How is your day - Interactive Practice

1

Listen All  |   Person A  |   Person B

A: "What are you doing now?" B: "I'm watching TV." A: "What are you watching?" B: "I'm watching Friends. What are you doing?" A: "I'm doing my homework, but I really need to take a break." B: "You want to do something?" A: "Yes. But I shouldn't. I got to finish my assignment now." B: "Alright. Call me later then." A: "OK. Bye."

2

Listen All  |   Person A  |   Person B

A: "Where are you going now?" B: "I'm going to the bank." A: "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" B: "I'm working now. I'm making a deposit for our company." A: "Where do you work?" B: "I work for a restaurant as a controller." A: "Wow. That's great." B: "Great seeing you. I have to go now. I'll talk to you later."

3

Listen All  |   Person A  |   Person B

A: "Hi Steve. What are you doing here?" B: "I'm meeting a friend here for dinner. How about you?" A: "I'm on my way home but I needed to stop by the book store to buy a text book." B: "Didn't you finish school yet?" A: "I have one more year, and then I'm done." B: "What are you majoring in?" A: "I'm majoring in Sociology" B: "How do you like your major?" A: "I really find the subject very interesting. I'm enjoying all my classes." B: "That's great." A: "I'd better go now. I don't want to miss the bus." B: "Alright, I'll talk to you later." A: "Okay. See you later."

How is your day - Example Conversation

The present tense is more common in writing. As you can see by all the explanations I am giving, they are all written in the present tense. That is because it is instructional. Instructional writing is more commonly written in present tense. However, stories in novels are written in past tense.

The reason past and future tense is used more commonly than present tense when speaking is because usually you are telling someone what you have done or what you plan on doing. Speaking in the present tense is used primarily to tell someone what you are currently doing.

As in previous lessons in 'Bored and Greeting' it is very common to have a conversation using the present tense when you run into somebody or when you make or receive a phone call.

Let's use this time now to incorporate what we have learned so far.

Person A: "Hi Jack. What are you doing?"
Person B: "Hi Mary. I'm filling out a job application."
Person A: "Are you finished with school already?"
Person B: "No. I have one more semester, but it would be great to have a job lined up."

Person A: "How is your day going?"
Person B: "Quite busy. I'm preparing for my presentation tomorrow on our marketing strategy. I'm not even half done yet."
Person A: "You must feel stressed out now."
Person B: "That's an understatement."

Person A: "What are you doing now?"
Person B: "I'm playing pool with my friends at a pool hall."
Person A: "I didn't know you play pool. Are you having fun?"
Person B: "I'm having a great time. How about you? What are you doing?"
Person A: "I'm taking a break from my homework. There seems to be no end to the amount of work I have to do."
Person B: "I'm glad I'm not in your shoes."

Bored - Calling Someone

The conversation when you call someone might sound something like this.

"Hello."
"Hi Jane, this is Jill. Do you have time to talk?"
"Hi Jill, sure, I was just watching TV."
"What are you watching?"
"I was just watching a re-run of friends. How about you? What are you doing?"
"Nothing much. I really wanted to start studying for the Psychology test coming up, but I can't seem to motivate myself."

As you can see, Even though Jill is very bored, she didn't say that she was bored. To sensitive people, they can misinterpret the situation. If I am bored and I call you, then that could mean that I am only calling you because I have nothing better to do. So if you are not very close friends, it is better to say something like, 'nothing much' instead of 'I am bored.'

If you are very close friends with someone, then the conversation can be more direct and honest.

"What are you doing?"
"I'm doing the laundry."
"I'm so bored. I have nothing to do."
"Why don't you come over and help me with the laundry?"
"I'd rather do my own house chores. Hey, you wanna take a break from your house work and have coffee at Starbucks with me?"
"Sure, that sounds great. I'll meet you there in thirty minutes."

Greeting Someone you Know

"Hey John, how have you been?"

"Hi Bob, how are you?"
"Hi Nancy, what have you been up to?"
"Andy, it's been a long time, how are you man?"

If you meet someone unexpectedly, you can say,
"Hey Jack, it's good to see you. What are you doing here?"
or
"What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?"

If you see the person at a restaurant, you can say, "Do you come to this restaurant often?"
Or at the movie theater, "What movie did you come to see?"

Appropriate responses:

"Hi Steve, my name is Mike. It is nice to meet you as well."

"I heard a lot about you from John. He had a lot of good things to say."

"Wow. How long has it been? It seems like more than a year. I'm doing pretty well. How about you?"

A typical response to this type of greeting is simple.

"Not too bad."

If asked what you have been up to, you can respond with, "Same ole same ole." Or, "The same as usual."

Here are some other example responses.

"I'm pretty busy at work these days, but otherwise, everything is great."
"I'm doing very well."
"I finally have some free time. I just finished taking a big examination, and I'm so relieved that I'm done with it."

Restaurant Responses

"I've been here a couple of times, but I don't come on a regular basis."
"I come pretty often. This is my favorite restaurant."
"I can't believe we haven't seen each other before. I come here at least twice a week."

Movie Response

"I came here to see Matrix Revolution. How about you?"

Greeting - Example Conversations

Let's look at several example conversations. Then we can move on to the practice section.

Person A: "Hi, my name is Steve. It's nice to meet you."
Person B: "I'm Jack. It's a pleasure to meet you, Steve."
Person A: "What do you do for a living Jack?"
Person B: "I work at the bank."

Person A: "What is your name?"
Person B: "Jackson."
Person A: "What was that again?"

Person A: "Hey John, how have you been?"
Person B: "What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?"
Person A: "I'm doing very well. How about you?"
Person B: "I finally have some free time. I just finished taking a big examination, and I'm so relieved that I'm done with it."

Person A: "Hi Nancy, what have you been up to?"
Person B: "The same ole same ole." Or, "The same as usual. How about you?"
Person A: "I'm pretty busy at work these days, but otherwise, everything is great."

Person A: "Andy, it's been a long time, how are you man?"
Person B: "What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?"
Person A: "Do you come to this restaurant often?"
Person B: "I've been here a couple of times, but I don't come on a regular basis."

The next lesson is the interactive practice section. If you would like to repeat this lesson or previous lessons, feel free to go back and study as many times as you need. When you are ready, go to the practice section.