English Listening: My Library Books are Always Late | Episode 10
[smart_track_player url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/englishteachermelanie/010_My_Library_Books_are_Always_Late.mp3″ title=”MY LIBRARY BOOKS ARE ALWAYS LATE” artist=”ENGLISH TEACHER MELANIE” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” social_pinterest=”true” social_email=”true” ]
Listen to a story about how I can never remember to return my library books on time!
You’ll also learn how to say the reduced form of the preposition ” to.”
Welcome to the English Teacher Melanie Podcast, a podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their English listening and speaking skills!
Each episode includes a story and a pronunciation tip. In the story, I use core vocabulary, the most common words in English, to tell you a story about something that happened in my daily life in Canada. The pronunciation tip will help you understand natural spoken English.
You’ll hear the story twice. The first time, the story is a little slower than normal. It sounds funny because I used editing software to change the speed of the story and make it slower. After the pronunciation tip, you’ll hear the story again, but at a regular speed.
THE STORY
I can never remember to return my library books on time. It’s a terrible habit. I’m surprised my local public library hasn’t cut me off yet! The library lets people borrow books for three weeks at a time. However, I can go to the library’s website and renew the books for another 3-week period, and then another after that. Yet, I can never remember to renew or return any borrowed books on time, and I always end up paying late charges.
I like to read anything and everything: fiction, biographies, history books, books about politics…you name it! Brand new books in Canada are expensive. There’s nothing worse than spending $20-$30 on a new hardcover book, only to find out the book is awful and a waste of my money! It makes more sense to take out books from the library instead since it’s free! If I like the book and I think I’ll read it again, then I’ll buy it.
I also don’t have much room for any more new books. I have two large bookcases that are full. Every once in a while I clean them out and take the books I don’t want anymore to the second–hand bookstore. If the store can resell the books, the manager will pay me cash for the books or give me credit to buy books at the store. Any books that the store doesn’t want, I donate to a local thrift store.
The local public library has a very impressive collection of books! It always seems to have whatever I’m looking for, no matter how obscure the book is! If the book I’m looking for is already checked out, I can request the next available copy and the library will notify me as soon as it becomes available. Since the library offers so many services for free, the least I could do is return my books on time!
PRONUNCIATION TIP
Listen carefully to some sentences from the story:
I can never remember to return my library books on time.
I like to read anything and everything…
It makes more sense to take out books from the library…
Did you hear the word to in those sentences?
The preposition to is a function word. It’s a grammar word. The sentence would not be grammatically correct without to, but it’s not an important word. Within a sentence, function words are unstressed. The vowel sound changes to the unstressed vowel sound /ə/.
When the preposition to is before a consonant sound, it’s pronounced /tə/.
Listen again:
I didn’t say “I like to read” I said “I like /tə/ read”
I didn’t say “to take out books” I said “/tə/ take out books”
Can you hear the difference?
Listen to some sentences from the story again:
I can never remember to return my library books on time.
I like to read anything and everything…
It makes more sense to take out books from the library…
Before a vowel sound, to is usually fully pronounced:
…I donate to a local thrift store.
Listen to the story again. Can you hear more examples of the reduced form of to?
QUESTIONS
- What kinds of books do you like to read?
- Do you prefer to buy new books or borrow books from the library?
Leave me a comment below!
Comments
Hi Melanie! Thanks you for sharing this material!!
My question is the following:
is the following sentence right?
I like to read anything and everything:…
because I read that after like the verbs must go with -ING.
Thanks you!
Pablo.
Hi, Pablo!
Good question! Like can be followed by BOTH an infinitive AND a gerund:
“I like to read anything & everything.”
“I like reading anything & everything.”