پنجاه طیف گری

A: Thank you.

B: You seem nervous.

A: I find you intimidating.

B: You should.

Eat.

A: Not to mention high-handed.

B: I’m used to getting my own way.

A: That must get very boring.

B: Tell me about your family.

A: My family? Um…Okay.

My dad died when I was a baby.

So, I was raised by my stepfather, Ray.

He’s amazing.

B: And your mother?

A: Um, my mother is on husband number four.

She’s an incurable romantic.

B: Are you?

A: Am I a romantic?

Well, I study English Lit.

So, I kind of have to be.

B: You seem nervous.

Narrator: By using the word seem you mean that something or someone gives you a certain impression, usually by physical appearance.

For example, by looking at you, someone might say that you seem tired, sad or excited.

Example:

A: You all right, Leonard?

You seem very uncomfortable.

B: I…I’m fine.

A: Should I go?

I’ve been told some things l overstay my welcome.

B: what..?

Who told you that?

Film:

A: I find you intimidating.

B: You should.

Narrator: If someone or something is intimidating it makes you feel frightened or nervous.

For example, any difficult job can be intimidating.

Or you could even feel intimidated by public speaking.

In other words, you’d feel discourage by fear.

Example: can be intimidating when he gets angry.

Anastasia is saying that Christian makes her feel intimidated because he is one of the most powerful men in the country, and for this reason she is feeling nervous when she is around him, not to mention the fact that she feels very attracted to him.

Film:

B: Eat.

A: Not to mention high-handed.

Narrator: The phrase not to mention can  be used to emphasize something.

You would usually say it when you want to highlight an element that you consider important from a list.

Example: I’m amazed you find the time, not to mention the energy, to do any work at all.

He’s one of the kindest and most intelligent, not to mention handsome, men I know.

Someone that is high-handed used power or authority more forcefully than is needed, disregarding the feelings or wishes of other people.

Example: He wants to be seen as less bossy and high-handed.

Film:

B: I’m used to getting my own way.

A: That must get very boring.

Narrator: If you get your own way you persuade other people to allow you to do what you want.

Example:

A: Amy, the Relationship Agreement was not designed for either one of us to get our way.

B: You use it to get your way.

A: I use it to get the right way.

Narrator: Anastasia don’t know it yet, but Christian is a man who find satisfaction in controlling other people and for this reason he looks for submissive partners.

As he is a very powerful and wealthy man, he is used to getting things done the way he likes.

Film:

B: Tell me about your family.

Narrator: Here we have a good connected speech example, this is the way that natives link their words together.

In American English words that end in a “T” sound followed by words that start with a “Y” sound sometimes merge into a “CH” sound.

So instead of saying ABOUT YOUR, Christian says [abou-chur].

If you pay attention to natives when they speak, you’ll notice that they do this all the time.

Some very common examples of it are:

Nice to meet you = nice to me-chew.

What you’re saying = wha-chur saying.

I don’t want you = I don’t-wan-chew.

Example1:

A: Monica, this is Dan, one of the guys we’re gonna be going out withon Saturday.

Dan, Monica.

Dan: Nice to meet you [nice to me-chew].

Monica: Hello, Dan.

Example 2:

A: What? I’m serious.

Hey, dude! Stop it! Ok?

I’m not kidding here.

B: Hey, I hear What you’re saying [wha-chur saying].

Ok? And thanks for the warning.

A: No problem.

Film:

A: My family? Um…Okay.

My dad died when I was a baby.

So, I was raised by my stepfather, Ray.

Narrator: To raise means to take care of a person until they are completely grown; an adult.

Example: I was raised by my grandparents.

A stepfather is the man that’s married to someone’s mother, but that is not their biological [real] father.

Example: My mom has been married to my stepfather for fifteen years now.

As Anastasia dad died when she was very young, her stepfather took care of her until she grew up.

Film:

A: He’s amazing.

B: And your mother?

A: Um, my mother is on husband number four.

Narrator: By this, Ana means that her mother is currently married to someone who is her fourth husband.

In other words,  she has been married (and divorced) three times in the past.

We csn use on in this way in other cases,  too:

I think I’m so anxious because I’m on coffee number five.

She’s only running on 4 hours of sleep, so she’s exhausted.

Film:

A: She’s an incurable romantic.

Narrator: You can use the word incurable to refer to something that cannot be cured.

Example1: Pete has an incurable disease.

Something romantic is related to love.

Example 2: We had a romantic dinner for our anniversary.

So, obviously, here Ana is using it more figuratively.

She is saying that her mother is an incurable romantic, that is a person with romantic beliefs that has an idealized idea about love (and probably because of this she is constantly looking for the love of her life).

Film:

B: Are you?

A: Am I a romantic?

Well, I study English Lit.

So, I kind of have to be.

Narrator: Lit is an abbreviation of the word literature,  it is common to hear this word in informal English.

Example: She has a degree in English Lit.

Ana is joking that the fact that she studies literature is proof that she is obsessed with romance just like her mother.

A: Well, I study English Lit.

So, I kind of have to be.

Narrator: In this sentence we can find another very common example of sound morphing related to connected speech patterns.

Pay attention to the way that Anastasia says the words KIND OF.

Let’s listen to it again:

Well, I study English Lit.

So, I kind [kinda] of have to be.

Narrator: As you might have noticed, Ana didn’t say it like KIND OF, she blended the words together making it sound almost just like one word [kinda].

In American English the “of” sound often contracts to just an “uh” sound, making it sound like this.

Let’s check out these other Example1:

A: “Oh, my goodness, those hands are cold”.

“At least buy me dinner first”.

B: Boom.

C: “Tell my wife and kids I love them.”

A: Oh, my God.

B: That’s kind of [kinda] dark,  Mom.

Example2:

She kind of [kinda] reminds me of my mother.

Example 3: You wanna look good, you wanna make a good first impression.

Kind of [kinda] like a first date.

A: I thought the photo shoot went well. Right?

Kate seems to be really happy…

B: I’m sorry,  I can’t…

A: What?

B: I’ll walk you out.

A: Do you have a girlfriend?

Is that it?

B: I don’t do the girlfriend thing.

A: What does that even…

Watch it!

B: I’m not the man for you.

You should steer clear of me.

I have to let you go.

A: Goodbye, Mr.Grey.

A: I thought the photo shoot went well.

Right?

Narrator: A photo shoot is an occasion where a photographer takes several pictures, especially of models or famous people for different purposes, such as selling them to a magazine.

Example: The photo shoot will start at ten.

Film:

A: Kate seems to be really happy…

B: I’m sorry,  I can’t…

A: What?

B: I’ll walk you out.

Narrator: The phrase walk you out literally means to accompany someone out, by walking.

This phrase is usually used as a polite way of saying goodbye to someone.

Example1:

A: I’m sorry, but I can’t say.

B: Wow, it’s neat learning about submarines.

A: I better get out of here.

I’m gonna miss my flight.

C: Okay,  I’ll walk you out.

B: Bye, Ryan.

A: Pleasure.

Take care.

Example2:

A: You see, what happened is…

B: Dede, I hate to rush this, but I’m late for a meeting.

A: Oh.

B: It’s been great seeing you, but can I walk you out?

A: Okay. Sure.

Narrator: By saying this, Christian is abruptly ending the conversion and saying goodbye to Anastasia.

Film:

A: Do you have a girlfriend?

Is that it?

B: I don’t do the girlfriend thing.

Narrator: By saying this phrase, Christian is saying that he doesn’t have the traditional boyfriend and girlfriend type of relationships.

He doesn’t like commitment.

Anastasia doesn’t know him yet, and for this reason she is very confused about his attitude.

Film:

A: What does that even…

Watch it!

Narrator: The phrase watch it can be used to tell someone to be careful, especially when you want to threaten them about what will happen if they are not.

Example1:

A: watch it.

Don’t get any closer.

B: It’s… it’s cool. 

It’s cool.

Example2:

Hey, watch it, lady.

Hey hey, good looking.

Narrator: As you can see here, Christian says this to Anastasia as a warning, because have gotten hit by a bike.

Film:

B: I’m not the man for you.

You should steer clear of me.

Narrator: If you steer something you determine its direction.

You do this for example with a horse, if you’re riding it, or with a car.

In fact, we call this the steering wheel.

So, the phrase steer clear of (someone) can be used as a synonym for “stay away from”.

In other words, if someone tells you to steer clear of someone or something, that person means that you should avoid someone that seems unpleasant, dangerous or likely to cause problems.

Example:

My dad told me to steer clear of him.

They warned teens to steer clear of drugs.

Christian is saying that he won’t be good for Ana and that she should stay away from him.

Film:

B: I have to let you go.

A: Goodbye, Mr.Grey.

Narrator: If you let someone go you allow them to leave.

Example1:

After three hours the police let him go.

Example2:

A: I’m gonna take off now.

You’re gonna let me go home, aren’t you?

B: You sure you don’t want to stick around a little longer?

A: No, I should get home.

I’m kind of tired.

Narrator: However, here the use is a little different.

If you are romantically involved or interested in someone and you let them go, you mean you are making a sacrifice because you know it is what is best, even though it may not be what you really want.

Example:

He loved her, but decided to let her go.

He had no job and no home and he knew he couldn’t support her.