Doing Laundry
Two women talk at the laundromat. The Grammar focus is on Prepositional phrases.
Emma: “I need detergent.”
Sally: “What for?”
Emma: “To wash my clothes.”
Sally: “The machine on the wall has that.”
Emma: “Oh, I did not see it.”
Sally: “It’s cheap.”
Emma: “Thanks a lot. Do you like this place?”
Sally: “Yes, I can let my hair down here. Be myself.”
Emma: “I like the plants and the music.”
Sally: “This is definitely a nice place. I like Tuesday morning the best.”
Emma: “Why is that?”
Sally: “Nobody is here.”
Emma: “I understand that.”
VOCABULARY WITH IDIOMS
Let one’s hair down means to drop one’s reserve or inhibitions, behave casually or informally. See online Idioms Dictionary.
Be oneself (myself) means to act without pretense, be unaffected, sincere. See online Idioms Dictionary.
Definitely means certainly, assuredly, undeniably. See online Dictionary.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Suggested Topic for Comments: Prepositional Phrases
“The machine on the wall” consists of a Noun (“machine”) and a Prepositional Phrase (Preposition followed by a Noun phrase).
INTERMEDIATE-ADVANCED DIALOGUE
A new Idiom is “Cup of joe.” The Grammar focus is on Relative Clauses.
Adriana: “Do you have any change?”
Vera: “There’s a machine on the wall over there that gives change.”
Adriana: “Oh, thanks. I didn’t see it.”
Vera: “They have everything here. Do you have a lot of laundry?”
Adriana: “Kinda. I’m worried about the wool sweaters.”
Vera: “You can do those here. The machines have a wool cycle on them.”
Adriana: “Oh good, I didn’t want to go to a dry cleaner. I’ve got Woolite.”
Vera: “I always wash my sweaters by hand. It’s just a habit, the machines work fine.”
Adriana: “I need a cup of joe. Do they have any here?”
Vera: “You didn’t see the barista outside?”
Adriana: “No, I’m half-blind this early in the morning.”
Vera: “You’re not the only one. Ya, she can make you anything you want. She’s got chocolate bars, too.”
Adriana: “Sounds like it’s all good here.”
Vera: “Almost. The sound system broke a couple of months ago and nobody ever fixed it.”
Adriana: “Not good.”
VOCABULARY WITH IDIOMS
Cup of joe means a cup of coffee. Sometimes spelled cuppa joe. See online Idioms Dictionary.
Barista is someone professionally trained who makes and serves coffee and other beverages. See online Idioms Dictionary.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Suggested Topic for Comments: Relative Clauses
Relative clauses are very common and complex in English. They may not even exist per se in a student’s native language, which makes them more difficult to master. They are adjectival modifiers that occur after the noun and begin with a relative pronoun. The relative pronoun introduces the clause which becomes embedded in the main clause. Imagine the following two clauses:
The car was expensive.
She bought the car.
The second can be “embedded” within the first by means of a relative clause beginning with the relative pronoun “that”:
The car that she bought was expensive.
In our dialogue we have the sentence: “There’s a machine on the wall that gives change.” The embedded information is “that gives change,” and “that” is the relative pronoun which introduces the clause that modifies “machine.”
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