Unfortunately, stress is a common emotion that we all experience. Most of the time, stress is caused by pressure placed on us. We experience stress trying to live up to someone else's expectations. This is the same for school and work. We are given work to do and if there is so much, we experience stress.

School

"I'm stressing out. I have a mid term tomorrow and I haven't studied yet."

"I have a paper due tomorrow and I didn't even read the book. I'm so stressed."

"I always get stressed out during finals week. Even if I study a lot, there are always unexpected questions I don't know about."

"My parents give me so much stress. They expect me to get straight A's all the time."

"I would enjoy school a lot more if my parents didn't put so much pressure on me."

"My dad gave me a beating when I brought home a C on my report card."

"I'm so stressed. I'm taking the CPA exam next week and I'm not confident."

"I've been stressed like this for two weeks now. I'll be happy when this semester is over."

"I took too many classes this semester. I shouldn't have tried to do so much. Now I'm stressing like crazy."

"My English professor is stressing me out. He wants me to help him write his article."

"I'm having a lot of trouble in my political science class. It's stressing me out."

Stress - Work

"I get a lot of stress from work."

"I'm sick of all the stress I have to deal with."

"The project I'm working on is giving me a lot of stress."

"I have a lot of stress because of my manager. He wants me to finish my project in four days."

"The most stressful thing about work is always making sure my manager is happy."

"If I don't butt kiss, I might get fired. It's so stressful living like this."

"Work is so stressful."

"There's this guy at work. He's the biggest butt kisser. It's stressful competing against this guy."

"I get a lot of stress from my coworkers. They're all way too competitive."

"I volunteered for another project and it's stressful to say the least. I'm working 14 hours a day."

"My company is over working me. They expect way too much from everybody."

"If the work doesn't kill me, the stress will."

Stress - Questions and Answers

"What do you do when you feel a lot of stress?"

"What do you do when you feel stressed out?"

"How do you relieve your stress?"

"After work, I usually go out with some friends and have a few drinks."

"We usually complain about our jobs over a bottle of Soju."

"Drinking is the way we deal with stress."

"On the weekend, my friends and I go out and drink a lot. It's the only way to stop thinking about work."

Although drinking to relieve stress is a normal practice. It is a bad interview question. When you are talking to friends, it is normal to say that you drink to take care of the stress, but if you talk to someone important, make sure you give a simple answer.

"I usually go to the river and relax by the water."

"I like to rent a movie and relax on the sofa. This really helps me deal with my stress."

"What stresses you out the most?"

"What makes you stressed the most?"

"Where do you get the most stress from?"

"My company gives me the most stress."

"My girlfriend gives me the most stress."

"I get a lot of stress from my parents."

"School is the most stressful for me."

"Everything about life is stressful."

"I have a lot of stress trying to pay all the bills."

Stress - General

"My parents are putting pressure on me to get married. It's so stressful."

"My husband wants to have a baby. I don't want one yet. It's very stressful."

"I get so much stress before interviews."

"I feel a lot of stress when I have to talk in front of a large group."

"Learning English is the most stressful thing I ever had to deal with."

"I get stress every time I think about speaking English."

"He is always late with his work. It's beginning to stress me out."

"It's stressful because if anything goes wrong, our whole project will be ruined."

"It's so stressful because of the importance. So many people are dependent on our success."

Stress - Interactive Practice

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hi Jackie. You don't look too well. What's going on?"

B: "It's nothing. I'm just a little stressed out."

A: "Why? What's stressing you out?"

B: "School. Since I was working part time, I had a difficult time keeping up with class. Now that we have exams coming up, I'm totally freaking out."

A: "The best thing to do is study as much as you can. I'm sure you'll do alright."

B: "I hope so. I guess I won't be sleeping for the next 3 days. That's what it'll take."

A: "I have to study for an exam too. Why don't we study together. We can encourage each other."

B: "That will be great."

A: "Hey Mike. What are you doing tonight?"

B: "Nothing planned. How about you?"

A: "Work is kicking my ass. I'm so stressed. Let's go grab a drink."

B: "I'm always up for a drink. To tell you the truth, it's been quite stressful here too."

A: "I say we get drunk tonight. I don't want to think about all this stuff."

B: "But we have to work tomorrow."

A: "We won't stay out too late. I just need to forget about work."

B: "I hear ya. Let's do it."

A: "What stresses you out the most?"

B: "Probably my parents."

A: "How so?"

B: "Well, during school, they wanted good grades. Then after I got a job, they wanted me to get a better job. And finally, they want me to get married."

A: "You have to deal with a lot of pressure from your parents."

B: "Your parents are not like that?"

A: "Ever since I brought home some bad grades in elementary school, they never expected much."

B: "You're lucky."

A: "What do you do to deal with the stress?"

B: "Not much I can do. It's always there. I sometimes go out with some friends and drink, but that's only a temporary solution. The stress always returns in the morning."

A: "That sucks. You wanna go grab a beer?"

B: "Sure. Sounds great. Let's go."

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "You don't look too well. What's going on?"

B: "I just lost my job. I'm just worried about how I'm going to pay the bills."

A: "I'm sorry to hear that. Have you been looking for another job?"

B: "I just started, but the job market is very bad right now. I'm not optimistic about it."

A: "That's tough. What does your wife think about this?"

B: "She's trying to be supportive, but I can tell she is very worried about our financial situation as well."

A: "I have some friends who might be able to help you find a job. I'll see what they can do."

B: "I really appreciate your help."

A: "No problem. In the meantime, don't try to worry so much. You'll get through this."

A: "Jared, I just heard about your father. How is he doing?"

B: "He's in the hospital resting. The doctor's didn't give a clear answer yet."

A: "I'm so sorry to hear that. But this is a good hospital. I'm sure they will do whatever they can."

B: "I hope so."

A: "You must feel really worried right now. But you know your dad is a fighter."

B: "Yeah. I think my mom is the most worried. I'm basically worried about how she is doing."

A: "Where is she right now?"

B: "She's in the hospital with my dad. I have to go back tonight."

A: "Hey, I'll go with you."

B: "You don't have to."

A: "It's really no problem."

B: "Ok. Let's go right after dinner."

Some people might say worrying is useless, but it is an emotion that everyone has. Worrying doesn't help the situation, but we can't help to feel worried when something happens. Let's look at some sentences that are commonly used.

"I'm worried about my son."

"I'm worried about the situation."

"I'm so worried."

"I'm a little worried."

"He's very worried about work."

"He's worrying about his financial situation."

"She's worried about her dog."

"Our dog has been missing for 2 days. My wife is very worried."

"Our son slipped and hit his head. It's going to be a couple of days before we know how serious it is. I can't help but worry about it."

"I'd be worried if I was in that situation."

"I bet she's really worried."

"The doctor said something was wrong with my wife's blood test. I'm so worried."

"I lost my job and I'm having a hard time finding another one. I'm beginning to worry about how I'm going to take care of my family."

"My husband lost his job. Although I'm worried, I can't put pressure on him because he feels really bad."

Worry - Serious Situation

Sometimes, a person might not take a situation seriously. If something bad happened and they don't think it is bad, then a popular comment is to say something like this.

"I would worry if I were you."

"Do you think this is a joke? This is pretty serious."

"This is one of your last chances. Aren't you worried at all?"

When we are worried, the word doesn't have to be used to express that we are worried. Here are a few examples of what I am talking about.

"I don't know how I'm going to pay for the medical bills."

"I have so much debt. I don't know what to do."

"I just took the exam and I don't know if I passed or not."

"I only applied for three schools. What's going to happen if I don't get into any of them?"

"I just had my interview. I don't know if I got it or not."

"I hope they come out with the results soon. I hate the waiting."

"The doctor said there are some complications with the pregnancy. I'm praying nothing bad happens."

"My mother got into a car accident. She's in critical condition. I don't know what's going to happen."

"So many people are counting on me. What if I let them down?"

Being Worried - Talking to a Worried Person

When someone is worried, here are some sentences you might need to say.

"Stop worrying. It's only making you feel worse."

"You should try to think positive. Worrying is not going to help you."

"Don't worry about the planning. I'll take care of it."

"Don't worry about the money. I already took care of it."

"I'm sure you passed the test. Don't worry about it."

"You had a high GPA and you did well on your test. Don't worry about getting into school. I'm sure all of them will accept you."

"You're over reacting. The situation is not that bad. I don't think you should be worried at all."

"Worrying is not going to help your situation. Let's think of a step by step plan that will help your financial problem."

"The hardest part of your situation is that you can't do anything about it. I hope everything works out."

"Everything happens for a reason. I'm sure something good will come out of all this."

Worry - Worried about Family

Parents worry a lot about their kids. And if you have a mom or dad that worries about you, then you can say these types of sentences.

"Don't worry about me."

"Stop worrying about me. I'm doing great."

"My mom is always worried about me."

"I wish my mom would stop worrying about me."

"My dad is always worried about my future."

"I wish my mom would stop saying how much she worries about me. It doesn't really help my situation."

"Why do parents always tell us that they are worried about us."

"If you weren't such a screw up, then your parents wouldn't have to worry about you."

"Your parents only worry because they love you."

"Your mom only wants what is best for you. That's why she's worrying so much."

"Your dad wants you to have a better life than his. That's why he's worrying."

Finally, when we get older, it is common to worry about marriage and kids.

"I'm already 30 and I don't even have a boy friend. What if I don't ever get married?"

"My mom is worried that I won't get married."

"We've been trying to have a baby for 2 years now. I'm worried that we will never have one."

"My parents are worried that we won't have any children."

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "I can't wait to go skiing tomorrow."

B: "I know. It's going to be so much fun."

A: "I always get excited the day before."

B: "I used to be like that. But I go skiing so often that I don't get excited anymore."

A: "I only go skiing twice a year, so it's a real treat for me."

B: "That makes sense."

A: "What things make you excited?"

B: "Whenever I go to Vegas, I get really excited."

A: "Oh... that makes me excited too!"

B: "Looks like anything fun makes you excited."

A: "Hey Jack. Are you excited about starting work?"

B: "Yeah. I'm really looking forward to it."

A: "What was more exciting, starting college or starting work?"

B: "They're pretty similar, but in different ways. I really can't decide. How about you?"

A: "For me, I think starting school was more exciting."

B: "Does that mean work isn't that great?"

A: "It's different for everyone, but because I knew school was going to be so much fun, I really got excited about it."

B: "But work is a huge portion of our lives. I'm looking forward to making it fun."

A: "That's a great attitude to have. I don't think you'll have any problems in the workforce."

B: "I hope you're right."

A: "Hey Suzie. Guess what? I'm having a baby!"

B: "Really? That's so great. Congratulations."

A: "Thanks. I'm so excited. We've been trying for 8 months now."

B: "That's really exciting. How many months are you pregnant?"

A: "Three months."

B: "Are you going to find out if it is a boy or a girl?"

A: "I want to, but Bob doesn't. He wants to be surprised like the old fashioned way."

B: "Maybe it's more exciting not knowing."

A: "I'd rather know and buy all the baby things ahead of time."

B: "There are so many things you have to prepare for."

A: "I know I am going to be busy, but I know I can handle it. I have been looking forward to this day for a long long time."

B: "It really must be an exciting time for you guys."

A: "Thank you so much."

Being excited is another positive emotion. I'm sure everyone knows what it feels like to be excited, so let's get right into learning sentences.

The day before a big event, many people get excited. Here are some sentences you can use.

"I'm getting excited for golf tomorrow."

"I'm too excited to go to sleep now. Our trip tomorrow is going to be so fun."

"We're leaving for our camping trip tomorrow. I'm getting really excited."

"Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day."

"We're finally moving into our first house. It's a very exciting time for us."

"I have an interview tomorrow. Although I am scared, it's an exciting opportunity."

Regular sentences

"I'm excited to be here."

"Your sister must be really excited about starting law school."

"It's really exciting thinking about the benefits people will gain from our project."

"It's exciting starting a small business."

"I get excited thinking about how many people I will help."

"Don't get too excited. It's not guaranteed yet."

"I wouldn't get excited yet. You still have one more match to play."

"You didn't get the job yet, so don't get too excited about it."

Questions

"I'm pretty fired up about tomorrow. Aren't you excited too?"

"Are you feeling excited or scared about your interview tomorrow?"

"Do you get excited every time you get a phone number from a girl?"

"Is your brother excited about starting work?"

"Are you excited about your date tomorrow?"

Excited - Other Expressions

Sometimes, being too excited can be negative. Here are some examples.

"I don't know what's wrong with him. He's always excited for no reason."

"He's too hyper. I don't know why he's excited about every little thing."

Hyper is usually used when someone has too much energy.

If you feel too excited, you won't be able to sleep. Then you won't perform that well tomorrow."

"Calm down. You're over reacting."

"My friend can never go to sleep the day before we go skiing. He always gets too excited."

"My dog gets excited whenever the doorbell rings."

"People with heart problems shouldn't get excited too often."

"You should feel excited about this opportunity."

"I don't understand why you're unhappy with your situation. I'd feel excited to have your opportunity."

"Going to a concert is very exciting. There are many people there with so much energy and it's very fun."

"It's exciting to see a great singer perform so powerfully."

"I'm excited about my trip to Europe. It's going to be so fun."

Being pumped up is another way you can say you are excited.

"I'm pretty pumped up about my trip to Australia. I'm really looking forward to it."

"I'm pumped up about working out. I joined a health club and set a good schedule to follow."

Being thrilled about something is another way to say you are excited.

"It's so thrilling skiing down the mountain real fast."

"I'm thrilled thinking about buying a new car."

When you are referring to an exciting person, the word most commonly used is enthusiastic.

"He's a very enthusiastic person."

"I wish I had as much enthusiasm as he does."

"It's always fun to be around an enthusiastic person."

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "What happened to your car?"

B: "A tow truck was towing my car and put all those dents in my car."

A: "Are they going to pay you for the damages?"

B: "They're saying it was already there."

A: "What the hell. That doesn't make sense. What are you going to do?"

B: "I have to go to court. A cop was there so he can prove that the damage wasn't there."

A: "That sucks. I'd be pissed if that happened to me."

B: I got an estimate and it's four thousand dollars."

A: "Oh my gosh. Damn... screw the court, I would burn down their store."

B: "We'll see what happens after court."

A: "Jack, what's wrong?"

B: "You!"

A: "What are you talking about? What did I do?"

B: "You told Martha that I was on a date? What was that all about?"

A: "No... that's not what I meant. I didn't mean that. She asked me where you were and I jokingly said that you were on a date with Sara. I thought Martha knew that you and Sara were just friends."

B: "She started feeling suspicious after you said that."

A: "I'm sorry man. I didn't know. I didn't mean to screw anything up."

B: "Martha gets jealous easily and it took a while to convince her that Sara was just a friend. Now, I have to explain to Sara that I can't hang around her because of you."

A: "Look. I really didn't mean to, and next time I see Martha, I'll really tell her that you and Sara are really just friends."

B: "Don't bother."

Different people react in different ways when they are angry. In this lesson, we will look at a variety of sentences people use when they are angry. When someone is angry in the real world, they use a lot of profanity or curse words. Because of this fact, this lesson will contain bad words.

There are many ways a person can get angry. Let's first look at the situation where it involved a different person.

"I'm so pissed. Roger just stabbed me in the back."

"What was he thinking! I thought we were friends too."

"I don't know what I'm going to do when I see him. I found out that he's been sleeping with my girlfriend."

"Matt is dating my ex-girlfriend. I'm pretty upset about that. He knows I still have feelings for her."

"Whenever I think about him, I get pissed. He treats his friends like crap."

"I can't believe he was talking behind my back. Whenever he talks to me, he acts like we're close friends."

"Matt borrowed my car and put a dent in it. He claims he didn't do it. I'm never trusting him again."

"I told Scott a secret and made sure he never tells anyone. The next week, I heard it from three different people. I was so pissed."

Anger - Understanding

There are only a few things you need to say when someone is talking to you about anger. The best thing to do is understand their feeling.

"I can't believe that happened. I'd be so pissed."

"I know how you feel. I was so angry when that happened to me."

"I can't imagine how angry you must feel. That has never happened to me."

"If that happened to me, I'd get revenge."

"What are you going to do to get him back?"

"That totally sucks, but I'm not surprised. I always knew he was a back stabber."

"The best thing to do is stop being his friend. He doesn't deserve to have any friends."

Anger - Confronting

When you are talking to the person that made you angry, it is common to lose control and say a lot of things. Here are some common sentences.

"I thought you were a friend. I had so much trust in you. I can't believe you did this to me."

"What were you thinking when you stabbed me in the back. Did it feel good?"

"Why'd you do it?"

"You know I still have feelings for Mandy. You didn't even consider my feelings. What? Am I not a friend or something?"

"You're not the only one hurting for money. You owe me five hundred dollars. I need it now."

"You didn't have to tell my parents that I owed you money. I said I would pay you back when I got my paycheck. I can't believe you would do this."

Sentences you can ask or say if you feel a friend is angry with you

"Are you mad at me?"

"Are you angry?"

"You're not disappointed are you?"

"Don't be angry with me. I really didn't mean it."

"I didn't know you were involved. I hope you're not mad at me."

"I really didn't know it was going to make you upset."

Anger – Other

If you make good friends, you can avoid these types of scenarios. However, there are times when the situation was out of your control. For example, a friend of mine had to landscape his back yard for his house, so he called a company to delivery a lot of top soil. As the driver was driving back to the house, he hit my friends house and damaged a pipeline. The driver claimed it wasn't his fault and said he wouldn't pay for the damages. When things like this happen, we use the court system to get payment. But my friend was so angry because they were not accepting fault. Here are some of the things I heard.

"I was so pissed for a couple of weeks. During that time, I thought of twenty different ways I could hurt his business."

"I'm going to screw with him so much."

In the end, everything worked out. They went to court and my friend won.

There are a couple of other emotions that are similar to being angry. I'll cover some of them here.

"I'm so frustrated."

"It's so frustrating working with him."

"I was so frustrated, I stopped caring about the outcome."

"He gets frustrated pretty easily."

"It's easy to get frustrated when things are not fair."

"I'm not really mad, just a little disappointed."

"That really hurt me. I'm so disappointed."

"I'm really disappointed in you. I didn't know you could stoop to that level."

In boxing, a low blow is a hit below the belt that is considered unfair. The term low blow became widely used when someone did something unfair. Here are some sentences to give you an idea.

"That was low."

"I can't believe Jackie would do something so low."

Now that we know what low means, stooping to that level means to do something that is low. You are basically lowering yourself to perform a bad or unfair task.

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hey John. I have some great news."

B: "What happened?"

A: "I got a job offer from Dell."

B: "That's great. I thought you said you didn't get the job."

A: "I thought I did bad on the interview, but I guess I was wrong. I'm so happy right now."

B: "I bet. That's great news. I'm very happy for you."

A: "Thanks. I feel like celebrating. Let's go have a beer. It's on me."

B: "Sounds good."

A: "Mike, did you win the lottery or something? Why the big smile?"

B: "I'm so relieved. I just passed the bar exam."

A: "You did? That's great! You must be very happy now?"

B: "That's an understatement. I'm on cloud nine. I couldn't be any happier."

A: "Did you tell your parents yet?"

B: "Not yet. I didn't get a hold of them. I'll try to call them again tonight."

A: "They're probably going to be so happy."

B: "I think so. It's turning out to be a great day."

A: "Life's so boring."

B: "Well, most of the time it is, I guess."

A: "What do you think will make you happy?"

B: "I think money will make me happy."

A: "You heard people say that money doesn't guarantee happiness."

B: "It will for me. Then I can do all the things I want to do."

A: "You'll get bored eventually."

B: "Then I can find something new to do. If I don't have to worry about money, then I don't have to work."

A: "That's true, I guess. If I didn't have to work, I think I would be happy."

B: "You see... money doesn't equal happiness, but it takes away a lot of responsibilities."

Happy and Feeling Good

It's common to talk to friends and family when you are happy. Most of the time, you want to express why you are happy and share with close people how you feel. In this lesson, let's take a look at many different ways you can express yourself when you are happy.

General statements are usually short. Here are a few examples.

"I'm very happy right now."

"I'm happy."

"I haven't been this happy in a long time."

"I don't think I can be any happier right now."

"He is very happy."

"She is so happy right now."

"My wife is pretty happy."

"My husband is happy."

These sentences are very basic. Most of the time, you will be explaining why you are happy. Let's incorporate the reason into the sentence.

"I'm so happy I got a job offer."

"I was happy when I received an A for my final report."

"I'll be happy when that happens."

"This semester is such a headache. I'll be so happy when it's over."

"My brother was happy after passing the examination."

Happy and Feeling Good - Questions

Questions you might ask someone

"Do you think he will be happy with this present?"

"Do you believe money can buy happiness?"

"Do you think she will be happy if I show up?"

"What would make you happy?"

"Was your brother happy with the results?"

"When was your happiest time period?"

"How can you put a price tag on happiness?"

"How much money do you need to be happy?"

"Would you be happy if that happened to you?"

"Why are you so happy right now?"

"Why are you in such a good mood?"

"Did something good happen? You look so happy?"

"Why do you have such a big smile on your face?"

Happy and Feeling Good - Other Sentences

There are other ways to express you are happy without using the word happy. In the last half of this lesson, let's look at some of these sentences.

"I'm feeling pretty good right now."

"I'm in a very good mood."

"I feel great!"

"I'm so glad I didn't have to go to work today."

"It feels so good taking a long vacation."

"This is so awesome. I can't believe this happened."

"I got everything I ever wanted. I feel so blessed."

"My brother was jumping around everywhere when he heard he got into Stanford."

Here are some slang terms you might hear.

"I'm so stoked."

Stoked basically means to be happy or to be excited.

"I'm on cloud nine right now."

This terminology represents feeling high. High is usually associated with drugs, but if something good happens and you are so happy, it can make you feel better than being on drugs. That is where this terminology came from.

"I feel like I'm in paradise."

"I feel like I'm on top of the world."

"I feel like a king."

"I feel like a champion."

"I feel invincible."

There are many types of jewelry, but the ones I will focus on are the ring, necklace, earring, bracelet, and watch. Although watch can be in a category by itself, we will include it in this section until a separate section is created.

Conversation is usually started with a person complimenting a piece of jewelry. Here are some examples.

"That's a beautiful necklace."

"What a magnificent ring."

"I like the design of your ring."

"Your bracelet is very nice."

"I love your watch."

"What a beautiful pair of earrings."

"Where did you get your necklace from?"

"What is the carat on your diamond ring?"

"Is that your wedding ring?"

"What type of diamond is that?"

"What is the make of your watch?"

"Is that white gold, silver, or platinum?"

"Is your gold ring 14 carats or 18 carats?"

Carat is a unit of measurement for gold or diamond. 24 carat is pure gold and 50 percent of pure gold is 12 carats. Diamonds use carat to determine size. One carat is considered to be pretty big. While getting past 3 carats will be uncommon for the general people because of the large size.

Answering a compliment is very easy. All you need to say is, 'Thank you.' But if you want to elaborate, you can say the following things.

"Thank you. My husband got it for me for our anniversary."

"Thank you. It was a present from my boyfriend."

"Do you like it? My grandmother gave it to me."

"This is a Rolex. My husband and I got a matching pair for our wedding."

"This is a Cartier. I bought it last summer."

Jewelry - Jewelry Stores

Asking about jewelry stores

"Where is the best place to buy jewelry?"

"Where would you go to buy jewelry?"

"Are all jewelry stores the same?"

"What do you think about Tiffany's?"

"Does the Shane Co. have good quality jewelry?"

"Do they have high quality rings?"

"What jewelry store do you recommend?"

"It all depends on how much you want to spend."

"The best place to buy jewelry is Tiffany's. Their service is great and the quality of all their stuff is amazing."

"Jared's is a pretty good place for the price."

"I like Costco because they are much cheaper than any other place."

"If you want to buy an engagement ring, EE Robins is a great jewelry store."

In a jewelry store

Most or all jewelry items are behind a glass on display. You will need to work with a salesperson to view items directly.

"I'm looking for a bracelet."

"Can I see this one?"

"Can I see that one?"

"Can I try it on?"

"How much does this bracelet cost?"

"Do you have this in white gold?"

"Do you have any bracelets with diamonds in them?"

"I'm looking for clip on earrings. Do you carry any?"

"Do you have diamond studded clip on earrings?"

"What types of earrings do you carry?"

"I like this one, but do you have the same one with a bigger diamond?"

"Do you have this bracelet without the design on it?"

"Do you engrave here?"

"I would like to get this bracelet? How much is engraving here?"

"I'm looking for a titanium ring."

"Do you carry any titanium bands?"

"Do you have a matching necklace for this ring?"

"Could I get this diamond on that band?"

"How long will it take to mount this diamond on this ring?"

"This ring is too loose for me now. Can you make it smaller?"

"This ring is too small. Can you make it larger?"

Jewelry - General Statements

"You can tell she is rich by all the jewelry she is wearing."

"Did you see the size of the rock on her finger?"

"Her boyfriend buys her a lot of jewelry. He must be rich."

"I want a necklace for my graduation gift."

"My mom is going to give me her ring when I get married. It's a tradition we have in our family."

"Girls love jewelry as much as guys love sports."

"Not all girls like jewelry. Some of them think it is a waste of money."

"Even the girls who don't like jewelry would buy a lot if they had a lot of money."

"Do you think I should buy her a necklace or a ring?"

"If you buy her a ring, she might think you are proposing to her."

"How much do you think I will need to buy my fiancé a nice diamond ring?"

"How much do I need to buy a decent diamond ring?"

"Do girls like diamond earrings?"

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Welcome. Can I help you with anything?"

B: "Hi. I'm shopping for my boyfriend's birthday. Do you have any suggestions?"

A: "Let's see. How about a nice shirt and tie? You can't go wrong there."

B: "Well. He doesn't wear ties that often."

A: "We have some nice pants. You can also get him a belt with it."

B: "That sounds good. Which one do you recommend?"

A: "These slacks are very popular. He can wear them to dress up a little or on a normal casual day."

B: "I like them. Do you have matching belts?"

A: "Yes. Right over here."

B: "How much are they?"

A: "The pants are on sale for $40, and the belt is $25."

B: "What is your return policy just in case he doesn't like them?"

A: "Just save the receipt and we will gladly return or exchange them for you."

B: "That sounds great. I'll take them."

A: "Hey Jackie. What are you doing?"

B: "Nothing much. I'm just relaxing today. Why? What's going on?"

A: "I was thinking about heading to the mall. Do you want to go?"

B: "Are they having a sale?"

A: "Yeah. Both Bon and Nordstrom's is having there annual sale. It's a great time to buy some clothes you've been holding out on."

B: "That sounds great. Where should we meet?"

A: "I'll meet you in front of Nordstrom's in 30 minutes."

B: "Sounds good. See you there."

A: "What do you think about these shoes?"

B: "They're cute. But do you think you'll really wear them?"

A: "No. Not really."

B: "This sweater is so pretty. I love the low neck design."

A: "I bet it's expensive."

B: "It's on sale for $80. What do you think? Should I try them on?"

A: "For 80 bucks it looks great. Go try it on."

A: "Where is your dressing room?"

B: "Right over there."

Person A comes out of the dressing room

B: "How did you like the sweater?"

A: "I loved it. I'll take it."

B: "Great. I can ring you up over here. It comes to $87.04."

A: "Here you go?"

B: "Do you have a credit card with us?"

A: "No I don't."

B: "If you open up a card, you can save 10% on all your purchases today."

A: "Not today. Thanks though."

B: "No problem. We always have this offer, so when ever you decide to, just let us know."

A: "Sure."

B: "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

A: "Yeah. I was looking at some of your pants, but they are all a bit too long. Do you have alteration services here?"

B: "Yes. It costs $7, and it takes one day."

A: "Great. Thanks for your help."

B: "Thank you, and have a great day."

A few guys like to shop. As for the girls, most of them enjoy shopping. Shopping can consist of grocery shopping, clothes shopping, or present shopping. I'm sure there are other types as well, but I will limit this lesson to these three types of shopping.

Shopping for clothes

'Window Shopping' is a terminology used when you do not plan on buying anything. Basically, you are only looking. The term 'window shopping' was created because a lot of stores have mannequins on display in the window with clothes on them. So walking by the store and looking at the clothing through the window is a way to see what they have. This is called 'window shopping.'

Mannequins are the fake life size figures that are used to put and display clothes. Most department stores show clothing with the mannequins.

Here are some common statements and questions most commonly used in a clothing store.

"Where is the dressing room?"

"I can't find my size here. Can you check if you have this in a size 4?"

"Do you have this in different colors?"

"Where are your jeans located?"

"Where is the red sweater on display in the window?"

"How much is this skirt?"

"Are you going to have a sale soon?"

"Where is the matching shirt for this skirt?"

"When are you going to get more sizes?"

"I'm looking for a belt that will go with these pants."

"Do you provide alteration here?"

"How much will it cost to get alternation done on these pants?"

"These pants are too long for me. Where can I get them altered?"

"How long does it take?"

"When do you start selling summer clothing?"

"When will you be getting your summer line?"

Some answers you might hear from workers

"The dressing room is in the right back corner."

"The dressing room is right over there."

"All our jeans are located in the back wall."

"We usually get a shipment every Thursday, so I would check back then."

"We have alteration here."

"It costs seven dollars."

"It takes one day. You can pick them up tomorrow if you drop it off now."

"We'll have our summer line on display in April."

Shopping - Grocery

Grocery shopping is a common thing that is done at least on a weekly basis. I'll cover some general sentences that are commonly used.

Before shopping

"I'm going to the grocery store. Do you need anything?"

"I'm going to QFC. Do you want to go?"

"Did you create a grocery list?"

"I'm going to Safeway tonight. Let me know if you need anything by 5:30."

"Let's go to the grocery store together."

Many large grocery stores have coupons they distribute through the newspaper. You cut them out and save money on items that are shown in the coupon.

"I have a bunch of coupons I got from the newspaper."

"There were a lot of coupons, but I didn't need any of them."

"There are no coupons for anything I ever buy."

During grocery shopping

"Where is your bread section?"

"Where can I find milk?"

"Where are your beers?"

"Do you sell alcohol here?"

"I'm looking for pickles. Can you help me find them?"

"Do you have a bakery section?"

"I'm looking for cough medicine. Where is your medicine area?"

Shopping - Presents

Shopping for presents

Almost everyone needs to buy a present. Let's look at some sentences that you will need.

It's common to ask a birthday person what they want.

"What do you want for your birthday?"

"Do you need anything?"

Or, you can ask a friend of a birthday person.

"What do you think John wants for his birthday?"

"What do you think I should get for John?"

"What are you getting John for his birthday?"

Buying something for a girlfriend or boyfriend is a little different. If you don't have any ideas, then you can ask a sales person. Let's say you want to buy your girlfriend a piece of jewelry.

"I want to buy my girlfriend a birthday present. Do you have any suggestions?"

Or if you want to buy a boyfriend a tie or a shirt, you can go to a place like Banana Republic and ask them.

"I'm shopping for my boyfriend's birthday. Can you help me pick out something?"

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hey Cindy. I heard you are seeing someone."

B: "Yeah. His name is John. I started dating him a week ago."

A: "That's so exciting. Tell me all about him. Is he good looking?"

B: "I think he's cute, but not drop dead gorgeous."

A: "How did you meet him?"

B: "I go to this coffee shop a lot and this guy is always there. We started talking a couple of times, and he finally asked me out."

A: "That's so cool. What does he do for a living?"

B: "He works in the finance department in a manufacturing company."

A: "Do you know if he makes a lot of money?"

B: "I don't know for sure, but he drives a nice car and I heard he has a house."

A: "How is his personality?"

B: "He's very smart and a great person to talk to. In the beginning, we talked for about 30 minutes a day in the coffee shop before he asked me out. Besides that, he's very sweet and romantic."

A: "How old is he?"

B: "That's the problem. He is 2 years younger than me. What do you think about that?"

A: "What's the big deal? I don't see anything wrong with that. If you were 23, then I might be worried he was immature, but you're almost 30 now. 2 years is no big deal."

B: "Yeah. That's what I think."

A: "When do I get to meet him?"

B: "How about a double date? The four of us can go out to dinner and a drink or something."

A: "That sounds great. How about next Saturday?"

B: "I think Saturday will be good. Let's double check with the guys and get back to each other."

A: "Great. I'll call you later then."

B: "Ok. Talk to you later."

A: "Jane. Did you see that guy standing by the dance floor?"

B: "Yeah. He's kinda cute."

A: "Wait. Isn't that Beth's boyfriend?"

B: "I'm not sure. I haven't met him before."

A: "Look. He's dancing with another girl."

B: "Are you sure that's him?"

A: "No. It just looks like him."

B: "I heard he was a nice guy. He wouldn't be cheating on Beth."

A: "Yeah. You're right. How do you know about him if you never met him?"

B: "I hear all this stuff from Beth. She is always going off on how nice and sweet he is."

A: "I heard the same thing. What type of guy are you looking for?"

B: "Someone who is understanding, responsible, sensitive, smart, and with a lot of money."

A: "Don't we all. Get real. All those guys are probably already taken."

B: "It doesn't hurt to have expectations. What type of guy do you want to find?"

A: "All I want is someone who is going to treat me well."

B: "You know Alex don't you? He likes you. I bet he'll take good care of you."

A: "He's a dork. At least someone who is not an idiot ok?"

B: "Got it."

Talking about guys is a little different than talking about girls. When guys talk about girls, they mostly talk about their body and looks. Although girls talk about guys in this manner as well, we mostly talk about personality, job, status, and things unrelated to looks. So, in this lesson, we will cover both looks and character of guys and what girls say to each other.

General questions

"What do you look for in a guy?"

"What kind of person do you want to meet?"

"What type of person do you want to marry?"

"Who is your ideal type?"

"How important is looks to you?"

"Do you think physical appearance is important?"

"What is the first thing you look for in a guy?"

General answers for General questions

"I'm looking for a guy who will treat me well."

"I want a guy who is romantic."

"I want to meet a guy who is rich."

"I want a type of person that will respect me."

"I want someone responsible. He should be able to take care of the family both emotionally and financially."

"I want a down to earth type of guy."

"My ideal type is a guy who is smart and sensitive."

"Looks are not that important to me."

"The guy needs to be good looking to have a chance with me."

"The first thing I look for in a guy is looks."

Talking About Guys - Comments

Physical appearance

One of the biggest factors in physical appearance is height. Let's work on a couple of sentences.

"I want a tall guy."

"I have always been attracted to tall guys."

"I don't like short guys."

"I'm not attracted to short guys."

Looks

"I like a guy with a cute face."

"I want a guy that works out."

Commenting about guys

"He is so cute."

A lot of girls use the word cute. It doesn't necessarily mean cute like a baby, but cute means good looking in this context.

"He is very handsome."

"He is good looking."

"He's so handsome."

"He is tall with dark hair and brown eyes."

Talking About Guys - In Public

In a club or public place

"Did you see the guy who just walked by? He was so cute."

"I think the guy sitting at the bar is checking you out."

"I'm going to stand next to the guy at the pool table. I hope he notices me."

"What should I do to get his attention?"

"Should I ask him to dance?"

"You should ask that guy to dance."

"Why don't you just start dancing next to him?"

Other things

"He is so nice to me."

"He takes care of me so well."

"He has good manners."

"He is so smart."

"He's so sensitive."

"He is so sweet."

"Bob is so romantic. He writes poems to his girlfriend all the time."

"Mike is very spontaneous. I think he would be a great boyfriend if you want to have fun."

Talking About Guys - Descriptions

Talking about your friends' boyfriend

"She told me he was a good kisser."

"Joanne is a dating a doctor from Harvard."

"Suzy's boyfriend is so rich. He takes her to so many trips."

"Jessica's boyfriend is in MBA at Wharton right now."

"Her boyfriend is a jerk. He treats her like crap. I don't know why she doesn't break up with him."

"I don't think he is that smart. He failed to get into college and he is doing manual labor right now."

"I heard he hit her before. Someone should warn her before it's too late."

"He's so cheap. He never pays for anything."

"I think he is just using Martha because she has a lot of money. Why else would he date her?"

Describing a guy you are dating

"I met this guy and we started dating. He is so cute and he brought me flowers while I was at work. He is so romantic."

"I'm seeing this guy name John now. He buys me a lot of stuff. I think I'm blinded by all the things he is buying me, but it's so fun."

"We started dating after an 8 hour phone call. We just talked and talked and it was so great. We connected at a deep level and I think I really like him."

"My boyfriend is in med school right now. He is going to specialize in surgery."

"I'm dating a guy from work. I always had a crush on him because he was so nice."

"On Valentines day, my boyfriend prepared a picnic and we had lunch by the river. He prepared all the food and even had music. It was a great day."

"For my birthday, my boyfriend took me out to a nice restaurant. Afterwards, he took me out on a lake in a little boat. It was very romantic."

Sports is a common topic mostly among the guys. In America, the three biggest sports are baseball, basketball, and American football. Due to the popularity of these sports, I will have individual lessons for them, but I will not have individual lessons for other sports such as soccer, volleyball, etc. For this lesson however, I will briefly talk about most sports and the most common language used among each one.

First, let's practice general sports sentences:

"What do you like to do in your free time?"

"What are your hobbies?"

"What sports do you like to play?"

"I like to play sports. It's good for my health and I think it's very fun."

"I like competitive sports because winning feels good."

"I like to play tennis and I like to swim."

"Jeff is pretty athletic so he picks up on sports real quick."

"If you need a girl to play, you should get Jessica. She's very athletic."

In English, you can mostly use the word play for a sport, but there are some sports where play doesn't work. Here are some examples:

"I like to play basketball."

"Let's go play basketball."

"Do you like to play basketball?"

This would also work for football, baseball, tennis, volleyball, soccer, and softball.

However, sports such as swimming, bowling, and golf do not use the word play. Here is how you would say it.

"I like to swim."

"I like swimming."

"Let's go swimming."

"Do you like swimming?"

As you may have noticed, each of the sports that do not use play is the ones with an 'ing' at the end. So if the sport is primarily used with an 'ing' at the end, then do not use play with that sport name.

Sports in General - Volleyball

There are many different types of sports but I will primarily talk about the following in this lesson:

Volleyball

Soccer

Swimming

Softball

Tennis

Volleyball

"I play volleyball on our high school team."

"I play volleyball for our university."

"I play recreational volleyball."

"I play in a volleyball league run by the city."

"What position do you play?"

"I'm a setter for our team."

"I'm the outside hitter."

"I'm a back row specialist."

"I'm good at digging balls, so I play in the back."

"I'm the tallest in our team so I'm the middle blocker."

"Our team plays a two six rotation."

Two six rotation is a terminology used in volleyball where there are two setters. They take turns and the person who is in the back is the setter, so they should be opposite of each other in the lineup.

"I like to play beach volleyball. There is so much more action because it is only two of us."

"Beach volleyball is the best. It is so fun."

"He hit the net."

"He totally went fishing." This is a slang term to say that a person hit the net.

"The ball was out."

"I can't believe the line judge didn't see that. He must be blind."

"That was a double hit. The ball is spinning like mad."

"He used his palm to lift the ball and he wasn't called for it."

"I like to watch volleyball on TV."

Sports in General - Soccer

Listen to the Entire Lesson

Soccer

"Soccer is my favorite sport."

"I love soccer."

"I play soccer whenever I can."

"I used to play a lot of soccer when I was in school."

"I'm usually the forward on our team."

"I play midfielder on our team."

"I'm the fullback."

"My favorite position is the midfielder."

"I like to be the goalie."

"I've been a goalie ever since I was in Junior high."

"I am always the goal keeper."

"He was off sides, but the officials didn't see it. That's how he got the goal."

"He's a very rowdy player. He gets a yellow card each game. I can't believe he hasn't been given a red card yet."

"He clipped him from behind. Why didn't he get a red card? The other guy could have broken his ankle with that tackle."

"I like to play soccer because of all the running. It keeps me in shape and I have fun while playing."

"I don't know why soccer is not so popular in America. Soccer is a very popular sport in most other countries."

"Watching the world cup is so fun."

Sports in General - Swimming

Swimming

"I'm on the swimming team."

"I got a scholarship for swimming."

"I made the varsity swimming team."

"I love swimming."

"What style of swimming do you specialize in?"

"I like breaststroke the most."

"I like freestyle swimming, but I'm better at the butterfly."

"I'm pretty quick at backstroke."

"I like the competitive aspect of swimming. Sometimes it's hard to tell who is ahead of you or behind you, but right when you touch that wall and see that nobody else is there is a great feeling."

"I've been swimming ever since I was 6 years old."

"I swim 4 times a week."

"I try to swim everyday."

"I believe swimming is very healthy, especially for the joints."

"I'm not a good swimmer. The only style I know is the dog paddle."

"I can't hold my breath long enough to be an effective swimmer."

"I can hold my breath for a minute and a half."

Sports in General - Softball

Softball

"I play on a men's softball league. It's underhand pitch and mostly just to have fun."

"Softball is similar to baseball, except you have 4 outfielders instead of 3."

"Softball is fun if you are not good at hitting fast pitches."

"I'm the shortstop on our team."

"I play the outfield."

"I'm the pitcher."

"I saw a friend hit two grand slams in one game."

"His pitches have way too big of an arch."

"He needs to get his pitches above 6 feet from the ground."

"The ball hit the plate and the umpire called it a strike."

"I play on a co-ed softball team. We have 5 girls and 5 guys."

"When we play co-ed softball, the girls hit with smaller balls than the guys."

"It takes a while to get used to throwing two sizes of balls in co-ed softball."

Sports in General - Tennis

Tennis

"Tennis is my favorite sport."

"I play tennis just for fun."

"I started playing tennis when I was in high school."

"I made the varsity team in high school when I have been only playing for 3 months."

"I used to have a girlfriend who left me to be with a tennis coach."

"I can't hit a back hand."

"I have a two handed back hand."

"One handed back hands are more effective for attacks."

"You can generate more power by using one hand for your backhand."

"How do you topspin a ball?"

"Every time I try to lob a ball, it always goes out."

"My serves need a lot of help."

"My second serve is too easy to hit."

"I can't believe how fast professional tennis players serve."

"A guy once died from getting hit with a tennis ball in the crotch at a professional tournament. He was an old guy and got a stroke from the shock or pain."

"My favorite tennis player is Agassi."

"Martina Hingis is the cutest tennis player."

"I hate playing against a serve and volley type of player."

"I'm a baseline player."

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Yo Matt. How goes it man?"

B: "Pretty good. What have you been up to?"

A: "You know that chick in psychology class?"

B: "Yeah. You only talk about her every other day."

A: "I can't get her out of my mind. She is damn fine."

B: "Why don't you go talk to her then?"

A: "I think she is out of my league."

B: "Chicken. Somebody is only out of your league if you think so. What do you see in her anyway? She is a little chubby dude."

A: "She is not. She has a nice figure. And she has such a pretty face."

B: "Whatever. If you think so."

A: "You like skinny girls or something?"

B: "I like normal girls without any flab hanging out."

A: "Now you're exaggerating you freak."

B: "Seriously, I like a girl who is fit and likes to exercise."

A: "How about personality?"

B: "It doesn't matter until you are thinking about marriage and I'm not thinking about that yet."

A: "Well, I'm looking so I don't care that much about figure. As long as she is nice and sweet."

A: "Who do you think is hotter? Britney or Christina?"

B: "That's a no brainer. Christina is way hotter. You think Britney is hotter than Christina?"

A: "She has some serious curves that turn me on. And I like the way she moves. I think she's sexy."

B: "Ok. How about between the three girls on Friends? Who do you think is the cutest?"

A: "I like Phoebe the most. She is so funny cracks me up."

B: "Ok. I agree with you there. Let's change the scenario a little. If you were stuck on an island, who would you choose to be with?"

A: "I'd take Britney Spears. I have this thing about her."

B: "No way man. How about Catherine Zeta Jones? She is absolutely beautiful."

In this session, we are going to cover talking about girls. We will primarily cover commenting on traits you like or dislike. Don't worry ladies, we will have a session about guys later on.

Describing what types of girls you like

"I like a girl with a lot of curves."

"I like all girls with a great body."

"I like skinny girls."

"I like a girl with smooth skin."

"Since I'm pretty tall, I want a tall skinny girl."

"I like a girl who likes to have fun."

"I like girls who are smart. I can't stand airheads."

"I like all pretty girls."

"I like obedient girls."

"The most important trait for me is wisdom. I want a girl who is wise."

"It's important that the girl is smart and intelligent."

A good and fun personality is the most important trait I look for in a girl."

"I want a girl who is going to take care of me."

"I want a working girl so I can stay at home all day."

"I want to meet a rich girl so I don't have to worry about money."

"I like athletic girls because I like to play sports."

Describing types you don't like

"I can't stand girls with attitude."

"I hate stuck up girls."

"The worst kind of girls are high maintenance girls."

"Stay away from nagging girls. You'll want to kill yourself after a month with them."

"It bothers me when a girl is not independent."

"I don't like weak girls who can't take care of themselves."

"You might think rich girls are a blessing, but they constantly nag at you to make more money."

"Rich girls are usually spoiled and soon you will be broke trying to keep up with her."

"I don't like fat girls. They don't turn me on."

"I don't like skinny girls who are like toothpicks. It's just gross."

Talking About Girls - In Love and Body Parts you like

Describing a girl you fell in love with

"She is perfect. Her voice is sweet and her skin is so soft."

"She has a killer body. I don't know if I love her, but I sure lust after her."

"I think I'm in love. She is absolutely beautiful and her personality is perfect."

"We talked on the phone for 6 hours. We connected so well."

"We have so much in common. I love talking to her."

"She's the sweetest thing. I think I'm in love."

"She's so fine. She doesn't have an ounce of fat on her."

"I met her on the golf course and after watching her hit, I fell in love."

I found that talking about famous girls is a fun topic among friends. For example, we would ask each other who's hotter between Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Here some questions and answers just in case you get in one of these conversations.

"Who would you take between Jessica Simpson and Liv Tyler?"

"Who do you think is the sexiest women?"

"Who is in your top 5 list of sexy women?"

"Do you think Janet Jackson is hot?"

"If you were stuck on a deserted island, which famous person would you want to be with?"

Other descriptive sentences

Skinny girls

"She's a toothpick."

"Her legs are like chopsticks."

"She is all skin and bones."

"She is way too skinny."

Fat girls

"She's a little chubby."

"She's fat dude."

"That girl is big."

"She's a little overweight."

"She needs to go on a diet."

Up until now, we have covered quite a bit. If you have made it this far, I want to congratulate you for your persistence. There are no cutting corners in learning English so you should take it step by step and learn all the material I am presenting. So let's move forward and review what we have learned so far.

Health Review - Interactive Practice

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hey Samantha. You've been so busy lately. What have you been up to?"

B: "Hey Jackie. I started dating this cute guy and decided to start exercising."

A: "You're not out of shape. You look fine."

B: "Well, this guy I am seeing is a personal trainer and he has a perfect body. Compared to him, I need some work."

A: "How long have you seen him?"

B: "We've been together for about a month and a half."

A: "Did you sleep with him yet?"

B: "Not yet. But before I get into bed with him, I want to look fit."

A: "That's not the greatest reason to exercise, but I guess it is a valid one."

B: "How about you? Anything new in your life?"

A: "My father is a little ill. He has been to the doctor's quite a bit lately but they don't know what is wrong with him. He complains about stomach pains a lot these days."

B: "I'm sorry to hear that. Any idea what could have caused it?"

A: "He says it is because he didn't take care of himself when he was young. That's why I want to start thinking about my health."

B: "I think it is important to take care of yourself while you are young too. Even though my reasons are not the best, at least I am working on it."

A: "How are your parents doing?"

B: "They're doing great. I'm thankful that they are healthy."

A: "That's good to hear. Well, I gotta get running now. I'll catch you later."

B: "Ok. Send my regards to your father."

A: "I will. Thanks."

A: "Wow Billy. Looks like you lost a lot of weight. I could hardly recognize you."

B: "Thanks. I've been on a diet for about 6 months. I'm going to ask Rachel to marry me soon and I want to be mentally and physically healthy."

A: "What does being overweight have anything to do with marriage? If you love each other, that's enough right?"

B: "Yeah, but I want to show her how much she means to me, and this is one way of proving it. I'm changing for the better."

A: "Good for you. Hey, when do you plan on proposing to her?"

B: "I think I am going to propose to her on our 2 year anniversary."

A: "Is she expecting it, or will it be a surprise?"

B: "I think she expects me to ask her one of these days, but not anytime soon."

A: "You sure you want to settle down already? You're only 25 years old."

B: "Yeah, I didn't think I would get married until I was 30, but when you know she is the one, why wait."

A: "That's true. Hey, I hope everything works out. You're going to invite me to your wedding right?"

B: "Of course man."

A: "Gosh, I'm still shocked how much weight you lost. You're getting real skinny now."

B: "I am working on a six pack now. I have two lines starting to show up. I've been spending a lot of time at the gym. It is hard work, but I feel so good after working out."

A: "Where do you work out?"

B: "I have a membership at Bally's. It's not too expensive and I like all the equipment they have."

A: "I've been thinking about joining a gym. Are they having any specials right now?"

B: "Yeah, they do. They have free enrollment and first month free. You should come by. I'll show you around. I can take in a guest so you can try it out before signing up."

A: "That sounds good. Let's go this Saturday."

B: "Cool. I'll call you in the morning."

A: "Hey John. Who was that girl I saw you with last Friday night?"

B: "Oh. That was Jessica. She's a girl I met the other week."

A: "I thought you were seeing Patty?"

B: "No. We broke up a couple weeks ago."

A: "Are you getting pretty serious with this new girl?"

B: "She's not long term. Just someone to chill with."

A: "Ah... so you are boning her."

B: "Damn right. But we don't have much in common. Oh well. At least we are compatible in bed."

A: "She had a nice figure. You sure it's not going to work out?"

B: "It works out well in bed, but if you try to have a conversation with her, it just dies out fast."

A: "At least she is good for one thing. Ha ha ha."

B: "How about you? You've been seeing Heidi for a long time now. When are you going to tie the knot?"

A: "I don't know. She's been bugging me about marriage, but I don't see the need to rush it."

B: "You guys have been seeing each other for like 3 years haven't you?"

A: "Actually, it's been more than 4 years already."

B: "Wow. That's a long time. Any problems with having a girlfriend for that long?"

A: "Not really. It gets a little boring at times, but we grew to be great friends. I can totally be myself around her."

B: "I think that is the best type of relationships. Good for you."

A: "Well, if you put it that way."

B: "I would love to be in your situation. You have a beautiful girl that you are in love with, and you are perfect for each other. What else do you want?"

A: "Maybe a little more excitement."

B: "So would you give up your girlfriend for what I have? A little excitement here and there? You can't have both you know. Unless you're a cheating dog."

A: "I don't think I can go behind her back. We have a trusting relationship I don't want to risk."

B: "Now you're making some sense."

A: "It's always good talking to you man. You make me feel better."

B: "Likewise. That's what friends are for right?"

A: "So you coming out to play basketball this Saturday?"

B: "Yeah. I'll be there."

A: "Alright. I'll catch you then."

B: "Alright man. Later."

A: "Hey Stephanie. Guess what?"

B: "What?"

A: "Robert asked me to marry him. We're getting married."

B: "Congratulations. I'm so happy for you. So when is the big day?"

A: "We haven't set the date exactly, but it looks like it will be sometime in July."

B: "How did he propose to you?"

A: "On Valentines day, he got me a present. I thought it was an ordinary Valentines day present, but when I opened it, it was this big diamond ring. Right then, he got on his knees and proposed."

B: "That's so cool. So you really got surprised?"

A: "We talked about marriage a little, but I never knew he was serious."

B: "You are going to be busy with wedding plans. But you have several months to prepare for it."

A: "It's going to be pretty hectic for me. So I'm going to need some help. First of all, I was wondering if you would like to be my maid of honor."

B: "I would be honored."

A: "So you're going to help me with the planning right?"

B: "Of course. How many bridesmaids are you going to have?"

A: "Three. So we will have a total of four."

B: "Let me guess. Susan, Tina, and Cindy."

A: "Close. I'm going to have Cindy as the candle lighter. The third bridesmaid is going to be Lydia. She is a good friend from church."

B: "I know her. She's sweet. I'll make sure we have the best wedding for you."

A: "I hope so. I appreciate your help."

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hey Jane. How are you doing these days?"

B: "Hi Martha. Everything is perfect."

A: "Are you enjoying married life?"

B: "It couldn't be better. My husband is so supportive with my work and he helps around the house so much."

A: "You're so lucky. I hope to get married to a guy like that."

B: "I'm so happy. Even though we are both working, we get to spend a lot of time with each other in the evening and on the weekends."

A: "Do you guys do anything special?"

B: "In the evening, we just sit and talk over dinner. But on the weekend, we try to go out to the beach or hit a nice restaurant, or go to a nice cafe."

A: "Sounds like everything is great."

A: "Hey Stacy. What's going on?"

B: "I'm pretty tired these days."

A: "Why? You're not working so don't you have a lot of time on your hands?"

B: "I have so much house work to do. I have to take care of the kids, cook, clean, laundry, and the cycle never ends."

A: "How about your husband? Does he help much?"

B: "Not at all. He comes home and complains about his hard day at work. He expects me to do everything. He even wants me to feed him sometimes. Can you believe that?"

A: "That sucks."

B: "If he wasn't so lazy, I think I wouldn't have any complaints. He mows the lawn, but can you believe he tried to convince me to do it?"

A: "That's crossing the line."

B: "Oh well. I'll have to live with it. What else can I do?"

When we talk about married life, we talk about the good and the bad. In this lesson, I will teach you the English you need to know to communicate how you feel about your married life. If you are not married, then at least you can learn this lesson to speak about your opinions on your friends married life.

We will not go into detail about conversation between married couple. Mostly, couples talk about the same thing in a routine. But when you talk to friends, it's very different.

Girl talking to friends

"How is married life?"

"How is your husband doing?"

"What do you guys do for fun?"

Some responses I've heard

"I love my married life. My husband and I get a long so well."

"He is so helpful. He does the dishes for me and helps me around the house a lot."

"It was fun in the beginning, but now we are in a regular routine."

"Everything is great, but he's a little lazy. One time he was watching TV and he called me when I was in the kitchen and asked me to get the remote control for him that was 6 feet away."

"All he does is watch TV. I don't understand how a person can watch so much television."

"Since we're both working, we don't have much time for each other. But we get to spend the weekend together and that is always good."

"Since I'm working also, we go out to eat a lot because I don't have time to cook."

"My husband is working at a consulting firm. He is always at work. I get bored a lot so I'm trying to find some hobbies."

"My husband works at Microsoft. He gets home late and when he comes home, he's too tired to do anything. I'm thinking about starting a career because I have so much extra time."

"My husband is in school right now. He's finishing his PHD."

Married Life - Talking to Friends

Listen to the Entire Lesson

Guys talking to friends

"So who's the man of the house?"

"How are you enjoying married life?"

"Why don't you ever come out any more?"

"What advice would you give to someone who is getting married?"

Answers

"There are a lot of great things I am enjoying about my married life. She does the cooking, the laundry, and the cleaning. What else can I ask for?"

"I wish she would cook more often. I'm sick of eating out so much."

"She's always busy with work. It's not a bad thing. But sometimes I get bored."

"I get a lot of free time because my wife is working."

"Since we don't have kids, and my wife is staying at home, she always complains about being bored."

"The only problem is that I can't go out that often anymore."

"I miss hanging out with the guys."

"She doesn't let me in the kitchen. She does all the cooking and the dishes. She's so good to me."

"It took some time to adjust in the beginning, but after getting used to it, I'm really enjoying my marriage."

Where ever there is a marriage, the topic of kids always comes up.

"When are you going to have kids?"

"Are you guys planning on having a kid anytime soon?"

"Aren't your parents giving you any pressure to have kids?"

"Do you want a boy or a girl?"

"What month do you want to have a baby?"

"We don't plan on having kids for a couple of years."

"We'll probably have a kid next spring."

"I want to get financially stable before having a kid."

"My parents are always asking when we are going to have a kid."

"My parents really want for us to get pregnant."

"I don't know if I want a baby yet."

"We got a honeymoon baby."

"My wife is already pregnant."

"We're going to have our first child in September."

Married Life - Talking about a Friend

Talking about a friends marriage

There are some terminologies used when a man is controlled by his wife. For example, if a friend cannot come out because the wife said no, or if he needs to get permission for everything, then these words apply to him.

Attached to a ball and chain - Ball and Chain refers to the wife. The ball and chain is the old type of device used to lock somebody up. You put a chain around the leg that has a large heavy metal ball attached to it so they cannot move.

Here are some example sentences:

"Ever since he got married, he has been imprisoned in his house. He never comes out anymore."

"Calling the ball and chain already? You've only been out for a couple of hours."

"You got to get that ball and chain off your leg man."

"It's obvious who the man of their house is."

Married Life - Cheating

Affair and cheating

In a marriage, having an affair and cheating on one another is a topic we'll discuss. Hopefully in your marriage you won't need to discuss this. But use this as a reference for when you see it on TV or something.

Accusing

"Where were you last night?"

"Why does your shirt smell like perfume?"

"Who is the person that keeps calling you at night?"

"You've been acting strange lately? Are you having an affair?"

"Are you seeing someone?"

"Are you cheating on me?"

"Who was the girl I saw you with at Starbucks?"

"How long have you been seeing her?"

"How long have you been sleeping with her?"

"I can't believe you would do this to me!"

"I don't understand why you would throw away our marriage like that."

"Why did you do it?"

"What did I do to deserve this?"

Talking about a married couple with cheating problems

"I think they are going to get divorced. Josh caught his wife cheating with another guy from work."

"He should have been more careful."

"I think she is having an affair with her boss. Her husband has no idea what is going on."

"It's so obvious that she's sleeping with the boss. They go out together so often."

"If she wasn't sleeping with him, I think she would get fired. She is incompetent at what she does."

"You know that girl from the strip club? Zack is sleeping with her and his wife doesn't even have a clue."

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hey honey, where do you think we should go for our honeymoon?"

B: "I always wanted to go to Mexico. Cancun is supposed to be a great place."

A: "That sounds pretty good. But how about the Caribbean?"

B: "That doesn't sound too bad either. Do you know how much it would cost for airfare and hotel?"

A: "If we go for 5 nights, then the total for airfare and hotel would be about one thousand seven hundred dollars. How much would it be to go to Cancun?"

B: "I found a deal for only twelve hundred dollars."

A: "That's a lot cheaper. Let's go to Cancun then."

B: "Really? That sounds great. I picked up a lot of brochures. Let's take a look at all the things we can do."

A: "That reminds me. I better make sure my passport is not expired."

B: "You better make sure. If it's expired, you have to hurry and renew it."

A: "We still have a couple of months. No rush."

B: "What do you want to do in Cancun?"

A: "I want to golf at least one day. And I also want to try surfing. Do they have instructors on the beach?"

B: "Yeah. This brochure shows lessons and equipment rentals and everything. That shouldn't be a problem. I want to try snorkeling."

A: "Do we need to buy snorkeling gear?"

B: "No. We can just rent it there."

A: "Sounds like we're going to have fun."

B: "I know. I can't wait. It's going to be so fun."

A: "Where are you guys going for your honeymoon?"

B: "We decided on Cancun, Mexico."

A: "I've been there before. It's a great place."

B: "What did you do there?"

A: "There is so much to do. It's a big tourist place so there is access to everything."

B: "That's good. I'm looking forward to our honeymoon. Especially after all the wedding plans I had to do."

A: "How long are you going for?"

B: "We decided on 6 days. We are leaving on Sunday and returning on Saturday."

A: "That should give you plenty of time. Do you have all your travel plans in order?"

B: "We just booked our flight and got our room. Everything is set."

A: "You're going to have so much fun. I'm so jealous."

B: "When you get married, you'll have your chance."

A: "I need to find a guy first."

B: "Where do you want to go for your honeymoon?"

A: "Since I've been to Mexico and Hawaii before, I want to go to Australia."

B: "That sounds great. It's a little out of our budget so we didn't even consider Australia."

A: "For the price, Cancun is one of the best so don't have any regrets. It is a great place. So do you have a ride to the airport?"

B: "My brother is going to drop us off."

A: "Looks like everything is set. Just make sure to take a camera. I know many people who forgot to take a camera on their honeymoon."

B: "Will do. Thanks."

Honeymoon is a small vacation two married people go to right after the wedding. It doesn't have to be right after the wedding though. I know some people who hold off the honeymoon until the summer, or if they are in school, until school is complete.

Discussing with your partner where to go for the honeymoon

"Where should we go for our honeymoon?"

"Where do you want to go for our honeymoon?"

"Did you have a place in mind for our honeymoon?"

"How many days should we go for our honeymoon?"

"Do you think a week is good enough for our honeymoon?"

"How much should we plan on using for our honeymoon?"

Answering

"I want to go somewhere to relax."

"I was thinking about Hawaii or the Bahamas. What do you think?"

"I wouldn't mind going to Europe."

"What do you think about New York? I have never been there and there is a lot to do."

"I think Australia would be great."

"I'm pretty much open to anything. Where did you have in mind?"

"I can only take 5 more days off from work."

"I can only go for a week."

"The longer the better. I wouldn't mind going for 10 days."

"How about 2 weeks."

"Let's go for 6 nights and 7 days."

"How about 3 nights and 4 days."

"I think we will need about two thousand dollars for our honeymoon."

"Depending on what we are going to do, but we will need a minimum of three thousand dollars."

"I think we need about five thousand dollars for our honeymoon."

"We only have two thousand dollars so we have to go somewhere inexpensive."

Honeymoon - Planning

Planning on what to do

"Let's plan on what we are going to do when we get there."

"What should we do everyday?"

"We should make a daily plan so we have things to do everyday."

"Why don't you make a list of things you want to do and I'll do the same. We'll try to do all of them while we are there."

"I'm pretty much open to anything, but I want to at least go jet skiing, scuba diving, and golfing."

"I don't care if we do anything. I just want to relax and have good dinners with you."

"Let's just lock ourselves in the room for 5 days."

"I want to go to some of the local restaurants."

"I want to try horseback riding while we are there. I wouldn't mind taking a couple of surfing lessons also."

"I want to take a lot of pictures while we are there. So don't forget to bring the camera."

To learn about booking a flight and making hotel reservations, please refer to the traveler's guide. I cover everything you need to know about getting airline tickets and hotel rooms.

Honeymoon - Conversation before Honeymoon

These sentences are used when talking to a friend before the honeymoon

"So where are you going for your honeymoon?"

"How long is your honeymoon going to be?"

"What are you guys going to do there?"

"When are you leaving for your honeymoon?"

"How are you guys going to the airport?"

"Do you have everything planned out already?"

Answers

"We decided to go to Hawaii."

"We're going to the Greek Islands."

"We are going to be there for a week."

"We're going for 10 days."

"Mostly to relax. The wedding took a lot out of me so I just want to vege out."

'Vege out' means to be a vegetable. That means not using the head at all. When you say this, you are saying you don't want to do anything except relax. Another common way to use this is to say, "I'm vege-ing out in front of the TV." That means you are watching TV not thinking about anything.

"We're going the day after the wedding."

"We're leaving right after the wedding."

"We're going to the airport after the reception."

"We're not going on our honeymoon until August. My husband needs to finish a project before taking an extended time off."

"We're going to go in September because I need to finish summer school first."

"My parents are going to take us to the airport."

"John agreed to drive us to the airport."

"I think we have everything planned out. I'm not missing anything am I?"

"We didn't do much planning. I just got the plane tickets and booked a room at the hotel. Besides that, we are just going to wing it."

'Wing it' means to play it by ear. Or in other words, do things without planning or do things as they come along.

Honeymoon - Conversation after Honeymoon

Talking to a friend after the honeymoon

"Did you have a good time on your honeymoon?"

"How was your honeymoon? Tell me all about it."

"How was Hawaii? Do you think I should go there for my honeymoon?"

"Did you have enough time to do everything you wanted?"

"What was the best thing about your honeymoon?"

"What terrible timing. I got my period right when we arrived. I had a stomach ache for the first two days."

"Oh man. My wife was sick for the first couple of days. We just stayed in the room watching TV."

"My honeymoon was great. I had such a good time. The weather was perfect and there was so much to do."

"It was perfect. I went swimming, fishing, played some beach volleyball, and we went hiking."

"Hawaii was an awesome place for a honeymoon. We went to 3 different islands and they were all great."

"I would recommend Hawaii as a honeymoon spot to anyone."

"We only went for 4 days so we couldn't do everything we wanted. We agreed to go back after a couple of years. Kind of like a second honeymoon."

"The best night I had was walking down the beach without anyone around. The sun was just setting and it was a beautiful romantic moment."

In this lesson, we will cover the process of marriage and all the things you need to know how to say in English. In the previous session, we learned about the engagement and initial wedding procedures. Let's now look into more depth at the marriage process.

After two people agree to marry, there are many things to plan. There are many different things you can do, and depending on your budget, you will have more or less. I will give an example of the marriages I have seen around me.

The first thing you need to do after you set a date is find a church. In eastern cultures, marrying in a church is not as popular, but in America, a large percentage of marriages still take place in the church.

You will need to call a church and ask if you can rent there place for a marriage.

"Hello. I'm going to get married and I was wondering if you rent out your church for this purpose."

If they say no, you can say thank you and good bye. If they say yes, then you can follow up with more questions.

"I was looking to get married on June 15th. Will your church be available on that date?"

"What Saturday do you have available in the month of June?"

If timing is an issue, then you will need to tell them the time.

"We would like to get married at 1:00pm. Is that ok?"

"We would like to get married at 4:00pm. Does that time work for you?"

"We are pretty flexible with the time so I will take whatever time is available on that date."

After a date and time is confirmed, they might ask you to meet and get all the details from you.

Wedding Process - Flowers

The next step is for the decoration and flowers.

Friends might ask,

"What kind of flowers are you going to have?"

"What color flowers are you going to have?"

You can respond by,

"I'm thinking about white and yellow roses."

"I'm not sure yet, but I'm leaning towards lavender and white roses."

You will need to call up a flower shop and ask for flowers to be arranged.

"I'm going to get married next June and I would like an estimate for flowers."

Usually it all depends on your price range so they might ask you how much and how big the wedding will be.

"How many people are you expecting and what is your budget for flowers?"

"I am expecting about 150 people and I wanted to stay under one thousand dollars for flowers."

"What types of flowers did you have in mind?"

"I want purple and white roses."

"I believe I can provide what you are looking for. I can prepare the flowers for the walkway, for the altar, the flower you hold, flowers for the brides maid, and overall decoration. Because of your flower selection, it will cost twelve hundred dollars."

Wedding Process - Photographer, Dress and Tux

Another thing you will have to prepare is the photographer.

"How much do you charge for wedding pictures?"

"What is included in your wedding package?"

"How many years of experience do you have?"

"How many weddings have you worked on?"

"Do you have samples of wedding pictures you took that I can look at?"

"Do you use both color and black and white film?"

"Do you provide video service in your wedding package?"

You also need to prepare for the dress for yourself and the dresses for your maid of honor and brides maid. Usually this is done talking with friends and family.

"What color do you think we should get for the brides maid dresses?"

"What color dress do you think will go well with purple and white roses?"

Candle lighters are another person in the wedding party. You might need to get a dress for that person as well.

"Should we have the same dress for the candle lighter or a different dress?"

The men need to get a tuxedo. Usually you find a tux shop and they take care of the rest. Only instructions you need to give to the best man and grooms men is the location of the place.

"Make sure you go into the Black Tie tuxedo shop next week and get your size measured."

"Go to the tux shop and pick up your tuxedo on the 14th."

I don't know the rule for who pays for the tux or the dress. I've seen it both ways. In some weddings, the people wearing the dress or tux pays for it, and in other weddings, I've seen the wedding couple pay for everything.

Wedding Process - Gifts and Reception

In some cultures, wedding present is usually given in the form of money. In America, money is rarely given among friends. Family might provide financial support, but for presents, it is always a gift bought at a store. In order to prevent duplicate gifts or gifts that you don't want, many stores such as The Bon, provide a wedding registry. You go and pick all the things you want and they enter it into a computer. You tell everyone in the invitation you sent out that the gift registry is at The Bon. They will go to The Bon and print out a list of what you have selected. If someone bought it already, then that item will not show up.

This is a way to get what you need and makes it easier for the people buying you gifts.

In the store, you simply tell the person:

"I'm going to get married in June and I would like my registry here."

If you are a person buying a present, then you can ask,

"My friend is getting married and they registered here. Where can I get a list of presents they selected?"

After the church is selected, the flowers have been ordered, and the photographer is reserved, then you have to practice. The wedding party usually meets at the church a day or two before the wedding and rehearses the coming day's event. After the rehearsal, a rehearsal dinner should be provided.

Don't forget about the reception. You have to plan for a reception after the wedding. Usually it is a meal at a different location or at the church. Again, this is all dependent on how much you can afford. An open bar is also an option that many people like. An open bar is a bar that people can order drinks for free.

Now that we looked through the process of a wedding, let's work on a few sentences friends say to each other before and during the busy wedding process.

"Planning for a wedding is so time consuming. I don't know if I can finish everything on time."

"I'm getting so stressed out. It feels like there are a hundred different things to do."

"I think I'm almost done with my wedding plans. Although I'm relieved, I now feel anxious about the wedding."

"Did you help your fiancé plan for the wedding?"

"You made her do all the work?"

"My boyfriend was so helpful. He literally did most of the planning."

"Are you going to have the reception at the church or did you reserve another place?"

"How much did your wedding cost?"

"How much was the reception?"

A wedding is much larger and requires much more planning than I described here. I primarily covered the larger items in a broad way. This is to give you an idea and a starting point. If you have additional questions or specific requests, feel free to ask.

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hey Jack. What's going on?"

B: "Hey Matt. I'm going to ask Martha to marry me?"

A: "Really? When did you decide this?"

B: "I always knew she was the one, but I decided to pop the big question about 2 weeks ago. I'm just debating on how to do it."

A: "That's exciting man."

B: "So how did you propose?"

A: "You shouldn't use my example. It wasn't special. I kind of wish I made it more special but it's too late now."

B: "What do you think I should do?"

A: "There are a lot of options. You can surprise her over dinner, or ask her in a public area, or if you have the balls, ask her father in front of her."

B: "I never thought about that."

A: "Thought about what?"

B: "Asking her father in front of her. How do you think she will react?"

A: "I don't know. You should know how she's going to react. She is your girlfriend."

B: "I think that's the idea I was looking for. Thanks man."

A: "Don't mention it. Good luck. You're going to need it."

A: "Hey Sarah. How are you doing?"

B: "I'm doing great. How about you Jessica?"

A: "Nothing new. You look happy though. Something special happen recently?"

B: "Yeah. I got engaged last week."

A: "Really? No way. I'm so happy for you. Congratulations."

B: "Thanks."

A: "So tell me all about it? How did he propose to you?"

B: "He took me to a very nice restaurant and when I opened the menu, there was a big message in the menu saying will you marry me. And then, he got on his knees and showed me a beautiful ring."

A: "That's so nice. Were there a lot of people watching?"

B: "Yeah. The whole restaurant was full. But I didn't care. Everyone applauded when we were hugging after I said yes."

A: "When is the big date?"

B: "We set the date for June 15th."

A: "That's in eight months. You are going to be so busy preparing for the wedding."

B: "I know. But I wanted to ask you if you would be one of my bride's maid."

A: "Really? I'd love to."

Engagement is the time period spent before getting married. In this lesson, we will learn about English when asking someone to marry and the terminologies when becoming engaged.

When a friend has been together with a boyfriend or girlfriend a long time, they usually ask when they are going to get married, or when they are going to get engaged.

"When are you going to get married?"

"When are you going to tie the knot?"

"When are you going to settle down?"

"When are you going to propose to her?"

"When are you going to ask her to marry you?"

"When do you think he is going to propose?"

After the big question is asked, then the two people are engaged.

"We got engaged last week."

"I got engaged about a month ago."

"We're going to have a short engagement."

"Our engagement is for about 6 months."

"We had an engagement party at a restaurant with both families."

"We really didn't have a formal engagement dinner."

You can get creative in the ways to ask your significant other to marry you, but the most general way is to simply say,

"Will you marry me?"

These four words cannot be replaced really. Mostly, it is how you ask it and in what situation.

When two people are engaged, then they are not boyfriend and girlfriend, instead, they refer to each other as fiancé.

"This is my fiancée."

"She is my fiancée."

"He is my fiancé."

"Where is your fiancé?"

"I want to meet your fiancé."

Engagement – Proposing

Other common type of questions regarding pre-marriage is how a person proposes. Here are some examples:

"How are you going to propose to her?"

"How do you think he will propose to you?"

I'll list a few answers I heard from other people.

"I'm going to take her to dinner and I'm going to put the ring on top of the dessert. So when the cake comes out, she will see the ring."

"I'm going to take her to our favorite restaurant and ask her there."

"I'm going all out. First, I'm going to send her to a massage. Then, I'm going to have her relax at a coffee shop where I'll send her some flowers. After that, I'm going to have her picked up in a limo to a restaurant where I'll be waiting in the entrance on my knees."

"When my husband asked me to marry, he put a ring inside a fortune cookie with a message asking, will you marry me in the cookie."

Some other types of questions that you might hear:

"Are you nervous about proposing to her?"

"Are you sure she is going to say yes?"

"Are you sure about this?"

"How long have you been engaged?"

"What are you thinking?"

"You're too young to get married."

"What did you do for your engagement party?"

"Did you guys have an engagement party?"

A friend might ask you questions regarding your relationship when the marriage topic comes up.

"How long have you been with her?"

"What made you decide to get married?"

"Are you sure she is the right one?"

"When did you know he was the right one?"

"Did you see a sign or how did you know?"

Engagement - Best man and Maid of honor

Preparing for marriage is a time consuming thing with so much to do. I'll explain most of it in the next lesson, but I wanted to explain one difference in this lesson. In the western culture, they have friends standing next to the bride and groom during the wedding ceremony. At a minimum, it is one person. That person is called the best man. For the lady side, that person is called maid of honor. But if you have more than one, you usually have one best man, and multiple grooms men. For the ladies, they are called brides maid.

Best man - Best friend or relative of groom usually holding the ring

Grooms men - Other friends or siblings standing next to the best man

Maid of honor - Best friend or relative of the bride usually holding the ring

Brides maid - Other friends or relative standing next to the Maid of honor.

The best man and maid of honor have responsibilities such as taking care of the bride and groom, planning for parties and taking care of the presents, and many other things. We'll discuss more about this in the next session. Let's move on to practicing the material in this lesson.

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hi there. Do you know anyone here?"

B: "I'm a friend of Stacy."

A: "Stacy Miller? I know her."

B: "Really? How do you know her?"

A: "We went to middle school together."

B: "That's cool. What a small world."

A: "So how do you know Stacy?"

B: "We went to the same sorority."

A: "What did you major in?"

B: "I majored in Sociology."

A: "Really? Me too. That's kinda cool."

B: "Where did you go to school?"

A: "I went to Berkley."

B: "So what are you doing here in New York?"

A: "I work at a consulting firm."

B: "Isn't that hard work?"

A: "It was in the beginning, but I got used to it. It's a lot of hours though."

B: "I bet. I don't like working more than 40 hours. I need time to play."

A: "I hear that. I wish I had more time to play. But I do like my job."

B: "I think it is important to like your job."

A: "I like talking with you."

B: "Really? I feel the same way."

A: "Do you wanna go out sometime, like dinner or something?"

B: "I'd like that. Here, let me give you my number."

A: "You see that chick over there?"

B: "The one in the red shirt?"

A: "Yeah. Isn't she hot?"

B: "She's alright."

A: "Just alright?!? She's hot!"

B: "Why don't you go talk to her?"

A: "You think she's out of my league?"

B: "Hell no! You're just a chicken that's all."

A: "C'mon. I get nervous when I talk to girls."

B: "Why don't you go stand next to her for a while and if an opportunity comes up, strike a conversation."

A: "What do I talk about?"

B: "It doesn't matter. You gotta find what she's interested in and go with that."

A: "I don't know..."

B: "Do you want me to go talk to her?"

A: "No. Stay away from her."

B: "If you don't do anything, I'll bet somebody else will."

A: "Ok already. I'll try."

There are several aspects of dating that are important so we will dedicate a couple of lessons on dating. There are two sections of dating. It comprises of the time period of trying to get a date, and then the time during the date. It is also important to point out the differences from the male and female perspectives. In this first lesson on dating, we will cover getting a date from both gender perspectives.

In Rwanda, both genders can ask each other for a date. Just like in any culture, it isn't normal to ask a complete stranger for a date. Usually, you have to start a conversation and get to know each other a little bit before asking for a date. In the beginning, it's normal to engage in small talk. During small talk, you should then find something that you have in common. The longer you talk, the greater the chance that you will get a date. It is all up to how you feel if you want to ask or not. In this lesson, I will cover some sentences you should know so you can succeed in getting a date.

Before we continue though, I would like to mention that blind dates are not common. For example, in Korea, So-geh-ting is a very popular way to get dates. This is in essence a blind date. It is not so common in the United States, so no need to cover it here.

During the conversation, throwing out compliments is a good thing to do. Most people will be flattered by them. But remember not to make them too cheesy.

Compliments to a guy

"Do you work out at all? You have a nice build."

"What kind of cologne is that? I like the smell of it."

"I like the sound of your voice. It's soothing listening to it."

Compliments to a girl

"Your eyes stand out a lot. Do you get many compliments on them?"

"Does it take you long to style your hair? It looks very good."

"I bet you get hit on a lot."

The term 'hit on' means to be approached by the opposite sex. So somebody who gets hit on a lot means to have many people approaching them.

Compliments to either gender

"It's very comfortable talking to you."

"I feel like I can be myself when I'm talking to you."

"You seem so intelligent. I like that."

As you can see, these types of compliments are not too aggressive. They are implying good things, but are not a burden to hear. For example, imagine you are talking to a stranger. If they say, "You're so beautiful." It will more likely scare you away. You will probably think that person is a little crazy. But if someone is talking to you and says a small compliment, then it is very welcomed. So keep that in mind when throwing out compliments.

Dating - Follow Up and Flirting

If the conversation goes well, and you feel that you have a strong connection, feel free to ask for a date. There are a couple of ways to do so. You can either ask for a phone number, or you can ask to go out by meeting somewhere. When you see that the conversation is about to end, make sure to bring up the subject of a date.

"It was so great talking to you. I would love to get together and chat some more. Would you care to have dinner with me sometime?"

"If you don't have anything planned for Saturday, I would like to take you to dinner."

"We should talk some more later. Can I get your number?"

There are many ways and if you are sincere, then you shouldn't have a problem. If you feel you are not sure, or you are scared, then you can leave your phone number and hope that the other person calls.

"I enjoyed talking to you. Let me give you my number. I would love to hear from you."

"Give me a call anytime you want to just chat."

Flirting

The previous section was more for people who usually start up a conversation before asking a person on a date. There are other types of meeting people. There is a terminology called flirting that is popular. Flirting basically means to make gestures or movements or comments that are a little sexual in nature. So if you move your body in a certain way, or you rub the other persons arm slightly, or talk about slightly sexual things, then that is considered flirting.

Flirting is all dependent on both sides. It is hard for only one person to do the flirting. If that is the case, then the other person usually finds a quick exit out. Here are some things people might say while flirting.

"Hey sexy. I can't believe I didn't notice you earlier."

"How come you didn't ask me to dance yet?"

"You have nice legs."

"I can tell you workout. You have a nice body."

"You want to feel my muscles?"

Dating Part - Asking for a Date

In the previous section, we covered talking to someone before getting a date. In the next section we are going to work on some sentences you need to say during the date.

As I said previously, there isn't really another dating language. Most of it is regular conversation such as small talk, movies, hobbies, school, and work topics.

Let's start where we left off. By now, you should have a phone number. It is your responsibility to call and get a date. Even though you got a phone number doesn't guarantee a date. You have to convince the person to actually show up. Here is what you should say.

On the phone

Them: "Hello."

You: "Hi. Is Janet there?"

Them: "This is Janet."

You: "Hi Janet. This is Mike. I met you at the party last Saturday night."

Them: "Oh. Hi Mike."

You: "Did you enjoy the party?"

Them: "I had a great time. How about you?"

You: "The next morning was tough, but it was real fun, especially meeting you."

Them: "It was great meeting you too."

You: "Can I take you out to dinner followed by a movie or some other thing?"

Them: "Well, I am a little busy with school and all."

You: "A couple hours shouldn't hurt too much. I'll make sure you have a good time. If you want, we can talk about your school. Maybe I can help you on some topics you are unsure about."

Them: "Ok. Sounds good. I'm free this Friday after 6:00. How does that sound to you?"

You: "That sounds good. Do you want to meet somewhere or would you like for me to pick you up?"

Them: "If you don't mind Italian, I'll meet you at Olive Garden at 6:30 on Friday."

You: "Sounds great. I'll see you then."

Let's analyze this small conversation real quick. First, Mike didn't assume that Janet remembered him. He reminded Janet where and when they met. It isn't a good idea to put someone on the spot right.

Next, Mike asked if Janet had a good time. This is a small talk question to break the ice.

Afterwards, Mike gave a small compliment by saying, '... it was real fun, especially meeting you.'

So Mike is giving an indication that he is interested in Janet.

Next, Mike asks for dinner.

Janet's response is important to learn from. She knows Mike has interest in her, but she is not too sure. When Mike asks for dinner, she is hesitant. We see this when she says, 'I am a little busy with school and all.'

Everyone is busy, and Mike knows that this is an excuse of not going out. There are many things that Mike can do now.

1.   Mike can put pressure on her without any substance like, 'Come on. Let's just go out.' Or he can not even let her completely answer by saying, 'I'll meet you at Olive Garden at 7:00.'

2.   Mike can be a coward and say, 'Ok. Well, if you decide to change your mind, give me a call.'

3.   Or Mike can persuade Janet by appealing to her interests.

The number 1 choice doesn't work because putting pressure on someone is not good. She might not come, or start with a bad impression. Number 2 choice will result in Janet never calling back.

The answer Mike gave is a great answer. He is promising that she will have a good time, and also understanding her school interest and promising to talk about her school.

From Janet's perspective, Mike has good manners not pressuring too much, and understanding her interest by talking about her schooling.

Dating - On the Date

When you finally see Janet at the restaurant or another dating place, you should say something right when you see her. Here are a few examples

"I'm glad you showed up."

"You look great."

"Hi Janet. It's good seeing you again."

During the date, you have to make sure the person stays interested. This is primarily done by talking about subjects the other person wants to talk about. In this case, Janet is concentrating on school. Here are some things to say

"What subject do you find difficult?"

"What classes are giving you a hard time?"

"Do you like multiple choice questions or short answer questions?"

"Do you like writing essays?"

"What subjects interest you the most?"

After you find out more information on her interest, then you can say more things about it.

"When I was in college, I had a hard time with my writing assignments. I guess my high school didn't prepare me enough. So I went to the writing center located next to the library, and they helped me tremendously.

"I found psychology to be pretty easy, but I always made stupid mistakes with the multiple choice questions. So I got a study guide for it and it helped me to get the minor details out of the way."

"I really like history too. I enjoy learning about what happened and how we got to the state we are in now."

"You don't like calculus? I was a math major. If you would like, I can help you out with your homework. I'm sure after a couple of lessons, you will think it is easy."

So helping out with homework is another way to get another date. Although it will be more geared towards school work, you can take the opportunity to impress the other person.

Dating - Asking for Second Date

Another way to get another date is by suggesting another restaurant. Janet likes Italian restaurants. But she chose Olive Garden. If the date went well, and you know of another Italian restaurant, you can suggest another date near the end of dinner.

"Is Italian one of your favorite types of food?"

"Yeah. I like all types of pasta."

"I know this great little Italian restaurant on the waterfront. It's small but very authentic. I'd love to take you there next week or something."

Or, if you know of another type of restaurant here is what you can say.

"Have you ever had French food?"

"I've had French Fries before."

"I'm talking about real French food."

"No. I don't even know what is considered French food."

"I've been to this great French restaurant a couple of months ago. The food was amazing. I would like to take you there sometime. Would you be interested?"

Dating - Preparing Activity after Dinner

Sometimes a date will end right after dinner. Other times you can go to another place such as a bar, or go bowling, or see a movie. It is your responsibility to find out what the other person likes to do and then suggest it. If the date was strictly for dinner, then it will be difficult, but in this case, Mike suggested a dinner and a movie, or another thing. That means Janet should have left the night open.

"Have you seen Master and Commander yet? I heard it was a good movie."

"No, I haven't."

"There is an 8:30 showing down the street. Would you like to go see it?"

Mike made sure to look up movie times and locations before the movie. Then when he suggests a movie, he has all the information.

"What do you like to do when you are not studying?"

"I like to hang out with friends and drink a little and I also like to go bowling sometimes."

"Do you want to go bowling after dinner? We can have a few drinks while we play. It will be fun."

In this scenario, Mike is using both her interests here. In the States, they serve alcohol so drinking and bowling together is a great option.

Dating - Saying Goodbye on Date

Finally, when the date is over, you can say a couple of things depending on how the date went.

If it went bad,

You can lie and say,

"I had a good time. I'll call you sometime."

Or you can not lie and say,

"The dinner and movie was great. Have a good night."

Mike is not lying. He is saying the dinner and movie was good but didn't say anything about the date.

If you had a good time, say,

"I had a great time tonight. Can I call you again?"

"We should do this again."

"I really enjoyed spending time with you."

Common courtesy sentences,

"Make sure to drive safely. If you have any problems, feel free to give me a call."

"I hope you had a good time. Drive home safely and have a good night."

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hi Barbara. Have you lost weight?"

B: "Hi Julie. Yeah. I've been on a diet for a couple of months now."

A: "Wow. You look great."

B: "Thanks for noticing."

A: "What type of diet were you on?"

B: "I joined a health club and my trainer gave me tips on eating. With a combination of eating better and exercising, I managed to lose 15 pounds in 2 months."

A: "That's amazing. What tips did your trainer give you?"

B: "Mostly on how to exercise, but the best advice I got was changing my eating habits. Instead of eating 3 times a day, she told me to eat 5 times a day."

A: "That doesn't make sense. If you eat more, than how do you lose weight?"

B: "Actually, I'm eating the same amount. I eat 5 smaller meals a day. Basically, it naturally speeds up the metabolism and helps to burn fat at a faster rate."

A: "That makes sense. I'm going to try that."

B: "You don't need to lose weight."

A: "I have a little gut I have been trying to get rid of."

B: "Ah... but remember to incorporate a little exercise into your diet."

A: "Thanks for the advice."

B: "No problem."

A: "Can you believe her? She is not even a hundred pounds and she is going off on how she wants to go on a diet."

B: "Tell me about it. If I was as small as her, I wouldn't think about going on a diet."

A: "Me too. But what are we going to do? I have been on 4 different diets and I can't seem to lose weight."

B: "That's because you don't exercise. If you were more active, you wouldn't have a dieting problem."

A: "What do you know? You are over weight too."

B: "I'm not on a diet though."

A: "I know. But I don't have someone to diet with. If we help each other and motivate each other, then I think we can lose some weight."

B: "I like ice cream too much though."

A: "C'mon. You'll feel better and look better and as a reward you can eat a little bit of ice cream here and there."

B: "It does sound appealing."

A: "It's a great idea. I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier. Going on a diet with a friend to back you up is a great way to succeed."

B: "Okay. I'm in. Let's do it."

A: "Great. I'll get our plan started right away."

B: "Can we start tomorrow though?"

Everyone who wants to lose weight has to go on a diet. Since most of the people are somewhat overweight, this becomes a hot topic to talk about. Although both men and women go on diets, I will primarily focus this towards the women population as it is more of a discussion topic for them.

When you see someone and notice a weight change, you usually want to mention that they look better or that they lost weight.

"Have you lost weight?"

"You look better, did you lose weight?"

"Have you been dieting?"

"Wow. You look so good."

Another time dieting discussion starts is during meals. When a person is trying to eat less, people question why and a conversation about dieting begins.

"Is that all you're going to eat?"

"Why aren't you eating anything?"

"Did you already eat?"

"Are you on a diet or something?"

"Are you not hungry?"

And then the person will usually respond by saying:

"I'm trying to lose some weight."

"I started to diet so I am watching what I eat."

"I want to lose some weight before I take family pictures next month."

"I'm on a diet."

Some people look so skinny and they still say they are going to go on a diet. Here are some comments you can say.

"You do not need to go on a diet."

"You look great now. Why do you want to go on a diet?"

"Yeah right. Like you have to lose weight."

Remember that it is ok to talk about dieting with friends, but if you are among people you do not know too well, make sure there isn't somebody who is overweight already. You don't want to talk about dieting in front of these people because they might be self conscious about their weight.

Dieting - Questions

Now that we have covered some basic sentences, let's work on sentences that will help in a discussion. First let's cover some questions about dieting.

"How long have you been on a diet?"

"What type of diet are you on?"

"Have you lost a lot of weight?"

"How much weight have you lost so far?"

"How many pounds do you want to lose?"

Remember that most countries use the kilogram system, but the United States uses the pound system. Don't ask me why, it's just the way it is.

Here are some ways to answer these types of questions.

"I've been on a diet for 2 months now."

"I'm just watching my calorie intake and doing a little bit of exercise."

"I lost 6 pounds so far."

"My goal is to lose 10 pounds."

"I want to be 105 pounds."

Currently, the Atkins diet is very popular.

Atkins diet is a low carbohydrate diet that causes the body to burn fat. Don't quote me on this though. If you want to learn more about Atkins diet, you can find a lot of information over the Internet. For now, I'll share with you some sentences that you might hear Americans say about Atkins.

"I'm on the Atkins diet."

"After three days on the Atkins diet, all I think about is bread and rice."

"I lost 15 pounds in 4 weeks due to the Atkins diet."

"I could never go on the Atkins diet. I love carbs too much."

Carbs is the short form of carbohydrate. You might hear people say, low carb diet in the place of Atkins.

Dieting - Specific Areas

Another common area about dieting is describing the exact area of where you want to lose weight. For some people, they want to lose weight on the arms or the legs, or even on the cheeks. Here are some things you may say.

"I am going on a diet until I get skinny legs."

"I've been on a diet for 3 months now and I can't get rid of the fat under my arms."

"I hate my love handles. I can't seem to get rid of them."

Love handles are the fat on the side of the stomach.

"I want to lose weight on my cheeks."

"What is the best way to lose weight on the thighs?"

"How do you get rid of the fat on the cheeks?"

"I can't seem to lose my gut. I'm pretty skinny everywhere but my gut is a big problem."

Gut is the lower part of the stomach. Many people have some fat on the gut.

Other general sentences

"I am way too undisciplined to go on a diet."

"I like to eat too much. I wouldn't survive a day on a diet."

"If I can eat ice cream then I don't have a problem with a diet."

"A good diet is a combination of eating well and exercising."

"Many people think dieting is all about eating less."

"I think exercising is more important than eating less."

"The best way to naturally lose weight is to eat five times a day but smaller amounts."

Talking about other people

"She used to be so fat in high school. I can't believe how skinny she is now. I wonder what kind of diet she went on."

"She's been on a diet for 6 months and still looks the same. She has to be cheating."

"My sister has always been skinny, but after she gave birth, she had to go on a diet."

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hey Sarah. Why are you limping?"

B: "Oh. Hi Matt. I went snowboarding yesterday and my whole body aches."

A: "Was it your first time?"

B: "Yeah. And I never want to go again."

A: "I remember the first time I went. My back was sore, I couldn't sit down because it hurt my butt, and my legs would cramp if I walked too fast."

B: "That's exactly how I feel now."

A: "It's only like that the first couple of times."

B: "Ha. There won't be a next time."

A: "You gotta give it a chance. It's fun after a while."

B: "I'll think about it after I start feeling better. Right now, I don't even want to hear the word snowboarding."

A: "Ahhchooo!"

B: "You've been sneezing a lot lately. Are you sick or something?"

A: "No. Every spring time around April, I'm stricken with allergies."

B: "I never have seasonal allergies."

A: "Consider yourself lucky."

B: "What are all the symptoms?"

A: "Well, as you just saw, I sneeze a lot. Also, my nose becomes very runny, my throat sometimes itches, and my eyes start to water."

B: "That doesn't sound good."

A: "No it's not. So you don't have any type of allergies?"

B: "Well, I have a severe allergic reaction to alcohol. It runs in the family."

A: "Everyone to some extent is allergic to alcohol."

B: "I get it pretty bad. My whole face turns red, including my ears. My eyes become bloodshot, and I start to itch all over my body."

A: "That's pretty bad."

B: "But that doesn't stop me from drinking. Hahaha."

I'm not going to talk about every body part in this lesson. For information concerning detailed body parts, I would suggest a book that is solely covering body parts. Instead, we are going to cover various types of conversations and sentences most commonly used in standard English communication.

Let's first list the different body parts I will cover in this lesson:

Arm, Forearm, Elbow, Wrist, Hand, Finger, Knuckles

Leg, Calf, Thigh, Knee, Ankle, Toes

Head, Ear, Mouth, Nose, Eyes

Neck, Chest, Stomach, Back, Groin, Butt, Shoulder

The arm area

Here is a list of sentences most commonly used

"My arm hurts."

Remember you can change the word of arm to any of the other body parts.

"My wrist is sore."

"I sprained my wrist while I was playing tennis."

Sprain is to hurt the ligaments of a joint. It is different than breaking a bone. Breaking a bone is hurting the bone itself, and sprain is hurting the tissue that connects the bone.

"I can't bend my elbow that well."

"Your fingers are so long."

"My fingers are short and stubby."

"I like to crack my knuckles."

"My grandmother has arthritis so she can't move her hands well."

"I got a flu shot on my arm yesterday."

"I hate people who don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom."

"I broke my finger when I fell down the stairs."

Body Parts - Leg and Head Area

The leg area

"I went jogging yesterday so my legs are all sore."

"Your legs will be very sore after you go skiing."

"I hate it when I get cramps."

"I usually get cramps on my calf."

"I banged my toe against the coffee table."

"These shoes hurt my feet a lot."

"I got a bruise on my thigh after he gave me a charley horse."

Charley horse is most widely used to describe as stiffness or a muscle ache of the upper leg after being hit. So if I hit someone in the thigh, then that is called giving someone a Charley horse.

"I banged my knee against the door and it hurts."

"I got this scar on my knee when I was little."

"Twisting your knee is so painful."

"I broke my ankle playing volleyball."

"My ankle was swollen after I sprained it."

"I like shoes that support my ankles."

The head area

"My ears are so cold."

"My nose turns red when I'm cold."

"I always get a runny nose during the winter time."

"I get a runny nose during allergy season."

"Your whole face is turning red."

"I usually turn red when I drink alcohol."

"Don't pick your nose."

"My eyes are itchy."

"I have a cold sore on my lips."

"I have a canker sore in my mouth."

"I hit my head on the desk after picking up a pen."

"How did you get a black eye?"

"What happened to your face?"

"How did you get that cut on your cheek?"

"Did you have acne problems when you were young?"

Acne is another terminology for pimples.

"I used to get a lot of pimples when I was young."

"My mouth always waters when I smell steak."

"I got my ear pierced yesterday."

Body Parts - Body Area

The body area

"I got a whiplash after the car accident."

"My father hurt his neck when he turned his head too quickly before sneezing."

"He has a big Adam's apple."

Adam's apple is the bump in the neck most common among guys.

"I've been getting chest pain recently."

"When I get asthma, it feels like someone is pressing on my chest and squeezing my lungs."

Asthma is a respiratory disease that makes it difficult to breath

"He bumped me on my shoulder as he was walking by."

"I feel like a big load has been taken off my shoulder."

"He has broad shoulders."

"Many girls like guys with broad shoulders."

"I want to get rid of the fat on my stomach."

"I have a beer belly."

Beer belly is a terminology used to describe a stomach that sticks out from excessive beer drinking.

"I get a stomach ache if I eat spicy food."

"I have an upset stomach."

"My stomach hurts."

"You must be hungry. I can hear your stomach rumble."

"I want a six pack."

Six pack is a terminology used to describe a flat stomach with six or eight lines showing the muscle lines. You can also use washboard, "His stomach is like a washboard."

"He hit me in the groin."

Groin is the area between the legs. It can also mean the crotch area, but crotch is more specific to the personal area, where groin can mean the general vicinity.

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hi Mike. What have you been up to?"

B: "Not much. I started exercising."

A: "Trying to get in shape?"

B: "Yeah, I need to start improving my health."

A: "Me too. What are you doing besides exercising?"

B: "That's about all."

A: "I think if you eat better, it will help tremendously."

B: "Sleep is good too. I heard people who sleep an average of eight hours a day have less health problems."

A: "Looks like there are a lot of things to do to stay healthy."

B: "True. But I think it is worth it. When you get old, you want to be healthy and active."

A: "Did your wife give birth yet?"

B: "Yeah. She's a healthy beautiful girl."

A: "Congratulations. How is your wife doing?"

B: "She is tired, but getting a lot of rest now."

A: "That's good to hear."

B: "I'm just glad there were no complications."

A: "If your wife and baby are both happy, what more can you ask for?"

B: "It's been a week, and I haven't slept that well."

A: "That's normal for anyone with a newborn."

B: "Yeah, but it's so hard. I have to work, and then go home and take care of my wife and the baby. I'm going to get sick at this rate."

A: "You'll get used to it. After everything stabilizes, you can regain your health."

B: "That's true. I should make sure my wife and baby stay healthy during this time."

A: "I haven't seen your father in like 5 years. How is he doing?"

B: "He's not doing too well."

A: "Why? What's wrong?"

B: "About a year ago, he started feeling weak all the time."

A: "Is it due to old age or is he sick?"

B: "Maybe a little of both. The doctors can't point out anything specifically. I think it is because he didn't take care of himself during his youth."

A: "That makes sense. It's important to take care of your health early in life."

B: "That's what my father tells me almost everyday."

A: "Well, I hope he starts feeling better. Say hi to him for me."

B: "Thanks. I'll let him know."

Health is an important part of life so it is useful to know how to speak about this topic. We will cover eating, and general health statements you will need to know.

Eating

"What type of food is healthy to eat?"

"Are hamburgers healthy for you?"

"Is drinking coke bad for you?"

"Do vitamins really work?"

"If you eat better, you will be healthier."

"If you want to be healthy, you should eat better."

"Eating ramen and drinking beer everyday is not healthy for you."

"Eating vegetables is good for you."

"Eating a variety of food is good for you."

"I take vitamins everyday."

"Even though eating cereal in the morning is boring, it's quite healthy."

"If you want to be healthy, you should eat better and start exercising."

General statements

"I need to start thinking about my health."

"I get sick very often these days. I think I need to start worrying about my health."

"It is very important to take care of your health while you are young."

"Trying to regain your health when you are old is more difficult than people think. That is why it is important to take preventive measures early."

"Smoking and drinking is bad for your health."

"You're ruining your health."

"Now that I am thirty years old, I should really start thinking about my health."

"You need to take care of yourself more."

Questions regarding health

"What made you decide to start working out?"

"I want to get healthier."

"You never used to eat spinach. Did you acquire a taste for them?"

"No. I just heard it's healthy for you."

"You run so often. Do you like jogging?"

"I hate jogging, but I do it because it's very healthy."

Health - Family

If you are young and pretty healthy, then you do not need to say many different things. What we have covered so far is a good starting point in health discussions. For the next section, I am going to go into good and bad health of older people such as parents or grandparents.

If a person is very old and does not have any sickness, then the usual comment is to mention how healthy that person is.

"My grandfather can't move that much because of leg pains. But besides that, he is very healthy."

"She's quite healthy for her age."

"My mother always complains about some pain, but the doctor can never find any wrong with her."

"My grandmother is in a nursing home. She's pretty healthy but can't walk that well."

Often times we ask about the health of a new born baby. Here are some sentences you can say.

"I just had my baby."

"Oh really? Is the baby healthy?"

"He's a healthy little boy."

"I'm so blessed with healthy children."

"I'm so happy that my children are all healthy."

"I wish I was rich, but I can't complain. I have a job, my children are healthy, and most of all, we are all happy."

Although it is fortunate to have healthy relatives, we are sometimes in a situation where health is a problem in the family.

"My uncle died from stomach cancer. The doctors say it is mostly hereditary but I think it was due to all the spicy food he ate."

"My father is very unhealthy. He says it is because he didn't take care of his body when he was young."

"My sister is always sick. I'm really concerned about her health."

"My brother is tired all the time. I think he is unhealthy."

This review section will cover all the lessons we had so far. This includes small talk, weather, movies, classes, university, etc. If you are slow on some sections, please go back to that particular lesson and study the material again.

College Related Review - Interactive Practice

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hey John. I didn't know you were coming to this school."

B: "Yeah, what a coincidence. It's good to see you."

A: "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

B: "What have you been up to?"

A: "Not much. Just school and stuff."

B: "Where are you going now?"

A: "I'm going to the registration building to see if I can withdrawal from one of my classes."

B: "Are you bombing the class or something?"

A: "Partially that, but mostly it's a boring class and I am getting nothing out of it."

B: "Where are you off to?"

A: "I finished class for today so I am meeting my girlfriend to watch a movie?"

B: "What are you watching?"

A: "The Lord of the Rings. I haven't seen it yet. Have you?"

B: "Yeah, I saw it about a month ago. It was really good."

A: "Don't tell me anything about it. I don't want to ruin the surprise."

B: "No problem. Hey, what are you doing this weekend?"

A: "Nothing really. I was going to rent a video and just hang out at home."

B: "My fraternity is going to have a party on Saturday night. Wanna come?"

A: "Hey, that sounds like fun. What fraternity are you in?"

B: "I'm over at the Delta Fraternity house."

A: "Cool. Give me your number and I'll call you Saturday."

B: "It's 206-555-1212."

A: "Alright. I'll see you on Saturday."

B: "See you later."

A: "You're Jason right?"

B: "Yeah. Tom right?"

A: "Yeah. What's going on?"

B: "Not much. Just hanging out. A bunch of guys are playing a game for shots."

A: "You're not playing?"

B: "I had enough to drink already."

A: "I hear ya."

B: "You in school or do you work?"

A: "I work at a marketing company. How about you?"

B: "I'm still in school. I have one more year left."

A: "What are you majoring in?"

B: "I'm majoring in computer science."

A: "Where do you want to work?"

B: "I would love to work at Microsoft. But it's pretty tough to get in."

A: "So I hear. So you come to this club often?"

B: "Every now and then. I usually hang out at Pioneer Square."

A: "Yeah. That's a cool place. There are a ton of bars to hit in that area."

B: "Are you here with Mike?"

A: "No. Some of my work buddies. I haven't seen Mike in a while now. Do you know what he is up to?"

B: "He's going to grad school."

A: "What a surprise. I didn't know he was so studious."

B: "Yeah. Surprised us all. Hey, I'm going to get another drink. You want one?"

A: "It's alright. I still have to work on this one."

B: "I'll catch you later."

A: "Alright man."

A: "Hi. My name is Robert."

B: "I'm John. It's nice to meet you."

A: "Do you know what this professor is like?"

B: "I have no idea. This is my first year."

A: "You a freshman? Me too. Where are you from?"

B: "I'm from San Francisco."

A: "I've been there a few times. It's a great city."

B: "Where are you from?"

A: "I grew up in this area all my life."

B: "So you know where all the fun places to hang out right?"

A: "Yeah. The best place is over by the water. They have a lot of clubs and bars."

B: "I drove by that area before. I didn't know it was a college hang-out."

A: "It gets pretty wild over there sometimes. You should go."

B: "Sounds like a good idea. Do you know what you are majoring in yet?"

A: "Not yet. I'm leaning towards business, but that's only if I can't get into computer science. How about you?"

B: "I want to go to med school, so I'll probably end up majoring in biology."

A: "That's cool."

B: "Is the weather this bad all the time in the fall?"

A: "Yap. This is a typical autumn. It gets worse though. At least it's not raining that much."

B: "That sucks."

A: "You'll get used to it. In the meantime, you'll have to watch a lot of movies. Seems like the only thing to do with the bad weather."

B: "Too expensive. Can you believe how much movies cost these days?"

A: "Yeah. It's crazy. It's like 9 bucks a movie. I remember when it was half that."

B: "Unless it's a date, I'm not going to pay that much to watch a movie."

A: "That makes sense."

B: "Oh. The professor is coming. I'll talk to you later."

A: "Alright."

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Do you drink much?"

B: "Depending on what you consider a lot."

A: "How frequently do you drink?"

B: "Couple times a week. How about you?"

A: "Only when I go out. I'm not a big drinker."

B: "How much can you drink?"

A: "I usually only have 2 beers."

B: "You're a light weight."

A: "How much can you drink?"

B: "I'm usually drinking all night long. At least 10 drinks."

A: "Don't you spend a lot of money then?"

B: "No. We usually go to places that have specials. Dante's over on the Ave has $5.00 pitchers on Mondays. So for ten, fifteen bucks, I can get a lot of drinks."

A: "That's true."

B: "If you don't like beer, have you tried mixed drinks? Some of them are pretty good."

A: "I like beer, it's just that I get a headache when I drink more than 3."

B: "You just have to build up a tolerance. I used to be like that. But your body gets used to it."

A: "It'll take awhile, but I'm working on it."

B: "Hey let's go out tomorrow night. The Ram Bar and Grill is having a special on pitchers."

A: "Alright."

Many countries have drinking rules such as using two hands to receive drinks, never allowing your drinking friend to pour their own drinks, never leaving a glass empty too long, and so on. But in America, there isn't that many rules you need to know. I'll cover as much as I can and soon enough, you shouldn't have any problems talking while drinking in America. (I do not know the drinking etiquettes of other English speaking countries such as England, so learn about drinking rules before going there

In a Bar

There are a few terminologies you have to learn.

Tap - Beer in a glass that is from a large container

Well - Same as Tap. Different wording

Pint - This is 16 fluid ounces. This roughly translates to 500cc.

Bottles - Bottles of beer

Pitchers - Same as Tap, but put in a pitcher

Mixed Drinks - Special Drinks like a mixture of Vodka and Orange Juice. They have names for these such as Fuzzy Navel, Rum and Coke, Buttery Nipple, Gin and tonic, and so on.

Wine - Red or white. Bottle or glass

Shots - Hard alcohol in small shot glass

On the Rocks - Hard alcohol in a bigger glass with ice

Straight Up - Used when ordering a hard alcohol. Specifying that you do not want ice

Double - Two shots in a bigger glass

Round - Used in groups when ordering together.

Bottoms up - One shot. Drink everything in your glass

Cheers - Word used before hitting glasses together before drinking

Champagne - Carbonated wine used in special occasions such as weddings.

Toast - A person usually makes a speech at a special occasion with glasses raised before all taking a drink together. Usually with champagne

Drinking - Ordering Drinks

I'll cover ordering drinks in a restaurant in the 'Restaurant' section. For now, I'll limit this session to ordering drinks in a bar, and drinking with friends.

When you are in a bar, you can either go up to the counter or wait for a server to come by. If you go to the counter, you order what you want by saying the drink name and the quantity.

"I'll take 4 bottles of Corona."

"I'll take a pitcher of Red Hook."

"Give me 3 shots of Crowne."

"I'll have one Jack and Coke."

After you get the drink, the bartender will usually say,

"That will be $12.50."

If you pay with cash, then you should receive change. Make sure to tip once in a while. However, if you pay with a card, they will usually ask if you want to leave it open. Leaving it open means to keep the credit card open so if you order more drinks, you will get one bill instead of having to use the credit card multiple times. You will hear something like this.

"Do you want to keep it open?"

If you want to keep the credit card open before they ask you, you can say this.

"Can you keep it open?"

If you have a credit card open, then any more drinks you order will go on your credit card. When you are done for the night, you can simply tell them that you are ready for your bill.

"Can I get my bill?"

If the bartender has your credit card, then you can go up to the counter and say the same thing, or say, "I would like to close my tab."

Drinking - Ordering at a Table

If you are sitting at a table in a bar, a server will come up and ask you what you want. They can ask in multiple ways, but the most common are the following.

"What can I get you guys?"

"What can I get you?"

"What would you like today?"

"What will it be?"

"What do you guys want today?"

Other things you can ask is if there are any specials.

"Are there any specials today?"

If they do, they will probably tell you the drink and the price that is on special. Here is an example.

"All our margaritas are $2.50, and well drinks are $2.00."

"Every Monday we have pitchers for $5.00."

If you are having pints or shots or some other drink, and you want to get one more for everyone, you can say to the server that you want one more round.

"Can we get one more round?"

They will respond by saying, 'Same thing?' or 'Four Coronas again?'

When you are sitting with your friends to drink, mostly you just talk and drink. But if somebody is getting low on a drink, you can offer to buy another one. Another situation is if someone buys you a drink, you want to say that you will buy the next round. Here are some examples.

"I'm going to get another drink. Do you want one?"

"Let me buy you a drink."

"Thanks. I'll get the next round."

Drinking - General Things

Listen to the Entire Lesson

When you are all standing in front of the bar to buy a beer, sometimes one person will pay. Usually everyone reaches for their money, but one person who wants to pay says, "It's alright, I got this one."

Another popular saying is when you meet a good friend and you want to buy them a drink.

"Hey, let me buy you a drink. What do you want?"

When you do cheers, you can either say cheers, or dedicate the next gulp to something.

You first lift up your glass and say,

"This is to good times. Cheers."

"For the end of our junior year."

"To success."

Basically anything you want to drink for.

Among friends, you can recommend shots. At a bar, mostly people drink beer and mixed drinks. However, between drinks someone can recommend having a shot altogether.

"Hey, let's all do a shot."

"Shot time."

"Let's get 4 shots of Jack."

Asking questions about how well someone drinks

"How much can you drink?"

"How many beers does it take to get you buzzed?"

"Depending on the day, but mostly it will take 4 beers before I start to get buzzed."

"I usually have about 6 drinks when I go out."

Also, when someone can't drink that much, people usually use the term light weight.

You should also know how to ask if a person is ok to drive. If they look drunk, then you should take away their keys. However, if they are ok, you can usually ask them if they are capable of driving.

"Are you ok to drive?"

"Are you going to be able to drive?"

"You sure you can drive?"

Before moving on to the Interactive Practice section for drinking, take a look to a conversation with a couple of friends in a bar.

A: "Hey wassup. What are you guys drinking?"

B: "We're having pitchers."

C: "Dude, you're going to need a glass."

A: "Excuse me?"

S: "Yeah."

A: "Can I get a glass?"

S: "Sure."

A: "Have you guys been drinking long?"

C: "Not really. This is only our second pitcher."

B: "You better start catching up."

A: "When I get my glass, I will."

B: "You ok with shots right?"

A: "Yeah."

B: "What do you usually have?"

C: "He always has the same thing. Crowne."

A: "Exactly."

B: "That's good stuff."

C: "You finally got your glass. Hey Cheers. To good friends."

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hey Bobby. What's going on?"

B: "Just taking a smoke break."

A: "I forgot my cigarette today. Do you have another one?"

B: "Sure. Here you go."

A: "Thanks."

B: "I didn't know you smoked."

A: "Really? I've been smoking for over a year now."

B: "Oh. You're new to smoking still. I've been smoking for 7 years."

A: "You ever tired to quit?"

B: "Many times. I'm really addicted. It's harder to stop than you think."

A: "Yeah. I tried to quit last month, and I thought it was going to be easy, but it turns out that I'm still smoking."

B: "I highly recommend you quit soon. The longer you smoke, the harder it becomes to quit."

A: "I think you're right. Alright. Gotta go to class. Thanks for the cigarette. I'll talk to you later."

B: "No problem. I'll talk to you later."

A: "Hey Jane. How are you doing?"

B: "Hi Jack. I'm doing great."

A: "I hope you haven't been waiting too long."

B: "No. I just got here a few minutes ago."

A: "Do you know if smoking is allowed here?"

B: "I think this is a no-smoking place. Do you want to go somewhere else?"

A: "That's alright. I don't need to smoke."

B: "Why don't you quit?"

A: "I never thought about it. All my friends smoke, and we hang out a lot."

B: "So do you smoke by yourself?"

A: "When I started I didn't, but after a few months I started smoking at home. Usually when I'm bored."

B: "Do you smoke cause your're bored?"

A: "Yeah. It helps to kill the time. I also think it's out of habit. I'm so used to having a cigarette every now and then."

B: "How much do you smoke in a day?"

A: "I smoke about a half pack a day."

B: "Well, I think you should quit. You know it's bad for you?"

A: "I always knew it was bad, but I never thought about it."

B: "You better start thinking about it now. You might not feel the difference now, but after 10 years of smoking, you might feel it and then it will be too late."

A: "That's a good point. I'll try to quit."

B: "Good. And if you need any support, I'll always be here for you."

A: "Thanks."

There are several facts to smoking. First, smoking is bad for you. Second, everyone knows it's bad for you, but many people still smoke. I will cover two aspects of smoking. First, we will learn about asking for a cigarette. And second, we will learn about what people say about smokers and the conversations that take place between non-smokers and smokers.

First, let's talk about smokers.

There is not much you need to know except how to ask for a cigarette. What else are you going to say?

"Do you have an extra cigarette?"

"May I have a cigarette?"

"Can I have a cigarette?"

Sometimes, you can ask while giving a reason.

"Can I get a cigarette from you? I just ran out."

"I forgot my smokes at my house. Do you have an extra one?"

There are other terminologies you can use.

"Can I bum a cigarette from you?"

"Can I bum one of those?"

"Do you have an extra cigarette I can bum?"

"I need a cigarette. Can you help me out?"

Bum is another way of saying beggar. In essence, you are admitting that you are a bum for asking. Although the meaning can sound pretty serious, many people use this term to be polite.

Answering these questions is pretty simple.

Nobody ever says, 'No.' That's just too rude. If it's a friend, then you don't even need to say anything. Just pull out the pack of cigarettes and hand your friend a cigarette. But here are some other things you can say.

"Sure."

"I think I have a spare."

"Here you go."

If you are sitting at a coffee shop, you can put it on the counter and say,

"No need to ask, just help yourself."

If you don't have anymore then you can say,

"Sorry. I just ran out."

"This was my last one."

"I bummed this one off another person."

Or if it's a stranger walking by, you can ignore them and keep walking without saying anything, although this could be rude.

Smoking - Non Smoking Areas

Smoking and non-smoking areas

Currently in America, many states are banning indoor public smoking. That means no smoking in bars, restaurants, or any other place that is deemed public. California is an example of a state that implemented this rule. But there are still places where smoking is permitted.

Here are some questions you might find useful.

"Is this a non-smoking establishment?"

"Do you have a smoking section here?"

"Is smoking allowed?"

"Where is the smoking section?"

"Is there a designated smoking area?"

At a bar or a smoking place, if you need an ashtray, you can say,

"Can I have an ashtray?"

If you have one and you need another one, simply say, "Can I have another ashtray?"

If you are smoking in an area that is a non-smoking area, you might hear people say the following... if you are a non-smoker, then you can learn this to say to others that are smoking in a non-smoking area.

"This is a non-smoking area."

"There's no smoking in this area."

"This is a non smoking establishment."

"There's no smoking in the airport."

"Smoking is only allowed in the bar area."

"You cannot smoke here. Can you please go to the bar or outside to smoke?"

Responding to these can be done with a simple,

"I'm terribly sorry. I'll take this to the smoking area."

"Sorry. I didn't know I was in a no smoking area. I'll move right away."

Smoking - Quitting and General Statements

Listen to the Entire Lesson

If you are in a hotel getting a room, the clerk might ask you,

"Would you like a smoking room or a non-smoking room?"

If you hate the smell of smoke and they do not ask, you can verify what type of room it is by asking,

"Can you make sure it's a non-smoking room?"

"Is this going to be a non-smoking room?"

While smoking, you will sometimes talk about smoking. If that's the case, you can ask these types of questions.

"How long have you been smoking?"

"Have you been smoking long?"

"Have you ever tried to quit smoking?"

Comments you can say while smoking with someone

"Smoking is so bad, but it feels so good."

"I've been smoking for 10 years."

"I tried to quit a couple of times. It's really hard."

I heard some comments from some people justifying cigarette smoking

"There was a 90 year old man who smokes one pack a day and drinks one bottle of Soju a day and he is very healthy. He's been doing it for over 60 years."

"I only smoke when I'm with friends."

"I only smoke when I'm drinking."

"I can quit anytime I want. There is just no need to right now."

"The best way to quit is cold turkey." Cold turkey is a terminology used to completely stop without any help with things such as nicotine gum or nicotine patches.

"There are a lot of aids to help you stop smoking. I heard hypnosis is pretty good."

"I quit for 3 months last year. I used the patch to help stop the cravings."

Smoking - Asking for Light and Hate Smoking

When you don't have a lighter or matches, do not ask for fire. That is a common mistake. Instead, ask for a light.

"Do you have a light?"

"Can I borrow your lighter?"

"Can I use your matches?"

If you catch someone smoking, like your kid or your significant other, you can say,

"Have you been smoking?"

"Is that smoke I smell?"

"Who taught you how to smoke?"

"Where did you get those cigarettes?"

"I saw you smoking yesterday."

"You smoke don't you?"

Finally, for people who do not like smoking, here is a section on communicating your disgust with smoking.

"I hate smoking. It smells so bad and hurts my throat."

"I don't like that club because it smells like smoke in there."

"It is way too smoky in the bar."

"It's a little stuffy with smoke in here. I'm going outside to get some fresh air."

"Have you ever kissed a smoker? You can taste the smoke. It's disgusting."

"I get a headache when I'm around smoke."

Second hand smoke is a term used for non-smokers breathing the smoke from smokers. So if you are a non-smoker and you are in a bar, the air you are breathing is basically second hand smoke.

"I heard that second hand smoke is just as bad for you as smoking."

"Second hand smoke can give you health problems too."

"Children who grow up breathing second hand smoke have greater health risks growing up."

"I don't mind second hand smoke. I got used to it over the years."

After practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hey man. What's going on?"

B: "Not much. Just having a good time."

A: "That's all good. What year are you?"

B: "I'm a sophomore. How about you?"

A: "This is my third year."

B: "Are you in this fraternity?"

A: "No. I'm over at Beta Psi."

B: "I have a friend over there. Do you know Johnny Parker?"

A: "Yeah. He joined us last year. He a friend of yours?"

B: "Yeah. We went to high school together."

A: "Right on. What's your name?"

B: "Roger Dunkin. How about you?"

A: "Steve Leary. It's nice to meet you."

B: "Yeah."

A: "What have you been drinking?"

B: "Just Heinekens"

A: "Oh man. You have been missing the good stuff. Are you OK with shots?"

B: "Hell yeah."

A: "Cool. Follow me. I'll show you the good stuff."

A: "You come to a lot of these parties?"

B: "As many as I can find."

A: "Ha ha ha."

B: "Any fine ladies around here?"

A: "I just checked out a group of chicks heading towards the kitchen."

B: "Were they with any guys?"

A: "No, they were alone."

B: "What are you doing just standing here then? Let's go see if they want any company."

A: "Sounds like a good plan. Let's go."

A: "Do you go to school here?"

B: "No. I go to a different university."

A: "So do you know Johnny?"

B: "I came here with a friend who knows Johnny. I met him a couple of times. He's a cool guy. So you go to this school?"

A: "Yeah."

B: "What year are you?"

A: "I'm a junior. How about you?"

B: "Me too. But I bet I'll be in school for 4 more years. I still haven't decided on my major."

A: "I'm in a similar boat. I'm in the English department, but I want to change majors. If I do that, then I'll have to go to school for another year."

B: "That's life I guess."

A: "I'm going to get another drink. It was nice meeting you."

B: "Yeah. Nice meeting you too."

One of the great things about college is the parties. However, it could be boring and dull for others. I'm not saying it's fun for everyone. But if you like to drink, have fun with a lot of different people, it might just be your thing.

First, I'll explain the various parties you can attend. There are fraternity and sorority parties, parties at a friend's house, parties at clubs or bars, night clubs, and so on. That is what we will discuss here. We will have other sessions on different types of parties, but since we are on the college track right now, I will dedicate this session to partying while in school.

Usually, fraternity or a sorority party has a lot of drinking, a lot of people, and a lot of music. At the party, you usually mingle and meet a lot of people. Some people go to the parties to have sex. These can occur at many parties because there are a lot of rooms in the fraternity and sorority houses. But don't think this is all fun and games. There are some people who thinks these types of parties are boring. For the people who do not like to talk to strangers, it can really be boring. They will end up in a corner by themselves and have a beer or two and then go home. It basically depends on what type of atmosphere you like.

If you like this type of partying, the first thing you need to do is find the party.

"Where is everyone hanging out this weekend?"

"Are there any good fraternity parties this weekend?"

"Where does everyone go to party?"

"Are there any parties to crash this weekend?"

An easier way to find a party is to have a friend who is in the loop.

"There's a party this weekend at the Kappa Sorority house. I think we can sneak in. Wanna go?"

"There's a bunch of us going to the Last Supper Club in downtown. If you're not doing anything, you should join us."

"A friend of mine is having a party at a huge house. It's going to be a blast. Let's go man."

"There's going to be a kegger at my fraternity. You're welcome to come."

College Partying - Questions

Listen to the Entire Lesson

If you are new to these types of partying, you can ask questions about what takes place at these parties.

"What do you usually do at the party?"

"What goes on at the party?"

"Are there a lot of girls?"

"Are there a lot of cute guys?"

"What types of drinks do they have at the party?"

"Do I need to bring anything to the party?"

"How many people usually come to the party?"

The most important thing you will need to learn is what to say when you are at the party.

In order to be liked, it doesn't matter what you look like, or how much money you have. Although both of these help, the most important thing is if you are a fun person. Usually, fun people have good things to say and keeps the conversation going. You can engage in small talk, but it also doesn't matter what you say, it matters how you say it.

The most important thing to do is to do a lot of laughing. It really doesn't matter what you say, so no use learning new sentences. I will have several practice sessions so you can hear what the conversation should sound like.

After practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hi. My name is Jack."

B: "Hey Jack. I'm Seth."

A: "It's nice to meet you."

B: "Looks like we're going to be roommates."

A: "Yeah."

B: "So where are you from?"

A: "I'm from Tacoma. How about you?"

B: "I'm from Ontario."

A: "In Canada?"

B: "No. It's in California. It's a smaller city in southern California."

A: "So what made you come here?"

B: "I wanted to go to a different state."

A: "I see. Hey, if you don't mind, I took this side of the room."

B: "No problem. They look the same to me."

A: "Are you a morning person or a night person."

B: "I'm a night person."

A: "That's great. So am I. I like to sleep in the morning."

B: "That should work out well then."

A: "Hi. I'm Sara."

B: "My name is Jessica. It's nice to meet you."

A: "Yes. It's nice to meet you as well."

B: "Have you been here long?"

A: "I got here about an hour ago. Do you want me to show you around?"

B: "Yeah. That would be great. The most important is the bathroom right?"

A: "Definitely. But we have to share the bathroom with the whole floor. The break room is over there. The bathroom is right across from the break room, and finally, the RA (resident advisor) is in room 315."

B: "I'm glad there is a TV in the break room. I like to watch TV."

A: "Me too. So I brought one. I haven't unpacked it yet, but it's a little TV that works."

B: "Cool. I brought a refrigerator. I like to store some snacks in there. Feel free to use it."

A: "That would be perfect. I think we're going to have a great time."

B: "Do you sleep pretty late, or are you a morning person?"

A: "I have never been either. I'm very flexible with sleeping times. Anyways, I'm a deep sleeper so a little noise never bothers me."

B: "That's good to know. I'm usually a night person, but I'm very quiet if my roommate is sleeping."

A: "As long as you don't blast the music while I'm sleeping, I should be fine. Did you eat lunch yet?"

B: "No. Is there a cafeteria in the building?"

A: "Yeah. I'll show you."

A: "I'm calling about the available room. Is it still available?"

B: "Yes it is. Do you know where we're located?"

A: "Yeah. I drove by this morning and I liked the location. What's the rent?"

B: "It's $850 a month. So you would pay $425 a month plus half of the bills."

A: "How big is the place?"

B: "It's a two bedroom, one bath and roughly about 800 square feet."

A: "Is the complex pretty quiet? Can you hear a lot of noise or anything like that?"

B: "They have a strict policy in the apartment complex concerning noise level. So it stays very quiet after 10 PM."

A: "Are you the only person who lives there now?"

B: "Yeah. I'm only looking for one roommate."

A: "Everything sounds good. Can we schedule a time to meet so I can look at the place?"

B: "I'm available anytime today or tomorrow."

A: "How about if I come over now?"

B: "That works with me. But what is your name?"

A: "Oh, my name is Brad."

B: "Ok. I'm Randy. So I'll see you in a bit?"

A: "Should only take about 15 minutes to get there."

B: "Sounds good."

While in school it is common to have a roommate when you are in the dormitory. In the States, it's also common to share an apartment with a roommate. This lesson will cover the English you will need to talk to your roommate. Of course you can talk about many things, but I will specifically target this lesson towards roommate stuff.

Dormitory Roommate

When you first go into a dormitory, you will either be greeted by the person already there, or you will have to greet someone that is coming later than you. Most dormitories have one room for two people. After the dormitory section, I will cover living in an apartment with a roommate.

When you arrive to the dormitory, you can usually engage in small talk first. Most of the time, you have to get to know one another. Talk is initiated by both parties simultaneously. You can ask questions like where they came from, what year they are in, or what they like to do. But besides that, you have to find out the living habits of each other. After you engage in small talk, you can ask these questions:

It's important to know the sleeping habits of your roommate, so ask if they are a night person or a morning person.

"So, are you a night owl or a morning bird?"

A night person is referred to as an owl. That is because owls are more active at night. Birds on the other hand wake up early. So they associate morning people to birds.

If you don't want to use this expression, you can ask,

"Are you a night person or a morning person?"

"What time do you usually go to sleep?"

"What time do you usually wake up?"

"If you didn't have anything to do the next day, what time would you sleep till?"

It's common courtesy to respect each other. If you are asleep, the roommate should be quiet. This goes for you too.

When you get sleepy, you can either go to sleep, or tell your roommate that you are going to sleep.

"I'm a little tired. I'm going to sleep now. Have a good night."

"I'm sleepy. Time to go to bed. See you in the morning."

If you like listening to music, you can ask your roommate,

"Does the music bother you?"

"Let me know if you want me to turn the music off."

"Do you mind if I turn the stereo on?"

But when you ask questions about music or TV, you should make sure that person is not studying. If they are, then it's pointless to ask because it should be quiet. This is only good for times when you are both doing nothing.

Roommate - Sharing things and Questions

Sometimes a roommate will bring a mini refrigerator, or it might turn out that you will. It's polite to let your roommate use the refrigerator too.

"Feel free to use the refrigerator."

"Can I put my drinks in your fridge?"

"Do you mind if I use your refrigerator?"

If you connect with the person and you become friends, then you will not even need to ask. For example, after you get to know the person your comments will be different. Say I become a friend of my roommate. And then after a month or so, he brings a refrigerator. I wouldn't ask to use it, I would rather comment on how useful it will be. It's assumed that a friend can use the refrigerator, so no need to sound weird by asking politely. Instead you can say,

"Cool, you brought a fridge. I can go buy milk now."

This comment is saying that you appreciate the refrigerator by saying, 'cool', then you indicate that you are going to use it by saying you will buy milk. If your friend doesn't object to your comment, then it is the same thing as getting permission to use the refrigerator.

Responding to questions

"Are you a night person or a morning person?"

"I'm a night owl. I usually sleep pretty late."

"What time do you usually go to sleep?"

"It varies. Usually between midnight and one in the morning."

"What time do you usually wake up?"

"I don't wake up until I have to."

"I usually wake up at nine in the morning."

"Does the music bother you?"

"No not at all. I like it."

"Do you mind if I turn the stereo on?"

"Oh, feel free."

"Can I put my drinks in your fridge?"

"Sure. Don't worry about it."

"Do you mind if I use your refrigerator?"

"No problem at all."

Roommate - Apartment

When people live in an apartment, it is usually among friends. So there's no need to worry about being too polite. As long as you have common courtesy, you will have no problem. On the other hand, if you are looking for a roommate, then there are some things you should learn how to say. The list of questions below are examples of questions you should ask when looking to join existing people in an apartment.

Questions

"What is the rent here?"

"How many people live in the apartment?"

"How many bedrooms does the apartment have?"

"How much is utilities?"

"Does the rent cover the utility bills?"

"Do you have any rules for living here?"

"Does it get loud in here?"

"What time do people usually go to sleep?"

"Do you hold any parties here?"

"How many people share the bathroom?"

"Do you have cable?"

"Do you have high speed Internet?"

Common answers

"The rent is $1200, so you would only pay $400."

"This is a three bedroom unit, so you would be the third person."

"On average, utilities are about $125."

"The rent does not cover utilities. You would be responsible for 1/3 of the utilities."

"We are pretty quiet during the week days, but on the weekends, it can get a little loud."

"We have both cable and DSL here."

What is a school without examinations? They all have it. So, we will have to spend a session talking about exams.

There are many types of tests and different terminologies. You can be taking an in-class test, or it could be a take-home final. It could be a multiple choice exam or an essay type format. In either case, we will cover it here. First, let's learn the different terminologies associated with testing.

Examination

Mid-term

Finals

Test

Quiz

Pop-quiz

Exam

Take-home final

Research paper

Final paper

Report

Essay

Presentation

Open-book test/final

Common questions you can ask about exam format:

"How many tests did you have to take in your Math class?"

"What was the mid-term like?"

"How much percentage is the mid-term towards the final grade?"

"Do you have to write any papers in that class?"

"How many pages did you have to write for your essays?"

"Was the open-book exam hard?"

"How difficult was the take-home final?"

"Was the final exam short answer questions, or was it multiple choice?"

"Did you have any pop-quizzes in your geology class?"

"How much time did you get to write your research paper?"

"How often did you have a quiz?"

"What day did you take your final?"

"When did you take your final?"

"Are you done with your mid-terms?"

"When is finals week?"

"The syllabus for the econ class says you have six exams. What were they like?"

"How difficult is the mid-term for psychology 101?"

Examinations - Finding Information

Having a lot of information about tests can help prepare for exams. The next several questions are geared towards finding specific information.

"Does Professor Giles use old exam questions for his tests?"

"Can I borrow your old exams for Intermediate Accounting? I want to use the questions to test myself before the real exam."

"Do you know anybody who took Physics 340? I want to know the types of questions that were asked on the final."

"Do you think I need to study chapter 6 for the mid-term? It's so boring, and I can't seem to apply it anywhere."

"What topics did the professor cover the most in the final exam?"

"What were the long essay questions on?"

"Do you remember the long essay questions you had on the final?"

"I was thinking about buying the study supplement for the engineering class. Do you think it will help?"

And of course, you may be required to answer these types of questions, so let's get into answering:

"How many tests did you have to take in your Math class?"

"We had a total of 4 tests in that math class." Or more simply, '4 tests.'

Answering can be real easy. The reason I put full sentences is for your practice. But remember when you really answer, you are not required to put them in full sentences. I'll try to mix it up so you get a familiar feel answering both long and short ways.

"What was the mid-term like?"

"The mid-term was hard. If you read all the material, you will still have a hard time because the professor wrote up all the questions in a difficult way."

Examinations - General Information

The hardest types of questions to answer are the, 'What was it like' types, and the 'how was' types. The reason it is hard, is because you have to explain in your own words the answer. It's not as simple as a number or a 'yes' or 'no.'

"How much percentage is the mid-term towards the final grade?"

"The instructor said it was twenty percent of our final grade."

"Do you have to write any papers in that class?"

"No. We only had one mid-term and one final."

"Yes. We had to write 2 essays for that class."

"How many pages did you have to write for your essays?"

"We had to write 5 pages for both essays."

"Was the open-book exam hard?"

"Most of the time, open-book exams are harder, but this one was really easy. All the questions were in the glossary so I found the answers quickly."

"How difficult was the take-home final?"

"It is easy that we have the material to look through, but it is very time consuming. I had to do an all-nighter just to finish."

All-nighter means to stay up all night.

Examinations - More Information

"Was the final exam short answer questions, or was it multiple choice?"

"It was multiple choice."

"Neither. The exam had 2 long essay questions."

"Did you have any pop-quizzes in your geology class?"

"We had 3 pop-quizzes in that class. Luckily, only five percent counts toward the final grade."

"Fortunately we didn't have any."

"How much time did you get to write your research paper?"

"We had two months to write the research paper."

"How often did you have a quiz?"

"Once a week."

"What day did you take your final?"

"I took the final last Monday."

"I didn't take it yet. I take the final tomorrow."

"The syllabus for the econ class says you have six exams. What were they like?"

"It was pretty easy because they only covered 2 chapters. If you keep up, then you shouldn't have a hard time."

"Does Professor Giles use old exam questions for his tests?"

"He always creates new test questions so old ones will not help you."

"Can I borrow your old exams for Intermediate Accounting? I want to use the questions to test myself before the real exam."

"Sure, I have it in my dormitory. I'll bring them tomorrow."

"He didn't return the exams, so I don't have them."

"What were the long essay questions on?"

"Both questions were on supply and demand. Make sure you know that stuff inside and out."

"I was thinking about buying the study supplement for the engineering class. Do you think it will help?"

"I highly recommend it. I didn't have it for the first exam, and I got a B-. But after I studied with the supplement, I aced the next test."

Examinations - Interactive Practice

A: "Did you already take the history exam?"

B: "Yeah. It was hard. When do you take it?"

A: "I take it tomorrow morning. There is so much material, that I don't know what to emphasize on. What types of questions did you get?"

B: "Mostly on the civil war. You should also study the impact Martin Luther King Jr. had on American society."

A: "How about Abraham Lincoln? Did you get any questions about him?"

B: "I only had 1 question about him. But you might get more. I don't know if he will have the same exam or not."

A: "Hopefully he will use the same exam, cause I'm going to spend most of my time studying the civil war. It is a huge section and that is what he lectured the most on in class."

B: "If you can't study everything, then that is probably the best way to go."

A: "Alright. Thanks for the info. I gotta go to the library now."

B: "Good luck."

A: "Thanks. See ya."

A: "Hey Jack. You look tired. What's going on?"

B: "It's finals week and I have been up all night studying."

A: "How many exams do you have left?"

B: "Three more to go?"

A: "Have you been keeping up, or are you cramming everything?"

B: "If I was keeping up, I wouldn't be needing to stay up all night."

A: "Ha ha ha. Looks like you are in for a tough week."

B: "Tell me about it. How about you? What have you been up to?"

A: "I finished my last final this morning."

B: "So you're completely done?"

A: "No. I have one more report that is due this Friday. I haven't started it yet, but it shouldn't be too tough."

B: "How many pages do you have to write?"

A: "It's a 10 page paper on habitual behavior for psychology 211."

B: "You wanna take one of my exams for me?"

A: "I would if I could, but you know that's not possible."

B: "Yeah, I know."

A: "If you need help with your chemistry class, I can help you over the weekend."

B: "That would be great."

A: "Let's get together Saturday around lunch time."

B: "You don't know how much this means to me. Thanks."

A: "Don't mention it. I'll see you on Saturday."

After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hey John, did you register for classes yet?"

B: "I register this Friday."

A: "What classes do you plan on taking?"

B: "I really want to take the communication class, but I don't know if it will be available."

A: "Is that class really that popular?"

B: "Yeah. I tried to get in last semester, but it was full by the time I registered."

A: "What other classes are you going to take?"

B: "I still need to take English 201, but I really don't like writing."

A: "I took that class already. There is a lot of writing, but it's not that bad."

B: "Oh really? Who was the instructor? There are like 4 different instructors to choose from."

A: "I had Professor Mahoney."

B: "Is he an easy grader?"

A: "I'm not sure if he is or not, but I thought he was definitely fair."

B: "Do you mind if I ask you what you got?"

A: "Not at all. I got a 3.8."

B: "Well, what did you get in English 101 last year?"

A: "I got a 4.0 in that class."

B: "Well, I can't compare to you. I got a 3.1 in English 101. That means if you got a lower grade in English 201, it must be harder."

A: "It's not what it appears. I actually tried harder in the 101 class. If I put as much effort into the 201 class, I would have received the same grade."

B: "Oh. That helps. Thanks."

A: "Hey Mike. I forgot about registration. I'm a day late, so all the classes are mostly full. What do you think I should do?"

B: "You're screwed. You can't do anything about that. You have to hope that you get some classes that will be useful."

A: "Do you think going to the registration building will help at all?"

B: "No. They will tell you the same thing in a worse way."

A: "Did you register yet?"

B: "Of course. Registering for classes is not something you want to miss."

A: "What classes do you think are still open?"

B: "Well, I know psychology 101 is a big class, so there will always be seats in that class. You can also get into Sociology."

A: "That's helpful. Thanks. But what do you think about philosophy? I wanted to take that class this semester."

B: "I took that class last year. The professor is really cool, so if you go to his office, you can have him sign a card that will let you in even if the class is full."

A: "He does that?"

B: "I guess that's because so many people drop out of that class."

A: "That makes sense. I think I'll do that. Thanks for all the help."

B: "No problem man."

A: "Did you get your grades yet?"

B: "Yeah. My whole GPA is screwed up now."

A: "Why? What happened?"

B: "Well, I bombed my econ final and ended up with a 1.7."

A: "Ouch. You must be very disappointed."

B: "Well, it's my fault because I didn't study as much as I should have."

A: "Why don't you re-take the class next year?"

B: "That's what I plan on doing unless I keep screwing up. How did you do this semester?"

A: "I didn't do that well either. I ended up with a 3.2 this semester. That drops my total GPA to 3.45."

B: "My GPA is pretty similar to yours. I have a 3.1 now because of the stupid econ class."

A: "What was your GPA before this semester?"

B: "I was sitting happy with a 3.4."

A: "Why did it go down so much?"

B: "Let's just say I screwed up more than my econ class."

A: "What happened to you?"

B: "I started playing StarCraft and ended up wasting a lot of time."

A: "You better stop slacking off."

B: "You're right. I'm not going to play games during school anymore."

A: "Did you ever take History 231?"

B: "Yeah. Last semester."

A: "Who was the professor?"

B: "It was Professor Johnson."

A: "I have him this semester. What do you think about him?"

B: "He's a terrible instructor and demands a lot, but fortunately, he's an easy grader."

A: "What did you end up getting?"

B: "I got an A-. Sounds good, but none of my test scores were that high, so I don't know how I got a decent grade."

A: "That's probably because he grades on a curve."

B: "Are you enjoying the class so far?"

A: "I hate it and I was about to withdrawal. But after hearing your experience, I think I will tough it out."

B: "Yes. Definitely stay in the class. You will get a better grade than your test scores. He does that deliberately to make all the students study a lot."

A: "Thanks for letting me know. I feel relieved now."

A: "Hi Mark."

B: "Oh, hi Stacy."

A: "How was your summer vacation?"

B: "I worked over the summer at a restaurant. Have to make tuition money right? What did you do?"

A: "I took summer school. I withdrew from two of my classes last year so I wanted to make them up."

B: "So are you officially a junior now?"

A: "Yeah. And I have 5 credits to spare. I only needed to take 10 credits over the summer, but I took 15 because the price was the same."

B: "That makes sense. So where is Nicole?"

A: "She dropped out of school completely."

B: "Really? Why?"

A: "She worked at a startup company as an intern and since the business did well, they asked her if she wanted to work full time."

B: "Wow. She's so lucky. She doesn't have a degree and she already has a job."

A: "It sounds good now, but I'm traditional. I want the degree, so I wouldn't have accepted the offer."

B: "Do you know how much they are paying her?"

A: "I don't know. But I bet it must have been a good offer, or she wouldn't have accepted it."

In this lesson, we are going to learn about the terminologies you need to know when you talk about classes with your peers.

There are several sections. Let’s break this up into:

• Registering for classes
• Grades in class
• Professors and different curriculum
• Dropping out/Withdrawal

First, let's talk about registering for classes.

Questions

"Did you register yet?"

"When do you register for classes?"

"When does registration start for next semester?"

"How do you register for classes?"

"Where is the registration office?"

"What classes are you registering for?"

"What classes are you going to take?"

"What classes do you want to take?"

Ways to answer these questions

"I haven't registered yet."

"I register next Tuesday."

"Registration starts 4 weeks before the next semester."

"You register on-line. Go to the website, and click on register."

"The registration office is in CASS Hall. That's right across the street from the statue."

"I'm not worried about getting into psychology 101, but I think the physics class will be full by the time I register."

"If all things go well, I plan on registering for English composition, chemistry, and calculus."

"I really want to take computer programming, but I'll have to see if it is full or not."

Regular comments about registering

"I hate registering for classes. All the classes I want to take are always full."

"Being a sophomore sucks because we register last."

"Seniors have the first pick so registering is easy for them."

"If I get all the classes I want to take, I'll be so happy."

"Registration was great this time. I got all the classes I wanted."

"Registering for classes is such a big headache."

University Classes - Grades

Grades in Classes

Talking about grades is all dependent on if you open up about these things or not. I know some people are very secretive about their grades, and others like me freely talk about grades. So make sure you are close friends with the person you are talking to about grades.

Grades are different depending on school. Some schools give letter grades that translates into number grade. Other schools strictly give number grades only. The difference is in letter grades, you cannot get a 3.5. You either get a B+, which is a 3.3, or an A- which is a 3.7. However, in number grades, the instructor can give a 3.4, 3.5, or 3.6.

"What did you get in English?" If you are talking about the subject, you do not need to say grade. But if not, you can ask, "What grade did you get in English?"

"I can't believe I got a 3.1 in biology. What did you get?"

"How was your GPA this semester?" GPA stands for Grade Point Average.

"How were your grades this quarter?"

"Did you do well this semester?"

"Did you screw up your grades this semester?"

"What was the lowest grade you ever got?"

"What is your overall GPA?"

"How are your grades?"

"What's your accum?" This is short for accumulated. This is asking what your overall GPA is.

I'll give examples for both specific and general answers.

"In English, I got a B+."

"I got a 2.9 in English."

"I did similar to you."

"I got a 3.4 this semester."

"If I didn't get the C+ in Biology, my GPA would have been awesome this semester."

"My grades were ok."

"I did average this quarter."

"My accum is 3.6 right now. I really want to get over 3.75."

"My overall GPA is 2.94. I need to get a 3.4 next semester to bring my GPA above 3.0."

"My GPA sucks."

"I did pretty good this semester." Although grammatically this is incorrect, spoken English allows such errors. If you want to be grammatically perfect, you will need to say, "I did pretty well this semester."

University Classes - Professors and Curriculum

"How is Professor Johnson?"

"Is Professor Smith an easy grader?"

"What is Professor Lee like?"

"Would you take another class from Professor Jackson again?"

"How many exams did you have to take in Sociology 121?"

"What's the curriculum for Chemistry 101?"

"Do you have to give any presentations in journalism class?"

"What do you do in poetry class?"

If somebody asks you these types of questions, you can answer like the following:

"Professor Johnson is so uptight. He's always lecturing and never allows students to ask any questions."

"Professor Johnson is a brilliant professor. I learned so much from him."

"No way. He is such a hard grader. I was expecting a 3.7, but it turns out that I got a 3.1. Can you believe that?"

"His grading system is messed up. He grades according to how much he likes you."

"He's a difficult grader."

"He's an easy grader."

"So far, I have taken 2 classes from Professor Jackson. I'm going to take every class he offers."

"I wouldn't recommend Professor Jackson. His classes are so boring."

"He's an idiot. He doesn't know anything."

"There were just two exams... the midterm and the final."

"There is an exam ever other week. It was hard, but at least it prevented me from cramming."

"The curriculum is pretty basic. We have two days of lecture, two days of lab, and one day of discussions. Every now and then we have a quiz, but it's pretty routine."

"In journalism, we have to give a presentation 3 times during the course. I didn't mind it, but a lot of other students were complaining."

"We had two presentations, but they were pretty easy. It was the writing that was hard."

University Classes - Dropping Out / Withdrawal

There are two ways to leave a class. You either drop out, or you withdrawal. Dropping out usually means you are going to get a failing grade and you don't care about it. But primarily, dropping out refers to leaving college life altogether. So if you intend to say that you dropped out of a class, you should use withdrawal. There are several time periods for withdrawal. The first week, there is no penalty. The second week up to the first month, a W will show up on your transcript. And finally, withdrawal after the half way point will give you a failing grade. But this is dependent on each school policy. So learn the withdrawal format of your school. I was using the dates mentioned above only as an example. Let's learn some sentences to say these kinds of things.

"I dropped out of my chemistry class."

"I withdrew from my biology class."

"I had too many classes as it is, so I dropped out of my statistics class."

"I couldn't keep up with the schedule, so I dropped out of that class."

"I couldn't understand the material, so I withdrew."

"I hated the professor, so I just withdrew."

If you need to ask questions about withdrawal, these may help:

"When is the last day to withdrawal?"

"If I withdrawal now, will it show up on my transcript?"

"Does a withdrawal look bad on the transcript?"

"How do I drop out of a class that I don't want to take anymore?"

"What is the procedure to withdrawal from class?"

"How do I withdrawal from a certain class?"

Other things you might want to say when discussing this topic...

"Are you sure you want to drop out of that class. You only have 4 more weeks. At least you can get the credit."

"If I stay in that class, I'm going to screw up my GPA."

"The best I can do is a C in this class. I don't want a C on my transcript. I'm going to withdrawal from the class."

"If you get a bad grade, can't you just re-take the course?"

"Even if I retake the course, both grades are used. This school has a different system where re-taking the course doesn't really help."

After practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

A: "Hi. My name is Mark."

B: "Mark? I'm Bill. Glad to meet you."

A: "Yeah. So where are you from?"

B: "I'm from Houston Texas."

A: "Oh... I'm from Southern California."

B: "There must be a lot of cute girls over there huh?"

A: "Hell yeah. But most of them are hoochies."

B: "That sucks. So, what year are you?"

A: "I'm a freshman."

B: "This is my first year too."

A: "So what made you decide to come to California for school? I hear Austin is a good school."

B: "It's alright, but I think Berkeley is better."

A: "So is this where you wanted to come?"

B: "To tell you the truth, I wanted to go to Stanford. I made it on the waiting list, but ninety nine percent of the people accepted to Stanford go there. Like, who wouldn't right?"

A: "Very true. But this is still a good school."

B: "I'm not complaining. I just know that I wanted to come to California. Texas is cool and all, but I wanted to experience different things."

A: "That's good. Do you know what you plan on majoring in?"

B: "I was thinking about political science, but now I'm leaning towards English literature. How about you?"

A: "I plan on majoring in double E."

B: "Do you know where the Smith building is? I have to pick up the syllabus for my psychology class. I missed the first day."

A: "That's a great start. It's over there by the library."

B: "It was nice meeting you."

A: "Yeah. We should hang out later."

B: "Cool. I'll see you tomorrow in class then."

A: "Alright. Later."

A: "Hi. What's your name?"

B: "My name is Jung Min. What's your name?"

A: "My name is Jessica. It's nice to meet you."

B: "Yes. It's nice to meet you too. Are you a new student too?"

A: "No. I'm a sophomore. I take it you are a new student?"

B: "Yeah. It's pretty exciting to be here."

A: "Have fun while it lasts. The excitement wears off real quick. Especially after you see how much homework you get. Where are you from?"

B: "I'm from Korea. My parents wanted me to go to an American university, so I came here."

A: "I have never been to Korea. I've been to Japan before, but never Korea."

B: "Why were you in Japan?"

A: "My father thought it would be a good experience to take a vacation to a different country. He's so into learning about different cultures."

B: "That's pretty cool."

A: "I thought it would have been more fun if I went without my parents."

B: "Well, if you ever want to visit Korea, I would be happy to show you around."

A: "Thanks for the offer. I'll keep that in mind. Oh, the professor is coming. We'll talk more after class."

B: "Ok."

As you can see, these portions of our lessons are dedicated to school. There are many things to learn here, so we are going to spend numerous lessons on school. But don't worry; only a couple will be geared towards classes. The rest will be about night life, partying, and having a good time. Before we start learning about topics such as classes and examinations, let's learn some general university phrases.

The first type of speaking you will have to do is when you meet new people. During this time, you can engage in idle small talk. Since you have learned small talk, feel free to use your new skills. On top of that, let's learn some new phrases that will help you.

"Where are you from?"

"What high school did you attend?"

"What are you going to major in?"

"What are you majoring in?"

"How many credits are you taking this semester?"

"What classes are you taking?"

"What year are you?"

"What is an easy class to take?"

"Where is the best place to hang out?"

"Are you in the dormitory?"

"Where do you live?"

"Why did you decide to come to this school?"

"What made you choose Berkeley?"

Many of the answer to these questions are general things you should already know. But it never hurts to review again, so let's go over how we can answer some of these questions.

"Where are you from?"

"I'm from Seattle, Washington."

"I'm an exchange student from Seoul, Korea."

"I'm from Dublin, Ohio."

"I'm from Southern California."

University Life - Questions and Answers

"What high school did you attend?"

Before we answer this question, keep in mind that a foreigner will not be asked this question. Usually they will not ask a foreigner because they think that they will not know the high school you mention. But it is still good to know how to say such things.

"I went to Lynnwood High."

"Lynnwood High."

"I went to a high school in San Francisco."

"A high school in Olympia."

"What are you going to major in?"

"I haven't decided, but I'm leaning towards biology."

"I'm thinking about majoring in psychology."

Universities in the States are a little different than others. You don't choose your major until you are in your 3rd year. Basically, you apply to get into a major your junior year and if accepted, you have a major. If you get turned down, you have to find a different major, or spend another semester or year trying to get in. That's why you see so many people not graduate after 4 years. The problem is that they do not know what to major in.

"How many credits are you taking?"

"I'm taking eighteen credits this quarter."

"I'm only taking 10 credits this semester."

"I'm taking 20 credits this semester."

"What classes are you taking?"

"I'm taking chemistry 135, math 231, and English 101."

"This quarter I'm taking Intro to Sociology, Basics of Music Composition, and Spanish 101."

"What year are you?"

"I'm a junior."

"I'm a freshman."

"I'm a fourth year junior."

"I'm a fifth year senior."