Spring Is Sprung
Two friends decide spring is sprung and go play badminton outside. The Grammar focus is on Imperatives.
Gisela: “I love spring! Let’s go outside!”
Petra: “I’m coming. Do you want to play badminton?”
Gisela: “Sure, but the beach is two blocks away.”
Petra: “That’s a hop, skip, and a jump!”
Gisela: “You’re right, let’s go. It’s too sunny to stay indoors!”
VOCABULARY WITH IDIOMS
Hop, skip, and a jump means a short distance. See online Idioms Dictionary.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Suggested Topic for Comments: Imperatives“
“Let’s go” is an example of an Imperative which includes the speaker. Normally there is no subject expressed in an imperative sentence, but here we have the “inclusive imperative.” Some grammarians point out that the tone is softer than normal commands in this construction.
INTERMEDIATE-ADVANCED DIALOGUE
A man helps a beggar because spring is sprung and it’s sunny out. The Grammar focus is on Phrasal Verbs.
Beggar: “Yo — what’s up?”
Fabian: “Not much. You making any dinero sitting here?”
Beggar: “Not really. Got breakfast this morning, though.”
Fabian: “That’s not a bad thing. Are you injured? Sick in the head?”
Beggar: “I’m sick in the head. I start the day with dreams, but they melt away and I just stew in my own juice. I’m going nowhere fast.”
Fabian: “I feel that way a lot, actually.”
Beggar: “Ya but you got clothes and a place to live. People to help.”
Fabian: “At the moment, but not always.”
Beggar: “The moment is all that counts.”
Fabian: “What size shoe do you wear?”
Beggar: “I wear a 10, baby! Ten is for perfect!”
Fabian: “Well, here’s your perfect for today. New boots, they’re size 10, and you can go anywhere you want with them on.”
Beggar: “What? What are you going to wear?”
Fabian: “I’m going barefoot. It’s hot out, I got spring fever. How do those boots fit?”
Beggar: “Fantastic, I don’t know what to say. This is witchcraft or fairy dust.”
Fabian: “Spring has sprung, my friend. Now you got your mojo back.”
VOCABULARY WITH IDIOMS
Dinero is slang for money. See online Idioms Dictionary.
Melt away is a phrasal verb which means to dissipate or fade away as if by melting. See online Idioms Dictionary.
Stew in my own juice means to brood over one’s unpleasant emotions. See online Idioms Dictionary.
Spring fever means a feeling of often restless excitement or exuberance coinciding with the onset of warmer spring weather. See online Idioms Dictionary.
Fairy dust means a glittery powder that can provide magical events, actions or dreams to happen. See online Idioms Dictionary.
Spring is sprung or “Spring has sprung” is probably the name of the original poem, but alterations like this can easily happen in informal conversation.
Get one’s mojo back means to regain one’s confidence, energy or enthusiasm, often coinciding with success. See online Idioms Dictionary.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Suggested Topic for Comments: Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs, which consist of a verb and a particle (sometimes called an adverb), can be transitive or intransitive. In the sentence “My dreams melt away” we have an example of an intransitive phrasal verb, as no direct object follows “melt away.” But it’s also an example of a few phrasal verbs which can be both intransitive and transitive, as “melt away” can also be used as follows: “This medication melted my pain away,” where “pain” is the object, making “melt away” a transitive verb.
A more typical example of an exclusively transitive phrasal verb would be: “The teacher called off the afternoon class,” where “class” is the direct object.
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