F2F Class Notes 12 June (Peter)

Corrections

I have found this job opportunity when I graduated – I had found a job opportunity when I graduated

I have stayed in that company – I had stayed in that company

I have to do everything – I had to do everything

The least width – the minimum width

We have a rule to obey* that – There’s a rule that we have to follow that says

*Note: since obey is a more serious word, people tend to obey laws and follow rules.

We have been a lot of tough things – We encountered/faced a lot of tough problems

Built by handmade – built by hand

We had trying to figure out a method – We had to try to figure out a method

We didn’t want the cement to be showing on the surface – We didn’t want the cement to be visible

Vocabulary

Template – a preset layout for something

Ex. You don’t have to start from scratch, just use the template.

To jot something down – to write something down quickly

Ex. Hold on, let me jot your phone number down.

Room/Load/Weight* capacity – the amount of people that can be in a room safely

*Note: weight capacity is only applicable to things that hold other things.

Outsource – to get someone from outside your company to do something you are responsible for, 委外

Cement – a gray building material, 水泥

Grammar

When we add the word “have” to change a verb, it keeps it in the present.

Ex. I have been there twice. (at the moment, I have only gone two times.)

When we add the word “had” to change a verb, it send it to the past.

Ex. I had been there twice. (at the moment, I’ve been there more than two wimes) Changing “have” to “had” means that circumstances are no longer the same.

Phrases

Too much food on your plate – too many responsibilities or too much to worry about

Don’t bite off more than you can chew – don’t accept more responsibilities than you can handle

To start from scratch* – to start from nothing

*Note: the word “scratch” refers to messy hand writing. Sometimes, ugly handwriting is referred to as “looking like chicken scratch.” So the word scratch in this case references planning or sketching. Examples of this use of the word: scratch paper (blank paper handed out for tests), scratchpads (small notebooks for writing small notes or reminders).

End up – at the end, as a result

Ex. Although I hurried, I still ended up late.

Pronunciation

Project (“O” as long “long”)

Width (“I” as in “win”)

Cement (sih-MENT)