LESSON NOTES

Upper Intermediate S1 #9
Happy Hours for Happy Days in the
United States

CONTENTS
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar
5 Cultural Insight

# 9
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 ENGLISH

1. SHEILA: I'm glad we could meet up for happy hour today; I almost couldn't
get off work in time.

2. DAVE: Me too. I love drinks that cost less than three dollars.

3. SHEILA: Haha... Oh, Dave... I forget that you were a frat boy.

4. DAVE: Sure was! Delta Tau Chi all the way! So, did you see the State of the
Union?

5. SHEILA: Oh my goodness, yeah. He will say anything to be re-elected, won't

he?

6. DAVE: He's a total flip-flopper. He said that he was pro-choice. Then he

passed a law restricting abortions!

7. SHEILA: Ugh, utterly spineless. It's like his opinion comes straight from the
polls.

8. DAVE: Isn't democracy amazing?

9. SHEILA: Sure is! Let's drink to that.

10. DAVE: Cheers to democracy!

11. SHEILA: Long live the Republic!

VOCABULARY

V oc abular y English C lass

a time period at a bar (usually

1-2 hours in the early
happy hour evening) where drinks are at noun
a lower price

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 cheers a common toast interjection

a survey conducted to
poll measure public opinion noun

spineless without firm ideals or morals adjective

supportive of abortion rights

pro-choice for women adjective

a politician that changes his

flip-flopper or her views on issues noun

be re-elected to be elected again verb

A speech by the President of

the United States makes
the State of the Union every year to talk about his noun
accomplishments and plans

A male who is/was a

member of a fraternity, an all-
male social organization at
frat-boy universities known for noun
partying. The female
equivalent is a sorority.

a system of government
Republic which elects people that noun
then make laws

SAMPLE SENTENCES

There's a great happy hour at the bar next Cheers to you, my friend.
door; they offer half priced drinks from 5 to
7 in the evening.

The polls indicated that he would win the A spineless politician may get elected but
election by 5 percentage points. will not be remembered.

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Most women in the US personally oppose The Republicans labeled the Democratic
abortion but are pro-choice. candidate as a flip-flopper.

Legally, the president can only be re- The president is required to deliver the
elected once. State of the Union once per year in
January.

Frat-boys party hard. The United States is the oldest modern

republic.

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Dave says, "Cheers to democracy." Here, Dave is somewhat sarcastically toasting the system of
government of the United States. "Cheers!" is a common toast in the United States. We can
also say "Long live [something]!" in the way that Sheila replied to indicate that we like
something and personally want it to last a long time. For example, "Long live the King!
Cheers!"

Dave asks Sheila, "Did you see the State of the Union?" The State of the Union is an annual
address that the president gives the nation. Previously, it was a written document, but in the
twentieth and twenty-first centuries, most presidents have delivered it orally, and the
broadcast draws tens of millions of viewers every year. Presidents outline their plans for the
next year and review their successes and challenges. For example, "The president focused
on the economy in this year's State of the Union."

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson Is Using Noun Clauses.

"I love drinks that cost less than three dollars."

A noun clause is a phrase with a subject and verb that functions as a noun in a sentence. When
we say, "People who are tall often play basketball," we are using the noun clause "People who
are tall." By itself, this phrase is not a sentence, but we use the entire phrase as the subject of
the sentence. Let's look at some examples of noun clauses as the subjects of sentences.

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For Example:

1. "Animals that live in people's homes must be well trained." (Noun clause: "Animals
that live in people's homes")

2. "Bags made in Italy are very expensive." (Noun clause: "Bags made in Italy")

3. "People who studied in universities have higher salaries than those who didn't
graduate." (Noun clause: "People who studied in universities")

We use noun clauses to make our writing and speaking more effective. Rather than saying
"There are a lot of people who are afraid of water. Those people don't like to swim," we can
combine these thoughts into a single sentence with a noun clause: "People who are afraid of
water don't like to swim." We can also use a noun clause as the direct object of the action in a
sentence, the way Dave did about drinks. Let's look at a few examples of direct object noun
clauses.

For Example:

1. "I want a dog that can do tricks." (Noun clause: "dog that can do tricks")

2. "He bought a car made in Japan." (Noun clause: "car made in Japan")

3. "We will eat anything that tastes good." (Noun clause: "anything that tastes good")

Noun clauses are a great way to spice up your speaking and writing. Use them to conserve
words and to make your communication more effective and targeted.

Language Tip

Dave talks about his frat-boy past when he says, "Sure was! Delta Tau Chi all the way!" Delta Tau
Chi was the name of his fraternity. Fraternities are usually named with Greek letters, and by
saying "all the way," he means he supports them completely. We can use "all the way" with
anything that we support and are passionate about.

For Example:

1. A:"Are you a baseball fan?"

B:"Oh yeah, Philadelphia Phillies all the way!"

CULTURAL INSIGHT

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What You May Hear over Drinks in the District of Columbia

Sheila and Dave sit in a bar here and gossip about politics. Going out to a happy hour and
talking about politics is a favorite pastime of many people in D.C. Happy hours usually have
cheap drinks and are crowded; a lot of flirting and gossiping is fueled by the alcohol, and
happy hours have a culture that surrounds them.

A favorite criticism of political people is calling someone a "flip-flopper," meaning that the
person changes his views and does not have a firm moral center. A lot of people see "flip-
flopping" as even more negative than simply holding an opposite view. People feel that flip-
floppers are people who lack principles and dignity.

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