Arquivo para categoria Podcast Inglesonline

How’s it going?

Nesse episódio do podcast Inglês Online a gente fala sobre como pedir licença e terminar uma conversa quando você precisa (ou quer) ir embora.

Para ver e ouvir podcasts de semanas anteriores, clique em Podcast Inglesonline na barra lateral. Você pode também assinar o feed do podcast ou encontrá-lo no iTunes (veja o menuzinho ali ao lado).

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Transcrição

Hi, all. How’s everything? Today we have a new episode of the inglesonline podcast. To download or just listen to other episodes and download transcripts, go to inglesonline.com.br and click Podcast Inglesonline.

So here’s an interesting topic for our podcast: you’re having a nice conversation with someone, either face to face or on the phone, and all of a sudden you realize you’re late. You have an appointment, or you gotta be somewhere else very soon. Or, you simply realize that, for whatever reason, you’re kinda done with this conversation and it’s time to end it, but the thing is… The other person won’t stop talking. Today’s podcast is about presenting you with several different ways to get out of a conversation, you know, without being rude or unpleasant.

And the inspiration for this episode came from an HP newsletter that someone forwarded me. You know HP – Hewlett Packard, the technology company? They have a newsletter where they talk about their products and other stuff, and on this particular edition, they were… There was this business tip with a list of things you could use to say goodbye to someone who won’t stop talking. For this podcast I’ve selected my favorite ones, but I’ve also included the link to the original newsletter article at the bottom of this post, in case you wanna check out their other suggestions.

So imagine you’ve been talking to this person for a while, and now it’s time to go. He or she has been talking incessantly and you’re just waiting for a pause! When they finally take a breath, here are a few things you can say:

• Well, Michael, it’s been wonderful talking to you! or OK, Catherine, it’s been really good talking to you; or
• I really enjoyed meeting you!; or
• Thank you so much for your time! It’s been so helpful talking to you; or even
• Hey, it’s been great to catch up! See you around.

The last one was very direct; right? You’re telling the person you appreciate the conversation you guys just had and then you’re saying goodbye. In all of the above examples you’re signaling the other person that you’re ready to say goodbye. You could also indicate that you would like to continue at a later time. For example, you could say…

• That is very interesting. I’ll need to think about it, but I’ll be in touch; or
• Great! So we’ll see each other on Friday, or next week, or at that conference in April, right?, or
• Look, I really have to go now but I’d love to talk more about this. Can I call you tomorrow?

So these are all very nice ways to wrap up a conversation, while at the same time conveying that you’re interested in what the other person is saying and would like to hear more about it.

Yet another way is just being honest about why you need to leave. Maybe you don’t mind sharing your reason for saying goodbye, and you could use one of these:

• Sorry! I really have to leave for the airport now, but it’s been great talking to you!; or
• I’m sorry, I have to run now – I’m late for a meeting. Here’s my business card. Let’s keep in touch!; or
• I have just seen someone I need to talk to. I gotta catch her before she leaves. Will you excuse me?

So when was the last time you had to excuse yourself from a conversation? What did you say? Me… it was a phone conversation and I had to get some work done, so I just said “I need to get some more work done before noon. Can I call you later?”

Let us know about your experiences. Talk to you next time!

Artigo: Como se despedir de uma pessoa que não para de falar!

Key expressions

Ways to end a conversation

Glossary

for whatever reason = qualquer que seja a razão

you’re kinda done with  this conversation = pra você, essa conversa meio que já deu

to convey = expressar

What’s up?

Nesse episódio do podcast Inglês Online vamos falar sobre algumas expressões muito comuns no inglês, todas com a palavra ‘would’.

Para ver e ouvir podcasts de semanas anteriores, clique em Podcast Inglesonline na barra lateral. Você pode também assinar o feed do podcast ou encontrá-lo no iTunes (veja o menuzinho ali ao lado).

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Transcrição

Hello, everyone. How’s it going? Today we have a new episode of the inglesonline podcast. To download or just listen to other episodes and download transcripts, go to inglesonline.com.br and click Podcast Inglesonline.

Today I’m gonna focus on a few very common ways to use the word ‘would’. Would, as in… If I had a million dollars, I would travel around the world. There are some short phrases with ‘would’ that… They’re almost set phrases that people say very, very often in everyday conversation. They’re not hard to understand and I’m pretty sure that most of you listening would get the meaning if someone said one of these phrases, but the goal here is to expose you to them a little bit more and, who knows? Tomorrow one of them might come out of your mouth just like that.

So in order to introduce the first phrase with would, I’ll ask you to imagine that you’re at work right now, and just casually chatting with a colleague. There’s been a rumor going around the office today that everyone is going to be asked to leave at 3PM because of some kind of safety inspection or something… You’re hopeful. You feel super tired and you would love to be able to take a nap before dinner. So you ask your colleague – let’s say her name is Helen – so, you ask Helen, ‘Do you think we’re going home early today?’. And what does Helen say? She says ‘I wouldn’t count on it’. She seems so sure about it; you’re devastated. You ask her “Why?” and she says “I just talked to the boss and he said it’s business as usual until 5 o’clock”.

Helen’s answer to your question was “I wouldn’t count on it”. That means she doesn’t believe that that’s gonna happen. She doesn’t believe that people at the office are going home early today. Why does she think that? Because she talked to the boss, and the boss basically said that today is just another regular day at the office. So Helen is saying “I wouldn’t count on it. I don’t believe we’ll be going home early today. I talked to the boss, and he indicated that that’s not gonna happen, so… going home early today? I wouldn’t count on it.”

So whenever someone asks you if you think something is going to happen, and you’re relatively sure that that’s not going to happen, you can say “I wouldn’t count on it”. Is Brazil going to be the next World Cup champion? I wouldn’t count on it. Honestly? I wouldn’t. Are soapoperas going to be banned from our TV programming? I wouldn’t count on it. Are cats gonna start barking? I wouldn’t count on it.

But you haven’t given up yet. Helen thinks today’s business as usual, but she could be wrong so you move on to another colleague. You see Steve coming through the glass door so you think you might as well ask him what he thinks. “Steve, rumor has it that we’re all leaving the office early today. Do you think that’s true?” And what does Steve reply? He says “Oh, I wouldn’t know. I’ve just come in. I just arrived in the office, I haven’t talked to anyone yet, so… Sorry, I wouldn’t know”. There’s no way Steve would know whether this rumor is true or not. How could he know? He has just stepped into the office, he has just arrived, he hasn’t talked to anyone today, so there’s no way he would know anything about this. So when you ask “Steve, do you think it’s true?”, he says “Oh, sorry, I wouldn’t know”. That means, there’s no way he would know the answer to that question. Maybe someone who’s been in the office all day would know. But Steve? He wouldn’t know.

So if someone asks you, for example, “Is soccer a popular sport in India?” you can say “Oh, I wouldn’t know”. Unless you do know the answer, of course… I’m assuming that, like me, you don’t know which sports are popular in India. Or someone may ask you “Is it going to rain next week?” and you can say “I wouldn’t know”. How would I know? I wouldn’t know.

And, finally, here’s another very common expression with ‘would’… Let’s say you’re still at work, and you need a ride home today. So you ask your friend Michael: “Michael, can you give me a ride home today?” Michael drives to work and he lives in your neighborhood. So, again, you ask Michael “Can you give me a ride home today?” and Michael says “I would if I could. My car’s at the shop. We can share a cab”. So Michael can’t give you a ride today. Why not? Because his car is at the shop. He doesn’t have his car right now. If he did, he would give you a ride, of course! He would, if he could. He can’t, because his car is at the shop. So when you ask Michael if he can give you a ride today, he says “I would if I could”.

Picture a situation where someone asks for help, and you would be very happy to help, if you could. You would help, if you could, but for some reason you can’t. In cases like this, you can say “I would if I could”. Maybe someone asked you for a ride, but your car’s at the shop. Maybe someone’s asking to borrow your umbrella right now. “Would you loan me your umbrella real quick?” You say “I would if I could! I left it in the car, sorry”. Or someone asks you to give them a hand with their Math homework. You say “I would if I could! I’m hopeless at Math”.

What’s your example? Tell us about when someone asked you a favor and you wanted to help, but you couldn’t. Is this a time when you could have said “I would if I could”? Talk to you next time!

Key expressions

• I wouldn’t count on it
• I wouldn’t know
• I would if I could

Glossary

just like that = de repente, sem que você espere, sem mais nem menos

you’ve been told that = te disseram que

you need a ride home = você precisa de uma carona pra casa

my car is at the shop = meu carro está no conserto (ou na manutenção)

hopeless at Math = sou péssimo com matemática

How’s it going?

Nesse episódio do podcast Inglês Online vamos falar sobre algumas expressões muito comuns com a palavra ‘call’.

Para ver e ouvir podcasts de semanas anteriores, clique em Podcast Inglesonline na barra lateral. Você pode também assinar o feed do podcast ou encontrá-lo no iTunes (veja o menuzinho ali ao lado).

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Transcrição

Hi, everybody. What’s up? Today we have a new episode of the inglesonline podcast. To download or just listen to other episodes and download transcripts, go to inglesonline.com.br and click Podcast Inglesonline.

Today we have three expressions with the word ‘call’. Yeah, I’m talking about call, the same word we use when we telephone someone. But only one of the expressions today has something to do with giving a phone call, so, let’s get started with that one.

Here it is: “Don’t call us; we’ll call you”. That means, of course, please do not get in touch. We will contact you, we will let you know if we want to talk to you any further. So, for example, you had a job interview this morning and, at the end, you asked the interviewer “When do you think you’ll make a decision?” And the interviewer says “Don’t call us, we’ll call you. Thank you for coming!”

This phrase “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” is often understood as, and it often actually is, a dismissal. It’s like that person is saying “Don’t bother, OK? Don’t bother calling us. If you get the job, we will let you know”. Sometimes you see that on sitcoms: one of the characters comes back from a job interview and a friend asks “So how did the interview go?” and the character answers “The interviewer said ‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you’”. And the friend says “Oh, sorry to hear that. I’m sorry it didn’t work out”.

This phrase is often understood as a rejection, although, I mean, that’s not necessarily true, of course. It could be that the people at the company decide that they like you and that you’re a good fit for the job and they end up calling you, so… who knows? In any case, if you hear “Don’t call us; we’ll call you” at the end of an interview, you know what to do: nothing. And keep looking for a job, right?

Our second expression with ‘call’ today is a great one. I’m going to start off with an example which, I think, will make it easier for you guys to get the meaning. Picture this: you and your work mates are in the office, working on a spreadsheet. It’s a super important spreadsheet with a ton of calculations and you’ve all been crunching numbers for hours, and snacking on some pizza, and now you’re revising the numbers again… So finally, around 5 o’clock, your work is done. The spreadsheet is ready to be emailed to the VP of Sales. You take one final glance at the spreadsheet, save the file and zip it up.

You’re about to hit “Send” when John, one of your teammates, interrupts you and says “Wait! We’d better make this file ‘read-only’, you know, just to be safe. A couple of people other than the VP will be able to open it, so… Let’s make it a read-only file’. Everyone looks at John and you say “Good call!” No one but John thought of the security aspect. That spreadsheet is full of confidential information and you guys worked so hard on it. The least you can do is protect it from being modified, even accidentally. So that’s why, when John thought that it would be a good idea to make the spreadsheet read-only, you said “Good call!”

That means, wow, what a great thing to think of, what a great thing to notice! Here’s something that’s really important; it’s such an important and simple detail, and no one else even thought of it, but John. And that is why you said “Good call, John!” In Portuguese I guess we could say something like “Que sacada! Nossa, que sacada boa”. I think you get what I’m saying and next time someone in your team says “Good call!” you know you’ve noticed or realized something really useful or important before anyone else did.

And here’s one more very common expression with ‘call’: let’s call it a day. Let’s call it a day. That means simply ‘let’s end whatever it is we’re doing now, let’s be done with this for today’. People usually say that when they have been engaged in some sort of activity for some time… let’s say, for a few hours, and they’re ready to just be done with it for that day. Maybe they’ll continue tomorrow, but they’re done for today so they say ‘Let’s call it a day’, and then they say goodbye and go home, maybe. Or perhaps you’re having drinks with your work mates at a bar after work and it’s already 9PM, and one of your colleagues suggests that you guys go to a different bar now. You’re tired, you’re ready to go home so you say “Hmm, I think I’m gonna call it a night. See you all tomorrow at the office”.

Or maybe you met with your old highschool friends at the mall and you guys have been chatting and catching up all afternoon and all of a sudden you realize it’s already 5PM and you’re supposed to pick up your kid at school. So you tell your friends “It was great seeing you all, but it’s time I call it a day”.

So, has anyone ever told you “Don’t call us; we’ll call you?” Let us know in the comments.  Talk to you next time!

Key expressions

• don’t call us; we’ll call you
• good call!
• let’s call it a day

Glossary

a dismissal = uma dispensada

don’t bother = não se dê ao trabalho

crunching numbers = processar uma quantidade enorme de dados, fazer muitas contas

you zip it up = você zipa o arquivo

no one but John = ninguém, a não ser o John

Hello! What’s up?

Nesse episódio do podcast Inglês Online vamos falar sobre várias maneiras diferentes de responder a pergunta How have you been?

Para ver e ouvir podcasts de semanas anteriores, clique em Podcast Inglesonline na barra lateral. Você pode também assinar o feed do podcast ou encontrá-lo no iTunes (veja o menuzinho ali ao lado).

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Transcrição

Hello, all. How have you been? Today we have a new episode of the inglesonline podcast. To download or just listen to other episodes and download transcripts, go to inglesonline.com.br and click Podcast Inglesonline.

Notice that I didn’t ask “How are you?”. I said “How have you been?” and that is another way to greet someone and ask how they have been lately, how they have been recently, maybe, or how they have been since the last time you two saw each other. How have you been? What have you been up to?

Of course, in the United States and, I believe, in other English-speaking countries as well, you’re not really supposed to launch into a detailed account of everything you’ve been doing or every illness you’ve had since you last saw that person… Remember this is a way to greet someone, so unless this is a really close friend or relative, your answer should probably be brief, and this is what we’re gonna talk about today.

So here’s one way you could answer someone who asks you ‘How have you been?’ – you could say “I’ve been keeping busy” or simply “Keeping busy”. That obviously gives the idea that you have been… doing stuff, whatever it is that you do. You’ve been studying, working, taking care of your kids, collecting stamps, cooking, whatever. You’ve been keeping busy. So if anyone asks you “How have you been?” you may answer “Keeping busy” or “I’ve been keeping busy” or even “I’ve been keeping myself busy”.

Here’s another phrase that people say a lot in answer to “How have you been?”: I’ve been keeping out of trouble, or just ‘Keeping out of trouble’. This can be kind of a facetious answer, you know… Facetious means slightly humorous. It could be that you really HAVE been keeping out of trouble – maybe you used to commit crimes and after some time in jail you decided to keep yourself out of trouble, so, hey, that’s literally what you mean, right, when you say “I’ve been keeping out of trouble”. But usually people just say that in a more tongue-in-cheek way, you know. How have you been? Oh, keeping out of trouble.

Now, if you want to express that you’re kinda going through some hard times, or that things haven’t been easy, you could say “I’ve been getting by”. Hey, how have you been? Getting by. I’ve been getting by. “Get by” is a so-called phrasal verb, right? When you get by, that means your life may not be ideal, you may not be performing at your best in some kind of situation, but you’re doing just enough to go on with your life or… you’re doing your best to overcome whatever difficulty you’re facing. So when you say “I’ve been getting by”, you’re saying that you probably wish things were different. There’s something going on that is kind of a setback in your life right now, so it’s not an ideal situation, but you’re getting by.

Here’s another one you may use in case you have been feeling a little sick, a little indisposed maybe… And, of course, you feel like sharing it so when someone asks you ‘How have you been?’, you can say ‘I’ve been under the weather’. When you say you’re under the weather, you’re saying you’re not feeling very well, you’re probably ill so… ‘How have you been?’ ‘I’ve been under the weather, but feeling better today’, if that’s the case. Also, let me bring the pronunciation of ‘under’ and ‘weather’ to your attention: under, and weather. For the second syllable of weather, the tip of your tongue will go briefly between your teeth, so… just something to notice. Under and weather.

Now let’s wrap things up with something you can use right now in case you’re in Brazil. Today in São Paulo we have a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius and I know that it’s a lot hotter in other places such as Rio and the northeast. And you know that the weather is one of people’s favorite things to talk about when they’re making small talk. So if someone asks you today “How have you been?” you could answer “Keeping cool”. “I’ve been keeping cool”. Well, in case that’s true, of course. That answer would make sense today, I think anywhere in Brazil, since it’s so hot. What have you been doing to keep yourself cool? I’ve been drinking water and staying out of direct sunlight for the most part.

So how have you been? Now it’s time for your answer in the comments. How have you been? Have you been keeping cool? Have you been under the weather? Have you been keeping busy? I know I have. Have you been… getting by? Let us know in the comments and talk to you next time.

Key expressions

• (I’ve been) keeping busy
• (I’ve been) keeping out of trouble
• (I’ve been) getting by
• (I’ve been) under the weather
• (‘I’ve been) keeping cool

Glossary

launch into a detailed account = começar um relato detalhado

to greet someone = cumprimentar alguém

tongue-in-cheek = irônico, pra ser engraçado

so-called = assim chamado, chamado

a setback = algo indesejado que veio para atrapalhar/atrasar

small talk = conversinha com estranhos na fila ou no consultório do dentista, pra quebrar o gelo, passar o tempo, etc

How’s it going?

Nesse episódio do podcast Inglês Online vamos falar sobre expressões do inglês com a palavra ‘word’. São todas super comuns e fáceis de entender.

Para ver e ouvir podcasts de semanas anteriores, clique em Podcast Inglesonline na barra lateral. Você pode também assinar o feed do podcast ou encontrá-lo no iTunes (veja o menuzinho ali ao lado).

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Transcrição

Hi, everybody. What’s up? Today we have a new episode of the inglesonline podcast. To download or just listen to other episodes and download transcripts, go to inglesonline.com.br and click Podcast Inglesonline.

Today I’m gonna talk about a few simple expressions that use the word ‘word’. I’m calling them simple because they’re very translateable, I guess… I think it will be very simple to get their meanings and many of you will recognize them. There’s an expression with ‘word’ that I say a lot: “in other words”. If you search this expression here on the blog you’ll find it in several articles. And that’s a nice expression for any teacher, since sometimes we explain something and then we want to maybe clarify some parts, or maybe summarize what we just said… So then we can say “in other words…” and we can try to explain that thing again but now in a different way.

OK, so ‘in other words’ doesn’t count. Here’s our real first expression of today. When someone says “I’d like to have a word with you” that means they wanna speak to you in private. This is usually gonna be a short conversation. You know, it’s very common for people to say also “I’d like to have a quick word with you”. In other words, “I would like to speak to you briefly”. In Brazil we say “Posso dar uma palavrinha com você”, right?

People will usually say that when they’re standing next to you, you know? “I’d like to have a word with you”. They’re not gonna yell across a room “Hey, John, can I have a word with you?” For example, your boss might approach you today at the office and say “Can I have a word with you?” And that could mean… several things, I mean, who knows? Your boss might want to simply congratulate you for a job well done, or he or she might want to excuse you from work… forever. In other words, your boss might want to have a word with you because he or she wants to fire you. So, it’s always thrilling when your boss says “Can I have a word with you?”, right?

Here’s another good, very common expression with ‘word’: “take my word for it” or “you can take my word for it”. That would be like “believe me, trust me”. Take my word for it. This is different from “I give you my word”, OK? “I give you my word” would be more like a promise; more like what we say in Portuguese “Te dou a minha palavra”. ‘You can take my word for it’, on the other hand, is just ‘Believe me, you can trust me’.

So let’s see how this expression applies to your life. What kinds of products, or services or companies do you really trust? For example, if you’re a client of Bank XYZ and you’ve actually been a client of Bank XYZ for several years, and that bank has always treated you with the utmost respect and consideration… you have never been disappointed in them. I think in that case you would be able to say “I recommed Bank XYZ wholeheartedly. You can take my word for it”.  You can take my word for it, or, in other words, believe me, trust me, Bank XYZ is amazing, it’s fantastic, you willl love it. Take my word for it.

In my case, my real example would be: give Amazon.com a shot. If you’re looking for books written in English, or just any kind of imported book, open an account at Amazon.com, and place an order. It works really well most of the time. You can take my word for it. I’ve been buying books at Amazon for years and the only problem I’ve had so far was when someone tried to open an account using my credit card number. Amazon runs such a tight ship that they identified my credit card and sent me an email warning me that someone was trying to use it. So, again, just go ahead and open an account at Amazon and become a customer. They’re awesome… you can take my word for it.

What is your example? What would you recommend wholeheartedly, saying “You can take my word for it”?

Now here’s an expression that I think is exactly what we say in Portuguese. It’s something you can say when whoever is speaking in front of you says something and… it’s like they read your mind. They just said something that is exactly what you meant to say, but before you had a chance to open your mouth. So, that thing that person just said? You agree with it very much! You know when that happens? Well, you can say “You took the words right out of my mouth”.

OK, waiting for your example in the comments.  Talk to you next time!

Key expressions

• in other words
• have a word with someone
• take my word for it
• you took the words right out of my mouth

Glossary

to run a tight ship = gerenciar algo de maneira eficiente e firme

agree wholeheartedly = concordo totalmente

whoever = quem quer que, seja quem for