Speakeasy

Short and simple

Believe it or not, native English speakers are a lazy bunch. We like to keep our sentences short and simple. For example, �I am going to the supermarket� is �I�m going to the supermarket.� We get rid of certain letters and use an apostrophe (�) to replace the letters that have been dropped. This shortening of words is called a contraction and it is a natural way of speaking English. Read this week�s conversation between siblings Oh and Op and work with a friend to write the contractions of the words in the spaces provided. Then practise the conversation using the new words.

Photograph courtesy of Bangkok Post

Oh:      Hey! What is going on in here? ...........1..............

Op:      We are looking for my Eminem CD? I can not find it. Have you seen it? ...........2..............            ...........3..............

Oh:      No! I do not know where it is. It is definitely not around here. Get out of my room! ...........4..............            ...........5..............

Op:      I know you took it.

Oh:      You are accusing me? You probably left it in your room. You had better get this mess cleaned up or I will tell mom on you. ...........6..............  ...........7..............            ...........8..............

Op:      I am not leaving until I find it. ...........9..............

Oh:      Have it your way.

Op:      Alright. Let us leave. ...........10..............

Vocabulary

bunch (n): a large number of things or people
sibling (n): a brother or sister
accuse (v):  to say that somebody has done something wrong or is guilty of something

Idiom

get rid of: to make yourself free of somebody that is annoying you or that you do not want; to throw something away