Focus on vocabulary. Part 8

Steve: Hi, Jill.

Jill: Hi, Steve. How are you today?

Steve: Good.

Jill: Good.

Steve: It's always fun to get together here and talk about Jill: our little story. Steve: our little story. We hope that people benefit and today we are going to listen to Episode, which?

Jill: Number 8.

Steve: Number 8; alright.

* * * Why is it your business if your brother has a girl friend? I have my reasons. I know I am right.

Maybe the girl just lives in the apartment.

I think there is more to it than that.

Maybe she just shares in the rent and is not his girlfriend.

I do not believe that.

It is quite common today for people to just live together.

Is the girl pretty?

Yes, in fact she is very pretty. I would even say she is beautiful.

* * * Steve: Well, the story is moving along. Did you identify any interesting phrases there?

Jill: So, in the first sentence: Why is it your business if your brother has a girlfriend? The phrase: if your brother has a girlfriend ?

Steve: Exactly. I think the use of "if" I mean, it's a very key word if. And how do you then structure it. We are now talking about a more complicated sentence. Otherwise, it's not your business; your brother has a girlfriend; those are all simple sentences. Now we are talking about a compound sentence, I think this is called. And so, again, people who are not comfortable using if should save the word if in The Linguist to create lots of example sentences because you are going to learn to use these words because you see them and hear them often.

Jill: Yes.

Steve: And so, I think it's useful. This is how it works if your brother has a girlfriend . Why is it your business if your brother has a nice apartment? Why is it your business if, you know, if your brother isn't home? I mean, it could be anything. Also, the story is getting interesting because it looks like her brother is living with this other girl. And we will find out in the story why this is of interest to Sally and it doesn't make Sally look like a very nice person. Jill: No.

Steve: Alright. What's next? Jill: There is more to it than that .

Steve: Right.

Jill: So, I think that's a fairly common phrase in English and it just means it's not as simple as it sounds or as you are making it out to be. Steve: Or, again, it's not as simple as that. Jill: As that.

Steve: It's not as simple as that. There's no that there. No, it's just not as simple as that. Jill: Right.

Steve: It's more complicated than that. There is more to it than that. More to it; more to it; there is more there; it's more complicated. Jill: Right.

Steve: Okay.

Jill: And then we have to just live together.

Steve: Right.

Jill: I mean Steve: It's a little complicated here. We are getting into the main part of the story, but the key there is the word just. Which means what Only.

Jill: Only.

Steve: Only because, perhaps, Sally is making some assumptions about the relationship between her brother and this girl. And so, the janitor, or whatever he is, is implying that no, they may not be in a relationship, they may just share the apartment. So, they just live together.

Jill: Right.

Jill: And the final one or sorry, the second to last, in the fact.

Steve: Right.

Jill: So, I think we talked a little bit about that in our last Podcast.

Steve: Right.

Jill: It's a filler. Yes, she is very pretty would mean the same thing as Yes, in fact, she is very pretty. Steve: Or we had one earlier the thing is.

Jill: The thing is.

Steve: Yes, but it wouldn't be appropriate here; but, I think, even for intermediate learners, it's useful to have filler phrases that they are comfortable using and it makes you seem more like a native speaker. If you can use in fact or the thing is or yeah, Yes, you know, she is very pretty. In fact, in fact here works. Again, I would recommend, as I always say, save the phrase in fact. It probably appears many, many times in your listening and reading and then you will have some example sentences that can help you get a feel.

Jill: And then the final one in this episode is: would even say . I would even say she is beautiful.

Steve: Right.

I would go as far as to say. I mean, I would not just say that she is good looking. I would even say that she is beautiful.

Jill: She is more than just pretty. She is beautiful.

Steve: You know, I've got to get to meet this girl. Who is this girl? Steve: So, here again, we have these words of emphasis just, even, still. I would still say; for example, one might say well, you know, she cut her hair short or she's old now or something and you say But, I would still say that she is beautiful. Jill: Right.

Steve: So, these little words just, even, still, Jill: only, Steve: only. I would only say she is beautiful if you paid me Jill: Right. Steve: or if she paid me.

Steve: So, these words of emphasis little short words Jill: Very important. Steve: Very important and, also, it's very important to learn where they go. You can't say: I even would say she is well, you probably could, but the emphasis is slightly different. And so, again, you know, I sound like, as we say, a broken record. But, save the word even, see where it's used, see where it appears in the sentence in many different examples and then try to copy. Jill: And even would. In this case, you know, would is not the past tense. It's when you are trying to make things Steve: Because here, it's almost the sense, if you ask me I would even say, you know. If asked, I would say that's why the would is used. Jill: Yes.

Steve: It's what they call these modules. But, again, I believe that if you listen my recommendation, even though this is a very simple story, if you listen and I have listened to this story 50 times in Russian because we have translated this into Russian. And so, you have, after listening to it so many times, you know the story. You have a tremendous feel for the story. I don't translate the story into English when I listen to it in Russian because I have heard it so many times. So, therefore, I know what meaning this is trying to convey. And so, it's at that level through meaning that you start to get used to the language; not because there's modules and there's all kinds of theory about whatever. No, that's not our style. Steve: Okay.

Well, it's a little short today but, again, the full 26 episodes of The Power of the Linguist are in our Library at www.thelinguist.com. We think that, you know, we have over 200 hours of content; that our method for learning words and phrases is extremely efficient and we recommend that, not only our beginner learners, but even some of our intermediate learners, go back and refresh and review with some of this easy content such as The Power of the Linguist here.

Jill: Right.

Steve: Okay, good night.

Jill: Talk to you next time.

Steve: Bye, bye.

Jill: Bye, bye.