Routines please!

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

What do you think of when you hear this word?

PLEASE

Being polite

Having good manners

But, did you know that there are other ways to use the word? 

Let's take a look

• If you don't believe what a person is telling you: 

Oh, please! = Come on! I wasn’t born yesterday.

What do you take me for - an idiot?

• If you are begging someone, you might say: 

Please don’t go! = Please stay

to beg = to implore

I beg your pardon (formal) = excuse me/sorry

What do you call a person who ...
keeps calling or trying to talk a partner all the time? CLINGY, STICKY

doesn't accept something inferior and expects the best all the time? DEMANDING
a student always asking questions? A PAIN IN THE NECK
a person who has emotional or affective deficiencies? NEEDY

a person who demands a lot of our time and attention? A PERSON WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

• If you want someone to make themselves at home, you might say:

Please yourself = make yourself happy, do what you want

As you please = as you like = it’s up to you
If you please = if you like

• When sending a document with an email, you might say: 

Please find attached the file

Please find the file attached

• When you say goodbye to someone, you might include God in your wish: 

See you tomorrow, please God. (if God allows= if God permits = God willing)

• This is probably one of the greatest facts about life. Do you agree?

You can’t please everyone = you can’t make everyone happy

• Would you do anything to please somebody you love? Here is an opinion: 

When you love deeply/intensely/with all your soul/passionately you establish/set limits

• Do you know a person that is hard to please? (someone difficult o satisfy)

• People don’t say please anymore. Would you agree? They don’t have good manners

• Where would you hear or read something like this?

Please call 1-800-257-1234


Now, let's see how the Beatles use the word? Which of the uses above do they use?

Now look at these images. Which do you identify with?

Some things you might say when talking about Routines: 

I am always … when I wake up

tired

sleepy

awake

alert

wired (electric)

Routines are boring, but necessary/essential/important/fundamental/vital.

Routines make us more

secure

disciplined

self-confident

Routines give us a comfort zone

Routines can help me

improve

get better

better myself

With routines, I can deal better with my schedule

What about you? Is there anything else you would like to say about ROUTINES? 

The People in your life

Today the focus is on 

• People in our lives 
• How important they are to us
• How they see us
• How we would like them to see us

Here are the questions to think about:

Personality adjectives

EASY-GOING

TALKATIVE

FUSSY (Likes to complain about everything: nothing is good enough)

BORING x EXCITING

FUNNY

ANNOYING = IRRITATING

FRIENDLY

INTELLIGENT

ORGANIZED x DISORGANIZED

A look at some good language that can be used to talk about the subject:

Some people don’t seem/look easy-going

look + adjective

look like + noun

What I like about … is …

The first thing that people see when they meet me is …

When you are young you usually …

How do you say

1. levado? NAUGHTY
2. fiscal? AUDITOR
3. doutorado? Ph. D (doctorate)
4. imparcial? IMPARTIAL/UNBIASED
5. vira-lata? MIXED BREED/HOUND DOG/STRAY DOG/STREET DOG
6. castrado? CASTRATED
7. intercâmbio? EXCHANGE e.g. Teenagers usually go on an exchange program to improve their language learning experience
8. interagir? INTERACT
9. conviver com alguém? GET ALONG/LIVE WITH SOMEONE
10. crèche? KINDERGARTEN (PRONOUNCED /”GARDEN”/)
11. Vamos pular essa pergunta? LET’S SKIP THIS QUESTION
12. Vamos mudar de assunto? LET’S DROP THE SUBJECT
13. enrolar alguém? TO FEED SOMEBODY A LINE, TO CON SOMEBODY, TO DECEIVE SOMEBODY
14. teimoso? STUBBORN
15. enroladores? DECEIVERS, CON ARTISTS, SCAM ARTISTS
16. careca? BALD
17. antipática? UNPLEASANT, MEAN
18. lidar com algo/alguém? TO DEAL WITH SOMETHING/SOMEONE pão-duro? STINGY, CHEAP, TIGHT-FISTED
19. ficar com pé atrás? TO BE WARY, TO HOLD BACK
20. e.g. I am a little wary when I meet someone for the first time. I don’t open up so easily
21. ditadura? DICTATORSHIP /dik-tei-ta-ship/
22. palavrão? BAD WORD
23. arrogante? ARROGANT, CONCEITED, STUCK-UP
24. TOC?  OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
25. egoísta? SELFISH, EGOTISTICAL

A picture CAN say more than a thousand words

Choose a picture you have on your cell phone and tell a friend about it.

•Where and when was it taken?

•Who is in the picture?

•What happened before?

•What do you remember about the situation – was it funny, amazing, great, memorable?

 

What other words can we use to talk about situations we remember? Here is a cheat sheet:

 

stressful

surprising

unforgettable

beautiful 

delicious

 

To describe a photo then, here are a few suggestions of useful language:

This picture brings back memories
A story flashes in my head when I see this picture
It all comes back to me in a flash
I get nostalgic when I see this picture
You can see a really beautiful/stunning/spectacular/breathtaking/magnificent/jaw-dropping/remarkable view
This is a picture of …
It’s the only picture I have but ...
What a cute/sweet/adorable/lovely/squeezable/"huggable" dog
Lovely! = Great!
I don’t mind = It’s okay = It’s not a problem = Whatever
Do you want a picture of the whole body or just waist-up?
It gives you a big rush


Now what if you had to answer this question:

What is your most treasured photograph?
 
(treasured= special, important)

You can use these sentences:
The photo is a bit old now, it’s losing color
To me it was …
I remember when …
It was the exact moment when ...

This video gives us a look at what some native speakers talk about their photos:  

Home, office or back home?

Home office

The most important thing in a job: 

self-realization

personal satisfaction

money

interest

success

quality of life

work environment

security

sustainability

career plan 

workmates

 
a mate = friend, colleague e.g. classmate. schoolmate, roommate, life mate 

perks= benefits

health plan, language courses, subsidies for professional training, gas, house, parking, chauffeur, (private) social security, life insurance, bonus, profit sharing
 

The most important thing in a job depends ON: time, family - mouths to feed, marital status
 

If you have very young children, working at home can be impossible.

The worst part is working at home is not having someone to share an idea with

What do you think?  

Working in an office can stifle creativity 

 (stifle = take away, subtract, reduce, limit, affect, suffocate)

Working with other people can be amazing, stunning, cool, okay, boring, tiring 

Things can distract you 

Something to get work off your mind to help you relax, de-stress, to detox 

Even if we … we need people to work with ...

We all love a little gossip (talk about other people’s lives) 

Self-discipline is the key learning or working at home. 

To be able to work at home you need to be self-disciplined, driven

 

Final message: Home is ...