Car Repair
A new Idiom is “At a crossroads.” The Grammar focuses on Comparatives.
Galvan: “Do you know anything about cars?”
Pablo: “A little bit. Not a lot.”
Galvan: “I think I have an electrical problem.”
Pablo: “Does your car start? What are the symptoms?”
Galvan: “Yes, it usually starts without any problems. But not always. My lights sometimes seem dimmer.”
Pablo: “Have you checked the battery?”
Galvan: “It’s an old battery.”
Pablo: “There’s corrosion on the terminals. See that white powder?”
Galvan: “Yes, is that corrosion?”
Pablo: “Baking soda and water will clean that.”
Galvan: “I can do that.”
Pablo: “That might take care of the problem. Or, it might be at a crossroads.”
Galvan: “You mean I have to replace it?”
Pablo: “Maybe. Let’s clean it first.”
VOCABULARY WITH IDIOMS
At a crossroads means at a point when a choice must be made. See online Idioms Dictionary.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Suggested Topic for Comments: Comparatives
“My lights sometimes seem dimmer.” Gradable adjectives of two or more syllables may use inflectional forms, but with only one syllable they take the regular -er inflection, and in the case of “dim” double the m: “dimmer.”
INTERMEDIATE-ADVANCED DIALOGUE
New Idioms are “Put off” and “Face the music.” The grammar focuses on the Present Perfect Progressive.
Landon: “I need a mechanic to fix this.”
Chaz: “What’s wrong?”
Landon: “I don’t know, it just doesn’t run smoothly.”
Chaz: “Have you had a tune-up recently?”
Landon: “No, I’ve been putting it off.”
Chaz: “Well, there’s your solution. Just go for a tune-up and they’ll take care of it.”
Landon: “I’m tired of this car, to tell you the truth. I’ve tried to fix everything from soup to nuts on it, and it never seems to just run. You know, run without problems.”
Chaz: “I know exactly what you mean. I don’t even mess with mine, I just take it to the shop.”
Landon: “I would do that more often, but I thought I could save some money. But this is a lemon, I might as well face the music on that. I can never get it right.”
Chaz: “I bite the bullet and pay out the cost up front. Fewer problems that way.”
Landon: “So you buy yours new?”
Chaz: “Ya, I don’t have time to mess with it otherwise.”
VOCABULARY WITH IDIOMS
Put off is a phrasal verb which means to delay, postpone. See the online idiom dictionary.
From soup to nuts means from beginning to end. See the online idiom dictionary.
A lemon is something that is worthless or of less value than one was led to believe. See the online idiom dictionary.
Might as well is used to say that you will do something because it seems best in the situation you are in, although you may not really want to do it. See the online idiom dictionary.
Face the music figuratively means to receive punishment, or to accept the unpleasant results of one’s actions. See the online idiom dictionary.
Bite the bullet means to force oneself to do something, to accept a difficult situation. See the online idiom dictionary.
Up front means at the beginning; in advance. See the online idiom dictionary.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Suggested Topic for Comments: The Present Perfect Progressive
“I’ve been putting it off.” A perfect example of a phrasal verb in the present perfect progressive tense. The object “it,” being a pronoun, is sandwiched in between the verb and the particle. And the meaning points to a situation that began in the past and that continues into the present and possibly into the future. The present perfect tense, by contrast, might imply continuance or relevance in the present, but would generally state completion or at least without implication about the future.
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