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Giving Compliments

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 219, “Giving Compliments.”

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 219. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

If you visit our website at eslpod.com, you can pick up the Learning Guide for this episode, which has all of the vocabulary, definitions, additional definitions we don’t talk about on the podcast, cultural notes and a complete transcript of everything we say.

This podcast is called, “Giving Compliments,” or saying something nice to someone. Let’s go!

[Start of story]

A friend from work, Nia, asked a few of us over to her apartment to watch the game this Sunday and I was really nervous. I’ve always liked Nia and I was hoping we could be more than friends. My brother, Charlie, said that if I really liked her, I should be sure to give her plenty of compliments when I saw her.

I arrived on Sunday and knocked on her door.

Nia: Hi, I’m glad you could make it. You’re the first one here. Make yourself comfortable.

Sebastian: Thanks and you look great. Red looks great on you.

Nia: Oh, thanks. It’s nice to be out of work clothes. Can I get you something to drink?

Sebastian: Sure. What are you having?

Nia: I’m just having a beer. Want one?

Sebastian: Sure. What a cool place! This is a really nice apartment.

Nia: Here you go. Actually, I just moved in last month and I’m still decorating.

But, that’s nice of you to say.

Sebastian: Wow, nice picture. Did you paint this?

Nia: No, I didn’t. Someone named Picasso did. It’s just a copy. You know, I really appreciate the compliments, but what’s up?

Sebastian: Up? Nothing. I’m just glad to be here.

Nia: Well, I’m glad you’re here, too. Now, drink up. The others should be here any minute.

Sebastian: Sure. Cheers!

[End of story]

Our podcast episode is called, “Giving Compliments,” and a compliment is something nice you say to someone. It’s spelled “compliment,” very important that you spell this word with an “i” in the middle. There’s another word that sounds the same, complement, spelled with an “e.” That word means something that completes or finishes something else. You could say, for example that the song’s words - the words of the song, the lyrics - complement the music well.

They complete it. It’s a good match. In our story, we’re talking about compliments with an “i,” and those are nice things you say to someone. We usually use the verb to give a compliment, means to say something nice. And, the compliments are not necessarily for someone you are romantically interested in, like Sebastian in our story, you can also compliment your boss or your friend or the host of ESL Podcast, for example.

Well, our story begins by Sebastian saying that, “A friend from” his “work, Nia, asked a few of” his friends “over to her apartment.” To ask someone over means to invite them to come to your house or to your apartment. So, I could ask you over to my house means I’m inviting you to come over to my house. Now, if you are in a car and you are with someone outside of their house, then you would say, “May I invite you in?” meaning would you like to come into the house. If you live in an apartment building, you might say, “Can I invite you up?” meaning do you want to go up to my apartment. But here, we’re talking about just inviting someone in advance, someone for tomorrow or next week or next month, then you would ask them over.

Nia has invited Sebastian and a few others “to watch the game this Sunday.” Now normally, if you say you’re going to watch the game, you usually mean the American football game that’s on, especially if it’s during the football season, from August to, I think, February or March. Sebastian says that he’s nervous because he likes Nia, and he hopes that they can become “more than friends.” When someone says, “I want to be more than friends,” they mean I want to be romantically connected to you, and this is what Sebastian, like so many people, want. He mentions that his brother, Charlie, told him that he should give Nia lots of compliments when he saw her.

He goes to her apartment on Sunday, and she answers the door. To answer the door means to open the door for someone who is knocking on it. And, she says, “Hi, I’m glad you could make it.” To make it here means to be here, to come here. So, she’s saying I’m glad you are here; I’m glad you could come today.

“You’re the first one here. Make yourself comfortable.” Make yourself comfortable means come in, sit down, relax. You may also say, “Make yourself at home,” it means the same thing.

Sebastian says, “Thanks and you look great.” You see? He’s already saying nice things to her. Then he says, “Red looks great on you.” He is complimenting - and that’s a verb as well as a noun, compliment - he is complimenting Nia on her shirt, or perhaps her dress. He says, “Red looks great on you.” You say if someone has a nice piece of clothing that it looks good on them or it looks great on them. Nia says thank you and asks Sebastian if he wants “something to drink.” He says, “Sure,” I’ll have what you’re having. What are you drinking? Nia says that she’s going to have a beer and asks Sebastian if he wants one. She says, “Want one?” meaning, do you want one? Sebastian says, “Sure,” and then he gives her another compliment.

He says, “What a cool place.” Cool, “cool,” means nice or great. The expression, what a, is something we use when we want to say something usually very positive about someone or something. If someone says, “What a movie!” you mean isn’t that a great movie or that was a fantastic movie. Well he is complimenting her apartment by saying, “What a cool place! This is a really nice apartment.” Again, “This is a really nice apartment” is another type of compliment.

Nia says that she “just moved in last month and” she’s “still decorating.” To decorate, “decorate,” is a verb that means to try to make your house or your apartment look better by painting the walls, by getting nice pictures, maybe by putting carpet on the floor - this would be a way of decorating. She says, “that’s nice of you to say,” so she’s accepting the compliment, and that’s a nice way, a good way to accept or thank someone for a compliment. “Oh, that’s nice of you to say.” Then Sebastian asks who painted the nice picture that she has.

Somewhat stupidly, he asks if Nia painted it and Nia says, “No. Someone named Picasso did.” Of course, Sebastian is trying to compliment Nia too much, thinks that she painted a Picasso picture. Nia says that has a copy of this picture, that’s what they’re looking at.

And then she says, “You know, I really appreciate the compliments, but what’s up?” Notice the use there of “you know,” that is a way of getting someone’s attention, in this case. It would be the same as saying listen. We also use that expression, you know, in other instances. Take a look at the Learning Guide for today for additional information about how we use that very common expression.

So, NIa is asking Sebastian “what’s up?” meaning what is he trying to do, and Sebastian says, “Up? Nothing,” meaning I’m not trying to do anything special here.

Nia says, “Well, I’m glad you’re here. Now, drink up.” Drink up means finish whatever you are drinking. It’s one of those two word verbs, those phrasal verbs in English. To drink up means to finish what you are drinking. “The others,” Nia says, “should be here any minute,” meaning they’ll be here very soon. If you say, “I’m going to be there any minute,” you mean I’m going to be there very soon.

Sebastian says to Nia, “Cheers!” Cheers, “cheers,” is what you say when you are drinking something, usually alcohol. Most cultures have a word or an expression that you are wishing good health or are celebrating something you would raise up your glass, lift up your glass and say, “Cheers!” There was actually a very popular television program in the United States many years ago called “Cheers” about a bar in, I think, Boston, Massachusetts. That was called “Cheers.”

You notice that Sebastian tries to give lots of compliments to Nia, in our Learning Guide today, we have a very interesting section about what kind of compliments you can give to a man or woman that you are interested in. So, if you want some help with that, look at the Learning Guide.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a native rate of speech.

[Start of story]

A friend from work, Nia, asked a few of us over to her apartment to watch the game this Sunday and I was really nervous. I’ve always liked Nia and I was hoping we could be more than friends. My brother, Charlie, said that if I really liked her, I should be sure to give her plenty of compliments when I saw her.

I arrived on Sunday and knocked on her door.

Nia: Hi, I’m glad you could make it. You’re the first one here. Make yourself comfortable.

Sebastian: Thanks and you look great. Red looks great on you.

Nia: Oh, thanks. It’s nice to be out of work clothes. Can I get you something to drink?

Sebastian: Sure. What are you having?

Nia: I’m just having a beer. Want one?

Sebastian: Sure. What a cool place! This is a really nice apartment.

Nia: Here you go. Actually, I just moved in last month and I’m still decorating.

But, that’s nice of you to say.

Sebastian: Wow, nice picture. Did you paint this?

Nia: No, I didn’t. Someone named Picasso did. It’s just a copy. You know, I really appreciate the compliments, but what’s up?

Sebastian: Up? Nothing. I’m just glad to be here.

Nia: Well, I’m glad you’re here, too. Now, drink up. The others should be here any minute.

Sebastian: Sure. Cheers!

[End of story]

The podcast episode today was written by Dr. Lucy Tse.

Remember, if you have a question or comment about our podcast, you can email us at eslpod@eslpod.com. From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan.

Thanks for listening. We’ll see you next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse, hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. This podcast is copyright 2006.