Aula de conversação · B2 · individual

The Comma That Changes Everything

Aula de fala sobre relative clauses. A regra está na apostila separada. Aqui você só usa.

1. Define it

2. Say it two ways

3. What do you actually mean?

4. React with which

5. O seu mundo profissional

6. Guess who

Parte 1

Define it

Speaking Define these without using the word itself. Start with A person who... / A place where... / A situation in which...

a mentor
a deadline
burnout
a stakeholder
a headhunter
imposter syndrome
micromanagement
networking

Model

A mentor is someone who guides you in your career, usually a person who has already been through the path you are on now.

Burnout is the state you reach when you have worked under pressure for so long that you stop being able to function.

Now reverse it I define, you guess. Then you define three words from your own field and I guess.

Parte 2

Say it two ways

Correto, mas soa formal The colleague with whom I work.

Contrato, e-mail muito formal.

O que se fala de verdade The colleague I work with.

É assim que sai numa reunião.

Speaking Say each one twice, first with the pronoun and then without it. Choose the version you actually want to sound like.
A palavra entre parênteses é o pronome que dá para tirar. Diga a frase com ela, depois sem ela.

The email (that) I sent this morning.
The person (who) I mentioned yesterday.
The meeting (that) we had on Monday.
The client (who) we lost last quarter.
The decision (that) she made in March.

Now yours Say five things about your week using this pattern. Drop the pronoun every time.

Model

The presentation I gave on Tuesday went better than I expected. The client we met last week wants a second call. The report I have to finish by Friday is still half empty.

Parte 3

What do you actually mean?

Mesmas palavras, mesma ordem. A pausa muda o que a outra pessoa entende.

Sem pausa The employees who work remotely get a stipend.

Só os remotos recebem.

Com pausa The employees, who work remotely, get a stipend.

Todo mundo é remoto e todo mundo recebe.

Speaking Read A out loud with no pause. Then read B, stopping for one full second at each highlighted comma. Then tell me: who exactly is included in A, and who is included in B?

Par 1

AThe students who failed the exam have to take it again.

BThe students, who failed the exam, have to take it again.

Par 2

AMy colleagues who speak English joined the call.

BMy colleagues, who speak English, joined the call.

Par 3

AThe files that were corrupted have been deleted.

BThe files, which were corrupted, have been deleted.

Par 4

AThe candidates who arrived on time were interviewed.

BThe candidates, who arrived on time, were interviewed.

Ver respostas

A: só uma parte da turma reprovou, e só essa parte refaz.
B: a turma inteira reprovou, e a turma inteira refaz.
A: alguns colegas falam inglês, e foram esses que entraram na call.
B: todos os seus colegas falam inglês, e todos entraram.
A: só os arquivos corrompidos foram apagados.
B: todos os arquivos estavam corrompidos e todos foram apagados.
Repare que o B trocou that por which. Com vírgula, that é proibido.
A: só quem chegou no horário foi entrevistado.
B: todos chegaram no horário e todos foram entrevistados.

Discussion Which version would you want to say if you were the manager reporting each of these? The choice is not grammar, it is what you mean.

Parte 4

React with which

Useful patterns

..., which surprised absolutely everyone.
..., which meant I had the whole afternoon free.
..., which is why nobody asks him anything anymore.
..., which made the whole thing impossible.

Speaking Finish each one about your real life, and add a real reaction after the comma.

Last month my company...
My manager once...
This year I decided...
Last week a client...
When I started this job...

Model

Last month my company moved everyone back to the office three days a week, which caused a small rebellion in my team.

This year I decided to study English in the morning instead of at night, which is why I actually show up now.

Parte 5

O seu mundo profissional

Tell me about the person who taught you the most at work.
Describe the place where you feel most productive, and why.
Tell me about a project that did not go the way you expected.
Who is the colleague you go to when something goes wrong?
What is one thing your company does that you would change tomorrow?
Describe a decision you made that changed your career.

Agora com informação extra Describe your manager, your team and your company again, this time putting extra information in the middle, between two pauses.

Model

My manager, who has been with the company for twelve years, knows absolutely everyone. Our team, which used to have four people, now has nine. The company, which started as a family business in Feira de Santana, has offices in three states now.

Parte 6

Guess who

Choose one person. Describe them until I guess. No pointing, no names.

Useful openings

I'm thinking of the person who...
It's the one whose...
She's the one sitting next to the man who...
He's the person I mentioned earlier, the one who...

Real version Now describe three real people from your workplace without saying their names or job titles. I have to guess what each one does.

Comunidade

Poste no grupo

Escreva duas frases sobre a sua empresa, uma com pausa e uma sem, e explique em português o que muda entre elas.

#TrilhaRelatives

The colleagues who work in my department are all women. My colleagues, who work in my department, are all women.

Homework

Para a próxima aula

Grave 90 segundos apresentando a sua equipe. Faça pausa de verdade onde entra informação extra.
Grave cinco frases terminando em which, sobre coisas que aconteceram no seu trabalho este mês.
Pegue um e-mail que você mandou em inglês nas últimas semanas e junte duas frases curtas numa só.

Créditos

Fotos: Unsplash (licença livre para uso comercial, atribuição não obrigatória). Adeolu Eletu e Annie Spratt.