Hello, neighbour: meeting Margaret · to be (am/is/are), pronouns, my/your/his/her

Hello, neighbour: meeting the neighbour · to be (am / is / are), pronouns, my / your / his / her

Level: A1. Grammar: the verb to be in affirmative sentences (am / is / are), personal pronouns, my / your / his / her / our / their. Situation: meet your neighbour, introduce your family, spell your name letter by letter, address a person correctly. This is the first unit of the course. It relies only on what you already know: a few English words and the wish to start speaking.

1. The situation

Marina and her family have just moved into a new flat — Flat 4, 27 Mill Lane, in the small English town of Ashbury. It is Saturday morning. Marina and nine-year-old Max are carrying in boxes. The door opposite opens, and an elderly woman in a lilac cardigan and round glasses steps out onto the landing. She smiles: Hello there! I'm Margaret Wood. I'm in Flat 5, just opposite.

Marina wants to answer: "Hello, I'm Marina, your new neighbour. This is my son." In Russian such phrases have no verb: «я — Марина», «это — мой сын». But in English you cannot do without the verb: I'm Marina. This is my son. This little verb — to be — is the main topic of the unit.

Then Margaret asks for her surname and asks her to spell it letter by letter. Marina knows the letters from school, but H, R and Z sound quite different in English from what she is used to.

2. How people address each other in Britain

These are not official rules but habits that will help you avoid awkward situations.

• Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss go only before the surname: Mrs Wood, Mr Hughes. The combination "title + first name" (Mrs Margaret) sounds odd — only children at nursery talk like that.
• Mr [МИстэ] — a man. Mrs [МИсиз] — a married woman. Miss [мис] — an unmarried woman, more often about young women. Ms [мэз] — a neutral title for any woman, if you don't know or don't want to state her marital status. On forms you will also see Mx [микс] — a neutral title that does not indicate gender.
• Neighbours and colleagues quickly move on to first names. The signal is the phrase Please call me Margaret or Call me Margaret. After it, Mrs Wood already sounds a little cold.
• There is no separate polite «Вы» in English: you is both «ты» and «вы». Politeness comes from other things: please, thank you, sorry, Could you…?, a smile, and using the surname until you are asked otherwise.
• The teachers at Max's school are also Mr / Mrs / Ms + surname: Ms Clarke. Children always say it this way.

3. Phrases: take them with you

Meeting someone

• Hello, I'm Marina. I'm your new neighbour. — Hello, I'm Marina, your new neighbour.
• I'm in Flat 4. — I live in flat 4 (literally "I'm in flat 4").
• Nice to meet you. — Pleased to meet you.
• Nice to meet you too. — Pleased to meet you too (the reply).
• This is my son, Max. — This is my son Max.
• My husband is at work. — My husband is at work.
• Please call me Margaret. — Call me Margaret.

Name and letters

• Sorry, what's your name again? — Sorry, what's your name? (if you have forgotten)
• Could you spell that, please? — Spell it letter by letter, please.
• It's P-E-T-R-O-V-A. — Letter by letter: П-Е-Т-Р-О-В-А.
• Double S. / Double O. — Two S's in a row, two O's in a row.
• Is that with a W? — Is that with a W?

Saying goodbye

• See you later. / See you soon. — See you.
• Welcome to Mill Lane! — Welcome to Mill Lane! (this is what people will say to you)

Words

4. The alphabet: the letters people stumble on

In English, letters are named differently from the school "German" way of reading. It is convenient to learn them in groups: each group has the same vowel sound.

Traps for Russian speakers:

• H — [эйч], not [хэ] and not [аш].
• R — [а:], as in car; the British do not pronounce the r sound at the end.
• Z — [зед]. You will also hear the American [зи:].
• E — [и:], and I — [ай]. These are the ones confused most often: Petrova is spelled P-E-T…, not P-I-T….
• G — [джи:], J — [джей]. So as not to mix them up: G is in the group with see, J — with day.
• W — [ДАбл ю], that is, "double U".
• Two identical letters in a row — double: Wood — W, double O, D.

5. Grammar: to be — am, is, are

The pain

In Russian we say «Я Марина», «Она соседка», «Макс в школе» — the verb «быть» has disappeared in the present tense. An English sentence without a verb falls apart. A Brit will understand I Marina or She my neighbour, but will hear "me no understand" broken speech. The verb to be means "is / is (something) / is located", and in the present tense it has three forms.

Form

With a name — the same as with he / she / it: Max is nine. Oleg is at work. Margaret is very kind.

Whose is it: my, your, his, her

Where it breaks (the cost)

• Leaving out the verb. I Marina. She my neighbour. He at work. The most common mistake Russian speakers make at the start. Correct: I'm Marina. She's my neighbour. He's at work.
• His or her — by the owner, not by the thing. «Её сын» — her son (the owner is a woman). «Его мама» — his mum (the owner is a boy). In Russian speakers' speech he and she are often mixed up automatically; Margaret will understand but will ask again.
• There is no «свой» in English. «Марина со своим сыном» — Marina is with her son, «я со своим мужем» — I'm with my husband. Choose the pronoun by whose it is.
• Mrs + first name. Mrs Margaret — wrong. Only Mrs Wood or Margaret.
• A job without a. She's teacher — wrong, you need She's a teacher. We will look at why in u03; for now just remember: before a job in the singular there is a.
• I am or I'm? Both forms are correct. In conversation I'm is normal; the full I am sounds emphatic: I am Marina! — "yes, I am Marina".

6. Dialogue: on the landing

Margaret: Hello there! I'm Margaret Wood. I'm in Flat 5, just opposite. Marina: Hello! I'm Marina. I'm your new neighbour. Nice to meet you. Margaret: Nice to meet you too, Marina. Sorry, what's your surname? Marina: It's Petrova. Margaret: Could you spell that, please? Marina: Yes, of course. P-E-T-R-O-V-A. Margaret: Lovely. And who's this young man? Marina: This is my son, Max. He's nine. Max: Hello, Mrs Wood. Margaret: Hello, Max. Oh, please call me Margaret. Marina: My husband is Oleg. He's at work today. Margaret: Well, welcome to Mill Lane. My door is always open. Marina: Thank you, Margaret. You're very kind. Margaret: Not at all. See you soon!

In the evening Marina talks about her neighbour:

Marina: Margaret is very nice. She's teacher. Max: Mum, she's a teacher. Well, she's a retired teacher. (retired — on a pension) Marina: OK, OK. She's a retired teacher. And her flat is opposite.

Politeness. Compare how this sounds to a Brit:

In English, Who are you? sounds almost like "and who might you be?" — that is how you question a stranger who is doing something at your door. Start with yourself: say your name, and the other person will say theirs.

7. Sound

• Short forms merge with the pronoun: I'm [айм], you're [йо:], he's [хиз], she's [шиз], we're [уиэ], they're — sounds like there. Don't split them: not [ай эм], but [айм].
• H — a light breath out, as onto a misted window: he, hello, husband. Not the Russian [х] with a rasp.
• th in this, the, they, their — the tip of the tongue between the teeth. Not [зис] and not [дис].
• Nice to meet you — [найс тэ МИИТ ю]: meet has the long sound [и:], to is almost swallowed.
• Neighbour [НЕЙбэ], opposite [Опэзит] — stress on the first syllable.

8. Summary

• To be in the present: I'm, you're, he's, she's, it's, we're, they're. Without it an English sentence does not work: I'm Marina, not I Marina.
• Whose: my, your, his, her, its, our, their. His or her — by the owner.
• Mrs / Mr / Ms — only with the surname. The signal to move on to first names — Call me Margaret.
• Three phrases to take with you: Hello, I'm Marina. I'm your new neighbour. — Nice to meet you too. — Could you spell that, please?