Learn how talk about setting up a tent.
This lesson is suitable for intermediate-level learners. After listening, test your knowledge with our quiz.
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Learning notes
Different phrases to use when setting up a tent:
- Let’s pitch this tent.
- Grab the pegs.
- Put up the tarp.
- Set up the tent poles.
- Stake down the corners.
- Make sure it’s level.
Colloquial expressions:
Every now and then is an informal phrase that means sometimes or occasionally.
All the things Allan and Claire get up to is an informal and slightly humorous way of say all the things that they do because to get up to something is to do something that naughty that you should not be doing.
Vocabulary:
Stunning means very beautiful.
To stun someone means to knock them on the head so that they feel light-headed and can’t think normally.
Camping is living or staying in a tent. People who enjoy the outdoors can take camping holidays.
A campground or campsite is a place where people go camping.
To pitch a tent means to put up a tent.
To pitch something means to put or throw something up, as in to pitch a ball.
To pitch an idea means to throw out an idea and try to convince someone that it is a good one.
Gear is an informal way of saying ‘things’, often things that are used for a hobby or a sport.
Pegs, or stakes are the metal pins that you push into the ground to keep a tent in place.
To grab something formally means to pull something towards you quickly, but it is used informally in Australian English simply to mean get something or pass something to you. You hear it all the time. For example, people often say ‘let’s grab a bite to eat!”
To stake down the corners means to put a stake or peg in each corner to keep a tent safe.
To tilt means to fall to one side, to not be level.
A tarp is a big waterproof sheet, usually made of plastic that you can use to cover something that you do not want to get wet.
Level-headed means calm and in control.
Mozzy is an informal word for mosquito.
Mozzy spray is a personal spray to protect people against mosquitoes.
To whack something on is an informal way of saying to put something on quickly.
Learning focus:
Often we want to be polite in a friendly rather than in a formal way. We can do this in English by appearing to ask if someone can do something rather than telling them to do it.
Another way is to use informal words rather than formal words. For example, Josipa gives the example that Allan might say to Claire ‘can you grab the tomato sauce’. He uses the phrase ‘can you’ so that his request looks like a question, but he doesn’t want to know if Claire can get him the tomato sauce, he wants her to actually do it!
He also chooses to use the informal word ‘grab’ instead of the more formal word ‘get’ or ‘pass’. This helps to make his request not only polite, but also friendly.
Here are some other examples you might hear people say:
- Can you grab his name (= please take down his name)
- Can you grab me a sandwich (= please buy me a sandwich)
- Can you grab the phone (= please answer the phone)
Listen out for other examples.
