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Home - Conversation - Lesson 9
Conversation Lesson 9
	Lesson 9 - Birthdays Dialogs for everyday use. Short situational dialogs for students of English as a Foreign (EFL) or Second (ESL) Language. Quick Links Conversation Beginner 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Birthdays Patty: How old are you? Susan: Nine... but I’ll be ten on May sixteenth. Patty: I’m older than you! I’ll be ten on May fourteenth. Susan: Are you going to have a birthday party? Patty: Maybe. I’ll have to ask my mother. Conversation Notes Nine... A short form equivalent to I’m nine years old. sixteenth Notice that the strongest stress in this word is on the second syllable. (The stress pattern, as well as the final /n/, differentiates sixTEEN from SIXty.) Some speakers insert the between the month and the numeral: May the sixteenth, May the fourteenth. I’ll be ten on May fourteenth The contrastive stress on the first syllable of FOURteenth. Normally, the stronger stress falls on the second syllable of this word: fourTEENTH (like sixTEENTH in the line above). However, to bring out the contrast, the speaker emphasizes the contrasting element, four­. going to The rhythm pattern of English requires that this weak stressed, potentially three­syllable, element be reduced in length. In the process of reduction some of the consonants are lost or modified and the vowels changed to more centralized, lax forms. birthday party Notice that the normal stress for a compound noun falls on the first element of the compound. Maybe Notice that the intonation falls only slightly—indicating doubt, indecision, or lack of completion. Have to. See Lesson 7. Source: U.S. State Department Additional Conversation Lessons Conversation This is a collection of 36 situational conversations which focus on spoken American English in a relatively natural way....these lessons are for intermediate students. Conversation This is a collection of 30 situational conversations. Each conversation is accompanied by language notes....these lessons are for advanced students. Conversation English conversation lessons. 52 lessons covering pronunciation, speaking, writing, and grammar topics....these lessons are for beginning students. Conversation English conversation lessons. 30 lessons focusing mostly on communication and grammar topics....these lessons are for intermediate students.