it will never melt."
"It doesn't get too cold here, but it's always raining and very gloomy."
"The winter here is cold and dry. We hardly get any precipitation."

Weather - Questions and Answers

In this session, we are primarily going to practice speaking key sentences that will help you carry a conversation about the weather.

Asking about the weather:

"Do you know what the weather will be like tomorrow?"

"Do you know if it's going to rain tomorrow?"

"Did you see the weather forecast?"

"What is the weather like in Korea/Seattle/Los Angeles?"

"How is the climate in Korea?"

"Does it rain much in Denver?"

"How different is the weather between Pusan and Seoul?"

"What is your favorite season of the year?"

Answering questions about the weather:

"The weather is supposed to be sunny and warm tomorrow."

"It's supposed to rain for the next several days."

"I didn't see the news yesterday so I don't know what the weather is going to be like."

"Weather in Los Angeles is usually hot in the summer and mild in the winter. It never really gets that cold."

"The weather in Pusan is very similar to Seoul. The main difference is that Seoul gets a little more snow in the winter and a little hotter in the summer. This is primarily because Pusan is right next to the water."

"My favorite season of the year is Spring. It's not too cold and the anticipation of a good summer puts me in a good mood."

Statements about the weather:

"I heard Seattle is a very gloomy city with so many clouds."

"The weather is beautiful this time of year."

"I hate the rain. It makes me feel depressed."

"Autumn is a great season."

"The summer months are so humid in Korea."

"I can't stand the cold winter months."

"It's a beautiful day today, isn't it?"

"I wish the weather was like this everyday."

"It's been raining for 5 days straight. I wonder when it will stop raining."

"I hate the snow. The roads are dangerous to drive in, and when it melts, the streets are very dirty."

"I love snowboarding so I always look forward to the winter."

"The winter months are tolerable because I don't mind the cold."

"Korea has four distinct seasons." 

Weather - Long Description

Being able to speak specific sentences is good, however, it is more important to be able to say a whole paragraph when talking about topics such as the weather. I'll have a specific lesson about putting sentences together in a future lesson. But I'll give one advice now. Basically, make about 10 sentences. After you know your ten sentences about this question, you can say all of them one after the other so it is a long answer. The ten sentences should be in a list format.

We will learn how to speak longer in a future lesson, but if you want to give it a try now, here are two examples.

Question: "What is the weather like in Korea?"

Answer: "Well, the weather in Korea is unique with four distinct seasons. In the winter, the temperature is about zero degrees Celsius. But, because it doesn't rain much in the winter, there isn't much snow and the air is very dry. In spring, the days warm up significantly but the night gets a little chilly. The summer has two characteristics. It is very hot and humid most of the time, and for about 3 weeks or so, we have a rainy season called monsoon. It gets very rainy and windy during that time period. But we all look forward to autumn. It is a beautiful time of year and the temperature is very pleasant. If you plan on visiting Korea, I highly recommend visiting during autumn."

Question: "Which season do you like the most?"

Answer: "I like summer the most, but at the same time, I hate it. I like summer because it's warm. I don't mind the heat and I like the longer days. So, I can do more activities like swimming, bicycling, rollerblading, and many other outdoor activities. I usually take a short vacation during the summer so I always look forward to that. However, the part about summer I hate the most is during the monsoon season. I can tolerate the humidity, but when it gets hot and humid along with the rain and the wind, then it gets terrible."

Weather - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Hey John, it's beautiful out today, isn't it?"

B: "Yeah. I wish it would be like this everyday."

A: "Did you see the weather forecast?"

B: "Unfortunately, it's supposed to start raining tomorrow night."

 2 

A: "Do you know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow?"

B: "It's supposed to be the same as today. I don't think the weather will change much for the next week or so."

A: "That's great."

B: "Why are you so happy? Do you have anything planned?"

A: "Yeah, I'm going to Everland with my family this weekend so I was hoping for good weather."

 3 

A: "I can't believe it is raining so much."

B: "It's not that bad. Last year we had floods in 4 different areas of the city."

A: "Really? Does it always rain so much during this time of year?"

B: "This is not as bad as usual. During the monsoon season, we usually have rain for 3 weeks."

Small Talk

Many people believe small talk is very boring and not personable. Although that is true, there are many places where small talk is very important. In the western culture, strangers talk to other strangers frequently. On the other hand, small talk is not so common in the eastern culture. Because strangers are friendly to one another in the western culture, small talk is very important to master in regards to learning English. One other place small talk is important is in an interview. That is why this session will be important to learn.

Small talk involves many different topics. We will have several sessions on small talk once we have covered other subjects such as sports, jobs, school, etc. But for now, we will go through the basics of small talk conversation. To initiate small talk, we can use what we have learned from our previous several sessions:

One: "Hi Bill, how are you doing?"

Two: "I'm doing great. How are you doing?"

One: "I'm doing well myself."

Wasn't that simple? If you studied the material in prior sessions, this should be real easy for you. Now that we have initiated the small talk, it's your responsibility to keep the conversation going. In order to do so, you can talk about anything that is not too personal. Let's first ask what the other person has been doing lately.

One: "What have you been up to lately?"

Two: "Well, I just started to work at the bank so I'm pretty busy learning   everything."

You can elaborate on what you have learned to keep the conversation alive. In this example, you are going to ask more questions about school and work.

One: "Does that mean you already finished school? I thought you had 1 more semester left."

Two: "I took summer courses, so I finished one semester early."

One: "It's great that you got a job. I'm really happy for you."

Two: "Thanks."

As you can now tell, the conversation is getting old. You have a choice of ending the conversation, or changing the topic. Let's practice ending the conversation.

One: "We should get together for lunch sometime."

Two: "Yeah, that would be great."

One: "I'll call you sometime."

Two: "Ok. I'll see you later."

One: "Alright. See ya." 

Small Talk - Two Example Dialogs

In this conversation, we initiated the conversation and talked about the other person. However, sometimes you will not have anything to talk about. In order to keep the conversation alive, you should think about topics such as the weather.

One: "Hi Mary."
Two: "Oh, hi."
One: "How are you doing?"
Two: "I'm doing alright. How about you?"
One: "Not too bad. The weather is great isn't it?"
Two: "Yes. It's absolutely beautiful today."
One: "I wish it was like this more frequently."
Two: "Me too."
One: "So where are you going now?"
Two: "I'm going to meet a friend of mine at the department store."
One: "Going to do a little shopping?"
Two: "Yeah, I have to buy some presents for my parents."
One: "What's the occasion?"
Two: "It's their anniversary."
One: "That's great. Well, you better get going. You don't want to be late."
Two: "I'll see you next time."
One: "Sure. Bye."

This example is when you run into someone. This is an easy type of small talk because when you run out of things to say, you can always say bye. There are times when you don't have that option. Let's practice a situation where you cannot leave, such as an interview. I go into depth about interview communication in a different section. For now, I am going to emphasize the small talk portion of an interview. There are times when you will not have an opportunity for small talk, but in other cases, you might have to talk about general things.

Them: "Hi. My name is Josh. It's a pleasure to meet you."
You: "Hi Josh. I'm glad to be here."
Them: "Did you have any problems finding this place."
You: "I didn't have any problems. I found directions on the internet so it was pretty easy to find. However, the traffic was not that great."
Them: "Traffic is never good around here."
You: "I agree. It would be great if there was a train or a subway line that went through here."
Them: "That would be so great. I would definitely take the train if they had it."
You: "Trains are great because you can read a book or get a little rest instead of having to fight the traffic."
Them: "Very true. Well, let me begin by telling you about our company..."

Small Talk - Interactive Practice

      1 

A: "Hey Paul. What are you doing here?"

B: "How's it going? I'm meeting up with a friend here."

A: "How have you been man?"

B: "Not too bad. I'm still in school and having a little fun."

A: "How are you enjoying Mr. Lee's history class?"

B: "It's so boring."

A: "Tell me about it. If it wasn't a requirement, I wouldn't have taken it."

B: "How about you? What have you been up to?"

A: "I finished school last spring. I'm searching for a job now, but I'm slacking off."

B: "I heard the job market is not that hot right now."

A: "I could always take a low end job, but I'm not that desperate yet."

B: "Well, good luck to you."

A: "Thanks. It was good seeing you again."

B: "Yeah. I'll catch you later."

A: "Have a good night."

2 

A: "You're John right?"

B: "Yes. Oh, you're in my English class right?"

A: "Yeah. I'm Martha."

B: "Well it's good to finally meet you."

A: "How are you enjoying the class?"

B: "I'm not sure. Some days it seems ok, but other days I am totally bored in class."

A: "I know what you mean. Do you know what is wrong with the weather these days? I haven't seen the sun in 2 weeks."

B: "The weather has been pretty terrible recently."

A: "I'm really hoping the weather gets better."

B: "Do you have something coming up?"

A: "To tell you the truth, it's just depressing seeing so much rain."

B: "I don't blame you. It has been pretty gloomy for sometime now."

A: "This is my stop. I'll see you later."

B: "I'll see you in class. Bye."

Movies - Asking Friend

In this section we will work on the planning aspect of watching a movie. In other Movie sections, we will cover discussing a movie, types of movies, etc.

Since this is the first Movie section, let me take a quick minute to explain how to find out movie times and how to pay for tickets in America. It's very similar and simple.

First, you need to find out what time a show is playing. In most cases, this is done by checking the internet. Usually, you type in the zip code and all the theatres in that area will display all the movies and movie times for that week. After you have chosen the movie to see, you need to buy the ticket. There are some places you can buy on-line, but it isn't that popular yet. You can go to the theatre before the movie starts and buy it at the theatre. The only thing you need to know how to say is the movie name and the movie time. Here is a quick example. Let's say you are watching the Titanic at 3:00. You walk up to the counter and say, 'Titanic. Three o'clock.' Wasn't that easy? Finally, big block buster movies usually sell out of tickets very quickly. So if you want to see it on opening day, it is wise to go to the theatre right when it opens and buy the tickets in advance.

Before you watch a movie, you need to plan ahead with friends. Either you are asking a friend to watch a movie, or you are answering. In either case, we will cover it here.

The following questions and statements are used when asking a friend to watch a movie.

"Hey John, do you want to (wanna) go see a movie tonight?"
"I'm going to watch Terminator 2. Do you wanna join?"
"Let's go see The Matrix tomorrow."
"What time should we meet at the theatre?"
"Let's watch a movie after dinner."
"The Titanic is coming out this Friday. Let's go see it."

If there are not enough details, a response can be in a question form. Here are a couple of examples.

"Who is all going?"
"Who are you watching it with?"
"Where are you watching it?"
"What time are you watching the movie?"

Normal answers:

"That sounds great."
"I always wanted to see that. Let's go."
"Let's meet at the theatre at four o'clock."
"Sure. Do you wanna eat lunch together before the movie?"

"I've already seen that movie. What else is playing?"
"I can't. I have to work that night."
"That movie sounds scary. I don't like horror movies."
"I really don't like the actors. I'm going to pass."

Movies - Example Conversation

Let's look at a couple of example conversations before going to the practice section.

Person A: "Hey John, I'm going to see The Matrix with Peter and Brad. Do you wanna come?"

Person B: "When are you guys going?"

Person A: "We're going to see the eight O'clock showing."

Person B: "That would be perfect. Where are you guys meeting?"

Person A: "We're meeting at the theatre at seven thirty."

Person B: "Great. I'll meet you guys there."

Person A: "Hey Jill."

Person B: "What's up Mike?"

Person A: "I was wondering if you have any plans for tomorrow night."

Person B: "Umm... I don't think I have anything special for tomorrow. Why?"

Person A: "Do you want to see The Titanic with me?"

Person B: "I wanted to see that. Yeah. Let's go."

Person A: "What time is good for you?"

Person B: "How about seven thirty."

Person A: "Sure. I'll meet you at the theatre at seven. 

Movies - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "I hear Batman is supposed to be good. Do you want to go see it tomorrow?"

B: "I have to eat dinner with my family tomorrow."

A: "We can watch the late show. I think it starts at nine forty five."

B: "That would be great."

A: "What time can you be at the theatre by?"

B: "I can be there by 9:15."

A: "Ok. I'll meet you there."

2 

A: "What are you doing tomorrow?"

B: "Nothing really."

A: "Let's watch a movie or something."

B: "What's on these days?"

A: "I think they're playing Lord of the Rings"

B: "That sounds pretty good. Let's watch that."

A: "Where should we meet?"

B: "How about at the subway entrance."

A: "Aright. I'll meet you there at one o'clock."

3 

A: "Hey Steve, what are you doing these days?"

B: "Just working. The same as usual."

A: "Have you seen Shiri?"

B: "No. I haven't seen that yet."

A: "Let's go watch it tomorrow. It's a weekend and you should take a break."

B: "Well, to think of it, that sounds great."

A: "I'll give you a call tomorrow about noon and let you know the time."

B: "Ok. I'll see you tomorrow."

A: "See you."

 4 

A: "What should we do this Saturday?"

B: "Rocky six is suppose to come out this Friday."

A: "Yeah, but I don't know if it is going to be any good."

B: "The only reason I want to see it is because I have seen the previous five."

A: "True. Ok. Let's see it this Saturday."

B: "How about we hook up for lunch at 12:00, and then go see the movie afterwards."

A: "Sounds like a plan. Let's meet in front of Tower Records at 12:00."

Movies Types - Action and Drama

In the next three movie sections, we are going to learn about different movie types. Afterwards, we will cover having discussions about movies that you recently saw. But for now, let's work on movie types.

There are many different types of movies. You probably know them all in your language, but let's learn what they are in English. Also, we will learn how to say a couple of sentences related to a movie type. If you disagree with a sentence, feel free to change some words around so they fit what you want to say.

Although there are many categories, we will learn the most basic 10 types of movies.

Action
Drama
Comedy
Romantic comedy
Horror
Science fiction
Suspense (Thriller)
Western
Commentary / Non-Fiction

Action: Movies with lots of fighting, shooting, exploding, etc.

"What type of movie do you like?"
"I like action movies because they are fast paced."
"Action movies are my favorite."
"I like all the action movies with a lot of guns."
"I like fight scenes that are choreographed."

Drama: Everyone knows drama. Like Titanic and Schindler's List

"What type of movies do you like?"
"I like all sorts of drama."
"I like movies that play with my emotion."
"Drama movies are great because they are the most realistic."
"The sad drama movies that make me cry."

      Movie Types - Comedy and Horror               

Comedy: Funny movies with many jokes or actors acting in a funny way.

"I love all types of comedy because I love to laugh."
"Comedy is my favorite because it is very entertaining to me."
"I like comedy that makes fun of political things."
"Comedy is so hilarious that I always enjoy watching them."

Romantic Comedy: Funny movies with a strong romantic theme. Opposite to action because usually guys like action and the ladies like Romantic comedies.

"Many people view romantic comedy movies as chick-flicks."

Chick = girl
Flick = movie

Chick-Flick = a girly type of movie; a movie a girl will like; 'take your girlfriend to' type of movie... or something like that.

"Romantic comedy is funny movies that involve a lot of romance."
"I love all the story lines of romantic comedy movies."

Horror: Scary movies that will give you nightmares for 3 months.

"When I was a little kid, I couldn't sleep because of horror movies."
"Horror movies are not scary anymore."
"I have yet to see a movie that really scares me."
"I hate horror movies because I cannot sleep."
"I always have nightmares after watching horror movies so I try to avoid them."

Movie Types - Other Types

Science Fiction: Futuristic movies like star wars, star trek, theme of time travel, superhuman powers, etc.

"Many science fiction movies are about the future."

"The success of a science fiction movie is usually dependent on how much they spend on special effects."

"After watching a science fiction movie such as star wars, I always wish I lived in the future."

"Gene Rodenberry and George Lucas are two great people in the Science Fiction world."

Suspense (Thriller): A movie that intentionally keeps you in a heightened state.

"I am always on the edge of my seat when I watch suspenseful movies."

"I can't stand to watch suspenseful movies because my stomach always gets upset."

"The suspense just kills me."

"It's so exciting to watch a suspense movie."

Western: Old time cowboy movies

"Western movies are not so popular anymore."

"Client Eastwood was a popular western actor."

"Western movies show a little bit about the United States during the early years."

"After watching The Last Samurai, I always hoped an Asian country will make a movie called The Last Cowboy."

Commentary / Non-Fiction: Educational and true.

"Commentaries and non-fiction films are usually educational."

"Non-profit organizations usually create commentaries supported by the government."

"Popular non-fiction films are about chimpanzees and gorillas"

"Sometimes non-fiction films are sad because of the hidden truth that is revealed." 

Movie Types - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "What type of movies do you like?"

B: "I like comedies. How about you?"

A: "I like action."

B: "Action is fun too."

2 

A: "What type of movies do you like?"

B: "I like all sorts of movies, primarily drama and science fiction."

A: "That's an interesting combination. How about western movies?"

B: "Western and horror are the two types of movies I don't care for."

A: "Why don't you like horror? They're entertaining."

B: "Some are entertaining, but I find most of them stupid and childish. For example, I don't understand why a person always goes into the house alone when something is suspicious."

A: "Ha ha. I know what you mean. But it's just a movie. They need for the characters to do that."

3 

A: "Hey, you wanna see a movie tomorrow?"

B: "Sounds like a good plan. What do you want to see?"

A: "How about Legally Blonde."

B: "Ah, my girlfriend wanted to see that movie. I have to take her later so I don't want to watch it ahead of time. How about The Cube?"

A: "Isn't that a scary movie?"

B: "How scary can it be? Come on, it'll be fun."

A: "Ok. I'll give it a try."

B: "That's the spirit. I'll see you tomorrow after class."

A: "Ok. See you tomorrow

Movie Discussion - General Statements

In this movie section, we are going to have discussions about movies that we already saw. This is useful because whenever we come out of a movie theatre, we always ask our friends what we thought about the movie. Sometimes, it's a simple answer such as, 'It was alright.' But sometimes, a good discussion can arise from a great movie. Let's get started...

Every time I finish watching a movie, I either ask someone, or someone asks me, "What did you think about the movie?" For the most part, the answer is a simple one line sentence:

"It was alright."

"It could have been better."

"It was pretty good."

"I liked it."

"It was entertaining."

"It was so stupid I almost fell asleep."

"Lame"

"Boring"

"Too unrealistic"

I can go on for a long time describing movies. I have listed a few so you get an idea how to answer simple movie questions.

Besides simple one line answers, there are a few reasons we need to say other things. It is because either we didn't understand something, want to describe a scene we liked, want to describe a scene that was stupid, or simply go on and on about how great the movie was. 

Movie Discussion - Describing a Movie

Didn't understand:

"Do you remember the scene when Mary walked into the dining room? Why was she carrying a knife? She didn't use it and the cameras focused on it."
"I can't understand why she betrayed him. The whole movie concentrated on her trust and loyalty. It just doesn't make sense."

Good Scene:

"I love the scene when Russell Crowe showed his face to the emperor after the first gladiator fight."
"What did you think about the last fight scene between Neo and Agent Smith in the rain?"
"The courtroom scene between Jodie Foster and Richard Gere was absolutely amazing."

Great Movie:

"That was such a cool movie. It was the best movie I've seen in a long time."
"Anytime I see a great movie I tend to look at my watch often. That's because I don't want the movie to end."
"The movie was great. I liked everything about it. I'm definitely going to buy the dvd."

Situational questions:

"What would you have done? Would you have taken the million dollars and give up your wife for a night?"
"Would you choose money and fame, or family and stability?"

Some movies are known to be 'based on a true story.' These types of movies are very interesting because they actually happened. The only reason they are not considered to be a non-fiction movie is because the director or writer will add some scenes that didn't happen, or change some facts around so the movie is more appealing to the masses.

A conversation can start from movies such as Schindler's List. When coming out of a theatre, I heard a couple talk briefly about this.

"What did you think about the movie?"
"I thought it was great. It was very powerful."
"How much of it do you think was true?"
"I learned about Germany and World War II in one of my classes, and this movie showed everything I learned from class."
"Wow. It's amazing that these things have happened in our history."

    Movie Discussion - Example Dialog

As of this writing, the latest movie I saw was The Last Samurai. After the movie, I had a meal with a couple of people. We had a good discussion due to this movie. It is difficult to specifically teach what you will need to know about movie conversations because every movie will require different words and sentences. The only thing I can do here is to give ideas and couple of examples about movie conversations. So this is not really going to be a practice section, but a chance to hear a real conversation from a movie. You can click on each individual sentence, or you can click on the link provided below to hear a real life conversation.

Listen to the conversation

A: "Did you like the movie?"
B: "It was better than I thought."
C: "I liked it."
A: "The movie didn't have many cheesy or stupid scenes."
B: "Yeah. I'm glad that they didn't have any love scenes. Sometimes a love scene destroys a good movie."
C: "I thought the scene where the girl was washing her hair and Tom Cruise came to say good bye was stupid. Why did they have that there? It didn't make sense."
B: "I agree. They didn't need that scene."
A: "I don't see the harm in that scene. They didn't do anything or show anything. What's the big deal?"
C: "When you are talking about good movies versus great movies, each and every scene counts."
A: "That's true."
B: "But besides those one or two scenes, the movie was great."
A: "I liked everything about it. I really liked the samurai that was beating up Cruise in the beginning of the movie. The guy second in command. He was cool too."
B: "Every movie has a guy like him. They try to make him awesome even though they don't say much."
C: "I don't understand why Tom Cruise went back to that village. If he was the only survivor, wouldn't that make everyone suspicious about where his loyalty lies?"
A: "It was clear in the movie that he loved the place and the samurais. Clearly everyone knows that he isn't a traitor. I would have done the same thing in his position."
B: "I think so too."
C: "But isn't it suspicious that he is the only survivor."
A: "Well, all the samurais were looking for a death in battle. Cruise wasn't."
C: "But only the boss received the satisfaction of being killed with the sword. Nobody else did."
A: "True."
B: "What are we going to order?"
C: "I am going to have a chicken burger because of the Mad Cow disease."
A: "Me too."
B: "I'm just having a soup and salad."

Favorite - What's your Favorite

The word favorite is used a lot in spoken English. It is very common to talk about your favorite things with your friends or acquaintances. Topics can range from favorite movies, favorite TV shows, favorite food, favorite cars, etc. Since there are so many favorite things in the world, you should pay close attention to this lesson.

Asking questions is the most common way to use the word favorite:

"Who is your favorite singer?"

"Who is your favorite person?"

"Who is your favorite athlete?"

"Who was your favorite ex-girlfriend?"

"Who was your favorite elementary teacher?"

Are you following me? It's very easy. Just change the word at the end and you can make dozens of sentences.

"What is your favorite show?"

"What is your favorite movie?"

"What is your favorite dessert?"

"What is your favorite program?"

"What is your favorite class?"

"What is your favorite game?"

"What was the title of your favorite song?"

"What was the name of your favorite sit-com?"

We used 'who' and 'what' in our sentences. It's possible to use 'where', 'how', and 'when', but the most common is 'what' and 'who'.

I'll provide a couple of sentences for the other words.

"Where is your favorite vacation spot?"

"When is your favorite time of day?"

"How is your favorite noodles cooked?"

It's not common, because even though it is grammatically incorrect, you can ask the same question with 'what'

"What is your favorite vacation spot?"

"What is your favorite time of day?"

Nobody is really going to notice and it's not a big deal. After this lesson is over, I suggest practicing with 'what' and 'who', but don't bother with the others. It's not as important. 

Favorite - Answering Questions

To answer these types of questions, it is very easy. All you have to do is change 'your' to 'my', repeat the last portion of the question and add your answer. We'll practice a couple of times.

"What is your favorite show?"

"My favorite show is Smurfs."

"What is your favorite movie?"

"My favorite movie is Matrix."

"What is your favorite dessert?"

"My favorite dessert is cheesecake."

"Who is your favorite singer?"

"My favorite singer is Josh Groban."

"Who is your favorite athlete?"

"My favorite athlete is Tiger Woods."

"Who was your favorite elementary teacher?"

"My favorite elementary teacher was Mrs. Smouse."

Different ways to ask about favorite things

You don't necessarily have to use the word favorite. Favorite basically means what you like the most. So, you can ask favorite questions without the word favorite.

"What do you like to eat the most?"

"My favorite food is ice cream."

"What is a childhood memory that stands out?"

"My favorite childhood memory is a time I went fishing with my dad."

"Which professor do you like the most?"

"My favorite professor is Professor Kim."

Likewise, you can answer questions without using the word favorite.

"What is your favorite baseball team?"

"I like Seattle Mariners the most."

"What is your favorite type of food?"

"I love Italian food... especially pasta. They are so good."

Favorite - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "What are you doing tomorrow?"

B: "I'm going to stay home and watch the video."

A: "What are you going to watch?"

B: "I rented Last of the Mohican. Have you seen it?"

A: "That was one of my favorite movies. You will not be disappointed."

 2 

A: "What's your favorite food?"

B: "I like Chinese food the most."

A: "Have you been to the Chinese restaurant on 44th street."

B: "No I haven't. Is it any good?"

A: "It's my favorite Chinese restaurant. I believe you will like it."

B: "That sounds great. Let's go."

 3 

A: "Hey Jack. How were your classes this semester?"

B: "They were not too bad. I really dig/liked my poli-science class."

A: "Would you consider it your favorite class?"

B: "I don't know if I would call it my favorite, but it ranks up there."

A: "What class was your favorite then?"

B: "I took a business communication class last year and it was terrific."

A: "I never took that yet. If that was your favorite, I think I will check it out."

     Hobby - Questions and Answers

Hobbies are a hot topic anytime. Similar to favorite things, hobbies are favorite things that you do. This is a small section so let's get started.

Questions you can ask:

"What are your hobbies?"
"What do you do in your spare time?"
"What do you like to do?"
"What do you like to do for fun?"
"If you had extra time, what would you do with it?"

There is not much else you can say. Remember that we can create many different sentences, but we want to use what is most common in spoken English. So we need to stay with the most common words.

Answering questions:

"My hobbies consist of golfing, reading novels, and watching movies."
"I like to play computer games in my free time."
"If I'm not working, then I'm busy chatting with people on the Internet."
"During my spare time, I like to cook."
"I like to read magazines."
"In the summer I play golf, and in the winter, I go skiing."
"I love every type of sports."

Making statements:

"I need to find a hobby. I have nothing to do all day."
"Maybe you wouldn't be so lonely if you had a hobby."
"Hobbies are great because it allows you to do what you enjoy."
"Although I have many hobbies, I wish I had more time to do more."
"I love to go snowboarding. It's exhilarating."
"I would go skiing more often, but it takes such a long time to go up to the mountains."
"I wish golfing wasn't so expensive. I would golf almost everyday if I could afford it."

                           Hobby - Various Q&A

"If you had all the money in the world, what would you do?"
"I would probably find some hobbies and join an organization that works for a good cause."

"You just stay home most of the week. Don't you ever get bored?"
"A lot of my hobbies are things I do by myself such as oil painting, sculpting, and drawing. So actually, I have a lot to do with not enough time."

"I'm so bored. I have nothing to do."
"Maybe you should start thinking about some hobbies."

"Is studying considered a hobby?"
"Studying is usually associated with school and work, so it's not usually considered a hobby. But if it's not for these purposes, then I guess it can be a hobby. That's just my opinion though."

"What do you do in your spare time?"
"I do a lot of writing, so I write every chance I get."

Hobby - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Hey Bob. Whatcha you doing?"

B: "I'm at home painting."

A: "I didn't know you paint. What type of painting is it?"

B: "I enjoy oil painting. I learned it in one of my extra classes in college."

A: "That sounds so interesting. I wish I learned a hobby."

B: "Hobbies are never too late to learn. They offer a variety of classes at the local community college. You should look into it."

A: "I think I will. Thanks for the info."

 2 

A: "Hey Joanne. What are you up to?"

B: "I'm just watching some television."

A: "I'm so bored. I don't know what I'm going to do today and it is only ten in the morning."

B: "Me too. Do you think we are boring people?"

A: "I don't think we are boring. It's just that we don't have any hobbies."

B: "That's right. What do you think we should do as a hobby?"

A: "That all depends on what you like to do. For example, I like to doodle on the notepad, so I'm thinking about doing some real drawings."

B: "I like to play the piano for fun."

A: "Yeah. That can be a good hobby."

B: "Hobbies are great. I'm going to make a list of all the things I like to do."

A: "That's a great idea. I'm going to do the same."

                      Exercise - Questions

There are various types of exercise. Some people might think walking is exercise, and some other people will think weight lifting is exercise. In the next couple of lessons, we will take a closer look at various types of exercise.

Exercising can be done in many different ways. Here is a small list to get us started:

Walking
Jogging
Running
Sports
Aerobics
Rowing (boat)
Commuting to work
Etc.

Here are some questions.

"Do you exercise at all?"
"Do you work out?"
"What type of exercising do you do?"
"Where is a good place to exercise?"
"Why don't you exercise?"
"Where do you usually jog?"
"How long do you take a walk for?"
"How often do you jog?"
"Where do you do aerobics?"
"How long do you usually run for everyday?"

Exercise - Walking Jogging and More

Walking:
"Every morning right when I get up, I like to take a thirty minute walk."
"I like to take walks with my dog."
"Golf is a healthy sport because of all the walking it requires."
"I heard from some doctors that walking is the healthiest form of exercise."
"There's a trail by my house that is a perfect 20 minute walk."
"We usually go to a nearby lake and walk around it."

Jogging
"Every night, I go to an elementary school across from my house and jog a few laps around the playground."
"I go jogging in the morning when the air is still fresh."
"Some people find jogging stressful, but I find it as a way to relieve some of my stress."
"It feels so good after jogging for half an hour."
"I usually jog on a treadmill because it's convenient."

Sports: We will have another more comprehensive lesson on sports in a different lesson.

"I usually play a lot of basketball"
"I get enough exercise from soccer."
"I like to play sports because it is a good form of exercise and allows me to have fun all at the same time."
"Although bowling is a sport, I don't consider it a form of exercise."
"I play volleyball a couple hours a day."
"I practice baseball with my school team everyday."
"I'm in my high school's track and field team. I'm a long distance runner."
"I don't play soccer because it requires too much running."
"Running constantly is a hard thing to do."

Others
"Aerobics is an excellent form of exercise."
"I use a video at home to do my aerobic sessions."
"I like to do aerobics because it targets specific areas."
"I get my exercise from rowing. I'm on the junior varsity crew team."
"I ride my bicycle to work every day."
"I take the stairs because it gives me a little bit of a work out."
"I go to the local park and ride my rollerblades."

Exercise - US Culture

Having lived in the United States and Korea, I realized one big thing immediately.

In Korea, I have to do a lot of walking. When I went to school or to work, I had to leave my house, walk to the bus stop or the subway which takes about 10-15 minutes, get off at my destination, and walk the rest of the way, which is another 15 minutes. Total time walking is about 25 minutes. This translates to 50 minutes a day round trip, and about 3-4 kilometers everyday. I didn't even know it, but I was exercising.

In America, everyone has a car. While going to work here, I literally walk about 7 minutes a day. That's a total distance of 300 meters. The reason is because I only have to walk to my car. I drive to work, and then I walk from the parking lot to my office. So, I realized I was gaining weight without having changed anything except the walking I wasn't doing.

I suppose that is why in America there is a big hype about exercising and losing weight. If you don't want to, you don't have to walk anywhere or exercise at all. In Korea, walking is part of the daily routine. So although you don't need to know this lesson as much as other lessons, it will still help when talking to foreigners about this subject. Let's continue with the lesson by doing the practice.

Exercise Gym - Questions and Answers

Here are some questions you can ask.

"Where do you work out?"
"What club do you work out at?"
"When do you usually work out?"
"How often do you work out?"
"How many hours do you work out in a day?"

To ask how they work out or what their routine is, you can ask:

"When you bench, how many reps and sets do you do?"

Reps are repetition. In weight lifting terminology, this means how many times they lift in one set.

"Do you do low reps with heavy weights, or many reps with light weight."
"How many sets do you do when you work out your arms?"

If you are the person being asked these questions, here are ways you can answer:

"I work out at 24 Hour Fitness"
"I work out at Bally's"
"I work out at Samsung Health Club"

"I started lifting weights about 2 years ago."
"I have been lifting weights for about 2 years now."
"I just started 9 months ago."

"I usually work out 2 hours a day 4 times a week."
"I work out everyday for an hour."
"I go to the gym 3 times a week."
"I go in every other day."

"I can bench press 220 pounds."
"I squat 400 pounds."
"I curl 90 pounds."

"I'm trying to gain bulk so I'm doing low reps with heavy weights."
"I'm trying to get ripped, so I'm doing a lot of repetitions."

Ripped means to get lines to show up in the muscles. It's called ripped because when you rip a piece of paper, you see a line in the paper where the tear is. So a person is ripped when you can see lines on his body due to muscles.

General Things Review - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "How are you doing?"

B: "I'm doing great."

A: "What movies have you seen lately?"

B: "I saw Forrest Gump the other day."

A: "What type of movie is that?"

B: "The movie type is drama."

A: "I can't believe you are watching movies. The weather is great. You should be outside."

B: "I hate the hot weather. I'd rather stay indoors with the air conditioner."

A: "What else do you like to do besides watching movies?"

B: "I like to play computer games, read books, go shopping, and play pool."

A: "Out of those what is your favorite?"

B: "My favorite is to play computer games."

A: "What is your favorite computer game?"

B: "My favorite is Diablo. It used to be Star Craft, but it is getting a little old."

A: "If you like to play so much, when do you ever exercise?"

B: "Although I hate to exercise, I go jogging at least twice a week."

A: "That's pretty good. By the way, what are you doing next Saturday?"

B: "I am going to go to the bookstore."

A: "I am having a party Saturday night at my house. If you have time, you should come."

B: "That sounds like fun."

A: "Great. I'll see you on Saturday."

B: "Ok. See you later."

 2 

A: "Hello?"

B: "Hi Steve. This is Mike. What are you doing?"

A: "Oh, hi. I was just watching TV."

B: "There's nothing to watch right now."

A: "I know. I was watching a re-run. I have nothing to do and I was bored."

B: "Me too. Let's get together and do something."

A: "I'd like to, but I have to meet my parents in an hour for dinner. How about tomorrow?"

B: "Yeah. Let's plan something tomorrow."

A: "Did you hear the weather forecast for tomorrow?"

B: "I think it is going to be the same as today. Clear and sunny."

A: "That's great. We can do something outdoors then."

B: "Are there any special events going on tomorrow?"

A: "Yeah. I think there's a live outdoor concert by the river tomorrow."

B: "Oh yeah. I heard about that too. Let's go check it out."

A: "Do you know what time it starts?"

B: "It starts at one PM."

A: "Let's meet for lunch at eleven thirty and afterwards, we can head over there."

B: "Perfect. I'll see you in front of the apartment at eleven thirty."

3 

A: "Steve. Is that you?"

B: "Yeah. What's going on?"

A: "Not much. What a surprise to see you here."

B: "Yeah. It's been a couple of months since I saw you."

A: "What have you been up to?"

B: "I just started working out."

A: "Really? Where do you work out at?"

B: "I joined the Samsung Health Club last month."

A: "What do you mostly do during your workout?"

B: "I concentrate mostly on my legs, chest, arms and stomach."

A: "I should start exercising more."

B: "It's hard work while exercising, but it is a great feeling when I get done."

A: "I have a running machine at home. I used to use it, but I already got sick of it."

B: "Exercising at home is hard. The environment is not suited for exercising."

A: "If I want to exercise, I will need to join a gym."

B: "I have a couple of guest passes. You want to check out my health club."

A: "That's a good idea. Let's go over the weekend."

B: "Great. I'll call you Saturday morning."

A: "Aright. I'll talk to you later."

B: "Ok. Bye."

4 

A: "The weather is terrible."

B: "Yeah. It's been raining a lot these days."

A: "I have been watching a lot of videos at home because of the constant rain."

B: "Have you heard when it's supposed to get better?"

A: "I saw the weather report, and it's going to rain for the next eight days."

B: "That sucks so much. What are we going to do?"

A: "I'm getting pretty bored. We should do something despite the rain."

B: "I'm with you. What do you have in mind?"

A: "I haven't been to the Mall in a long time. Let's go there."

B: "That sounds good. They have a movie theatre there, so if we get bored, we can watch a movie."

A: "Great. I'll stop by your place now."

B: "Ok. Don't forget to bring your umbrella. The rain can start up again anytime."

            Machine Problems

There are many things to say while in the office. Something can go wrong with the printer, or you could be wondering why a package didn't arrive. The next several short lessons will be about Basic Office scenarios.

"Do you know what's wrong with the printer?"
"Who do we call to report a problem with the printer?"
"When is the printer going to be fixed?"
"The printer next to the break room is broken. Where is the other printer?"

"The copy machine is jammed again."
"The copy machine is broken."
"We need to get the copy machine fixed."
"A technician is coming this afternoon to fix the copy machine."
"Where is the paper for the copy machine?"
"We need to order more paper. We're running low."

Mail Room

For larger size companies, a mail room is provided where each employee has their own box. Here are some sentences you might need to know.

"Where is the mail room?"

"I don't have a mail box. Who should I contact to get one?"
"Your mail box was pretty full. You should go pick them up."
"I haven't checked my mail in 2 weeks."
"I never receive anything so I don't need to check my mail often."

"What time does the delivery person usually come?"
"What time does the mail usually come?"

Large companies also have multiple buildings. So sending mail to another worker is a common practice. For example, if I need to send some financial documents to the auditor in a building down the street, I will use the Inter Office mail service. Some people might say I.O. to make it short.

"I can send it to you through Inter Office mail."
"I'll send it through Inter Office mail immediately."
"I'll IO it to you."
"I need those documents. Can you IO it to me?"
"Would you like to pick them up or should I send it through Inter Office mail?"

The term inter basically means between when there is more than one. For example, in the word international, nation is a country, and if you have inter in front of it, we have international, which means involving two or more nations.

Requesting Equipment

"I'm out of staples. Do we have any more in the supply room?"

"The supply room is running low on pens. I think we should get more."

"My monitor is very old. It's a little blurry and it gives me a headache when I look at it for a long duration. Could I get a new monitor?"

"My computer is too slow. It slows down my work. I would like a faster computer. It will increase my efficiency on many of my tasks."

"I would like an ergonomic keyboard. I can type much faster with those."

"Can I get a new chair? This one is so uncomfortable."

"Can you get me a headset for the telephone? I'm on the phone most of the day and I would like to free up my hands." 

Company Policies

Every company has their own rules about animals, dress code, break time, vacation time, and many other policies. Let's take a moment to learn how to ask about these policies.

"How long are we allowed for lunch?"

"How long is our lunch break?"

"If I only take a 30 minute lunch, can I leave 30 minutes earlier?"

"What time should I report to work?"

"Is there a strict policy on working hours?"

"Are we allowed to start work an hour later if we work an hour more?"

"What is the dress code here?"

"Are we allowed to wear casual clothes on Friday?"

"Does this company have the casual Friday thing?"

"If I have ten vacation days, am I allowed to use them all at once?"

"What holidays do we have off?"

"Do our vacation days expire?"

"Does this company allow telecommuting?"

"Are we allowed to work from home?" 

                     I'm Busy

For general statements about being tired at work or being sick of work will be covered in the 'Talking to coworkers' section. These types of statements shouldn't be said to everyone.

"I'm busy with work."
"Can I do this later?"
"Does this have to be done now?"
"When do you need this by?"
"When is the deadline?"

"I'm not going to have time for any other assignment until Thursday."

"I'll try to free up my schedule."
"I'm pretty sure I can meet the deadline."
"If I don't get any help on this, I won't be able to complete it on time."
"I'll do whatever I can do make sure this is done on time."

"You can count on me."
"Have I ever let you down?"

Giving/Asking Business Cards

"Do you have a business card?"
"Could I have one of your business cards?"
"Can I have your business card?"

Responding to these questions are very easy. You can just say 'sure' or 'no problem.'

"Can I get your phone number or email address?"

"What is the best way to contact you?"
"Can I get your contact information?"

"Let me give you one of my business cards."
"My contact information is on my business card. Let me give you one."

"You can reach me by calling the number on my business card."
"My email address is on my business card."

                                    General Office

If you can't find a file, you can ask around.

"Do you know where the ABC file is at?"
"Do you have the ABC file?"
"Is anybody using the ABC file right now?"

"Did you check the file cabinet? It should be there."
"Check the bin. Sometimes people throw it in there after they are done."

"Oh... it's in my desk. I forgot to put it back."
"It's in my office. I'll get it for you."

If you see a file or a book you need on someone's desk, you can ask to borrow it.

"Are using this book right now?"
"Can I borrow this book?"

"Are you finished with this file?"
"Are you done with this report?"
"Can I use this file?"

If you need something, it is common to ask around. Here are some examples of what you might need in the office.

"Do you have an extra mouse? Mine broke."
"Do you have another network cable? The one I have is too short."
"Do you have a blank floppy disk I can have?"
"I ran out of labels. Do you have any I can have?"

"Can I borrow your stapler?"
"Do you have a hole puncher?"
"Do you have a staple remover by any chance?"

Office Basics - Interactive Practice

A: "I can't get the printer to work."

B: "Did you check to see if it had paper?"

A: "Yeah. That's the first thing I checked."

B: "I don't know then. You might have to call the technician."

A: "How do I do that?"

B: "Just tell the admin and she should take care of it."

A: "Is there another printer that I can use?"

B: "Yeah. There's one down the hall next to the supply room."

A: "Oh yeah... I remember that one. Thanks."

B: "No problem."

A: "Do you have a lot of work?"

B: "Yeah. I'm pretty busy. Why?"

A: "Oh. I needed some help on documenting this process."

B: "Does this have to be done right now?"

A: "The manager wants it by Friday."

B: "I'll try to free up my schedule. Remind me again tomorrow morning, and I'll help you in the afternoon."

A: "Do you need to read the documents first?"

B: "Yeah. That would help."

A: "I'll print you a copy and then drop them off."

B: "Make sure you drop it off before five because I have to leave early."

A: "No problem. Thanks."

A: "Are you new here?"

B: "Yeah. I just started yesterday."

A: "Welcome aboard. I'm Jack."

B: "I'm Mark. Nice to meet you."

A: "What are you going to be working on?"

B: "I'm going to work on the planning team. But I haven't started yet. I'm still in training."

A: "The planning team is great. Our marketing team works with them closely. We'll end up working together sometimes."

B: "That's great. Oh, can I ask you some questions?"

A: "Sure."

B: "Does this company have a casual Friday?"

A: "Not really. You can get away with wearing slacks, but I've never seen anyone wear jeans."

B: "That's alright. Do you know any good places to eat around here?"

A: "Yeah there's a deli right across the street. They have fresh sandwiches and sometimes hot dishes like teriyaki. It's pretty good."

B: "That sounds good. Thanks for the info."

A: "No problem. If you need anything, I sit right around the corner here."

A Little Late

When you work for a company, there are times when you are late or you can't make it to a meeting. Sometimes you are sick, or sometimes you are stuck in traffic. We will study sentences you need to know to say why you are late or can't make it to work.

Late

Some jobs require you to 'punch in' when you get to work. 'Punching in' keeps track of how long you worked. Many hourly jobs use this system. But if you are a salary person and do not have to 'punch in', then you have more flexibility. Let's say you are going to be five minutes late. If you have your own office, then nobody will know. But if you work in a setting where your boss sees you coming in, then you will need an excuse. We'll cover everything about being late here.

Five minutes late

If you are going to be just a little late, then you don't need to call in. However, you will need to tell them why you are late when you get in the office. Here are some examples.

"Sorry I'm late. Traffic was unusually bad today."
"I apologize for being late. I had to drop off my wife at work. It took longer than I thought."
"I had a dentist appointment this morning and it was longer than I expected."
"I'm sorry for being late. I got stuck in every light this morning."

If you are the boss, then you might want to ask why your employee is late. Let's see some of these sentences.

"Running late this morning?"
"What held you up this morning?"
"Do you have a reason for being late?"
"Why are you late?"

A boss or manager will not be too upset if you are late only once or very rarely. But if this is a constant habit, they might be a little more upset.

"You have been late three times in the last two weeks. Is this going to be a continual problem?"
"Your tardiness is getting out of hand. You better start managing your morning time better."
"I expect you to be at your desk at eight o'clock. Do you have a problem with this?"

If you hear one of these statements, then you better say something that will calm the boss down. Also, you shouldn't let this happen again so tell him or her it won't happen again.

"I am terribly sorry. It won't happen again."
"I had a lot of recent changes at home, but it's all taken care of. I will not be late again."
"I'm really sorry. It's been one of those weeks. It won't happen again."

                                   Very Late

If you are going to be a lot later than 5 minutes, then you should call your manager and tell them about it.

"Hi Barbara, I'm going to be 30 minutes late today. My car is having trouble this morning, so I arranged for a ride with a friend."
"Hey Jack, I'm running a little late today. I just got out of my dentist appointment and it was longer than I expected."
"Mark? This is Pat. I'm stuck in traffic. I think there is an accident that is holding up traffic. I'm going to be a little late."


When you plan on being late ahead of time, it is much easier. For example, if you have a doctor's appointment in the morning, you can tell them in advance and then you don't have to worry about coming in on time.

"I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. Remember I told you earlier this week? I'll come in right after my appointment."
"My daughter has been sick, so I'm going to take her to see the doctor tomorrow morning. Is it ok if I'm a little late? My appointment is at seven in the morning, so I'll only be an hour late."
"I have to take my parents to the airport tomorrow. I shouldn't be too late, but wanted to tell you ahead of time."

                                     Leaving Work Early

This is a little easier than explaining to your boss why you are 10 minutes late. You can think of an excuse ahead of time, or tell them about an appointment so you can leave early. You can use the same excuses as the ones I mentioned earlier. You just have to change the wording a little and make it future tense.

"I have to leave a little early today. Is it ok if I finish my work at home?"

"I have a dentist appointment at four. I have to leave early today."

"I have a dentist appointment tomorrow at four. Is it ok if I leave early tomorrow?"

"I have to pick up my wife at the airport tomorrow. Is it ok if I leave at three?"

"I have a conference with my son's teacher tomorrow at three thirty. I have to leave at three. Will that be ok?"

"I have a terrible headache. Is it ok if I leave early today?"

"I think I might be coming down with the flu. I should get some rest and try to fight this thing off early. May I leave early today?"

"I'm not feeling well. I think I should get some rest. Will it be ok if I go home early today?"

"My son got sick and I have to pick him up from school. Will that be ok?" 

                          Sick day

"Martha? This is Jack. I have a fever and I will not be able to come in today."
"Hi Mary, I have to use a sick day today. I'm feeling terrible right now."
"Hi Steve, this is Mark. I wanted to let you know that I am too sick to come in today."
"Hi Andrew, this is Josh. I'm pretty sick so I will not be able to make it in today. I was feeling sick last night and thought I would be better after some sleep, but it just got worse."

"Hi Sam, this is Jessica. I have some urgent personal matters I have to deal with. I won't be able to make it in."
"Mark? This is John. My dad went into the emergency room this morning. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I don't think I can make it in today. I'll send you an update later."
"My son all of the sudden got really sick. I have to take him to the hospital now. I doubt I can make it in today. Will that be ok?"
"Jake? Will it be ok if I take the day off? My grandmother just passed away and I don't think I will be able to work today."

Vacation

Taking a planned day off

These are the easiest to request. If you are caught up with your work and you want to take a vacation or personal day, it is as easy as asking for it.

"Can I use a vacation day this Friday?"
"Will it be ok if I use a personal day this Thursday?"
"I have to catch up on a lot of errands, so can I use a vacation day on Monday?"
"My parents are coming into town. Can I take Thursday and Friday off?"

"I would like to use my vacation days for the first week of June. Will that be ok?"
"Will it be ok if I take the last week of July off?"
"Can I schedule a vacation for the second week of August?"
"I was wondering if I can take a vacation. Can I take the first two weeks off in September?"

Remember that asking for a vacation all depends on the office policies. Some companies do not like an employee taking all their vacation days at once. However, some places are more lenient and allow long vacation days. Before asking for long vacation days, you should first see what other employees are doing.

Late for Work - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Jack. Can I see you in my office?"

B: "Sure."

A: "You have been late 3 times in the last 2 weeks. Is this going to be a continual problem?"

B: "I'm so sorry. I really got unlucky this morning."

A: "Being late once in a while is based on luck. If you are late frequently, it shows that you are irresponsible. How are you going to fix it?"

B: "Last week, I had a lot of personal problems. I took care of all those problems and I don't have any excuse to be late anymore. I planned on coming in to the office early today, but there was an accident that held up traffic."

A: "You better start anticipating all problems because I'm not going to tolerate your tardiness any longer. Is that clear?"

B: "Perfectly clear. I will not be late again."

A: "That's all."

 2 

A: "Hey Martha, is there anything urgent that needs to be done today?"

B: "No. I don't believe so. Why?"

A: "I have a terrible headache and I was wondering if it would be ok if I could leave a little early today."

B: "I don't see why not. You can make up the time later in the week."

A: "That's what I was thinking too. But as for today, I don't think I can be productive."

B: "It's already two o'clock now. What time were you going to leave?"

A: "I'm just going to wrap up and leave pretty soon. Probably in about thirty minutes."

B: "Ok. Get some rest. If you are sick tomorrow, give me a call."

A: "Aright. Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."

 3 

A: "Hi Martha. This is Jack. I think I caught a flu or something. I feel worse than yesterday."

B: "You better stay home today then."

A: "I think that will be best. I'll log my sick day tomorrow when I get in."

B: "No problem. Just get some rest. We have everything covered here so don't worry."

A: "Ok. Just in case something happens, you can call me at home. I'll be here all day."

B: "Ok. Thanks for calling. I'll see you when you get better."

A: "Aright. Thanks. Bye."

Removable Disk

When you save data, there are several ways to save it. There is the standard removable disk, saving to the hard drive, and saving to a network share.

"Does anybody have an extra floppy disk?"

"I ran out of floppy disks. Where can I get more?"

"I think we need to order more floppy disks."

"I saved it on a floppy disk."

"I have all the information on my USB drive."

"Can you save the document on a disk and give it to me?"

"Save the information on a disk and give it to Jack."

"I'll have all the information on a disk and bring it to the meeting."

Standard floppy disks only hold 1.44 MB of information. There are times when the disk is not big enough. Here are ways to express this.

"All the information doesn't fit on one disk."

"The file is too large to fit on a disk."

"Do you have a different storage device that can hold more information?"

"Can you order a 128 MB removable storage device for me? I always need to move files that a regular floppy disk cannot hold." 

                                                  Software

Different companies use different software programs. For example, a tax firm might use a program for tax purposes, and an insurance company will use their own software for inputting data to retrieve quotes for customers. You might not have the software or it might be broken. I'll have some example sentences for these situations.

"What software do you use here?"
"What kind of application do you use to keep track of all these records?"

"Martha told me about TaxIt. When can I get a copy?"
"Is there a manual how to use this program?"
"How do you use this?"

"TaxIt won't open any more. I think it's broken."
"I can't get TaxIt to work. Can someone help me with this?"

"Microsoft Office applications do everything we need. That's all we use here."
"What version of Office do you use here?"

"What software do you use for word processing?"

"All the documents are saved using MSWord. Do you have Word or another application that will be able to read the information?"

"We use a different word processing application. Can you save as a text file?"

"I can't open the file that you gave me. What version of Word are you using?"

Internet

I'm not going to explain all the specifics about the Internet here. The goal of this lesson is not to give a computer lesson, but to learn English related to using the computer. I will show some sentences that are commonly used for the Internet.

"What is the URL of that site again?"
"What is the address to the English site you are studying?"
"What is the best search engine?"
"Where can I find information on marriage law?"

"If you go to greatsite.com, you will find all the information I just told you."
"If you need more information on cooking, go to cooking.com."

"I purchased all the computers from Dell.com. We should have them by the end of the week."

"Do you have a company website?"
"Is there a website where I can learn more about your services?"
"Do you have a website where I can review the different products you are offering?"

"I HATE POP-UPS!"

I really do. I hate pop-up ads with a passion. If it was up to me, I would shut down all companies that produce pop up ads. For now, we have to live with them.

"Can I install something that stops pop-up ads?"
"What tools are available to block pop-up ads?"

"I think I misspelled the web address. Can you spell it out for me?"

"I'm getting a page not found error. I think the web site is down."

                        Intranet

A lot of companies have an intranet site. This is basically web pages that can be viewed by employees connected to the network in the office. The address does not use the standard .net or .com address. It will simply be http://companysite.

"Do we have an intranet site that explains our benefits?"

"What was the site where we log our travel expenses?"

"If you want to use a sick day, you can go to http://timereport."

If you have an intranet site for your company, then when you talk to other workers, you don't need to say http:// every time. You can simply say the name, for example, 'If you want to use a sick day, you can go to time report.' The other person listening should understand that you mean http://timereport.

"Is there an intranet site detailing each project our company is doing?"

"Is our company going to put an intranet site for employees?"

"I think it will help a lot if we had an intranet site with general questions and answers from all the employees." 

                                General Computer Sentences

"My computer is giving me problems again."
"My computer broke, but luckily I saved my work on a disk."
"My computer is too slow."
"Something is wrong with my computer."

"I work with the computer most of the day."
"All my work is done on the computer."

"We are upgrading our computers this week."
"I hope we upgrade our computers soon. The ones we have are way too old."

"My computer froze. What should I do?"
"My computer is not responding and I haven't saved my data yet. What should I do?"

"My computer is making a weird sound. Can I get someone to look at it?"

This concludes the computer English lesson. I know many of the business topics are large and some of them have topics I didn't cover. I want to remind you that you can ask specific questions to us using the business bulletin board.

Computer Related - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Barbara, did you finish the report on XYZ Company?"

B: "Yes. I just finished today."

A: "I would like to review them before we send the report. Can you give me a copy?"

B: "Sure. Would you like a hard copy?"

A: "No. Just send me the path to the location of the report. I'll look them over on my computer."

B: "Sure. I'll give you permission for the folder. You can find them at barbara01 slash XYZ. I'll give you permission right now."

A: "Great. Thanks."

2 

A: "John, are you having problems with your network?"

B: "I think our whole network is down for upgrades. It should be back up in an hour."

A: "That's too late. I need the review documents from the company network share."

B: "I have a copy of that on my computer."

A: "Really? Can I get a copy?"

B: "Sure. But since the network is down, I'll have to put it on a disk for you."

A: "That would be great."

B: "Do you have a floppy disk?"

A: "I think I have one on my desk. Here it is."

B: "Ok. It's saving now. Here you go."

A: "Thanks. You saved me a great deal of trouble. I'm so glad you had a copy of this on your machine."

B: "No problem. I'm glad I could help."

 3 

A: "Don't we need a tax software to do this work?"

B: "Yeah. Don't you have it installed on your computer?"

A: "No. They said they would install it for me, but they didn't do it yet."

B: "Go ask your manager. He probably forgot."

A: "That's a good idea. Is there an instructional manual for this software?"

B: "It's in the second file cabinet under Software Applications."

A: "Thanks. I'll probably need it when I get the software."

B: "Actually, it's not that difficult to use. I think you should be able to figure it out without the manual. The manual is only good for advanced options that we don't really need."

A: "You're probably right. Many of the manuals I've read were not that helpful. Do you mind if I come to you for questions when I am using the software?"

B: "Not at all. Feel free to ask any questions. If I know the answer, I'll let you know."

A: "Great. I better go find the manager to get the software installed on my computer."

Asking for Email Address

Email is a daily part of the office life. Everybody and every company uses email as a way to communicate quickly. This lesson will cover all aspects of using the email.

"Can I have your email address?"
"What is your email address?"
"Do you have an email account?"

"My email address is someone at hotmail dot com (someone@hotmail.com)."
"It is someone@hotmail.com"

"Do you have his email address?"
"What was her email address again?"

Requesting information through email

"Can you send it to my email address?"
"You can send it to me through email."
"Can you email it to me?"

"Can I email it to you?"
"Can I send you the information through email?"

Whenever you send an email to an account that doesn't exist, you get a automated email saying the mail was not delivered. You can use these sentences if you are in this situation.

"Can I verify your email address? The address I have on file appears to be incorrect."
"I am unable to email it to you. Can you tell me your email address again?"

"I am getting a mail saying it is undeliverable. I might have misspelled it. Can I double check your email address?"

"The email address I sent it to was someone@hotmail.com. Is this correct?"
"I sent the email to someone@hotmail.com. Didn't you get it?"

"That's the wrong email address. My email address is someone@hotmail.net."

Oh... I see the problem. My email address is some1@hotmail.com"

Sending attachments through email

Some companies have security in place such as firewalls that prevents sending certain types of attachments. For example, sending a .js file is potentially dangerous because it can run scripts. Also, some documents can carry viruses through macros or other methods. Sending attachments to some email addresses are not possible. However, text files are usually permitted. Here are some sentences that you might find useful.

"I can send you the document through email."

"I'll send you the images to your email account."

"Can I send the documents to your email?"

"Can I email you the files?"

"Can I email the files to you?"

"I received your email, but I didn't receive the attachments."

"My company prevents many types of attachments. Can you send a text file instead?"

"Before you send the document, change the extension .doc to .txt and then send it. When I receive it, I will change it back to .doc before I open it."

"Hi Mary, I sent you an email with my proposal as an attachment. Did you receive it?"

"Hey Jack, did you receive my attachments?"

"The file is too large to send through email."

"My email account will only allow sending attachments that are 1 MB or smaller."

"My email account will only allow me to receive attachments that are 2 MB or smaller." 

Email Problems

"My email is getting full. I better delete some old mail."
"I better save my emails to my hard drive so I can make some room in my inbox."
"How do I request more storage space for my email account? I am constantly running out of space."

"You're running out of email space too? I have the same problem at least once a month."
"I hate getting the mail that I am running low on space."

"I just started my job so I haven't received my email address yet."
"My email account hasn't been created yet. They said I should receive it tomorrow."

"I haven't received my emails in the last four hours. I think the server is down or something."
"I think the exchange server is down. Is somebody taking a look at this problem?"
"I can't send anything right now. Is anybody else having a problem with their email?"
"It could be a network problem, but my email account is not working."
"I can't access my email right now. I think the server is down."

"Who should we contact if we are having email problems?"

"I keep getting junk mail in my work account. How did they get this email address?"
"How do I prevent junk mail?"
"Don't open any mail with the title, 'Your request has been approved!!!' It contains a virus. Please delete this mail at once if you see it."

                                  Reply and Reply All

When you reply all, it goes out to everyone on the to line and the CC line. Reply only goes to the sender. When we send out a mail to many people, you might see a sentence that says 'little 'r' me'. This means to use the small R instead of the Big R. That basically means to reply only to me instead of replying to everyone on the mail thred.

Also, a mail is also referred to as a thread. That is because in the office, a mail can go on back and forth among many people so it becomes a chain of mail that started from one email. I'll use these terminologies in the next several example sentences.

"I sent out a mail to the whole group. I requested that they little 'r' me with their ideas."
"When I receive a mail sent out to multiple people, I keep forgetting to send to all."

This next sentence is not a spoken sentence. It's a common sentence used in email when someone forgets to send to everyone.

'Resending to include everyone.'

If you see this, that means the person sent a reply to the sender instead of replying all.

"Start a mail thread on your idea. I think everyone should get in on this discussion."
"Do you want me to start a mail thread for this?"

Forwarding Mail

"I can't find the mail about our next project. Can you forward the mail to me?"
"I got a useful email on productivity. I think I will forward it to our team."

"I have that email. I'll forward it to you."
"If you find that mail, please forward it to me."
"I'll forward you the mail I got from the manager."

"I received a mail from the marketing manager. I don't know what she is asking for. Can I forward the mail to you?"
"One of our clients is asking for more data on the BB project. Who should I forward this mail to?"
"Forward the complaint to the manager. I think he should see this."

Sending to an alternate email address is common when the work email is not working. Here are some sentences you can use if you are ever in this situation. Some companies do not allow this, so make sure your company does not have policies prohibiting this.

"My work email is currently down. Can you send it to my personal email address? It is someone@hotmail.com."
"I'm having problems with my work email account. Can you send it to someone@hotmail.com instead?"

"I'm having problems sending you an email to this account. Is there another email account you have that I can try?"

"Our exchange server is down for the next thirty minutes. If this is urgent, you can send me an email to my personal account. It is someone@hotmail.com."

Although I a couple of sentences on writing email sentences, most of this is to talk about email. Learning to write is not what I am trying to teach here. I want everyone to be able to speak. You should be practicing all of these lessons while talking along.

General email sentences

"Hi Jack, this is Steve. I have a proposal for the marketing idea. Can I email it to you?"

"I will need the information by noon. Can you email it to me soon?"
"The deadline for the project was an hour ago. Did you send the information?"
"I'm going to send you a rough draft. Can you review it and email me back?"

"I have sent three mails asking for information on their design. I haven't received a reply yet."
"Send a email to the team with your plan of action. I want everyone following this process."

"I have to send out my report before five. I won't have time to help you right now."
"I have a meeting at 4:00 pm. I think I should send out a reminder mail. I don't want anyone to forget."

"If you are not sure how to talk to the boss about this, why don't you email her?"

"Did you read the mail from the CEO? It's about our new mission statement."
"The CFO sent out a mail that describes our quarterly earnings."

When you are going on vacation, there is an option in some mail programs such as Outlook to reply with a message saying anything you want. After you turn on auto reply, there is a text field where you can type in your message. In general, this is what I have seen the most. Once again, the following is not spoken, but email language.

'I will be vacation until June 4th. I will be on email occasionally, but if you have an emergency, you can reach me at 555-555-5555. For information on financial reports, contact Suzy Mae. For information on quarterly earnings, contact Jim Beam. For other urgent matters, contact Billy McHale.'

                     Email - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "I'll have the report ready for review tonight. Will you be able to look at it tomorrow?"

B: "I'm not going to be in the office tomorrow. Can you email it to me? I'll look at it from home."

A: "Sure. What's your email address?"

B: "It is someone@hotmail.com."

A: "The file is pretty big. Will the email allow me to send a file that big?"

B: "If it is under one mega byte, you shouldn't have a problem."

A: "I don't think it's that big. I'll send it tonight. Just get back to me when you finish the review tomorrow."

B: "Ok. I should be done with it by noon."

A: "That would be great. Thanks."

2 

A: "The manager wants us to work on the data analysis together."

B: "Did you get an email from her?"

A: "Yeah. You were on the µto' line as well."

B: "I never got it yet. When did you get the mail?"

A: "I got it about 30 minutes ago. Should we have her send the mail again?"

B: "No, I don't want to bother her right now. Can you just forward the mail to me?"

A: "No problem. I'll do it now."

B: "I'm still not getting it."

A: "Maybe your exchange server is down."

B: "I think you're right. Can you send it to my personal account? It is someone@hotmail.com."

A: "Sure. Sending now."

B: "I got it. Thanks for forwarding me the mail. After I read it, let's get together to discuss how we are going to work on the data analysis."

A: "Perfect. Just ping me when ever."

3 

A: "Hi Jack, this is Cindy from the audit team."

B: "Hi Cindy."

A: "I'm calling in regards to the 2003 bank statements you sent over to me last week. I cannot find the August statement. Can you resend that one by any chance?"

B: "I can fax them over to you in about an hour. Will that be ok?"

A: "That would be great. I also have questions on several of the withdrawals. Do you know who I should contact to straighten this out?"

B: "You should talk to Joe Smith. He is our senior accountant over here. His number is 555-123-4567."

A: "That was Joe Smith at 555-123-4567?"

B: "That's correct."

A: "Do you have his email address. I might need it later."

B: "Sure. It's joesmith@ourcompany.com."

A: "joesmith@ourcompany.com. Ok. Thanks for all your help."

B: "No problem. Have a good day."

A: "You too. Thanks again. Bye."

Explanations and Presentations General

This lesson will give some guidelines on how to explain something and how to speak during presentations. Because I cannot be specific to every topic, I'll choose general ones. You should primarily be looking at the structure and style for this Business English lesson.

It is understandable if you feel nervous or uneasy about having to explain something in

English. Because English is not your first language, it is very difficult. However, in the office, you will be in many situations when you have to explain something. Here are 3 tips to make your explanation or presentation easier.

First, you should not talk fast. I work in a large company with many different people from all over the world. The hardest time I have when listening to someone is when they talk fast with a bad accent. The problem they have is that they are fluent and comfortable speaking English, but they do not realize how bad their accent is. If you speak slower, you can avoid this problem. Unless you are certain that your accent is understandable, always speak a little slower.

Second, you should speak clearly. Say each word clearly and emphasize the important words. Even if they don't understand every word in your sentence, they will understand the whole meaning with proper emphasis.

Third, prepare and practice ahead of time. You should record yourself and listen to the recording. You should also get an American friend to judge you. This is a lot of work you have to do in the beginning, but this is VERY important. Even though it will make your presentation or explanation clearer and better, that is not the reason I am saying you should do the recording and getting a friend to listen. The reason why this is so important is because you are laying the foundation on proper communication in regards to intonation and pronunciation. For example, if you don't do this, you might think you don't have a problem and you will continue to practice incorrectly. Soon, you will be someone who can talk fast but have terrible pronunciation. You will become the type of people I described... hard to understand. If you take the time to practice for several hours before each presentation, you will be practicing the correct way to enhance your English abilities. 

Explanation

The third step above is primarily for presentations. When you have to give an explanation, you might not have time to prepare for it. If someone asks you a question, you can't tell them that you will need two hours to prepare before answering.

However, if it is work related, you have the ability to anticipate questions ahead of time. Think of your area of expertise and list many questions you have heard from co-workers or friends. If you speak in your own language, you know exactly how to say it without preparing for it. But in English, you don't know where to begin. List all your answers out and learn how to say it in English. If you do this, then anytime you get asked a question about your area, you can quickly respond. Here is an example with more tips.

"Can you explain the process of selling a house and the cost associated with it?"

"You can either sell the house by yourself or get an agent. Since most of the people use an agent, I will explain that. The first thing you need to do is find a sellers agent. The agent will list your house on the market. After the house is on the market, people who are looking to buy a house will find a buyers agent. The buyers agent looks through the list of houses for sale posted by the sellers agent. The buyers agent shows your house to potential buyers. When someone makes an offer, the buyers agent will let the sellers agent know about the price that the buyer has offered. After everyone agrees, the house is sold. The price associated with selling a house is based on commission. The sellers agent will get an average of 2.5 percent of the selling price and the buyers agent will get 2.5 percent as well. If the price of the house was $300,000, then each agent will get $7500, costing you a total of $15,000."

You're first reaction might be, 'when am I ever going to be able to say all this at one time?' But it is much easier than you think. I'll explain further.

We have someone asking about selling a house or something. We have to explain the process. Even if you don't know the process of selling a house in America, you can use the same guideline for your area of expertise. If you can say each sentence individually, then you can say all of them put together.

I start by saying there are a couple of ways to sell a house.
Then the example says you will explain the more common process.

From here, it is basically listing steps.

1. "The first thing you need to do is find a sellers agent."
2. "The agent will list your house on the market."
3. "After the house is on the market, people who are looking to buy a house will find a buyers agent."
4. "The buyers agent looks through the list of houses for sale posted by the sellers agent."
5. "The buyers agent shows your house to potential buyers."
6. "When someone makes an offer, the buyers agent will let the sellers agent know about the price that the buyer has offered."
7. "After everyone agrees, the house is sold."
8. "The price associated with selling a house is based on commission."
9. "The sellers agent will get an average of 2.5 percent of the selling price and the buyers agent will get 2.5 percent as well."
10. "If the price of the house was $300,000, then each agent will get $7500, costing you a total of $15,000."

This list seems pretty simple now. Each sentence is relatively short. There is no difference between the long paragraph and the listed out items. Both contain the same words. All I did was put them together.

Finally, if you feel that you cannot create these sentences even in a list form, use an example that you are familiar with. I'm sure you will have an easy time creating a list if the topic is in your area of expertise.

I recommend listening to the paragraph again. But this time, listen to the speed I talk. Also, listen to the pauses after each sentence. Notice that I don't have unnecessary words like 'and', 'moreover', 'furthermore', 'Afterwards', and so on. These are good words, but you don't need them that much when you are explaining something verbally. Using pauses between sentences and speaking clearly and slowly is the best way to communicate an explanation.

Presentation

Presentations are longer than an explanation, but it is easier in the sense that you have time to prepare for it. The biggest mistake I have seen is that people do not use short simple sentences. Many of the best presentations from English speakers I have seen are those who use simple sentences that are easy to understand. Remember that a long paragraph can consist of 10 short sentences. It is still effective and much easier to say.

Many times, a person will be using a presentation software like Power Point. If that is the case, then you should prepare your slides and a separate document with your sentences for each slide. You shouldn't read them, but at least it is there just in case you forget to mention something. Use it as a preparation material before the presentation and reference during the presentation. Each sentence should be step by step explaining the content on the slide.

I am not going to be giving an example because presentations are all different depending on the subject. But keep in mind the process I explained on the house selling example. Keep the sentences short, speak slowly and clearly, put emphasis on key words, and leave a short pause after each sentence.

There are many times when you will have to explain something. Here are some questions you might here.

"What did you do this week?"
"What are you going to do next week?"
"What is your schedule like for the next two weeks?"

"Can you explain how to perform an evaluation for a partner feedback?"
"How do I perform a refund for a credit card purchase?"

There are numerous questions like these you might run into. To answer all of them, just follow the list example.

"This week, I finished the analysis on Ford Motor, I started writing a report on international market penetration, and I showed our new employee how to use our software."

This example is very simple. It is basically a list of three things. You don't need to include any words in between.

You can use this same style of answer for many different types of questions.

"Next week, I have to finish my report, research information on GM Motors, and make a presentation on our market strategy."

"To perform a feedback on a partner you need to specify who the partner is, what project they worked on, the outcome of the project, where they need to improve, and finally what they did well."

"On the credit card machine, press the refund button. Then type in the credit card number and press enter. Type in the amount, and press enter. That's all you need to do."

Whenever you are giving an explanation, remember the easiest way to do it is by giving a list and putting them together. In order to be able to do this, you must know how to say key words in your area of expertise.

When you have to give a presentation, remember that preparing is the most important. As I said earlier, take the time on your first several presentations to record yourself and find a friend to listen to your presentation.

Finally, let's review the three key steps you need to remember when giving an explanation or a presentation.

Don't talk fast: Even people with perfect English have this problem. Talking fast is not good when you are explaining something or giving a presentation.

Talk clearly: Making the words in each sentence clear will help anyone to understand you better.

Prepare and Practice: This is the most important. As time goes on, you will realize how much your preparation will help with your overall English skills.

Before the meeting

There are many questions to ask before a meeting. If you are curious about what the meeting will cover, you will need to ask the organizer of the meeting. You can also ask things like how long the meeting will take, and who is coming to the meeting. Let's try a couple of these sentences.

"Hi Jack. Do you know who is coming to your meeting at 2:00?"
"Who all did you invite to the triage meeting?"

"Hi Jack. How long do you think the meeting will be?"
"I have to schedule another appointment at 4:00 but I don't want it to overlap with yours. How long is the meeting going to be?"
"Is the meeting going to be more than an hour?"

"What time was the meeting again?"
"When are you going to make that presentation? I thought it was today?"

Here are common statements people use when they can't attend a meeting.

"I have another appointment that conflicts with your meeting. I will not be able to make it."
"I have another meeting that I cannot miss. I won't be able to make yours."
"I won't be able to go to the 3:00 meeting. I have another appointment at the same time."
"I can't go to the meeting at 4:00. I have a doctor's appointment. Can you take notes for me?"
"I'm going to be out of town tomorrow, so I won't be able to attend the quarterly meeting. Can you send me a mail on the topics that were discussed?"

Canceling a Meeting

If you are the meeting organizer, then there are times when you have to cancel a meeting. Here are some sentences you can use for this situation.

"There are four people who will not be able to attend the meeting tomorrow. I am going to reschedule the meeting to a more convenient time."
"The director asked that we postpone the finance meeting until the quarterly report comes out. So I'll send an update with the new date and time later this week."

Some meetings are weekly meetings that occur at the same time. It is common that these meetings are canceled when there is nothing to talk about.

"There is nothing new to discuss this week, so we are going to cancel this week's agenda meeting."

"I am running late this morning. Let's postpone the meeting until the afternoon."
"I can't make it in tomorrow, so let's cancel this week's meeting. I'll email everyone if something new comes up."

                  During the Meeting

If you have to talk in a meeting, there are three general reasons. You might have to ask a question, state your opinion, or you will have to ask for clarity on something you didn't understand. Let's see some of these sentences.

Raising a Question

Depending on the type of meeting, you might have to wait for the meeting to end before asking a question, you might have to raise your hand to ask a question, or you can simply ask a question any time. I'll give an example on each of these.

If you are in a type of meeting where you can ask a question at any time, then you can say this.

"I have a question. Why is marketing not handling the portion on end user analysis? They usually did this work in the past."

"How will the new addition to our project affect the deadline that we have?"

"Are we making sure to incorporate user feedback on the changes we are making?"

Stating your Opinion

Basically, you can ask any questions, there is no specific way to do it. This is the same when you are talking about your opinion. Someone might ask what you think about the idea or situation. You will simply speak your answer.

"I agree with Mark. The correct approach is to send out the tools to our partners before making it public to everyone."

"In my opinion, I think we should introduce our new line of printers in August. Many companies get more funding at this time, and students are school shopping. Our target market will be more responsive to our ads during this time period."

"I think we can go either way. I believe both solutions will take care of it."

Asking for clarity

Asking for clarity is similar to asking a question. The only difference is that they already answered it and you don't understand. So you should state exactly what you don't know, or ask for clarity on a specific part of the question.

"I didn't understand why we are going to be late. I thought we had everything planned out early. What were the reasons again?"

"Can you elaborate on how this process can help the sales department?"

"Can you clarify the second step in your solution proposal? I don't understand why it is necessary." 

                                   After the Meeting

It is common to talk about meetings afterwards. Sometimes it is to say how useless it was, or that you were bored, but there are times when someone might ask you for feedback. Other times, you might want feedback if you were the person holding the meeting. Let's cover these here.

Asking for Feedback

"What did you think about my presentation?"

"Did you think the meeting went ok?"

"Can you provide feedback on the meeting we just had?"

"Did you find the meeting useful?"

"Did the meeting help to clarify the current situation?"

"Is there any part of our discussion during the meeting that you are still unsure about?"

Providing Feedback

Even if you think the meeting was boring and useless, you can't say that unless you are talking to a close friend. Many times in the office, you have to give a professional answer.

"I thought the presentation went well. You provided great information and I think everyone was impressed."

"The meeting went well. We covered a lot of information and made some important decisions."

"The whole presentation went pretty well, but next time I would recommend that you talk a little slower. When we were running out of time, you started speaking too fast and it was hard to keep up."

"Most of the time, our weekly meeting is pretty dull, but today was quite useful."

"I understand what is happening to our project now, but I'm still unclear about exactly who is affected by this change." 

              General Statements

"I have to go. I have a meeting I'm late for."

"I have to go to a meeting now. I'll talk to you later."

"I forgot about my 1:00 meeting. I don't have much time for lunch."

"I'll finish the feedback form after my meeting."

"I'll be in meetings all day today."

"I have five meetings today, so I won't have time to help you with this now. Let's set up a time for tomorrow."

"The meeting went an hour over."

"The meeting was canceled."

"The meeting started 15 minutes late."

"George didn't arrive to the meeting on time."

"We finished late because John had problems with his computer during the presentation portion of the meeting."

"Are you going to the company meeting next week?"

"Can you set up a meeting for our brainstorm session?"

"My calendar looks pretty clear on Thursday. Set up a meeting for that day."

If you have a close friend in the office, then you can speak more candidly. Here are some general statements you can make about meetings. But be careful who you say them to.

"I hate meetings. I think they are a waste of time. I'm an engineer, not a planner."

"I don't know why I have to go to those meetings. I never learn anything from them and I never say a thing."

"I can't believe our weekly meeting is at six o'clock in the morning. I hate waking up that early."

"If I skip that meeting, I wonder if anyone will notice."

"That meeting was hilarious. I can't believe the manager forgot John's name."

"I get so sleepy at meetings."

"I almost fell asleep during that meeting."

"I had a hard time keeping myself from laughing. I saw you falling asleep during the meeting." 

                                   Phone Call

Talking on the phone is very common in the office. You will be in a situation where you have to call someone, receive a phone call, leave a message, return a call, and a variety of other tasks. We will use this lesson to cover all the details about making and receiving phone calls.

Receiving a call is probably the easiest.

"Hello, this is Mike."
"Microsoft, this is Steve."

Calling someone is a little more difficult. You should state your name, where you are from, what you are calling for, and the question. Let's give it a try through an example.

"Hi Mary, this is Michael Johnson from ABC Consulting. I am reviewing the financial data for the payroll project. I will need the 2002 fiscal report to complete this task. Do you know where I can get a copy?"

This example is very clear, organized, and concise. It first explains who the person is, what they are doing, and what they need. If you need to call someone to obtain information, you can use this type of sentence.

Let's try one more, but this time, you are asking for help.

"Hi Bob. This is Steven from ABC Company. I'm calling in regards to the data entry program you created. I'm having trouble locating where the connection is made to the server. Can you help me with this?"

Similarly, this phone call starts with an introduction of the person, a quick sentence on what the call is regarding, and a short description on what this person needs. If you are in this situation, use this process and write it down so you can say what you need smoothly. After you become familiar with it, you will not need to write it down anymore and you should be able to say it fluently.

If you have questions and a consultant or another business employee is visiting your company, then asking a question to them is very similar to asking a question to anyone else.

"Hi Bob. I'm George. I'm the technical writer for this project. I had a question regarding the installation process. If you have a minute, can you show me the installation process? I'm having problems on the confirmation section."

Usually, when a person is visiting your company, then it is polite to tell them your position so they can understand what type of help you will need. In the previous example, we used the same process of asking for help with an introduction, telling them what it is regarding, and what the problem or question is.

Verifying Information

Sometimes you have to verify an order, or double check a figure. If you have the information and you just want to verify that it is accurate, then you can use these types of sentences.

"Hi Debra, I'm analyzing the log files and noticed entry 14 was negative 42. Can you confirm if this is accurate?"

"I see that our April 2003 revenue was 1.2 million dollars. Can you double check that this figure is accurate?"

"I am going to meet with the CFO in an hour. Can you look through this report and double check my findings? It should only take you 20 minutes or so."

Telling person you will call them back

If you receive a question from a client or customer that you do not know, you can either tell them that you will find the answer for them, or tell them to call someone else. Let's learn how to do these things professionally.

"I don't have the answer right off hand. I'll need to find that information for you. Will it be ok if I call you back in about 30 minutes?"

"I believe I can find that information for you. It might take 10 minutes or so. Can I call you back with the information?"

"I'm not sure about the answer. I'll find the information and call you right back. Will that be ok?"

"I'm not sure about this one. Let me ask my manager. Can you please hold?"

Redirecting

Receiving a Call

"I believe Joe Carry in marketing can help you with that. Do you have his contact information?"

"I'm not sure about that. I'm pretty sure Mitch Smith will be able to answer this and other questions. Let me give you his number."

Making a Call

"Can you redirect me to that person?"
"Can I get his contact information?"
"Can I get his phone number?"
"What is the best way to contact her?"

"Can you direct me to someone who can help?"

"Hi, this is Matt from ABC Company. I have some questions on your Platinum level business package. Can you redirect me to someone who can help?"

          Leaving Messages

When you call someone and they are not there, you have to leave a message on their voice mail. Remember to state your name, your company, and what the phone call is regarding. Then leave your phone number even though you think they have it.

"Hi Mary, this is Josh from ABC Company. I have some questions regarding the financial data you sent me yesterday. Can you give me a call back when you have time? My number is 555-123-4567. Thank you."

"Hi Jack, this is Julie from Consult R Us. I am missing a couple pages on the document you sent me. Can you call me when you are free? My number again is 555-321-7654. Thank you."

In some cases, you will receive a phone message like this. If you have to call them back and they are not there also, you can leave a message saying, you are returning their call. Here is an example.

"Hi Josh, this is Mary and I am returning your call. I'll be in the office for the next three hours, so feel free to call me back any time. Just in case, my number is 555-234-5678."

"Hi Julie, this is Jack. I double checked the documents I sent you and I am not sure what pages you are missing. I might not be at my desk, so feel free to call me on my cell phone. The number is 227-1000. Hope to hear from you soon so we can straighten this out."

On another occasion, you might call someone and they might not call you back. In this case, it is polite to call them again. This is how you can leave a second message.

"Hi Mary, this is Josh again from ABC Company. I'm not sure if you got my first message so I am leaving one more. I have some questions regarding the financial data you sent me several days ago. Can you call me at 555-123-4567 when you get a chance? Thank you."

If the company does not have voice mail, you can leave a message with the secretary. After asking for the person you are looking for, if they say they are not in, then leave a message with them.

"Can you have Julie return my call? This is Jack, and my number is 555-123-4567." 

Sending and receiving information

While you are working, you will need to send information back and forth to business partners or to clients and customers. Since email is covered in its own separate section, let's work on sending packages through the mail and the fax machine.

"Hi Jack, I have the final documents requiring your signature. I will have them delivered to you by tomorrow. If you can sign them and return them, we can submit the documents by Friday."

"Hi Ruth, I have the escrow papers ready for review. Should I mail them to you, or can I fax them?"

"Do you have a fax machine?"
"Can I have your fax number?"

"When you finish the final review, can you fax over the documents. Our fax number is 555-345-6789."

"I have a package that I am going to send out. I will Fed-Ex it to you tonight."

Fed-Ex is a short way of saying Federal Express. It is a delivery company that ships immediately. A lot of businesses in the States use this method of shipping things, so it became common to say, 'Fed-Ex it.'

"I believe I have your fax number. Is it 555-234-5678?"

If a person said they will send information, you might have to call them to check on the status if you haven't received it.

"Hi Mary, this is Diana at ABC Marketing Co. Can I get a status on the fax you are going to send over?"

"Can you check on the status of the documents you are faxing to me? I haven't received it."

"Hi Mary, I didn't receive the fax last night. Can you fax it again? We should also confirm what fax number you have on file."

Business Phone Call - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Hello? This is Steve."

B: "Hi Steve, this is Mary from ABC Company. I'm returning your call."

A: "Hi Mary. How are you doing?"

B: "I'm doing great thanks."

A: "Thanks for returning my call. I couldn't figure out why the ending balance on fiscal year 2003 didn't match the beginning balance on of 2004."

B: "When I checked, it was matching. How much is the difference?"

A: "The amount is exactly $42,000."

B: "Oh. I know what the problem is. We opened another bank account at the end of fiscal year 2003. I might not have included the new bank statements when I sent over the information."

A: "That makes sense. I'm just glad it wasn't out of my miscalculation. Can you send over the statements? I should be done by end of day since everything looks good."

B: "Sure. I'll fax them to you immediately. Is 555-123-4567 the number I should fax it to?"

A: "Yes. That is the correct number."

B: "I'll do it right now."

A: "Thank you for your help."

B: "I should have sent them over to you the first time. I apologize for that."

A: "No problem."

B: "Thank you."

A: "Thank you. Bye."

2 

A: "Hello, ABC Company."

B: "Hi, this is Janet from Consult R Us. May I speak with Alex please?"

A: "He's in a meeting right now. Would you like to leave a message?"

B: "Yes. Can you have Alex call me back when he is available? My name again is Janet, and he can reach me at 555-987-6543."

A: "It's Janet at 555-987-6543. Can I tell him what this is regarding?"

B: "He sent over a fax, and the last page didn't print out. I will need for him to resend the fax to me."

A: "I'll let him know."

B: "Thank you."

A: "Thank you for calling ABC."

B: "Good bye."

A: "Bye."

3 

A: "Microsoft, this is Steve."

B: "Hi Steve, this is Richard from Third Hand Testing. I'm calling in regards to the MSN assignment. Do you have a minute to answer a couple of questions?"

A: "Sure. What can I help you with?"

B: "We originally agreed on 5 testing procedures, but our program manager received a mail indicating 4 testing procedures. Is 4 the correct number?"

A: "Yes it is. We found that we can do the last one here."

B: "Great. Does the timeline change because we reduced one of the testing procedures?"

A: "We don't have to change the timeline. Our original timeframe was very aggressive."

B: "That makes our job a little easier."

A: "Do you have any other questions?"

B: "No. That's all I had. Thanks for your time."

A: "No problem."

B: "Ok. Good bye."

A: "Bye."

                            Confirming your Flight

If you are taking a plane to travel, then you will be calling a travel agent and purchasing a ticket in your own country. We will not cover this portion because you can do it in your own language. But once you arrive to your English speaking location, you might need to change your flight and talk to English speaking people. More likely, they will have people speaking your language, but just in case, we will cover some general topics about air traveling here.

Confirming your flight

Some airlines require you to call a couple days in advance to confirm your departure date. Here are some sentences you will be asked and what you will need to say.

You: "I would like to confirm my flight."
Them: "Can I get your ticket number?"
You: "The number is 45-6-43."
Them: "You are scheduled to depart on June 15th at 1:00 pm. Is this correct?"
You: "Yes it is."
Them: "Is anybody else traveling with you?"
You: "Yes, my wife."
Them: "Can I have the other ticket number?"
You: "It is 45-6-44."
Them: "Your tickets have been confirmed. Please arrive at the airport 3 hours before your flight departs. Thank you for calling."

Some other questions you might hear are similar to the ones you might hear at the airport counter.

"Would you like to book your seats now?"
"Would you like a window seat or an aisle seat?"

Departing Date

Reserving a date to depart or changing a departure date

If you have an open ended ticket or would like to change your departing date, you will have to call and reserve a date to depart.

"I have an open ended ticket and I would like to schedule a departure date."
"I have a ticket and I need to schedule a departure date."

"I am scheduled to depart on June 15th. Can I change this to a later date?"
"I have a ticket to depart on June 15th. I would like to see if there is an earlier flight available."

With any of these questions, the other person will usually ask for your ticket number. After that, they will ask you what date you want to depart.

"What date would you like to depart?"
"What date would you like to change it to?"
"When do you want to depart?"

You should respond by selecting a date.

"I would like to leave on June 22nd."
"Is June 22nd available?"
"Can you check if June 22nd is possible?"
"I was hoping to reserve a seat for June 22nd."

After you select a date, they will either say ok, or they will tell you the closest dates available to your selection.

"Yes. We have seats available for the 22nd. Would you like me to reserve them?"
"On the 22nd, the departure time is 1:00pm. Should I reserve them?"
"We have two flights departing on that date. Would you like to depart at 10am or 7pm?"

"I'm sorry, but we do not have any available seats on the 22nd. Should I put you on the waiting list?"
"I'm sorry, there are no departures for the 22nd. We have a flight leaving on the 21st and the 24th. Will either of these days work for you?"
"The 22nd is full. The next available flight is on the 23rd. Would you like me to reserve a seat on that date?"

           At the Counter

When you first reach the counter, you should give them your ticket and your passport. The first question they usually ask is how many are traveling with you.

"Is anybody traveling with you today?"

"Is anybody else traveling with you?"

"Are just you two traveling today?"

All airlines have a list of questions they have to ask you. Let's look at some of these questions.

"Did someone you do not know ask you to take something on the plane with you?"

"Did you have possession of your luggage since you packed?"

"Did you leave your luggage unattended at all in the airport?"

"Are you carrying any weapons or firearms?"

"Are you carrying any flammable material?"

"Do you have any perishable food items?"

If you don't understand, you can't say yes or no to all of them. The correct answer for some of them is 'no' and some of them is 'yes'.

"How many luggages are you checking in?"

"Do you have a carry on?"

"Can you place your baggage up here?"

"How many carry on bags are you taking with you?"

Afterwards, they might ask if you prefer an aisle seat or a window seat.

"Do you prefer window or aisle?"

If they are out of aisle seats, they will ask you if window is ok.

"We do not have any aisle seats remaining. Is a window seat ok with you or would you prefer a middle seat?"

Some people like to be by the emergency exit. You can ask for that seat.

"Do you have a seat next to the emergency exit?"

"Can I have a seat closest to the emergency exit?"

If they do, then you will get a seat by the exit, but if they don't, they will try to give you one that is close.

"All the seats next to the exit have been taken. I have a seat directly in front of it. Would you like that one?"

Finally, they will tell you the gate number and the boarding time.

"Here are your tickets. The gate number is on the bottom of the ticket. They will start boarding 20 minutes before the departure time. You should report to gate C2 by then. C2 is around the corner and down the hall. Thank you." 

Finding the Gate

They will usually tell you what gate you should go to, but if you need to ask again, I will provide an example question. Also, you might need to ask someone where the gate is located.

"Which gate did you say it was?"
"What was the gate number again?"

"Can you point me towards the gate?"
"How do I get to the gate again?"
"How do I get to gate C2?"
"Where is gate C2?"

At the Airport - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Welcome. May I have your tickets?"

B: "Here you go."

A: "Is anybody else traveling with you two?"

B: "No. It's just us."

A: "Do you have your passports with you?"

B: "Yes. Here it is."

A: "I'm going to ask you a series of questions. Please respond with a yes or a no."

B: "Ok."

A: "Did someone you do not know ask you to take something on the plane with you?"

B: "No."

A: "Did you have possession of your luggage since you packed?"

B: "Yes."

A: "Did you leave your luggage unattended at all in the airport?"

B: "No."

A: "Are you carrying any weapons or firearms?"

B: "No."

A: "Are you carrying any flammable material?"

B: "No."

A: "Do you have any perishable food items?"

B: "No."

A: "Great. Can you place your baggage over here?"

B: "Sure."

A: "Would you like an aisle or a window seat?"

B: "Window seat please."

A: "Ok. I am placing you two in 21A and 21B. The gate number is C2. It is on the bottom of the ticket. They will start boarding 20 minutes before the departure time. C2 is located around the corner through the hall. Thank you."

B: "Can you point me to gate C2?"

A: "Sure. It's that way. Around that corner."

B: "Great. Thank you."

Car Availability

When you travel, it is common to rent a car. You will either call and make a reservation, or you will rent one by walking up to the counter. We will cover both scenarios here.

At the Counter

If you are at the airport, you can ask an airport employee, "where is the rental car booth?" or "where can I rent a car?"

After you arrive at the place, you will ask if you any cars are available. Here is a common script.

"Hi. I would like to rent a car."

"Do you have any cars available?"

They might ask, "Did you make a reservation?" In this scenario, you didn't so you can answer, 'no.' If they don't have any cars available, they will say, "I'm sorry, we do not have any cars available today." If that is the case, then go to the next counter. Most airports have numerous car rental booths so you can keep asking until you find a company that has a car available. If you are going during peak vacation periods, it might be good to call and reserve one. But let's continue with this scenario.

If they have a car available, they will ask what type of car or what size.

"What size car would you like?"

"What type of car would you like?"

"What type of car do you need?"

"What sizes do you have?"

"What are my options?"

"We have compact, midsize, full size, luxury, SUV, and a minivan."

"How much is the full size car?"

"How much is the midsize car?"

"How many does the full size car seat?"

"How many can fit in the midsize car?"

"I'll take a midsize car." 

Duration and General Questions

In order to verify if they can give you the car you requested, they need to know how long you will need the car for.

"How long will you be needing the car?"

"How long will you be renting the car?"

"When do you need the car till?"

"I'll need the car for two weeks."

"I want to rent it for one week."

"I need it for 4 days."

"I need it for just a day."

They might ask you to fill out a form, or they might ask you many questions.

"What is your last name?"

"What is your first name?"

"Are you a United States resident?"

"What country are you from?"

"What is your address?" 

Insurance and Driver License

Before giving you a price, they will then ask if you would like insurance or if you have insurance. The price varies. Last time I checked it was approximately $15 a day for insurance.

"Would you like insurance on the car?"

"How much is insurance?"

They will also ask who is going to be the driver.

"Who is going to be the driver?"
"How many people are going to drive?"
"Are all the drivers at least 25 years old?"

You will have to provide a driver's license. If you are from a different country then you should at least have an international driver's license prepared from your country.

"Can I see your driver's license?"
"May I have your driver's license?"
"I will need to see your driver's license."

                       Price and Rules

Finally, they will tell you the price and you will have to pay with a credit card.

"The total will be $184.19."

At this time, you can give them your credit card.

After you pay, they will tell you some rules.

"The gas tank is full. You should fill it up before you return the car. If you do not, then we charge $3 a gallon."

"You can pick up your car downstairs. Just show them the invoice and they will have your car ready for you."

"You will need to return it by 4pm on the 16th. We charge an additional $8 for every four hours that you are late. Return it to the same place you pick up the car."

"Please keep this form in the car. Bring it with you when you return the vehicle."

The price of $8 is just an example. Make sure you find out if you are not sure you will be late or not.

"How much do you charge if I am an hour late?"

Making a Reservation

You will be calling the company you are renting from. When you call, you should verify if the rental car company has a location at the airport you are flying into.

"I need one at Los Angeles Airport."
"I am flying into Los Angeles Airport."

If they have one, they will say they do and start asking you similar questions we already covered. We will not repeat them here, but I will have a practice session giving an example dialog on making a reservation below.

They might ask you for a credit card number on the phone. If you don't call and cancel, you might be charged. So if you need to cancel, remember to call and cancel at least 24 hours before the date. I am not sure if it is 24 hours. You should ask and verify.

"If I need to cancel, when should I do that by?"

"As soon as possible, but in order to avoid a charge you should call 24 hours before the date."

When you arrive at the counter, you will tell the person that you have a reservation.

"Hi, I have a reservation under last name Lee."
"Hi, I have a reservation for a midsize car."

After that, they will confirm your information. They might ask you some duplicate questions, but we should have covered most of it already.

Car Rental - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Hello, ABC Car Rental. How can I help you?"

B: "Hi, I wanted to make a reservation."

A: "What location would you like to rent from?"

B: "I am flying into Los Angeles Airport. Do you have a booth there?"

A: "Yes we do. What date are you flying in?"

B: "I am arriving on June 22nd."

A: "What time is your arrival time?"

B: "I am scheduled to arrive at 2 pm."

A: "How long would you like to rent the vehicle?"

B: "I will need it for 10 days."

A: "What size car would you like?"

B: "A midsize car please."

A: "Can I get your name?"

B: "Yes. My name is Sang Min Lee."

A: "Can you spell that?"

B: "Last name is L E E. First name is S A N G. Middle initial is M."

A: "Great. Thank you. I have reserved a midsize car for you for June 22nd until July 1st. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

B: "That will be all."

A: "Thank you for calling."

B: "Thank you. Bye."

 2 

A: "How can I help you today?"

B: "I would like to rent a car."

A: "Do you have a reservation?"

B: "No."

A: "That's alright. Let's see what we can find. We have several cars to choose from. What size are you looking for?"

B: "What are my options?"

A: "A compact car, midsize car, and a minivan."

B: "How much are they?"

A: "Compact is $2.1.95 a day, midsize is $27.95 a day, and a minivan is 35.95 a day."

B: "I'll take a midsize car."

A: "How long will you be renting the car?"

B: "One week."

A: "How many people will be driving the car?"

B: "Just myself."

A: "Would you like insurance?"

B: "How much is it?"

A: "It is $14.95 a day and it covers everything regardless of fault."

B: "Yes please."

A: "Can I have your name?"

B: "Last name is Lee. L E E. First name is Sang. S A N G."

A: "You address please?"

B: "I am from Korea. Would you like my address in Korea?"

A: "Just the city name."

B: "Seoul, Korea."

A: "Can I see your driver's license and a credit card?"

B: "Sure. Here it is."

A: "Great. That will be $324.92. Would you like me to charge it on this card?"

B: "Yes. That will be fine."

A: "Please sign here. You can pick up your car downstairs. Your expected time to return the car is June 29th. That is exactly one week. Show the attendant this invoice. When you return the car, bring this invoice with you. Also, the gas tank is full, you should fill up the gas tank before you return. If you don't want to, we can do it for $3 a gallon. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

B: "That will be all. Thank you."

A: "Thank you. Good bye."

Making a Reservation I

It is not common to go to a hotel without a reservation so I will only cover the reservation aspect. Along with reserving a room, I will cover checking in, checking out, room service, and wake up call.

Making a Reservation

When you make a reservation, call them and tell them you want to reserve a room. Or, you can start by asking them for a price.

"Hi, how much are your rooms?"

"Hi, what are your rates?"

"Hello, how much is a room?"

"Our rooms start at $79 for a basic room."

"Our rooms start at $79 for a standard room and go up to $300 for a suite."

"Ok. Can I reserve a room?"

"Hi, I would like to reserve a room."

"Hello, can I reserve a couple of rooms?"

The first thing they usually ask is the dates you want the room and the duration.

"What day do you want to check in?"

"Which date did you want to reserve?"

"What date are you looking for?"

"I want a room from June 22nd to June 25th."

"I would like a room for the 19th of July."

"How long will you be staying with us?"

"When will you be checking out?"

"How many days would you like the room for?"

"I am going to stay for 3 days."

"I would like to reserve the room for 4 days."

"I am going to need the room until July 23rd." 

                             Making a Reservation II

The next series of questions covers how many people and how many rooms. Some hotels charge by number of rooms and number of adults, and some hotels charge by number of rooms only.

"How many rooms will you need?"
"Is this for only one room?"
"How many rooms would you like to reserve?"
"How many rooms should I reserve for you?"

"I will only need one room."
"I am going to need two rooms."

"How many adults will be in your party?"
"How many total children will be with you?"

"Just two adults."
"A total of four adults."
"I will be alone."

"A total of 2 adults and 2 children."
"One adult and 2 children."

                             Making a Reservation III

After they determine how many rooms and how many total people, they will ask you what type of bed you want.

"Would you like a single king size bed, or two double size beds in the room?"
"Will a single king size bed be ok?"
"We only have a room with two double size beds. Will that be ok?"

"Do you want a smoking room or a non smoking room?"
"Do you prefer a smoking or non smoking room?"

"I would like a smoking room."
"Can I have a non smoking room?"
"Either is fine."
"I don't have a preference."

You will have to provide your credit card number to reserve the room.

"Can I get a credit card number?"
"Can I have your credit card number?"
"What is your credit card number?"

Finally, they will repeat all the information back to you.

"Ok, Mr. Lee. I have one smoking room reserved for July 19th till July 22nd. The total comes to $256.78 after tax. If you need to cancel, please call us 24 hours before July 19th. Can I help you with anything else?"

Checking In and Checking Out

Checking in is pretty simple, you just need to go to the counter and say that you are checking in.

"Hi, I am checking in."
"Hi, I have a reservation and I am checking in."

They will ask you for your credit card and a photo ID. They might confirm your information and you should receive your keys. Here are some questions to ask during this time.

"Where is the elevator?"
"Do you have concierge service here?"
"Do you have a map of the city?"
"What time should I check out by?"
"What time is check out?"

Checking out is just as simple. You go to the counter and say, "I am checking out." At this time, you should return the keys. They might ask you to sign something or ask you if the credit card on file is ok to charge.

"Should we charge the credit card on file or did you want to use a different card?"
"Your credit card will be charged a total of $256.78. Can you sign on the bottom?"

"Thank you for staying with us. We look forward to seeing you again."

General Things

If you need a wake up call, you can call the front desk.

"Can I have a wake up call?"

"What time would you like your wake up call?"

"At 7:30 am please."

Room service is available but they have hours of operation. The menu in the room should indicate what times they serve hot food, and the menu will show a list of items that are available 24 hours a day. If you can't find the times, you can ask the front desk.

"What are the hours for room service?"

"They serve hot food from 5:30am to 11:00pm. They also have a list of items you can select from during off hours."

If you need help with your luggage, the person that does this is called a bellman, a bellhop, or a bellboy. The most common term is a bellman so I will use that terminology here.

The person that gives advice on city activities, recreation, places to dine, and general questions is called a concierge.

If a person parks the car for you, they are called a valet.

Regular motels and inns might not have these additional services. Even some hotels do not have them. But if you are staying at a nice hotel, you can ask for them.

"Do you have a bellman here?"
"Do you have a concierge?"

Only some hotels have valet service. If someone parked the car for you and you can't find someone, you can ask someone else the following questions.

"Where is the valet attendant?"
"Can you get someone to get my car?"

Remember that if you use these premium services, you should tip. Also remember that you might not know they are helping you. For example, when you check in, a person might ask if you need help with your bags. If you say yes, then you are using the bellman services. So remember to tip if you do. If you don't want to tip, you don't have to, but it is a little rude. Finally, if you don't want any help, just tell them, "No thank you."

Hotel Checking In - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Thank you for calling Great Hotel. How may I help you?"

B: "I would like to rent a room, but how much do you charge a night?"

A: "Our prices start at $79 a night for a standard room."

B: "Great. Can you reserve a room for me?"

A: "Sure. What day are you coming in?"

B: "I will be checking in on August 3rd."

A: "How many days do you need the room for?"

B: "I'll need it for three nights."

A: "Ok. I have you coming in on the 3rd of August and checking out on the 6th. Is that correct?"

B: "Yes."

A: "How many total adults?"

B: "Two adults and two kids."

A: "How old are the children?"

B: "10 and 12."

A: "Would you like one room or two rooms?"

B: "Just one is fine."

A: "Would you like a smoking room or a non smoking room?"

B: "Non smoking room please."

A: "Can I have your last name?"

B: "Park."

A: "Your first name"

B: "Young. That's Y O U N G."

A: "Let me confirm your information Mr. Park. I have one non smoking double room with 2 adults and 2 children from August 3rd to August 6th. Is this correct?"

B: "Yes."

A: "The total comes to $256.78. Can I get your credit card number?"

B: "Sure. It is 444444444444."

A: "What is the name on the credit card?"

B: "Young Park."

A: "I have the room reserved for you. If you need to cancel, please call us 24 hours before your check in date. Failure to cancel will result in a one day charge on your credit card. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

B: "Yes, one more question. What time can we check in."

A: "We can check you in by 2:00pm."

B: "Great. Thank you."

A: "Thank you and have a great day."

B: "Thanks. Bye"

A: "Good bye."

Talking to Co-Workers

What ever company you work for, you will have a boss or a manager. If you are a manager, you will have directs reporting to you. And in most cases, you will have to work with co-workers. This lesson will cover the English you need to know to speak to co-workers. I will also have a lesson on talking to the manager and subordinates.

When you talk with a co-worker, most of it is small talk. You can talk about your background, what school you attended, your major, and your previous work experience. So studying the English lessons along side the business section will help you for your daily English needs. However, I'll have some sentences you can use when you are talking with a co-worker.

If you miss a meeting, then you will need to ask a co-worker what happened during the meeting.

"I missed the meeting. Can you fill me in?"
"I had a doctor's appointment so I missed the meeting. What happened?"
"I couldn't make it to the meeting today. Anything interesting I should know about?"
"I missed the meeting. Was there anything new?"

Another time you talk with a co-worker is if the boss is mad or you don't like the boss. But whenever you talk about bad things with co-workers, make sure you are talking to a friend. If that person is not a friend, then they might tell your manager what you said.

"Matt looks pretty upset right now. Do you know what's going on?"
"Did something happen recently? Matt looks pissed off."
"I think Matt is mad about something. Do you know what it could be?"

Or if the manager only treats you bad, then you can ask your co-worker/friend if the manager treats them differently or the same.

"Matt talks to me like he is mad all the time. Does he do that to you?"
"Does Matt talk to you like he is upset? Or is it just me?"
"It's not you at all. He talks to me that way too."

"Matt is way too moody."
"If he knew what he was doing, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"What is wrong with Matt these days?"
"He is having one of those days again. I think his manager just gave him a hard time."

"What do you think about our manager?"
"He gets too mad easily and he doesn't really help us out that much. What do you think?"

Asking for help or offering help

When you offer to help someone, you are asking your co-worker if they want to give you some of their work. Here are a couple of ways you can offer some help.

"I finished my project already so I have extra bandwidth. Let me know if you need help with anything."

Bandwidth is usually used as a networking terminology. But in this context, it means having extra time.

"You're doing the analysis on ABC Company? I did that last year. If you need any help, just let me know."

"I'm pretty familiar with your project so if you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

Asking for help is a little more difficult. You will have to see what the work environment is like and what type of relationship you have with your co-workers.

"I'm having trouble implementing Plan A on ABC Company. Can you look at my work and see if I am missing a step?"

"Can you help me analyze the finance data? This is my first time and I don't want to screw it up."

"Do you have a few minutes to help me with the data migration tool? I can't figure it out."

        Complaining about another co-worker to a co-worker

I remember in my first job, I had a co-worker I really didn't like. He was a nice guy, but he was a complete idiot. To vent out my frustration, I talked with some closer co-workers about my problems with him. Here are some of the things I said. You might be in a similar situation of dealing with a complete idiot.

"Have you worked with Jake yet? He can't do anything right."
"The problem with Jake is that he doesn't know that he is an idiot."
"I remember helping Jake out so much, and then he stabs my back."
"I don't think he does his own work. He goes around asking everyone to do a portion of his work and says he did it all."

"If you have to work with Jake, remember the things I told you."
"Is management blind or am I being too sensitive about this?"
"I think the manager likes him because he kisses her ass all day long."

Kissing ass refers to butt kiss and brown nosing. Basically, a person who butt kisses is a person always saying good things to the manager, giving compliments, showing off in front of the manager, and doing anything possible to look good.

"The manager is blind because he is a total brown-noser."

"I can't believe this company is paying $75,000 a year for this fool."

Complaining about the company

As I already said previously, make sure you are careful who you talk to when you are complaining about anything such as the company.

"This is a dead end job. I don't see much of a future here."
"I hate the redundancy. It's so boring."
"Work isn't exciting for me anymore. I am doing the same thing over and over again."

"This company doesn't care about employees that much. I haven't received a fair raise in 3 years."

"I don't know if it is my manager or this company, but I'm really getting sick of my job."

"What do you think about all the politics in this company?"
"The politics suck here. But it is the same for any large corporation. The best way to deal with it is to take advantage of the rules."

I heard in some countries that switching companies is not common. Once you have a decent job in a decent company, the person usually works there all their life. In the States however, changing jobs and changing companies is very common. That makes it a common discussion to have with friends and co-workers.

"I don't know how much longer I can take this job. I've been thinking about applying to a different company."
"Have you ever thought about leaving this company?"
"What company do you want to switch to?"

"I started applying for other jobs. There are a lot of positions open."
"I've been looking for jobs on monster.com. They have a lot of positions available."

Talking about work experience

I won't cover topics we have in our regular English lessons, but talking about work experience is not a separate topic I have, so let's spend a few minutes here.

When you are talking to a co-worker, you can talk about many different things. One of the topics might be previous work experience. Whenever you receive this question, the easiest way to answer this is to say where you worked and what you did.

"What did you do before working here?"

"I worked at ABC Company. I was a market analyst researching what the user wants in portable devices."

"I was over in the sales department on the second floor. I was in charge of overseeing the sales made by all the sales associates each month."

"I was a software engineer at Sun Microsystems. I created internal tools using Java to help automate the recruiting process."

       Talking to CoWorkers - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Hey Jack. How is your day going?"

B: "Just finishing the project. Other than that, not much. How about you?"

A: "I'm just about finished for the day. I have one more task to do, but I wanted to take a break first."

B: "Did you have to work with Jake on that project?"

A: "Unfortunately, yes."

B: "Oh my gosh. I feel so sorry for you."

A: "Don't remind me. I'm just glad it's over."

B: "Yeah. I remember when I worked on the data conversion tool with him. Everything he did, I had to re-do. It would have been faster if I did it alone."

A: "That's exactly what happened to me. It took me longer because I had to re-do everything he did. That really pissed me off."

B: "Next time the manager wants me to do a project with him, I'm going to tell him that I will do it myself."

A: "That's a good idea. Hopefully, the manager will realize how useless he is."

B: "Exactly. If you're not busy, you can do my work."

A: "Ha ha. I got enough to do."

B: "Yeah. I'm just kidding."

A: "Aright dude. I better finish my work. I'll talk to you later."

2 

A: "Hey Jordan, did you go to the team meeting this morning?"

B: "Yeah. The manager presented a new project to us that we'll have to do."

A: "Damn it. I shouldn't have missed that meeting, but I was stuck in another meeting. What else did you guys talk about?"

B: "Everything else was the same. We talked about progress of current assignments, due dates, about hiring another worker, that's all."

A: "What's the new project about?"

B: "It's hard to explain. She sent out mail to all of us. You can just review the document she sent out."

A: "Ok. I'll do that."

3 

A: "Hey Bob, do you have a few minutes?"

B: "Sure. What's up?"

A: "I'm having problems with my computer. I don't know what's wrong with it."

B: "Let's go take a look at it. Oh. Here is the problem. You have a boot sector virus. Install the anti-virus software. That should take care of the problem."

A: "Great thanks.

 4 

A: "How is your day going?"

B: "The same as usual. How about you?"

A: "Me too. I'm getting sick of work man."

B: "I'm already past that stage."

A: "What are you still doing here then?"

B: "It pays the bills."

A: "Why don't you find another job?"

B: "Well, I thought about it, but if I put in two more years, then I get a good pension. I can't give that up. Anyway, this job is boring, but at least it's easy."

A: "Well, you've been here for eight years. You have some things to stay for. I've only been here for two years. I can't see myself doing this for another two years. I want to gain more experience in other areas."

B: "Have you brought this up to the boss? Maybe you can go into management."

A: "They usually want a person with an MBA degree or a person willing to put in 80 hours a week."

B: "That's what it takes man. Either this or that."

A: "Yeah. I better think about what I want. Why didn't you go into management?"

B: "It would have taken too much time. I have a family that I want to spend time with, so it wasn't worth it for me. But you're single. You can put in a few good years and put yourself in a good position before thinking about settling down."

A: "You have a point. I'll see what my options are. Hopefully the manager will help me out with my career."

B: "She's pretty cool about that. Just be honest with her and she'll show you some doors."

A: "That sounds good. Thanks for the advice."

B: "No problem. Good luck."

                                     Talking to the Boss

Unless you are the owner of the company, you will have a boss. This lesson will cover all English you need to know to express what you want to say to your boss. This will include asking for feedback, explanation, showing frustration, asking for more work, and more.

If you are doing a project and you want your manager to review it before submitting it, then you can ask the manager in several ways.

"Did you want to review my project?"
"I just completed the assignment. Did you want to review it?"
"This is my first project and I was wondering if you could review it real quick?"
"I think I covered all the bases, but could you do a quick check."

If you are new at your job, then it is good to ask for feedback. This can be done when you complete a project or after several months on the job. Some companies have a process in place where you have a weekly one on one meeting with your manager. You can use this time to talk about your work and anything else on your mind. If you don't have a weekly meeting, then you might have to set up a time with your manager to discuss your progress.

"Hi Roger, can we set up a time to discuss my progress so far?"
"I was wondering if we can meet to discuss how I am doing."

If you are doing work that doesn't include projects or assignments, then you can't ask for feedback on the work you completed. But you can ask how you have been doing in the last several months.

"Can I get some feedback on my performance?"
"Where do you think I need to improve?"
"What areas do you think I should work on?"

If you have a project you completed, you can ask for feedback on the project. But make sure you give your manager enough time to review the work before asking for feedback.

"Did you finish reviewing my project I completed?"

"Hi Mark, this was my first project, and I wanted to know how I did so I can improve."

"Where do you think I could have done better?"
"Is there any areas that I could have done better?"

"What should I do better for next time?"
"What areas did I do well, and what areas did I do poorly."

                 Asking for more work

Most companies will have so much work that you will never run out of things to do. But there are times when you don't have enough to do. In this situation, you should ask your manager to give you more work.

      "Hi Mark, I finished all my weekly duties already. Do you have more work I can do?"

"I've been completing my work early on a regular basis. Can I have more responsibilities?"

"I have a lot of extra time. I usually double check all my work, but that doesn't take much time. Is there any additional work I can do?"

Although asking for more work is a good sign of being productive, there is actually something better. Instead of asking for more work, find the extra work without asking. After you find something to do, then tell your manager that you want to do the work.

"I had extra time on my hands so I started investigating the network problem. If you don't mind, I would like to work on this project to help the office productivity around here."

If you are a manager, would you want someone asking you what to do, or would you prefer a worker who found a problem and wants to fix it. I have had people ask me for more work and it is stressful trying to think of something. I am busy and don't have that much time to find extra work. If a worker identifies more work to do, then I would appreciate it that much more.

"I have been completing my work a day early every week. I know the reference material has been sitting there for some time. Would you like me to do that project, or did you want to assign another project to me?"

Although having extra time to do more work is a good situation to be in, there might be times when you have too much work. Here are a couple of sentences to ask for help.

"Hi Mark, the addition we made to the project made it difficult to complete by myself. If the deadline doesn't change, I will need some help to complete it. Can you assign someone to help me out?"

"I have spent every minute on this project and have been putting in serious overtime. This project is a lot bigger than we anticipated. I am going to need some help to complete it on time. Do you have anyone available to help me?"

"The Alpha project has been eating so much of my time that I didn't have much time to work on the Beta project. Is there anyone with extra bandwidth to help me finish the Beta project?" 

Complaining and Showing Frustration

Showing frustration is ok if you do it right. If you are frustrated and you start complaining, then the manager will either think you are not capable of doing your work, or the manager will realize that you have way too much work. So it is important how you complain and how you show your frustration.

Showing frustration because of your mistake is ok to do. It shows that you are upset at yourself and that you can't believe you made a mistake. So it is indicating to the manager that you are not going to screw up again. Hopefully you won't screw anything up, but just in case, here are some ways to show your frustration.

"I can't believe I messed that up. I don't think I am stupid, but this is suggesting otherwise."
"I am so frustrated at myself. How did I not catch that?"

Complaining about someone else is not good. But if you are so frustrated and you have to tell your manager, take a deep breath, calm yourself down, and say something like my example as calmly as you can.

"It's frustrating working with Tim. I'm doing everything I can to help and I am trying to be understanding, but he is slowing our project down immensely."

The best kind of frustration is when the manager knows exactly what you are talking about. If the manager is frustrated as well, then he or she will completely understand. An example of this is when you are working with another company and they are not doing their work properly.

"I'm having a hard time working with ABC Company. They are always late and the work they do has numerous errors. It is really frustrating because I have to spend a great deal of time proof reading the material. I recommend not giving ABC Company any more work."

                 Talking to your boss about another boss

Sometimes there are multiple bosses and they both give you work. This can cause some problems. The best way to handle this situation is to tell your direct boss what is happening so it gets straightened out at the management level.

"Hey Mark. I'm doing all the projects you gave me, but John gives me additional work. I don't mind it, but lately it's been too much."

"Hey Mark. John has been assigning a lot of work to me. I have a lot of current work I am doing, so I would like to know what work has more priority."

"John wants me to do the payroll analysis. He said he needs it by end of week. But didn't you want the employee headcount finished by Friday? I can't finish both. What should I do first?"

If another boss is giving you a hard time, you can tell your manager what you think. Here are some professional sentences that you can use to show your frustration about another boss.

"I'm having some problems with John lately. He is very critical and puts me down in public. I don't know what I am doing wrong so I don't know where I need to improve. What do you think I should do about this?"

"John has been very difficult to work with. He is very bossy and expects everything to be done his way. I have been tolerating it because he is a manager, but some of his methods are wasting a lot of time. I always suggest other ways, but he will not hear me out."

Talking to the Boss - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Hi Matt, I finished the assignment on the documents. Did you get a chance to review them?"

B: "Yeah. I already reviewed them. It was pretty good."

A: "Since it was my first project, I was wondering if I can get some feedback."

B: "Well, you finished the project on time. And seeing how it was your first assignment, you did very well."

A: "Thanks. If it wasn't my first assignment, where do you think I need to improve?"

B: "That's a fair question... I think you could have spent a little more time documenting the difference between Process A and Process B. You showed a lot of the similarities, but lacking a little on the differences."

A: "I'll keep that in mind. How about the structure? I changed the template a little because I wanted to add a section for recommendation."

B: "I liked the addition. Usually people just enter it into the comment section on the bottom but having a clear section makes it stand out. That was good."

A: "Was there anything else? I like to get feedback early so I can improve."

B: "No problem. Everything else on the assignment was great. The only other tip I can give you is sending me more updates. If I knew you were stuck on section C for a while, I could have saved you a lot of time. So keep me aware on your status."

A: "That makes sense. I'll do that. Thanks for the feedback."

B: "Don't mention it. And good job on the assignment."

A: "Thanks."

2 

A: "Hi Mark. I completed Project A and didn't have anything else to work on. Should I find something to do, or did you have something lined up?"

B: "I won't have another assignment for you until next Monday. What will you be doing until then?"

A: "I'm not sure, I was thinking about investigating the reporting issue we are having, but that's a low priority now. But if there is nothing else to do, it might be good to finally fix that."

B: "How about John. He told me that he needed a little help on Project C. Why don't you ask him if he still needs help. If not, then check out the reporting issue."

A: "John? I've been meaning to talk to you about him."

B: "What's the problem?"

A: "I don't want to be out of line, but he's very difficult to work with. He looks over my shoulder all the time and doesn't like how I am doing things."

B: "Yeah. He is like that. I appreciate your feedback, and you are not the first to bring this up. Although he is difficult, he does get a lot of work done around here."

A: "I completely agree, and I will continue to work with him as well as I can. I just thought I should let you know instead of keeping it bottled up."

B: "I appreciate your honesty. But for now, you're going to have to tolerate his methods a little longer. I'll see if the director is willing to have a talk with John about this problem."

A: "Ok. Well, I'll go see what type of help John needs. If there is nothing, I'll work on the reporting problem. Either way, I'll send you an email letting you know what I am working on."

B: "That would be perfect. Thanks."

A: "Thanks. I'll talk to you later."

B: "Ok. Bye."

Talking to your Subordinate or Direct

If you are a manager, then you will more likely have someone reporting to you. The most common terminology I am used to is a direct. Throughout this lesson, I will use the word direct.

There are many things you have to say to a direct. You have to give them work, explain things, encourage them to do better, and even reprimand them when they are not performing well. We will cover these types of sentences in this lesson.

Status

A common question a manager asks is to find out what the status of a project is.

"What is the status of the marketing documents?"

"How far along are you in your analysis?"

"Are you almost done with the technical report?"

"When are you going to finish the design plans?"

"Can you give me a status on your progress so far?"

"How is the reporting assignment going?"

"When can you give me a working draft by?"

Requesting a weekly status mail from your direct is very common among large companies with many employees. Basically, the status mail will include what has been accomplished the current week, and what will be done next week. If your company has this process, or if you just want to implement it yourself, you can tell your direct something like the following.

"At the end of every week, can you send me a weekly status mail? I'll email you a template you should follow. You should email it to me every Friday."

"I want you to send me a status report at the end of every week. You should include what you did for that week and what you plan on doing for the next week."

"Can you send me a weekly status report? If you haven't done it before, let me know and I will send you a template to use." 

                     Project Change

There are times when a project changes and you have to tell your direct to change something. Let's work on some sentences where you do this.

"I know you have been working on the database using excel, but we need to use SQL. Can you make the necessary changes?"

Although you don't have to be polite to your direct, it is good practice to show directs some common courtesy. In the sentence above, it recognizes the work that has been done so far, instructs what needs to be changed, and politely asks if they can do it. You should follow a similar way of asking your direct to change something.

In another scenario, your direct might give you a report to review. If something is incorrect, or not complete, you should tell them professionally what needs to be redone.

"Hey Jackie, I reviewed your report and there are a couple areas you have to change. Can you double check the figures you provided in page 7, and provide a recommendation for step 3? I would appreciate it."

This example is a little more firm, but still polite. It states that changes are required, it then asks if two things can be changed, and finally, adds a good comment about appreciating the work.

Finally, your direct could be doing something on a regular basis that you don't like. As a manager, you should tolerate things that do not affect the work, but if there is something that is work related, it is your responsibility to tell that person. Let's use an example where a person has a habit of talking before someone finishes.

"John, when we are discussing something in meetings or small groups, I noticed that you don't allow the other person to complete their sentences. I do appreciate your contributions, but I think you should always hear the other person out. Can you try to do that?"

Adding a simple phrase like appreciating the contribution can make a huge difference when giving criticism. There is a great chance the direct will be offended or upset. But if you add a small compliment in there, the chances of the direct accepting your criticism will be that much greater. 

Deadline

Deadlines and due dates are common among projects and assignments. Sometimes the deadline changes or your direct needs a reminder. In any case, you should know some sentences how to convey the deadline.

"Here is your new project. You have two weeks to complete it. After you review the project, let me know if there will be any problems."

"You have until the end of this month to complete your assignment. It is critical that everyone completes on time."

"We have two more days to complete the test pass. If anyone cannot complete their portion on time, let me know as soon as possible."

"We are not required to send in our analysis until Wednesday, so you have a couple more days to complete it."

"Do you think you can finish the marketing report by Friday?"

"Our deadline is fast approaching. I try to minimize weekend work, but we might have to work this Saturday if we do not finish on Friday."

             Subordinate asking you Questions

All directs at one time or another asks you questions on how to do something, or asks what something is. The average employee will usually ask you something that is obvious and you simply tell them. Sometimes however, a smart employee asks difficult questions that you are not sure about.

If an employee asks you a factual question that you are not sure about, you can always refer them to other sources.

"I'm not sure about that one. I think the information you are looking for is in a manual I saw in the file cabinet. Why don't you check there?"

"Do a search on Google and see if you can find the information there."

"I think Stacy will know the answer. She is very familiar with that topic."

If the question is more process related where it involves an opinion, you can answer telling them what you would do.

"I'm not sure on the exact procedure, but if I were you, I would do the forth step before the third one."

"I don't think we ever decided on a specific way. I think it might be better to do this before that."

These are vague sentences, so you should fill in the details depending on your situation. 

Encouraging

As a good manager, you should encourage great workers and bad workers. Good directs need encouraging to keep them working hard. Bad employees need encouragement to work harder. Here are some sentences for both types.

"Hey James, I think you're doing a great job and it is not going unnoticed."

"You're doing great. Keep up the good work."

"I told my manager about your performance. He was quite impressed. Keep up the good work."

Directs having difficulty

"I had a hard time on my first project too. Don't let it get you down. I'm sure you will do better next time."

"It wasn't as bad as you think. I also saw definite improvements so you shouldn't give up."

"Your work has been pretty good, but I really think you can do better. You have potential and I hope you start trying a little harder." 

        

                     Reprimanding

Finally, when you have an employee that is doing something wrong such as being late, turning in a project late, or not performing well, it is your responsibility to let them know.

If someone is always late, then you don't have to ask for an excuse. If it was one time, then it is ok, but if they are constantly late, there is no excuse for it.

"You have been late for work on a regular basis. You better start coming to work on time."

"This is your third warning. If you are late for work again, we will have to take more serious action on you. Is that understood?"

"Being late for work once in a while is understandable. But there is no excuse to be coming in to work late every day. You better start coming in on time."

When a direct doesn't turn in a project, it's a pretty serious no-no. I would definitely be upset, but as a good manager, I wouldn't accuse the employee without giving them a chance to explain. Here is an example.

"The report was due last Friday. What's going on?"

This is more like a trap question. Unless it is a life or death situation, the excuse shouldn't be good enough. Here is a generic excuse.

"I was working on three other assignments. I just couldn't finish them all."

This is not a good excuse, so you can start reprimanding the employee. You gave them a chance to explain, and since the excuse wasn't good enough, you can basically, 'let them have it.'

"If you were not going to finish on time, at least you could have let me know. Regardless, you knew how important this project was and you knew about the due date. What am I going to do with you?"

"You should have at least told me that you wouldn't be able to finish. Then I could have asked Mary to finish it. This is very irresponsible of you. Is this going to be a continual problem in future projects?" 

Talking to Directs - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "John, are you going to complete the report on time?"

B: "I am confident that I will have it done by this Friday."

A: "How far along are you?"

B: "I have completed the preliminary review, analyzed the data, and I am almost done writing the analytical review."

A: "That's great. It looks like you are ahead of schedule. When you are done, send it to me for review."

B: "I'll send it to you Friday morning. That should give you a day to review it."

A: "That's great. Keep up the good work."

 2 

A: "Can you give me an update on your assignments?"

B: "Yeah. I'm helping with the performance testing, I've met with the partners for the integration project, and I'm finishing up the documents on the internal tool."

A: "That's good. Can you start sending me a weekly report? That will help me keep track of your progress regularly."

B: "No problem. Do you want it by the start of Monday, or do you want it Friday evening."

A: "I'm probably not going to read it until Monday, so just send it to me by Monday morning."

B: "What do you want me to include in the weekly report?"

A: "Include what you did for the week, what you're going to do for the next week, and include any other issues you have."

B: "I'll start doing that this week."

A: "Great. Thanks."

 3 

A: "John, can I see you in my office?"

B: "I'll be right over."

A: "Have a seat... I'm concerned about your performance lately. Is there something I should know about?"

B: "I've been pretty occupied at home. I apologize for letting it affect work. I'll definitely pay more attention."

A: "I understand, but I'm still having to take some heat on your work. You have been late numerous times, your projects are not as detailed as it used to be, and you missed a deadline last week."

B: "I am really sorry, and I won't let it happen again. I understand that I have been underperforming, and I will step it up."

A: "I hope so. I'll explain it to the director. But I don't know how much more he will tolerate. That's all I had so you better go back to work."

B: "Ok. I really will change things around. Thanks for understanding."

 Business Trips

If you have a job that requires traveling or business trips, there are many things you need to know how to say. I recommend studying the Travelers Guide section I have for general traveling needs. But for this lesson, I am going to cover the things you need to say to the people you are traveling with and questions you need to ask about the business trip. Most of this lesson is primarily showing you a variety of questions you might need.

Details

When you go on a business trip, you will need to find out a lot of information.

"Where are we going for our business trip?"

"Where are we going this time?"

"What city are we traveling to?"

"What is the objective for this business trip?"

"What is our goal for this business trip?"

"What do we want to accomplish for this business trip?"

"What is the primary purpose for this business trip?"

"What day are we departing for our business trip to Los Angeles?"

"How long are we going to be there?"

"How long is the business trip scheduled for?"

"What time is ABC Company expecting us?"

"Who should I report to when I get to ABC Company?"

People who go on business trips get a daily allowance for food and other small necessities. This is called a per diem. The amount depends on the company, but you should ask how much you get a day.

"How much is the per diem?"

"How much per diem do we get a day?"

"How do we get the per diem?"

"Isn't the per diem too low?"

"What do they expect us to eat with this amount of per diem?"

"Is the business trip really going to take us all five days?"

"If we finish on the fourth day, can we come back early?"

"I think we can finish a day early. Can we come back on Thursday if we complete our work early?" 

First time business trip Q's

If this is your first time on a business trip, then you will have even more questions. If you are not sure what to bring or how much stuff to bring, you can ask your manager or a co-worker.

"How much do you usually pack for a week long business trip?"
"How big is the suitcase you take with you on a business trip?"
"Do the hotels we stay at have a hair dryer?"

"How many pieces of luggage do you bring with you on a business trip?"

"Where do you usually park when you go to the airport?"
"Is long term parking available at the airport?"
"How early should I go to the airport?"

"Where should we meet?"
"Should we meet at the airport?"

"I missed my flight. The next flight they have available is in 45 minutes. I'll have to meet you at the airport in Los Angeles. I'll call you when I land."

Talking to people

Talking to the employees of the company you are visiting is very different than talking to employees. Basically, you have to be polite and formal when dealing with them.

"Hi Mark, I'm Alex from ABC Consulting. It's nice to meet you."

During this stage, you might be engaged in small talk such as how your flight was or how the weather is over in your city, but if not, then you can get straight to work. You might need to know where you will be working. Only ask this if they never tell you. But chances are, they will let you know before you ask.

"Where will I be working this week?"
"Where is your office located?"
"Is your office relatively close to where I will be working?"

You might need to ask who you will be working with. But again, don't ask this too early, you should give them a chance to answer.

"Who will I be working with this week?"

These previous questions should only be used in rare cases the other person doesn't tell you. The next couple of sentences are more likely.

"Who should I contact if I have a question regarding inaccurate data?"
"Who should I contact if I have a question with this type of problem?"

"I am going to be calling my manager frequently with critical updates. What phone should I use?"

"How long does it take to get to the airport from here?"
"How bad is the traffic around this time to the airport?"

"Where is the closest place to eat around here?"
"Is there a fast food restaurant near by?"

"Does this building have a cafeteria?"
"Do you have a cafeteria close by?"

Eating during the Business Trip

If you go on a business trip alone, then you don't need to talk much, and you can eat whenever you want. But if you go with a group, they might want to eat together. Some people like to eat together all the time, but some people might not want to eat because they are not hungry.

"What kind of food do you guys want to eat today?"
"Anybody want to go for lunch?"
"I'm going to lunch. Anybody want to join me?"

"Let's go in 20 minutes. I have to finish this real quick."
"I can't make it. I have to finish this and it will take me another 30 minutes."
"I'm going to pass today. I brought a bagel with me."
"I have a small sandwich. I'm just going to eat here."

"Where should we have dinner tonight?"

"Hey, let's go to the Italian restaurant next to the hotel."
"We can either go to the steak house in the hotel, or the Italian restaurant next door

Business Trips - Interactive Practice

.

1 

A: "Hey Mark, I'm assigning you on the Tully project. You'll have to go to California in two weeks."

B: "What is my objective over there?"

A: "You have to review financial documents over there. If you find something missing, work with their accountants to get the documents you need to complete the analysis."

B: "How large is this project?"

A: "It's pretty big, so take someone with you. I think you can finish in a week if two of you are working on it."

B: "Do we have to arrive there at a certain time?"

A: "Not really, but you should get there before lunch to settle in. Then you can get in half a day."

B: "Who should I contact when I get there?"

A: "I'll email you the details, but you should go book your flight soon."

B: "Will do. Do you have a recommendation on who should go with me?"

A: "Either Seth or Josh."

B: "Ok. I'll find out who has more time."

A: "Great. Keep me informed."

B: "Got it."

 2 

A: "Hey Seth, you wanna go for lunch soon?"

B: "How about in 30 minutes. I'm almost done with this section."

A: "Ok. Where do you want to eat?"

B: "I'm ok with anything, but let's go to a fast food place."

A: "There's a Burger King around the corner. Let's go there."

B: "Sounds good. One quick question... I'm going to finish all my work tomorrow. If we finish tomorrow, I suggest we head back home tomorrow evening. What do you think?"

A: "I think that's doable. We'll see how much we get done today, and if we're close, I'll let them know that we'll be done tomorrow."

B: "Sounds good."

Office and Cubicles

The office has three types of workstation setting. Some companies provide a single office for each employee, other companies have a cubicle system, and some companies have desks put together in a large open space where everyone sits. I'll separate this lesson into these three categories.

Desks all together

If you are in an environment where you have to sit at a desk right next to 15 other people with the same desks, I'm sorry for your situation. It's very uncomfortable working like this, but it is a reality. Here are some things I heard from people in this setting.

General statements or complaints

"It's not that bad, but there is no privacy."
"I wouldn't mind it so much if the manager couldn't see every minute of my day."
"I hate it. Even if they can't give us offices, they could at least give us cubicles."

"The reason I hate it so much is because I can't take a small break. Since the manager is always looking at everyone, even when I am not working, I have to pretend like I am."

"There are a lot of distractions. I can hear everything everyone says in the whole office."
"Mary sometimes turns on the music. It's not that bad, but sometimes I want it quiet."

"If I have a complaint about something, I can't talk to the manager because everyone will hear. I have to set up a meeting and use the conference room."

Questions and Requests

"I don't have another outlet near my desk. Can I get a power strip?"

"Can I move to a different location? The sun always glares off my monitor and I have trouble working."

"Can I sit on the other side of the room? This is too close to the door and it gets cold here."

"I get hot easily. Would it be possible if I sit next to the door? It is much cooler there."

Cubicles

A cubicle is a work area that is separated by small portable walls. It is generally about 4 to 5 feet high and it gives a little more privacy. Although it's not as good as an office, it is much better than having to sit in an open area looking at everyone. Another benefit of having a cubicle is that you can personalize the space. There are small walls to put up pictures, decoration, or to put up a white board or a cork board.

"I sit in the cubicle down the hall. It's next to the conference room."
"My cubicle is directly on the other side of this wall. Come by sometime."

"The files are on my desk in my cubicle. I'll get them for you."

"I walked by your cubicle and saw a heater. Where did you get such a small one like that? I think I want one for my cubicle as well."

"There are a couple of people with the name Steve in our office. If you say, 'Steve' real loud, you will see two heads appear at the same time. It's quite funny."

If you hear the term 'cube farm', it is referring to a huge space with a lot of cubicles.

"I heard ABC Company has a serious cube farm. Even the CEO has a cubicle. I think that's pretty cool."

"How big is your cubicle?"
"My cubicle is about 5 feet by 6 feet."
"It's roughly 5 by 6."
"I'm not sure, but it fits two small desks and a drawer. I guess it's big enough for me."

                       Office

If you think having an office will stop all your complaints and you will be happy, you are mistaken. It's amazing how people with their own office still find things to complain about. I am just as guilty. I remember when I was sharing an office with one other person, I was complaining about not having my own office. And when I got my own office, I remember complaining about getting a bigger office. When I got a bigger office, I remember complaining about not having a window office. Isn't it strange how the complaints never end? Let's see some of the sentences for this section.

"Why is Jack's office so much bigger than mine?"
"I'm next in line for a window office. How come you gave it to Paul?"

"There is an empty office across the hall. Can I have it?"

"It's great having my own office because I can surf the Internet and take a real break anytime I want."

"The privacy is probably the best thing about having my own office. I can't image working in a cubicle again."

A common phrase you might here from you manager is to come to their office.

"Can you stop by my office?"
"Stop by my office when you get a chance."
"Let's meet in my office."

If you want to stop by someone's office, you can say this.

"Can I stop by your office after lunch?"
"Can I come by your office now?"
"Can we talk in your office?"

Offices and Cubicles - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "How are things at work?"

B: "It's not too bad. But I hate our office setting."

A: "Are you in a cubicle?"

B: "No. I would be happy with a cubicle. We have 10 desks all in a large room. The supervisor is at one end with a view of everyone."

A: "That sucks. You have no privacy."

B: "I know. I can't even take a small break because everyone is watching. But that's not the worst part. I can hear everyone talking all day long and it's so distracting."

A: "I feel sorry for you."

B: "I can't even complain about something to the supervisor because everyone can hear."

A: "Why do they have the office set up like that?"

B: "I'm not sure. Maybe they want to save money, or maybe they think it's more effective."

A: "Is anybody in an office?"

B: "Only the people above the supervisor."

A: "Maybe if they got out of their office and worked in the open space they would realize how terrible it is."

B: "I guess I'll just have to tolerate it for now."

2 

A: "Do you have cubicles in your company?"

B: "No. Everyone has their own office."

A: "You're so lucky. I'm in a cubicle."

B: "I'm so glad we have our own office. There is so much privacy and we can take breaks whenever we want."

A: "How does management know if you are working or not?"

B: "Our company doesn't really keep track of little details. Our performance is based on our assignments and projects. Management doesn't care when it's done, they just want the person to do a good job and turn it in on time."

A: "I like that method. In our company, our manager wants to know every detail almost every hour. If we are a little behind, the manager gets mad and starts worrying."

B: "I would hate that environment."

A: "I agree. It's not a good work environment. Do you ever play video games in your office?"

B: "Not when it is busy, but when we are experiencing a down time, I close the door and start a game of Star Craft. If someone comes in, I quickly switch the view on the monitor."

A: "You're so lucky."

B: "I don't take it for granted, but I wouldn't mind a window office soon."

A: "Shut up you freak."

Quitting or Leaving Work

When the time comes to leave work, you can do whatever you want. You can raise hell, say you hate everyone and yell out, 'I quit!!!' But in other cases when you want to leave professionally, you can use this lesson to help.
There's a common phrase when you are leaving a company. 'Don't burn the bridge.'

This is basically saying you should leave on a good term. If you leave on a good note, then you have the option of coming back to the company or your position if something goes wrong with your next job. So basically, you are leaving the bridge back to your position.

If you are leaving because you have an offer from a different company, here are some professional statements you can make to your manager.

"Hi Mark, I have a wonderful opportunity to work at a different company. I enjoyed my time here, but I shouldn't pass this up. I am putting in my two week notice."

Remember that in the States, changing job is very common. So it is no big deal when you leave a company. Businesses understand the need for change and realize that some people want different challenges in their life. So don't be nervous when you have to leave.

Giving a two week notice is standard. This gives your current employer the chance to hire someone to replace you. It also gives some time for you to finish the remaining work you have to do. Not giving a two week notice is one way to burn a bridge. The new company you are going into should realize this and will not expect you to start your job immediately if you have to give a two week notice. If you don't have a job, then this doesn't apply to you.

Here is another example.

"Hi Mark, unfortunately I have to tell you that I am leaving the company. I really enjoyed my time here and I appreciated all your help on my tasks. I have to put in my two week notice."

"Hi Mark, I received an offer from a different company. This is a great opportunity for me so I accepted the offer. My decision on leaving is not because I didn't like my duties here. I really enjoyed my experience. But I am at a point where I want to find other challenges. I hope you can understand."

I have seen some people leave the company to go on a year trip around the world. Others I have seen just wanted to spend more time with their kids. I know in some countries it is hard to get back into a company after you leave, but in the States, if you are a good employee, it is easy to get their job back. Many times after a long break, they returned to the same company.

"Mark, I have decided to leave the company. I have worked here for 10 years and I really enjoyed it. But I want to take a break and spend more time with my family. So I am putting in my two week notice."

"Hi Mark, I have come to a decision to leave the company. I am going to travel for a year and this is the best time period for me to do so. I always wanted to travel for an extended time period, and this is the only time I can do it. I can work for another month, so hopefully that should give you some time to find a replacement. And if you want, I can train the new employee on my areas."

Negotiating before Leaving

Receiving a job offer is another way to negotiate a salary increase or a position change. If you are a great employee then your current employer might try to entice you to stay. If you are willing to stay, you can say that you received another offer and you are still thinking about it. If they try to make you stay, you can state what it will take for you to stay.

"Hi Mark, I am at a crossroad in my career. I have recently interviewed with a different company and they extended an offer to me. I haven't decided yet, but I wanted to tell you before coming to a decision."

If at this time they ask you to stay, then you can ask for a couple of things.

"If I didn't like this company, it would be an easy decision, but I really like it here. However, I have been asking to take on Program Management responsibilities here. Also, they are offering me a 6 percent higher salary than my current pay. Can anything be done about these two things?"

"Hi Mark, I have been thinking about moving back to my home town. I have a job lined up, but I haven't decided yet. I wanted to let you know before I make my final decision."

If they ask you to stay, you can say the following, but if they don't ask you to stay, then it is useless.

"Well, they are offering me a higher salary. It's 7 percent higher than my current salary. Would it be possible for you guys to match this?" 

General Statements

When you talk to co-workers, you will eventually tell them that you are leaving. Here are some general sentences.

"Next Friday is my last day."
"I already put in my two week notice."
"I'm leaving the company."

"I accepted a job offer from ABC Company. This Friday will be my last day here."

"I'm leaving this dump."
"I would've left a lot sooner but I had to get a job lined up first."
"I got screwed here so many times. I don't want to work here anymore. My last day is this Friday."

"It was great working with you. I wish you the best on this project."
"I had a wonderful time here. I wish the best for you."
"I really enjoyed working with you. I'll send you my personal email so keep in touch."

If someone else is leaving, then you can say something good like the example sentences below.

"I hope you enjoy your new job. Let me know if they have any another opening."
"Good luck in your new job. We'll keep your seat warm for you in case you want to return."
"Hey Jack, good luck with your new job and save me a seat."
"We'll miss you here. Good luck with your new career."

Quitting or Leaving Work - Interactive Practice

1 

A: "Hi Mark, I have something important to tell you."

B: "Come on in. What's on your mind?"

A: "Well, I have decided to leave the company. I had a wonderful time here, but it is time to move on for me."

B: "May I ask why?"

A: "I got an offer from ABC Company. It's a management position and I really don't want to let this opportunity pass me by. You know I have been looking for a management position here, but all the positions here are full."

B: "I understand your decision and you have my support."

A: "Thanks for understanding. I can work here two more weeks."

B: "Ok. Will you be able to finish your current assignment?"

A: "Yes I will. And if you hire someone within two weeks, I would be happy to provide training on my areas."

B: "That would be great. We're going to miss you here."

A: "I'm going to miss this place too. Thanks."

2 

A: "Hi Mary, I interviewed with another company and they offered me a position. I wanted to let you know before I made my decision."

B: "I'm sorry to hear that. But I appreciate you telling me before you accepted the offer."

A: "I really enjoy my work here, but I was concerned about the lack of opportunities. I put in effort to gain more experience here, but the projects are limited."

B: "What would help you to decide to stay?"

A: "I would consider staying more if I could change my position. I would love working in this same group, but I would like to be doing something different. And finally, they offered me 6 percent more than my current salary."

B: "When do you have to make a decision by?"

A: "They want me to respond in a week."

B: "Let me see what I can do and I'll let you know tomorrow or on Wednesday. Can you wait until then?"

A: "That's not a problem."

B: "Great. I'm going to do everything I can to keep you on board."

A: "I appreciate what you are doing for me."

B: "It's the least I can do. You're a valuable asset here."

Asking for Directions

When you are looking for something, it is sometimes easier to ask for directions. When you do, you have to be able to listen to the directions given. In this lesson, we will study listening a little more so you can effectively understand a person giving you directions.

Here are some key words you have to remember. I suggest you drill these in your head because they are very commonly used when giving directions. There are many direction terminologies. I'll cover all the common phrases. You should be able to effectively give directions and receive directions after this lesson.

Asking for Directions

Most of the time, you should start by saying excuse me. The pronunciation for excuse me can be shortened. The shortened form sounds like 'scuse me.'

"Excuse me. Do you know where the post office is?"
"Excuse me. Can you point me to the nearest gas station?"
"Excuse me. Can you give me quick directions to the movie theatre?"
"Excuse me. Do you know how to get to the Shopping mall from here?"
"Excuse me. How do I get to the freeway from here?"

"Excuse me. I'm looking for Bank of America. I thought it was around here. Do you know where it is?"
"Excuse me. I'm looking for the post office. Do you know how to get there?"

"Excuse me. What is the best way to get to Seattle?"

When you ask for directions, the person responding will usually give you quick directions. The next section is a list of common phrases used when giving directions. You should study them carefully so when someone gives you directions, you can understand them without having to say 'one more time.'

Left Right and Around the Corner

Take a Left/Right

"Take a left at the next light."
"Take a right at the gas station."
"When you get to Robson Street, take a left."
"After you pass 7-11, take a right at the next light."
"Take a left when you come to a stop sign."

Turn Left/Right

"Turn right on 112th."
"Turn left after you pass McDonalds."
"When you see a church on your left hand side, turn right on the next street."
"Turn left at the next street and immediately take another left."

Just/Right around the corner

"It's just right around the corner on the left side."
"It's right around the corner from the Starbucks over there."
"Go down the street, turn left on Williams Street, and it will be right around the corner from the gas station."

Across Blocks and Miles

Go for five blocks/After three blocks

"After you turn right, go for five blocks and turn left. It will be right around the corner."

"After three blocks, turn left. You will see it on your right hand side."

"Go for four blocks and then turn right."

Across the street from/Directly across

"It's across the street from the library."

"It's directly across from Taco Bell."

"Go for three blocks, turn left at the next light. You'll see it across the street from McDonalds."

"Go down the street. You'll see it directly across from the gas station."

Go for 2 miles

"It's pretty far from here. Go on Washington Street for about 2 miles. You'll see it next to a school."

"Turn right at the stop sign and go straight for a couple of miles. At 112th turn left. You'll see it on your right hand side."

"Go straight on this street for about 3 miles. You'll see it next to Wendy's." 

Light and 'Y'

On the third light

"Go down this street, after you pass two stop lights, turn right on the third light. You'll see it right around the corner."
"Head down Madison Street and on the fourth light, turn left. You should see it immediately."
"Turn right on Jackson. Keep going straight for three lights. When you see Burger King, turn left. It's right there."

The 'Y'

A 'Y' is a street that turns into two. It's not really a left turn or a right turn, but the street is shaped like the letter 'Y'.

"Keep going down this street. Stay on the left side when you reach the 'Y'. At the next light, turn right."
"Take a left on Jackson. At the 'Y' go to the right. It will be on your left hand side about a mile down that street."
"Go for about three miles on this street. At the 'Y' go to the left. You'll see a blue house on your right. It's right after that house."

Dead end and 'T'

The 'T'

A 'T' intersection is a three way intersection. You can either go left or right. The street is shaped like the letter 'T' so people call it a 'T'. Sometimes they don't call it a 'T'. Other names for a 'T' intersection you might here are more descriptive. Here is a list.

'When the road ends...'

'When you can't go anymore...'

'Three way intersection...'

"At the 'T' intersection, turn right. It is just around the corner."

"When you pass a gas station, you will come up to a 'T'. Take a left, and then an immediate right."

"Go down this road until it ends. Turn left at the 'T' and you will see the gas station on your right."

Dead end

This isn't a direction terminology, but dead end is a road that has only one entrance. That means the only way out is the way you came in. All dead end streets will have a sign at the entrance with the word '