A busy and exciting part of London
My flat is small, but I like living here, because it is near the river, there are lots of shops and cafes
I live in North London
I live in the center of Berlin
I live in suburbs; it is 10 kilometers from the city, very leafy, a lot of trees
Do you live in a house or a flat?
I live in a brick built house, 3 bedrooms
It is a wide house, it is quite quiet
I live in a house, that is a 4 bedrooms house
It is a modern space, one bedroom, quite small, but very nice
What do you like about where you live?
I like the garden
I can catch a bus from anywhere from home and I feel comfortable walking at night, because I see people around
Two flats in a house, I have only one neighbor, It is very sweet and fun as well, I don’t have too many neighbors to worry about
We have parks, we have a special French, Italian restaurants, a small church
It looks like a small valley, it is in suburbs, you can see the houses around and the trees
I am close to the museums, universities, teaching hospitals, it is easy to get about, because there are many underground stations and it is very friendly.
Everyone says hello in the morning, and good evening in the afternoon and it is a pleasant place to live.
What don’t you like about where you live?
What I don’t like about it, is that I have to get to the Northern Ireland on the tube and it takes me 50 (fifty) minutes to get to work
It is quite noisy on the streets
Well, it is quite crowded there is quite a lot of rubbish on the streets; there are too many cars and no place for children to play
It is always busy
There isn’t actually anything I don’t like about it
Sometimes because it is in the middle of the city, it can be very dusty and polluted
There are no cheap stations to get a bus on time
Emma's commute
We'll find out about people's journeys to work
Let's catch up with Emma and Rob as they make their way to work. Listen out for the words and phrases they use to describe their journeys. Then see how much you can remember in the memory test!
Watch the video and complete the activity
Hi again. It's me, Emma. It's 8:30 in the morning and I've just arrived at work. I often get the Tube to work but today I took the bus. And I always use my Oyster Card.
It usually takes about 40 minutes to get to the BBC building. But when the traffic's bad, it can sometimes be an hour or more. And you rarely get a seat in the rush hour. Ha! That's London.
Still, here I am at the BBC office. Let's see who else is in. Morning Rob. Did you come on your bike today?
Oh yes. I always come to work on my bike. When I say always… I get the train to Waterloo and then I nearly always cycle to the office. But not when the weather's bad. Then I get the bus. But that doesn't happen often.
Well that's good. Do we have a busy day today?
Yes, we've got to do some vox pops, but first I need to get some breakfast.
Rob, you came all this way on an empty stomach? That's really unhealthy. You should always have breakfast.
Well, that's true but I never have breakfast at home on a weekday. I like to come here. I can always get a breakfast at the BBC canteen. It's delicious! In fact, I'm going to get some now. Bye bye.
Bye! Well, while Rob's getting breakfast, let's play a memory game. We're going to see some sentences from this video. Can you remember who said them? Let's find out.
Vocabulary test
Emma and Rob used a few different words and phrases to talk about their commute to work - the journeys they both make every day from home to work and back again. But do you know what they all mean?
Let’s find out whether you know what some of the travel vocabulary means.
Oyster card | the time of day when the traffic is very busy |
Commuting | (to do something) without eating food first |
the rush hour | audio or video clips of people talking about everyday topics |
the tube | a bicycle that folds up so it can be carried easily |
back in a bit! | see you soon! |
a full English breakfast | an informal name for the London Underground train system |
(to do something) on an empty stomach | travelling from home to work and back again |
vox pops | a large hot meal that some British people eat in the mornings, usually including eggs and bacon |
a folding bike | an electronic ticket that you can use on any train or bus within London |
Vocabulary practice
Can you use the words from this session in sentences? Try this activity.
Can you tell me the way to the | tube station, please? |
I always go running on a | full English breakfast. I hate exercising when I'm hungry. |
When the weather's fine, I go to work on my | folding bike. |
I hate travelling by | Oyster card when I'm travelling in London. |
I always use my | rush hour and get a good seat on the train. |
If you leave work early, you'll miss the | tube. It's too crowded down in those tunnels. |
Meaning and use
Adverbs give us more information about a verb. Adverbs of frequency tell us how often an activity happens. There are many adverbs to choose from. Here are some of the most common ones, listed from most frequent to least frequent
We can use adverbs of frequency with the verb to be.
We can use modal verbs with adverbs of frequency. For example, we can use the auxiliary verbs can, should and might, which express ability (can), obligation (should), and possibility (might).
Adverbs of frequency go before the main verb.
subject + adverb + main verb
They go after the verb ‘to be’.
subject + to be + adverb + main verb
They go between a modal and the main verb.
subject + modal + adverb + main verb
The adverb of frequency goes between the auxiliary and the main verb.
It goes after ‘to be’.
For questions, the order is auxiliary + subject + adverb of frequency + verb.
Negative adverbs such as never, seldom, rarely and hardly ever cannot be used in negative sentences. The following sentence is incorrect, because it has a double negative.
Sometimes can go before the subject, before the main verb, and after the main verb.
We usually use adverbs of frequency with the present simple, but they can also be used with the present continuous. The adverb comes between the auxiliary and the main verb.
Some people pronounce the /t/ sound in often; other people pronounce often with a 'silent t'. Both are acceptable.
In this session, you've seen folding bike and Oyster card - we can think of these as chunks of language because their exact meaning depends on all their words.
Do you always learn English expressions word by word? There may be a better way, one that will help you when you're studying vocabulary.
Listen to this week's 6 Minute Vocabulary and find out how you can sound much more natural by learning and using chunks of language. And here's a question for while you listen: in English do we say 'a complete English breakfast' or 'a full English breakfast'?
How often do these things happen? Here are some sentences from Session 1. Have a look at the game and see if you can match these sentences with a percentage to say how frequently they happen.
But remember, it isn't an exact science! Adverbs of frequency may be used by different people to mean slightly different things.
I never eat breakfast at home. | 0% of the time |
I always use my Oyster card. | 10-20% of the time |
You rarely get a seat during the rush hour. | 65-85% of the time |
I often get the Underground to work. | 100% of the time |
I nearly always cycle to work. | 40-60% of the time |
It can sometimes be an hour. | 85-100% of the time |