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Falando sobre o natal
Rebeca Oliveira 
Podcast
Hi there!
Welcome to another episode of Walk ‘n’ Talk Level Up, our all-English podcast series! No diálogo de hoje, vamos acompanhar dois amigos falando sobre o natal, que está chegando e lotando todas as lojas!
Não se esqueça de falar em voz alta, junto com a teacher Becs, para praticar bem a sua pronúncia. E aproveite o material extra que preparamos para você aqui abaixo!
Nos vemos na próxima semana! Merry Christmas!
Vocabulary Expansion
In this episode of Walk ‘n’ Talk Level Up, you got to practice your pronunciation and learn some new structures. You can continue your study session here, by reading the dialogue and checking out the written explanations with loads of examples!
Dialogue:
Aron: Man… Christmas is just around the corner.
Larry: Yeah, have you started buying the gifts yet?
Aron: Without a doubt! It’s the best time of the year if you ask me.
Larry: You’re kidding! It’s freezing in December, the malls are way too crowded, and I don’t even like eggnog!
Aron: But the children can build snowmen, and you can buy the presents online if you don’t want to go to the mall…
Larry: I guess you have a point. My kids love playing in the snow, and I do prefer online shopping. But what do I do about the eggnog?
Aron: For God’s sake, Larry, just forget the damn eggnog!
Larry: Haha, I’m just giving you a hard time.
New expressions and Vocabulary!
– Just around the corner
Our dialogue started with this classic expression often used when we are talking about dates that are coming up. Check out a few more common sentences:
Your birthday is just around the corner, you have to choose a cake.
Easter is just around the corner and I haven’t bought any chocolates.
Jack is tense because his job interview is just around the corner.
You can also use “around the corner” to refer to things that are coming in the future that you don’t know about:
You need to save money because you never know what is around the corner.
I have no idea what challenges are around the corner.
It is also possible, of course, to use it in the more literal sense: for something that is physically very close to you or to a place you mentioned:
A new Japanese restaurant opened just around the corner.
The mall is just around the corner from the post office.
We can go to Julia’s house, it’s just around the corner.
– Have you started yet?
To talk about something that is expected to have happened or that is expected in the near future, you can use the “present perfect” accompanied by “yet”! You can use it in negative and interrogative sentences:
Have you bought a gift for me yet?
I haven’t made the cake for the party yet.
Has John spoken to you yet?
Sam hasn’t started renovating the house yet.
Another more advanced structure that is related to this one is ‘have yet to”, which refers to an activity or event that you have not done but have the intention of doing soon, or that you should have already done. It always indicates that you plan to start it eventually, so it’s used in affirmative sentences:
I have yet to buy gifts for the children, I hope I have time tomorrow.
Jane has yet to send out the invitations for the office party.
We have yet to visit our parents this year, I miss them so much already.
– A hard time
A “hard time” is a very natural way to refer to difficulties related to daily life situations, and it can be used in all kinds of sentences, so there are many more possibilities beyond what we saw in the dialogue, which was “to give someone a hard time”. Take a look at some examples:
I’m having a hard time with my new job, so I’m very tired.
George is having a hard time accepting the new rules and deadlines.
My sister has a hard time staying organized during the holidays, I need to help her.
When you taunt someone or talk repetitively about a certain topic, you are giving them a hard time. It can either mean you are teasing that person about it or that it is something serious that needs to be solved, so the context is extremely important!
Hillary is giving me a hard time with this project.
My brother always gives me a hard time when we talk about the house.
Stop giving her a hard time! She will solve the problem later.
Remember that you can listen to this episode as many times as you wish! You can also read along, and enjoy this extra content. That way, you’ll be able to memorize these new structures and use them in conversations in the future. Keep in mind that the more daily contact you have with the English language, the better you’ll get, so make sure you’re here for our next episode!
See you next time!
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