Hi there!
I have another mini lesson of English for you, based on the ‘Friends’ series, which can help you speak better English at work!
You can find the scene on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWqUX_aCKBE&list=PL4VjYMnxdYuVdqqAuuURtNHY5cfNFy606
As always, I’ve selected for you three juicy aspects of English.
1.
At 0:45, Rachel says, “Can you believe they are actually getting married?”
Note that she says “they are getting married,” and not “they will get married” or “they are going to get married. Why?
We’re using Present Continuous here (and not ‘will’ or ‘going to’), because the event in question is an arrangement. An arrangement means that you’ve put something into your (Google 😉 ) calendar, and informed others about that.
In the work context, you can say: “I’m having the appraisal meeting on Friday,” or “I’m travelling to Scotland on business next month.”
What are your workplace arrangements? Make your own sentences to practise! 🙂
2.
At 0:50, Ross says, “Do you think we’re ever gonna have that?”
“Gonna” is a short form of “going to,” so the full version would be “Do you think we’re ever going to have that?” Here, Ross uses “be going to,” and not “will” or Present Continuous. Why?
“Be going to” has a few uses, and here we’re talking about a prediction based on present evidence. Yup, I know, sounds scary and complicated!
“A prediction based on present evidence” means that you know that something is going to happen, because it has kind of already started. For instance, if you can see black clouds, you can say “It’s going to rain”. If you’ve failed repeatedly at work, you can say “I’m going to get fired”. And if the boss has been happy with you, you say “I’m going to get promoted.”
Can you make sentences about you, with “going to,” in work context?
3.
At 1:45, Ross says, “I was good at the stuff.” Remember, after “good,” it’s always “at,” not “in” – as is our Polish tendency. So, at work, you can say: “I’m good at arranging meetings. I’m good at sales, but I’m not so good at maths.”
And what are YOU good at? Make some sentences to practise!
You can put your sentences in the comments below and get my feedback on them! 🙂
Używasz angielskiego 🇬🇧🇺🇸 w pracy? Potrzebujesz go do kontaktów biznesowych? Pokażę Ci, że możesz się go uczyć lekko, łatwo i przyjemnie – z sitcomów!
Zapraszam Cię na bezpłatną lekcję angielskiego online: mów po angielsku w pracy, ucząc się z seriali. Czwartek 21 listopada, 14:00. Dla zapisanych będzie dostępne nagranie! 🙂
