Gareth King - Colloquial English - A Complete English Language Course

9 Another CD is better than this one.

10 Other one car is more expensive than this one.

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Phrasal verbs

cross out– ‘delete’; ‘draw a line through’.

fill in– ‘complete (a form)’.

give back (something)– ‘return (something)’.

leave out– ‘omit’; ‘not include’.

tear up– ‘destroy by tearing’.

sell out (of something)– ‘sell all of something’.

tick off– ‘make a mark with a pen or pencil against an item on a list’.

write (something) in– ‘add something in writing’.

Life and living – numbers and money

Numbers

Just as in most places in the world today, you won’t get far in the UK without money , especially when it’s time to do the shopping.

But before that, you need the numbers!

1 one

6 six

11 eleven

16 sixteen

2 two

7 seven

12 twelve

17 seventeen

3 three

8 eight

13 thirteen

18 eighteen

4 four

9 nine

14 fourteen 19 nineteen

5 five

10 ten

15 fifteen

20 twenty

Notice their pronunciation:

/wn/

/sks/

/`lεvn/

/sks`tin/

/tu/

/`sεvn/

/twεlv/

/sεvn`tin/

/θri/

/εit/

/θ`tin/

/εìtin/

/fɔr/

/nɑin/

/fɔ`tin/

/nɑin`tin/

/fɑiv/

/tεn/

/ff`tin/

/`twεnti/

21 – twenty-one, etc.

Now look at the tens :

30 thirty/`θti/

70 seventy/`sεvnti/

40 forty/`fɔti/

80 eighty/`εiti/

50 fifty/`ffti/

90 ninety/`nɑinti/

60 sixty/`sksti/

100 a hundred/ə `hndrəd/

200 – two hundred, etc.

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We use and/n/ after hundred, but not after the tens: 501 five hundred and one

/fɑivhndrədn`wn/

346 three hundred and forty-six

/θri:hndrədnfɔtìsks/

Although Britain is a memberof the EU (European Union), it is not part of the European single currency(though it may join eventually), and so does not use the euro/`jυərυ/ , although some shops do accept them, especially in large cities.

The unit of currency in Britain is the pound (£) /pɑυnd/ , which is divided into 100 pence /pεns/ . Prices are said as follows:

£2.49

two pounds forty-nine

/tupɑυndzfɔtìnɑin/ or /tufɔtìnɑin/

53p

fifty-three pence

/fftiθrìpi/ or /fftiθrìpεns/

British money comes in paper notes (£5, £10, £20 and £50) and metal coins(1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2).

In colloquial English a £10 note is called a tenner, and this is also used for a price of exactly £10:

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How much do you want for this?

– A tenner.

Similarly, a £5 note is called a fiver. But you can’t use these words in prices generally:

£10.58 ten fifty-eight

As well as cash, you can pay for things with cheques or credit cards or debit cards. Credit cards are a way of borrowing money from the credit card company; debit cards are issuedby your bank and simply allow you to use money from your accountwithout having to write a cheque – the transactiongoes through electronically. The commonest type of debit card is a Switch card – for example, you would say to the shop assistant, ‘Can I pay by Switch?’ or ‘Can I use Switch for this?’

Glossary

member– someone or something that belongs to an organisation single currency– the monetary system of the European Union eventually– in the end; some time in the future euro– the EU unit of currency

cash– banknotes and coins, not cheques issued– given to you by an organisation

account– where you keep your money at the bank transaction– the act of buying something and paying for it

5 What shall we

do today?

In this unit you will learn how to:

• make suggestions to do things

• accept and decline suggestions

• discuss plans

• ask about and talk about likes and dislikes

• offer people things

• choose between things

Dialogue 1

Andrew and Kim are wondering what to do.

ANDREW:

What shall we do this evening?

KIM:

How about going out?

ANDREW:

Good idea. Where shall we go?

KIM:

We could go down the pub and have a drink, or we could go to the cinema.

ANDREW:

Which would you prefer?

KIM:

I don’t mind really.

ANDREW:

Well, let’s go to the pub, then, shall we?

KIM:

OK!

Dialogue 2

Meanwhile, Sarah and John are having a similar discussion, but they’re hungry!

SARAH:

Shall we eat in or go out for a meal?

JOHN:

I don’t know – I can’t decide.

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SARAH:

Why don’t we go to the Trattoria – the food’s nice there.

JOHN:

No, I don’t really feel like Italian food tonight.

SARAH:

How about trying the new Chinese restaurant in the High Street, then?

JOHN:

OK, I’ll get my shoes on.

SARAH:

And you’d better get your wallet as well – you’re paying!

Dialogue 3

Mike and Sandra have got some friends from Belgium, Koen and Kim, staying with them.

MIKE:

What shall we do with Koen and Kim this evening?

SANDRA:

How about eating out?

MIKE:

Yes. Or we could eat in, and then take them out for a drink.

SANDRA:

I don’t feel up to cooking tonight. Why don’t we go around some of the pubs in town, then we can end up at the Indian for a late dinner?

MIKE:

Great idea. They can try out Indian food, and we can get a taxi back home.

SANDRA:

I’ll go and ask them what they think.

Dialogue 4

Andy phones Bob, whose wife Nina is Danish, with a suggestion.

ANDY:

Are you free tonight, Bob?

BOB:

Why – what did you have in mind?

ANDY:

There’s a Danish film on at the Arts Cinema.

BOB:

Really?

ANDY:

Yes – I thought Nina might like to come along.

BOB:

Sounds like a great idea, but I’ll check with her first.

Hang on a moment . . . [ Bob goes off for a minute, then comes back ] Hello, Andy?

ANDY:

Yes.

BOB:

That’s fine. When does the film start?

ANDY:

Eight. Shall we meet up at 7.30 in the cinema café?