LESSON NOTES

Lower Advanced S1 #25

Is Romance Blooming in this
American Office?

CONTENTS
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar
7 Cultural Insight

# 25
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 ENGLISH

1. CODY: June, are you okay?

2. JUNE: I just had a vision of what the rest of my life is going to be like, and
only now do I realize that it takes place in the same outfit, behind the
same desk, at the same store.

3. CODY: Wow! Never have I seen you so depressed. Is Big John on your
back again?

4. JUNE: No it's just...I just thought I'd be going somewhere. Not just getting a
promotion but physically, getting out of this town. To...to...

5. CODY: The suburbs.

6. JUNE: Ha ha!

7. CODY: All right, listen. Look at me. Scarcely had I met you when I became
of the mind that you are destined for great things. Okay? Whatever
you want to do, you just go ahead and do it. You understand?

8. JUNE: Thanks, Cody. That was almost poetic of you.

9. CODY: Anytime.

10. JUNE: Why are you smiling?

11. CODY: Just wondering whether you have some free time this weekend.

12. JUNE: Cody, you have a girlfriend, remember?

13. CODY: Not anymore.

14. JUNE: Oh!

VOCABULARY

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 V oc abular y English C lass

physically of or relating to the body adjective

a table-like piece of furniture

desk usually with drawers noun

a set of clothes and

outfits accessories noun

become fully aware of

realize something verb

to be in a state of general
depressed unhappiness adjective

the action of raising

someone to a higher
promotion position or rank or the fact of noun
being so raised

somewhere some unspecified place pronoun

the typically residential area

suburbs of a city that lies beyond the noun
city center

certain to do something,
destined certain to be something adjective

anytime at whatever time adverb

scarcely almost not adverb

used to introduce a polite

wondering statement or request verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

He is one of the most physically capable Could you help me clean off my desk?
athletes I’ve ever seen.

The pearly buttons matched the outfit. I realize that we needed to take advantage
of the sale soon.

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She’s been depressed ever since the trip I don’t really need that promotion.
to Madagascar.

Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up Commuting in from the suburbs is very
high. expensive.

I didn't study, so I'm destined to fail the He was destined to be an astronaut.

test.

I can eat sushi anytime of the day or night. I had scarcely arrived when she ran out to
hug me.

I wonder if you’ve had time to think about my proposal.

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

"deliverables"
The word "deliverables" refers to the output that an individual or organization produces. By
definition, a "deliverable" is generic. It could refer to a new product, specific improvements to
a product, a service, a service improvement, a system modification, or a number of other
possibilities.

It's also business jargon. This is not a word you would use when talking about academic
assignments or personal matters.

"destined for great things"

"Destiny" is not something that many Americans believe in anymore. However, this phrase
"destined for great things" is still very common. In the dialogue, we used it as a compliment.
This is an indirect way of saying "you are very talented" or "You have a lot of potential."

Be careful how much you use this phrase, because it can be a bit cliché.

GRAMMAR

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The Focus of This Lesson Is Inversions.
"Scarcely had I met you when I became of the mind that you are destined for great things."

The term inversion refers to an uncommon verb placement structure.

Use of Question Form

In the case of an inversion, the question form (auxiliary + subject + main verb) takes the place
of the standard positive sentence structure (e.g., "He goes to work every day.").

For Example:

1. "Not only do I enjoy classical music, but I also have a season ticket to the symphony."

2. "Seldom has the boss been so upset!"

In this case, the question form is substituted for standard sentence structure in a statement.
Generally, we use an inversion to stress the uniqueness of an event, and it begins with a
negative.

Negative Adverbials

Time Expressions: "Never," "Rarely," "Seldom"

We use these time expressions with a perfect form or with modals and often include
comparatives.

For Example:

1. "Never have I been more insulted!"

2. "Seldom has he seen anything stranger."

Time Expressions: "Hardly," "Barely," "No Sooner," or "Scarcely"

We use these time expressions when there are a succession of events in the past.

For Example:

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1. "Scarcely had I got out of bed when the doorbell rang."

2. "No sooner had he finished dinner when she walked in the door."

After "Only" Expressions Such As "Only After," "Only When," "Only Then," Etc.

We use "only" with a time expression.

For Example:

1. "Only then did I understand the problem."

2. "Only after understanding the situation does the teacher make a comment."

After "Little"

We use "little" in a negative sense.

For Example:

1. "Little did he understand the situation."

2. "Little have I read concerning nanotechnology."

Inversion After "So," "Such," and "That"

"So"

"So" + adjective ... "that" combines with the verb "to be."

For Example:

1. "So strange was the situation that I couldn't sleep."

2. "So difficult is the test that students need three months to prepare."

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"Such"

"Such" + "to be" + noun ... (that)

For Example:

1. "Such is the moment that all the greats traverse."

2. "Such is the stuff of dreams."

Inverted Conditional Forms

Sometimes conditional forms are inverted as a means of sounding more formal. In this case,
we drop the conditional "if," and the inverted form takes the place of the "if" clause.

For Example:

1. "Had he understood the problem, he wouldn't have committed those mistakes."

2. "Should he decide to come, please telephone."

CULTURAL INSIGHT

"Free Time"

In an academic sense, "free time" and "leisure" are merely synonyms. To the average
American, or at least two of the Americans that we know, "free time" is a period of time that has
not been appropriated to a specific task.

In other words, what you will be doing during your "free time" has not been determined yet. A
lively discussion was once started in economics class about the notion of free time" and
whether not time was really "free."

The economics professor insisted that nothing was "free" and that all people's time was traded
them for a commodity called "leisure." In the dialogue, Cody asked June, "Just wondering
whether you have some free time this weekend." He was asking, indirectly, whether she was
willing to spend some of that free time with him.

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