Speak English Around Town » LESSON 14 - Making Introductions
Lisa: Let me make some introductions. Lori and Mike Garcia, this is Kyle and Jane Chen.
Lori: Nice to meet you.
Kyle: I'm sorry, I didn't catch your names.
Lori: I'm Lori and this is my husband Mike.
Lisa: You guys have a lot in common, so I'm sure you'll hit it off.
Jane: Lori, you look familiar, but I can't quite place you.
Lori: Your name rings a bell. Do you work at Harco Insurance?
Jane: I used to be in sales there. I left about a year ago.
Lori: I used to work at Comtek International. You sold us our insurance plan.
Jane: Yes, that's right. It's a small world!
Lori: It sure is. I'm glad we've crossed paths again.
Jane: Me too. What have you been up to since you left Comtek?
Lori: It's a long story. Let's grab some drinks, and I'll fill you in.
Dan: Excuse me, haven't we met before? You (1) __________ .
Jill: Dan Reynolds?
Dan: Yes, that's me.
Jill: I'm Jill King.
Dan: Oh, that name (2) __________ , but (3) __________ .
Jill: We met at Tim Taylor's Halloween party last year.
Dan: Right! You were dressed as Cleopatra. Now here we are at Eric's party and we meet again. (4) __________ !
Jill: I'm glad our (5) __________ again.
Dan: Me too. (6) __________ ?
Jill: Not much. I thought you were going to call me after Tim's party. I remember our great discussion. As I remember, we (7) __________ .
Dan: Yes, now I remember. We both love travel and baseball!
Jill: But you never called me. What happened?
Dan: (8) __________ .
Jill: I'd love to hear it.
Dan: Let's (9) __________ and I'll (10) __________ .
Use used to + the base form of the verb to discuss past situations, conditions, or habits which are now different or finished.
Note: "Used to" is pronounced as one word: useta [yooz-ta].
Examples:
◼ Sara used to live in New York, but now she lives in Chicago.
◼ Jason used to cook dinner every night, but now he gets takeout several times a week.
◼ Our mailman used to come at 11 a.m. every day, but now he comes later.
◼ Bill used to be a smoker.
=> With questions and negatives, the "d" on "used" is dropped.
Note: "Use to" is pronounced as one word: useta [yooz-ta].
Examples:
◼ Did you use to play football every Saturday?
◼ Did Jeff use to ride his bike to work?
◼ Susan didn't use to believe in ghosts.
◼ I didn't use to like apples, but now I eat one every day.
Use used to + -ing form of the verb to describe something that you are in the habit of doing.
Examples:
◼ I'm used to cooking dinner every night.
◼ I'm used to driving an hour to work.
◼ I'll never get used to living so far from downtown.
◼ We're used to sleeping in* on Sundays.
* sleep in - to sleep late on purpose (and not because you forgot to set your alarm!)
Pam (1) __________ as a lawyer for a big law firm in Manhattan. She (2) __________ at 5 a.m. every morning. She ( 3) __________ at the office by 7. The hours were very long. She ( 4) __________ sometimes why she decided to become a lawyer. She (5) __________ of becoming an actress.
Pam's husband Paul (6) __________ dinner for them every night. Pam (7) __________ dinner at 9 o'clock, when she arrived home. Every night, she complained about her job to Paul. One night, Paul asked, "Didn't you (8) __________ to be an actress?" Pam said she did. Paul suggested they move to Hollywood so Pam could pursue that old dream. Paul and Pam moved to Hollywood. Pam found work playing a lawyer on a TV show. She's much happier now. Sometimes people ask Pam, "Did you (9) __________ a lawyer? She replies, "Yes, and when I was a real lawyer, I (10) __________ a lot. Now that I play one on TV, I'm much happier!"
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