Basic English Conversation Part 3

1.    Telling About Family

In English conversation, sometimes we find conversation where we may tell about our family. Here the example about the dialogues in telling about the family.

Sue:	What do you do, Jane?
Jane:	I am a lawyer.
Sue:	Really? Tell me about your family.
Jane:	Well, I am married and have two children.
Sue:	And what does your husband do?
Jane:	He has an export business.
Sue:	Oh, that’s interesting.
Jane:	And how about you, Sue? Do you have any brother or sister?
Sue:	Yes, I have a brother and a sister.
Jane:	Really? And what do they do?
Sue:	Well, my brother teaches French, and my sister is a student.

Frank:	Hey Kim, tell me about your parents. What do they do?
Kim:	Well, my father is retired, and my mother manages a boutique.
Frank:	Oh, do they live with you?
Kim:	No, they don’t live with me. They live in Dubai.

2.    Routines

Cloe:	What do you usually do on your day off, Sam?
Sam:	Well, I always get up very early, around 5 o’clock. And I lift weights for an hour.
Cloe:	You are kidding!
Sam:	No, and then I usually run for about 2 hours.
Cloe:	Wow! You really like to stay in shape.
Sam:	And after that, I come home and eat a big breakfast. How about you?
Cloe:	Oh, on my day off. I just watch TV all day.

Vanesa:	What great muscles, Lim! Do you work out in a gym?
Lim:	Yeah, I do.
Vanesa:	How often do you work out?
Lim:	Every day after work. You’re in pretty good shape, too, Vanesa.
Vanesa:	Thanks. I take an aerobics class twice a week.
Lim:	Good for you.

When we talk about routines there is a frequency. Here some words which refer to the frequency itself.

Susan:	What do you do on your day off? (It means what is the activity that you usually do)
Paul:	Nothing much. I sleep until noon. (It means he always sleeps until noon)
Harry:	Do you go out on Saturday night? (It means do you usually go out on Saturday night?)
Chuck:	Yes, I do. (It means he often goes out on Saturday night.) I go roller skating. (It means sometimes he goes roller skating)
Berry:	Do you drive to school? (It means do you usually drive to school?)
Dom:	No, I don’t. I take the bus. (It means he never drive to school.)

We also can put the words of the frequency in asking and answering about routines directly in the dialogues, please see the example below.

Question:  What do you usually do on your day off?

Answer:

I always get up early.

I usually run for about 2 hours.

I often eat a huge breakfast.

I sometimes go downtown in the afternoon.

Sometimes I just watch TV.

I never go to discos.

I don’t usually eat out.

Question:  How often do you exercise?

Answer:

I go to the gym every day.

I jog about once a week.

I play tennis twice a month.

About three times a year.

I don’t exercise very much/ very often.