Episode 0149

Hello everyone and welcome back to English Pod. My name is Marco.

And my name is Catherine. So, Marco, today we're talking about rent and housing.

Right. We're actually gonna be moving. We're gonna be going to a new apartment or a new house. And so we're going to look at all the words related to this because sometimes it can be a real hassle, right? It can be really difficult.

Well, I like the negotiation of the lease, but not the moving aspect. I hate that.

No, I don't think anyone likes moving.

So, uh, let's go check out today's dialogue to find out what happens to the characters.

Okay, that's fine. Bye.

What happened?

What? Why? Can't you renew it?

Well, I can help you pack. We should start looking for a new place for you ASAP.

Well, let me know if there's anything I can do to help out.

Actually, would you mind looking after my pet tarantula and snake for a couple of weeks?

Uh...

Sure.

All right, we're back. So, uh, well, it's not much of a big deal, I guess, if you have your parents nearby, you can just move back in with your parents.

Easier said than done.

True. True. We'll get to that in a little bit, but let's take a look at the words that are used today in Language Takeaway.

All right, so this first one is an important one because generally when you're looking for a house or an apartment, there are two things you can do. You can buy a house or you can lease a house or apartment. So, lease here, Marco.

Uh, it's basically to rent, right? It's a contract where you agree to pay a monthly or a or a quarterly fee for using that house or apartment.

So, do you own your apartment or do you lease it?

Oh, I lease. I am not a homeowner yet.

Right. So, owning a home is a lot more expensive at one kind of period where you have to just pay in and you have maybe a mortgage. But leasing is just a monthly fee like you said.

So, in this case, they had to leave because their lease was expired.

Exactly. So, you can at the end of a lease do one of two things. You can stop and you can find a new apartment or you can renew your lease.

All right, and that's our next word, to renew your lease basically means to...

To continue.

To continue.

And this is actually a good word because it can be used with a con any contract because really a lease is a kind of contract. And so I can say, um, I renewed my job contract.

Or maybe a magazine subscription. You renewed your magazine subscription.

It's uh, it's a way of saying that you've committed to paying for the next six months or one year.

Okay. Well, and after that, uh, as we said, the person decided to move in with the parents.

Hmm. So, move in.

Move in, uh, well, we can say he moved his car, he put it in a different place, but to move in is actually to uh to change houses or to change apartments. And uh you you're literally moving your things and you're moving your clothes and you're moving into a new home. So you're living in a new place.

So in this case, this person is going to live with the parents. Move in.

All right. And our next word is, uh, when you have to move, you have to pack.

Okay, so you can pack a lot of things. In this case, you're packing a box with all of your belongings, your books and your pillows and all that. But you can also pack a a suitcase or you can pack luggage. So packing is putting things into something so that you can move them.

So you can carry them or take them somewhere.

Exactly.

So in this case, you have to pack your things, put them in boxes to take them to your new home.

Mm-hm.

And our last word is an acronym when you said ASAP.

All right. So ASAP is an acronym for as soon as possible.

Okay, so you often see this in the office on envelopes or emails. So please respond ASAP, ASAP. This means uh please respond right away.

As soon as you can, as soon as possible.

All right, so five great words that we've just taken a look at. Let's listen to our dialogue again and we'll be right back.

Okay, that's fine. Bye.

What happened?

What? Why? Can't you renew it?

Well, I can help you pack. We should start looking for a new place for you ASAP.

Well, let me know if there's anything I can do to help out.

Actually, would you mind looking after my pet tarantula and snake for a couple of weeks?

Uh...

Sure.

All right, we're back and we have a couple of different phrases for you. So let's look at those now in Fluency Builder.

Our first one's a little bit unusual. We heard the phrase my lease is up. So, Marco, let's talk about this phrase, to be up.

All right. So, if something is up, as in this case, the lease, it means it's expired, it's finished, right?

So it's over. Um, you can also say our time is up.

Right. If we have a meeting. So, that's all the time I have. Time to go away.

Time is up. Very good.

So, it's always related to time or maybe a contract, as in this case, my your lease is up.

Mm-hm, so it means over or finished.

Mm-hm. All right, so moving on to our second phrase.

To make way for.

All right, so this is a great one. This often makes me think of, um, kings and queens in the old days, they say make way for the king. So you have to, you know.

Get out of the way. Yeah, get out of the way or to clear some space for them to move because there's too much stuff in the way. And so in this case, the owner of the apartment where the guy was living in, uh, is trying to make some space or make way for a parking lot.

Right. So he's basically going to sell the building or house and build a parking lot instead. So they are making way for the new parking lot.

And uh, well, moving on to our last phrase. The the person asked the the friend if he would mind looking after the pet snake and tarantula.

I would mind.

You don't like snakes or tarantulas?

Uh, well, I don't mind them as long as I don't live with them.

So, would you mind how this is a nice way to start a a sentence if you want to ask for a favor, right?

Exactly. So, here's an here's an alternative. Hey, Marco, can you do this for me?

Mmm, I could, maybe.

Uh, I could say, Marco, would you mind doing this for me?

It sounds it's more polite.

It is more polite and it's a little bit gentler.

Yeah.

So it's nice, it's a nice way of of asking someone for a favor.

Right.

It does work. So, would you mind, um, so listeners, would you mind listening to today's dialogue one more time at its normal speed before we come back to you and talk more about renting an apartment?

Okay, that's fine. Bye.

What happened?

What? Why? Can't you renew it?

Well, I can help you pack. We should start looking for a new place for you ASAP.

Well, let me know if there's anything I can do to help out.

Actually, would you mind looking after my pet tarantula and snake for a couple of weeks?

Uh...

Sure.

All right, so moving in. Now, you have different stages in your life, right? When you move out, for example, you move out of your parents' home and uh you live on your own and then maybe, like in this case, you would move back in with your parents. How do you see that happening?

Uh, I see it very often. My brother just moved back in with my parents. Really? Um, yeah, I I think that it depends on the person, honestly. I mean, especially because the economy is really been suffering for the last year. A lot of people are doing this because, you know, in a lot of cities in America, you can spend a thousand to two thousand dollars a month for an apartment to rent. And that's a small apartment or a shared apartment. And so I understand this is a really, well, it's a better option now than it was before because everyone wants independence, but sometimes you just can't afford it.

Exactly, and it's a cultural thing because some people, uh, move out of their parents' home, maybe for college, it's very common in the US for absolutely to study in in another city or another state, right? And uh, but then maybe coming back home and moving in with your parents, or in other cultures, maybe they don't move out at all. Maybe they only move out once they're married.

Exactly. So a lot of people in China, I think in Shanghai specifically, don't move out until don't move out of their parents' home until they're going to get married.

Right. But well, and it it does make sense in in many big metropolis because as you say, rent is expensive, living on your own is expensive. And well, you don't have anyone to share those costs with, like gas, water, electricity, even food, right? It's cheaper if more people.

And not to mention a little bit scary living on your own for the first time.

It is a little bit scary. What about having somebody move in with you? Maybe a roommate or a girlfriend or boyfriend?

Ooh, that's always the big step. The big commitment. A big commitment. You're in a relationship and you ask your partner to move in with you. It's uh, yeah, the step before marriage, I guess.

Wow. There's not there's not nothing before that? Nothing before marriage?

No. That's pretty much it.

You tell me, I don't know.

All right. That's all the time we have for today. Uh but be sure to come to our website Englishpod.com. If you have any questions or any comments about this topic, we would be glad to have your input on it and we'll see you guys there.

The English pod audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

A contract granting use of property.

Lease.

To cause something to continue to be effective.

Renew.

Wrap up.

Pack.

To put articles in a case or container for moving.

Pack.

A building or an area.

Place.

A space for storing goods.

Storage.

Take care of.

Look after.

To create space for something else.

Make way for.

As soon as possible.

ASAP.

Good.

Decent.

Take care of.

Look after.

Let's try that faster.

Wrap up.

Pack.

Good.

Decent.

As soon as possible.

ASAP.

A contract granting use of property.

Lease.

Take care of.

Look after.

To put articles in a case or container for moving.

Pack.

To create space for something else.

Make way for.

Take care of.

Look after.

To cause something to continue to be effective.

Renew.

A building or an area.

Place.

A space for storing goods.

Storage.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Lease.

We are only leasing the apartment for one year.

Lease.

I didn't buy the car. It's a lease vehicle.

Lease.

According to your lease, you will have to pay a fine for destruction of property.

Make way for.

Make way for.

We'd better make way for that ambulance.

Make way for.

The company reduced its stock to make way for the new products.

ASAP.

I want you to clean up this mess ASAP.

ASAP.

Get back to me ASAP about the details of the deal.

ASAP.

If we don't finish this project ASAP, we could be fired.

Decent.

The city government was full of decent hard-working people.

Decent.

The car is decent enough, it gets me from point A to point B.

Decent.

This is a matter of common decency. You should really apologize for your behavior.

Look after.

We're looking after my friend's dog this week.

Look after.

Can you look after my daughter while I'm away?

Look after.

I put Mary in charge of looking after the Jones account.