Dinner Date
Mari checks in with her landlady see how she is doing and asks her plans for dinner.
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Shirley
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Mari
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Mari: Hi Shirley.
Shirley: Oh hi Mari, how are you?
Mari: Good. I am just checking in to see how things are going with Foo-foo.
Shirley: Um, you know, that dog walking really seems to have worked. I had a bit of a word to Sandra upstairs and she said that she hasn’t heard him huff so much and she’s getting a lot more sleep now that the baby is sleeping so, yeah, that seems to be working really well, thank you.
Mari: Good to hear. I was also wondering if you could give me some dinner recommendations. I’m thinking about going out - bringing Foo-foo with me.
Shirley: Well, have you been down to the Rocks area yet, which is just down near the harbor area?
Mari: I know where it is. I haven’t been down there yet.
Shirley: You haven’t been down there? There’s some really lovely restaurants down there. In particular, there’s one little place called The Plum Jelly Deli that I really like to go to. It’s just a little sort of sidewalk cafe and actually I’m a vegetarian so they have a lot of really nice vegetarian food down there if you are interested in that kind of thing. Or were you looking for something more up-market, what kind of....
Mari: Well, I just want to bring Foo-foo with me so do you think they’ll let me bring Foo-foo?
Shirley: Yeah, well as I say, they’ve got a little outdoor balcony area and you get served out there and just have a bottle of wine and an evening meal and I think it’s okay to take the dogs with you just to that part so...
Mari: Ok. Do you want to come with me?
Shirley: Oh, um, well, when were you planning on going?
Mari: In like half an hour or so.
Shirley: Oh you’re going tonight?
Mari: Yes.
Mari Goes to Australia
Part 1: Any Vacancies?
Part 2: About the Apartment
Part 3: Money Details
Part 4: Getting Connected
Part 5: Quiet Foo-foo!
Part 6: Dinner
Part 7: Leaving
Shirley: Ok, you know what? Actually that would be nice. I don’t have anything else on this evening so, yeah, thank you.
Mari: Good. So I’ll see you in about a half an hour with Foo-foo.
Shirley: Yeah, I’ll come down and get you.
Mari: Thanks.
Shirley: Ok, great.
Mari: I’ll see you later.
Shirley: Alright, bye.
checking in
I am just checking in.
When you check in, you make an appearance at a place (or a phone call to a place) to update a situation.
When you check in with a person, you often are just appearing in case they need to give you some information. Here are a few examples:
- I am just checking in to see how you are doing.
- Let me just check in with my office before we go.
that kind of thing
I know a good vegetarian restaurant if you are into that kind of thing.
Here the phrase 'that kind of thing' refers to vegetarian food and vegetarian restaurants.
We use such phrases when the speaker wants to refer to something without repeating it. Notice the following:
- We are going salsa dancing if you are like that sort of thing (i.e. you like dancing)
- My wife plays a lot of words games, but I don't have the patience for that sort of thing.
up-market
I am looking for something more up-market.
When something, such as a restaurant or shop, is up-market that means it is fancier and more expensive than most other venues.
Notice that you can say up-market for fancy, but for cheap you say low-end (not down-market). Refer to the following:
- He lives in an up-market area of town.
- I never shop at the up-market stores.
half-an-hour
Half an hour means thirty minutes. For ninety minutes you can say an hour and a half.
Here are a few more examples:
- The test should take half an hour.
- I usually exercise for at least half an hour each day.
come and get you
I'll come down and get you.
The verb phrase 'come down and get' means to pick someone up or to go and meet someone so they can commute together to another place. Y
ou can come up and get someone, come over and get someone, come out to get someone and so on. Notice the following:
- When it is time to go, my mother will come out and get us.
- I will come down and get you tomorrow morning.
Keep Listening
Here are some more great lessons!
Vocabulary Challenge
check in • up-market