F2F Class Notes 26 June (Peter)

Corrections

My flight delayed – my flight was delayed*

            *We often use this form (passive voice) to indicate a reason that a flight delays.

Vocabulary

Residence – A more professional way to refer to a “house.”

Ex. Let’s say someone calls your house. If you want to be very professional, you can pick up the phone and say “Zhao residence, who’s calling?”

Resident – someone who lives in a residence

Ex. If you see an advertisement for an apartment, it may say that “residents pay 5,000/month in rent.”

Landlord – the owner of a place being rented out, 房东

Real Estate Agent – 中介

Real Estate – 房产

Tenant – the person who pays rent, 房客

Rear – behind

Ex. The mirror in a car above the steering wheel is called a “rearview mirror.”

Backyard – 后院

Grammar

Passive Voice vs Active Voice

Ex. I hit the ball (active voice) VS the ball was hit by me (passive voice)

Note: In Chinese, passive voice usually is accompanied by 被

Accompany – to come with

Company – in addition to 公司, the word company can also describe people who are together.

Ex. It was great meeting your friends! They are great company.

When we tell a story in English, everything is in the past tense, even if it is still true.

Ex. I was in the airport yesterday, there was wifi. (There’s still wifi today, but since this is a story, everything is past tense).

Lounge – a room with couches and tables, usually intended for relaxing, 休息室 (this word can also be a verb, look at “phrases” below)

Somewhat – kind of, a little

Verging on – almost

Help Desk/Reception Desk/Information Desk – 接待台

Mosquito – 蚊子

Bald – having no hair on one’s head (adjective), 秃头

Conflict – disagreement, fight, problem, 冲突

Wordy – containing too many unnecessary words, 繁芜

Phrases

To keep someone company means to stay without someone so they are not alone. Therefore, “keep me company” = “don’t leave me alone.”

Ex. If I am afraid of being alone, I can ask you to keep me company.

To lounge around means to rest and do nothing. It sounds a little negative, like being lazy.

The phrase smoke coming out of [someone’s] ears is used to describe someone who’s very angry.

The phrase right in your backyard (就在你的后院) refers to something that is happening nearby. When used to talk about something bad, it is similar to the phrase “后院起火.”

Pronunciation

Mosquito (muss-KEY-toe)

Agent (AY-jint, “A” as in “day”)

Landlord (LAND-lord)

Tenant (TEN-int)

Real Estate (REAL-ess-tate)

Conflict (KAWN-flickt)