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Grandmother Vocabulary Lesson

Hello and welcome to the vocabulary lesson for the conversation “Grandmother.” Now in this conversation Joe has just gotten off the telephone with his grandmother. So he’s just telling me about their conversation, what they… what they spoke about.

Okay, let’s begin.

I first start off saying, “Hey, how’s it goin’?”

Now how’s… This is short for how is. As I’ve said in many, many lessons you won’t see this really in written English. It’s more something that you would hear in conversational English. And goin’ is short for going.

Again, you wouldn’t see this in written English but you would hear it in conversational English. Anytime something is shortened, you won’t really see that in written, formal English. But you’ll definitely hear people when they’re speaking making something short, or shorter.

So I say, “Hey, how’s it goin’?”

What I’m saying here is, hi, how are you doing?

And then I go on to say, “I’m home.”

So I’ve just come in the apartment. I’ve just gotten home.

And Joe says, “Hey, yeah, I’m in here.”

Yeah. This is slang or casual or informal for yes. And when he says, I’m in here… He’s just telling me what room of the apartment he’s in. I think he was in the living room actually.

And then I say, “Oh. Okay.”

Now oh here. That’s just a filler. It’s not really needed.

And then Joe says, “How are you doin’?”

Doin’, Doin’ is short for doing.

And I say, “Pretty good.”

Now pretty here means very good.

And then Joe says, “Nice. Where you comin’ from?”

Comin’. This is short for coming. What Joe is saying here is, where are you coming from?

And then I say, “I have just been out and about doin’ some shopping.” Out and about. This means going from place to place. Out and about. For example: I was out and about shopping downtown. Out and about.

And then I go on to say, “I was, uh…”

Uh is just filler here. It’s not really needed.

And I go on to say, “here in The Mission and then I went to Haight Street…” Now The Mission… This is short for the Mission District. The Mission District is just a neighborhood in San Francisco. The Mission. For example: Joe and I live in The Mission. We live in the Mission District. The Mission. And when I say that I went to Haight Street… Haight Street is a street in San Francisco. For example: I like to go to the bars on Haight Street. I really like the atmosphere of the bars on Haight Street.

And then I go on to say, “just goin’ to some secondhand stores.” Just. In this situation, just is just filler. It’s not really needed. Secondhand stores. Secondhand stores are stores where used clothing is sold. Secondhand stores. I like to shop at secondhand stores because the clothes are so cheap. Secondhand stores.

And then Joe says, “Oh, okay.” And I say, “One of my favorite things to do.” So I’m saying I really like shopping at secondhand stores. It’s one of my favorite things to do.

And Joe says, “Yeah, cool.”

Cool meaning good.

And then I say, “So who are you just ge-, gettin’ off the phone with?” Gettin’ is short for getting.

And Joe says, “Oh, I was speakin’ to my grandmother.”

Speakin’ or talking to my grandmother. Speakin’ is short for speaking.

And then I say, “How’s she doing?” And Joe says, “Yeah, she’s doin’ okay. She was actually feelin’ under the weather last week but, uh, now she’s alright.”

Actually is just filler here. It’s not really needed. She was actually feeling under the weather. Feeling under the weather. Now feelin’ is short for feeling. Feeling under the weather. That just means being sick. For example: Ben was feeling under the weather. I could hear him coughing. Feeling under the weather. And then when Joe says now she’s alright. Alright just means okay or good. Alright.

And then I go on to say, “Oh, did she just have a cold or somethin’?” Have a cold. This means to be sick. Have a cold. For example: I do not like to leave the house when I have a cold. Have a cold. And when I say somethin’… This is short for something.

And then Joe says, “Yeah, she said that there was somethin’ goin’ around.” Something going around. This is when people you know are sick. Something going around. An example of this would be: My mother told me that she and my father are both sick. She said that there must be something going around.

And then Joe goes on to say, “Uh, my aunt had it and my niece had it. So she might have caught it from one of them.”

Might have just means maybe. Now caught it… Caught it means got sick. Caught it. For example: David is sick. I think that he caught it from his wife because she was sick last week. Caught it.

And then I say, “Oh, okay.” And Joe says, “Yeah. Y’know…” Y’know is short for you know.

And Joe goes on to say, “speaking with my grandmother on the phone, sometimes I feel like I’m a little kid again…”

Or sometimes I feel like I’m a child again.

And I say, “Yeah, why is that?” And Joe says, “I get like…” Like here is just filler. It’s not really needed.

So Joe says, “I get like transported back…”

Transported means… Transported here means taken. I get transported back. I get taken back. For example: When I was looking at old family pictures, it felt like I was transported back to when I was a child.

Transported.

And Joe goes on to say, “transported back to the time when we used to live close together and, uh, y’know, and I was a kid. I mean…”

Or he’s saying, what I’m trying to say is that…

“my grandparents, when I was growin’ up…”

Growin’ is short for growing. And growing up just means getting older.

And Joe goes on to say, “they lived just like a stone’s throw away from us.” Now stone’s throw away… This means very close. A stone’s throw away. For example: Joe and I go to the park a lot because it’s just a stone’s throw away from our apartment. Stone’s throw away.

And Joe goes on to say, “Maybe like, I don’t know, two miles or somethin’. So we used to…” And then I say, “Wow.”

And I’m just showing emotion such as, I can’t believe it. I can’t believe you lived so close to your grandparents.

And Joe says, “see them all the time.”

So he’s saying, so we used to see them all the time. Or we used to visit them all the time.

And I say, “Yeah.” And Joe says, “Yeah, it was awesome.” Awesome means very good or great. Awesome. For example: Robbie is an awesome guitar player.

Awesome.

And Joe says, “I mean, y’know, when you’re a kid one of your favorite things is to see your grandparents.” And I say, “Yeah.”

Agreeing with Joe.

And Joe says, “Y’know, it’s like you get to escape the discipline of your parents for a little bit.” Escape. This means to get away from. Escape. For example: The prisoner escaped from jail. Escape.

And discipline… This means punishment. Discipline. For example: When I was a child my parents always disciplined me whenever I did something wrong. Discipline, or in this example, disciplined. And when Joe says a little bit… A little bit means a small amount. Here specifically it means a small amount of time. A little bit. Let’s say I want to go to a music festival but I have a lot of work to do. I might tell my friends, I can meet you at the festival but I can only stay for a little bit. A little bit.

And then I say, “Right.”

I’m just agreeing with Joe, saying, yeah. You’re correct. That’s right.

And then Joe says, “And…”

And here is filler. It’s not really needed.

And Joe goes on to say, “y’know, your grandparents, they’ll always shower you with attention.” Shower you with attention. This means give you a lot of attention. Shower you with attention. For example: My grandparents always showered me with attention. So shower you with attention, or in this example, showered me with attention.

And Joe goes on to say, “And, y’know, my grandmother would always, y’know, make us some sweets.”

Now sweets. This means food that has a lot of sugar like cookies, cake, candy, ice cream. Sweets. For example: I really like to eat sweets even though I know it’s not very healthy. Or I know it’s not very good for me. Sweets.

And Joe goes on to say, “And, y’know… she was just always like, uh, always really, uh, uh, happy to see us, y’know?”

So he’s saying she was always… She was always very happy to see us.

And then I say, “Uh-huh.”

And I’m just agreeing with Joe, saying, yeah, uh-huh.

And then I say, “Yeah, I never had the luxury of even…” Even here is just filler. It’s not really needed. And luxury. This is a good opportunity. So I’m saying, I never had the good opportunity or the opportunity of…

“uh, being around one set of grandparents.”

One set of grandparents. What I’m talking about here… I’m speaking about my father’s parents. So my father’s parents would be one set of grandparents. And then my mother’s parents would be the other set of grandparents.

And I go on to say, “My dad’s parents died before I was born so I never even met them. And then my, uh, mom’s parents, we lived close to them but not as close as, as you to your grandparents. I’d say it was like a twenty to thirty minute drive. And that was only until I was eight…” Or I’m saying that was only until I was eight years old.

And I go on to say, “’coz…”

‘Coz is short for because.

“’coz then we moved away from Michigan to Georgia.”

Michigan is a northern state in America. And Georgia is a southeastern state of America.

And I go on to say, “So then it would be seein’ them once a year.” Seein’ is short for seeing. What I’m saying here is, I would only visit them… I would only visit my grandparents one time a year after we moved from Michigan to Georgia.

And Joe says, “Yeah, I mean, my brothers and I were really…” Or we were very.

“fortunate to have both sets of grandparents around.”

Or he’s saying to have both sets of grandparents living close by. Fortunate. Fortunate means lucky.

Fortunate. For example: I was fortunate to remember to take an umbrella with me because it rained today.

Fortunate.

And then I say, “Yeah, you were.” And Joe says, “Uh, and, uh, I mean, my, my father’s parents moved down to Florida when we were like eight years old.”

Now Florida… This is a southeastern state of America.

And Joe goes on to say, “And, y’know, that, that was a bummer for us at the time…” Bummer. Bummer means something that is not good. It’s kind of a slang word. Bummer. For example: It’s a bummer that San Francisco has so much fog… fog being low clouds. Bummer.

And Joe goes on to say, “uh. But at least…”

Or he’s saying, but it’s good that…

“my mom’s parents lived around us, y’know, until we were teenagers…” Around us. Around us means close to us. Around us. For example: When I was a child my grandparents did not live around us. Around us. And when he says until we were teenagers… Until means up to the time when we became teenagers. And teenagers… This word means anywhere from 13 years old to 19 years old. So Joe actually moved away from his grandparents when he was about 13.

And then I say, “Mm-hm.”

Just agreeing with Joe.

And Joe says, “and we moved to Pennsylvania.”

So he’s saying, my mom’s parents lived around us until we were teenagers and we moved to Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania is a state in the northeast… the northeast of America.

And then I say, “Mm-hm.”

Again just agreeing with Joe.

And Joe says, “But it’s uncommon these days.”

Or he’s saying, it’s not normal or it’s unusual now.

And then he goes on to say, “I mean the generations before us always had their family right near them.”

Or they always had their family living close by or close to them. Generations before us. This means people in your family that are older than you. Generations before us.

And then I say, “Right.”

So I’m basically just saying yes. I’m agreeing with Joe again.

And then Joe says, “I mean, I hear these stories from my grandmother. She says that her entire family…”

Or he’s saying, her whole family…

“lived in like one, y’know, on one block.”

Now block. This is a street or part of a street. Block. For example: My friend Kim lives eight blocks away from my apartment. Block, or in this example, blocks.

And Joe goes on to say, “And that wasn’t uncommon.”

Or that… he’s saying, that wasn’t unusual.

And then he says, “I mean, a lot of the times they would, uh, the whole family would live in the same house. Usually…”

Or most of the time.

“people didn’t leave…”

Or he’s saying people didn’t move out of the house.

“until they got married. And even if they did leave and get married, they lived just down the block.” Or he’s saying they moved just down the block.

And then I say, “Well, speaking of the same block… That, that, uh, made me think of my brother. My younger brother, when he was in high school…”

Now high school is a secondary school or school that prepares you for university.

So I’m saying when my brother was in high school, he “dated this girl and her whole family lived on the same street. And I can remember thinkin’…”

Thinkin’ is short for thinking.

And I go on to say, “how strange…”

Or I’m saying how different.

“that was.” And then Joe says, “Yeah, I mean, now it is.” And I say, “Yeah.” Just agreeing with him.

And Joe says, “But back then it wasn’t at all.”

So he’s saying, back when our grandparents were younger it wasn’t strange or it wasn’t different.

And then I say, “Yeah, right.”

Again, I’m just agreeing with him.

And then Joe says, “Yeah. Oh, when I was talkin’…”

Talkin’ is short for talking.

“when I was talkin’ to my grandmother, as we do a lot of the times, I was reminiscing with her about when I was younger.”

Now reminiscing. This means remembering something that happened in the past. Reminiscing. I can remember the last time I saw my mother we were reminiscing about when I was a child. Reminiscing.

And Joe goes on to say, “was reminiscing with her about when I was younger. And, y’know, um…” And um is just a filler word here. It’s not really needed.

He says, “y’know, we… Not only did we live very close to my grandparents, we all went to the same church.”

Now church. This is a place to go to pray. Mainly a place for Christians to go to pray. Church. An example of church would be: When I was a child my family and I did not go to church. Church.

And then Joe goes on to say, “So, y’know, every Sunday afternoon we’d see them at church and we’d sit near them.”

Or we’d sit close to them.

“And, uh, then after church was over…”

Or when church was finished.

“I’d always like beg my parents to let us go over to my grandparents’ house.” Now beg. This means to ask for something you really want. Beg. For example: When I was 15 years old I had to beg my parents to let me come home after 11:00 at night. Beg. When Joe says go over to my grandparents’ house… Over in this situation is really just filler. It’s not even really needed.

And then Joe goes on to say, “And, y’know, we’d go over there and eat dinner. And I’d watch baseball games with my grandfather. So that was always a lot of fun, y’know.” And then I say, “Uhhuh.” Just agreeing with him or saying, yeah, I understand.

And then Joe says, “It was just, y’know, just spending time with them, y’know.” And I say, “Yeah, was it…” And then Joe says, “We just had a great time.” And then I say, “Was it like a big Sunday dinner?” And Joe says, “Oh yeah, and my grandmother would cook a huge meal.” Or he’s saying, my grandmother would make a lot of food.

And he goes on to say, “And, my grandmother was an amazing cook.” Now cook, here, means someone who prepares food for eating.

And then Joe goes on to say, “She would always cook like some amazing Italian dinner…” Joe’s grandmother would make Italian food because his grandmother is actually Italian American. Now amazing. When Joe says she’s an amazing cook. Amazing means great. Amazing. For example: I had an amazing time at the concert. Amazing.

And then I say, “Mmmmm.”

And I’m just making this noise because the thought of eating a dinner that Joe’s grandmother has made is making me hungry because I know she’s a good cook.

And then Joe says, “and, y’know, we just loved…”

Or he’s saying we really liked…

“goin’ over there for that reason as well.”

So when he’s saying for that reason… he’s saying we really liked going over to my grandmother’s for eating dinner. And also for other things like just spending time with my grandmother and grandfather. And watching baseball with my grandfather. When Joe says as well, at the end of the sentence… As well. It’s just filler.

It’s not really needed. You could take it away in the sentence would still be, it would still make sense.

And then I finish the conversation by saying, “Oh, that’s great.”

Okay, this is the end of the vocabulary lesson for the conversation “Grandmother.” So if you need to, go back and listen to this as many times… until you have a basic understanding of the vocabulary. And then when you feel ready, move on to Joe’s mini-story.

Alright, see you next time. Bye bye.