Mister Guru

Do you know why? Yes, the sentence "Sir, I am toilet." is NOT the correct expression to say when you are requesting or asking for permission to leave the classroom and go to the bathroom. Now, in order for us not to make a similar mistake when we are requesting permission, let's study the following expressions.

A. Using Modals: "Can I", "Could I", "May I":

B. Using "Would you mind ...?":

C. Using "Do you mind ...?":

D. Using Other forms:

E. Making Preventions:

F. Example Dialogues.

Short Dialogue 1

Short Dialogue 2

Short Dialogue 3

Short Dialogue 4

Write short dialogues like the above examples about permissions based on the following situations.

1. Your camera is out of battery. You want to borrow your friend's camera.
2. It's getting late. You should leave your friend's house and go home.
3. It's very windy and dusty outside. You want to close the windows.
4. You forgot to bring your charger. You need to use your friend's phone charger.
5. You want to turn on your television.
6. You want to go to a movie with your best friends.
7. You want to visit your friend at the hospital this afternoon. You ask for permission to your mother.
8. You cannot use your motorcycle to come to your friend's party. You ask your best friend to lend you his motorcycle.
9. Your pen suddenly runs out. You want to use your deskmate's pen but he is still using it.
10. You want to go to the beach, but your parents do not allow you to go because the weather is bad.

Here are some gambits and expressions that you can use in talking about jobs or professions.

A. Asking about jobs / professions.

• Do you have a job?
• Do you work full-time or part-time?
• Where do you work?
• What are you?
• What is he?
• What is your job?
• What is his job?
• What is your father's job?
• What is your occupation?
• What is your profession?
• What do you do?
• What type of job do you do?
• What does he do?
• What does your father do?
• What does he do for a living?
• How does he earn a living?
• What do you do to make a living?

B. Telling about jobs / professions.

• I am a student / a teacher / a bank clerk, etc.
• He is a soldier / a teacher / a doctor, etc.
• I work as a teacher in a vocational school.
• He works as a consultant.
• I work for a foreign company.
• He works in a garment manufacturer and exporter.
• My job is selling computers online.
• Her job is handling telephone calls.
• He is in charge of the front office department.
• Her job mainly deals with customers' complaints.

C. Showing interest

• Are you?
• Wow! That must be interesting.
• How interesting!
• It must be a well-paid job.
• That sounds like a lot of hard work.
• That must be a lot of work.
• That must be a rewarding job.

D. Example Dialogue

I. Guess what profession is being talked about.

II. Answer these questions by referring to the example dialogue between Anne and Jim above.

1. Where does Jim work?
2. How long has he been working there?
3. How does he go to work?
4. What time does he catch the bus to work?
5. What time does he start work?
6. What does he usually do in the morning?
7. What time does he have lunch?
8. What does he usually do after lunch?
9. What time does he leave work?
10. What can you infer about the relationship between the speakers?

III. Explain these occupations. Use the Simple Present to tell about the places of work and what he or she usually does.

1. A bell boy : ....
2. A receptionist : ....
3. A teacher : ....
4. A waitress : ....
5. A farmer : ....
6. A nurse : ....
7. A firefighter : ....
8. A front desk clerk : ....
9. A carpenter : ....
10. An architect : ....
11. A shopkeeper : ....
12. A tailor : ....
13. A lawyer : ....
14. A chef : ....
15. A room boy : ....

A. TELLING SURPRISING NEWS

• Guess what!
• Surprise!
• I’ve got news for you!
• Do you know what!
• Are you sitting down?
• You’d better sit down!
• You won’t believe this, but...

B. EXPRESSING AMAZEMENT / ADMIRATION

C. EXPRESSING SURPRISE

• I’m really surprised at ....
• Oh no! It can’t be (true)!
• My goodness!
• What a surprise!
• What on earth is that thing?
• I was shocked by ....
• It’s too good to be true!
• It’s unbelievable!
• I can’t believe it!
• Incredible!
• It’s really beyond belief!

I. Match each incomplete sentence into the correct word, "How" or "What".

II. Arrange these jumbled sentences

1. experience – what – had – unforgettable – an – we
2. was – fascinating – sunset – how – the
3. actress – a – beautiful – what – is – she
4. a – family – our – dinner – had – what – fantastic
5. the – next – how – girl – is – adorable – door
6. succeed – she – how – to – hard – tried
7. perfect – by – what – Ronaldo – ball – a – long
8. the – astonishing – was – sight – how
9. hall – a – conference – large – what – is – it
10. for – what – the – team – a – new – year – successful

III. Complete the following dialogues using your own words.

Dialogue 1

Dialogue 2

Dialogue 3

A. Example Dialogue

B. Explanation

1. "Some" is used in positive sentences. Examples:
   I'm going to buy some books.
   There's some ice in the fridge.
   We did some exercises.
2. "Any" is used in negative sentences. Examples:
   I'm not going to buy any books.
   There isn't any ice in the fridge.
   We didn't do any exercises.
3. Most questions (but not all) use "any". Examples:
   Is there any ice in the fridge?
   Do you have any money?
   Why didn't you do any exercises?
4. When we make offers or requests, we normally use "some", not "any". Examples:
   Would you like some ice cream?
   Can I have some coffee, please?
   Can you lend me some money?
5. We can use "some" and "any" without a noun. Examples:
   I didn't take any photographs, but Ann took some. (=some photographs)
   I've just made some coffee. Would you like some? (=some coffee)
   We don't have any sugar. I'm going to buy some this afternoon. (=some sugar)

A. Making an Offer

B. Responding to an Offer

C. Example Dialogue

1. Read the above dialogue again and identify all offers and the responses you can find, then write them in the table below. Number 1 has been done as an example.

Identify all offers and the responses you can find in the dialogue and write them.

Offering	Responding to an offer
Example: 1. Would you like some tea?	Oh yes, please.
2. ....	....
3. ....	....
4. ....	....
5. ....	....
....	....
....	....

2. Write polite offers using the expressions and gambits you have learned. Look at the example.
   1. Some bread?
      Answer: Would you like some bread?
   2. go to the beach?
      Answer: How about going to the beach? / Would you like to go to the beach?
   3. try our new dish?
   4. some candies?
   5. use my umbrella?
   6. give you a lift?
   7. try to repair your printer?
3. Write an appropriate polite response for each of the following situations.
   1. Your teacher is carrying a pile of books. You offer to help her with it.
   2. Your colleague is printing a very important document. Suddenly, her printer broke down. You offer her to print the document using your printer.
   3. You are receiving a call from someone who wants to speak to your manager, but your manager is not available. You offer him/her to leave a message or call back later.
   4. The commuter train is full when an elderly woman gets on and she can't find a seat. You offer your seat to her.
   5. You are a shop assistant at a fashion store. You are serving a customer who does not seem satisfied with the dress she has just tried on. You offer another style of dress.