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Learning notes
Lesson language objective
Talking about plans for the future
Different ways to talk about arrangements and plans
- What are you doing for Lunar New Year?
- We are organising a big family lunch.
- She'll be making dumplings
For fixed plans in the near future we use present continuous tense, which is formed with the present tense forms of be and the present participle -ing form of the verb. For example, I am singing, you are swimming, she is dancing.
- I’ll bring dumplings.
- We won’t be at my mum’s place.
When speaking we tend to use short version of will and will not because it is less formal and forceful.
- We are going to learn some new expressions.
- I’m gonna play all night long.
We can also use the form be going to when we are talking about our plans and intentions.
Colloquial expressions:
No time to lose - short on time and must take action immediately.
Cultural information:
Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, is widely celebrated by Asian Australians. 2022 represents the Year of the Tiger, an animal that symbolises strength, power, authority and courage. On Lunar New Year Day, families traditionally gather for lunch, often wearing red which is considered a colour that brings luck and prosperity. Children receive red envelopes which contain ‘lucky’ money.
Vocabulary:
Arrangements - a plan or preparation for future events
Prediction – what you think will happen in the future
Commitment - a promise to do something
Legend - a traditional story
Source: Getty Images
Transcript
(Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript)
Hello! Welcome to the SBS Learn English podcast, in which we help Australians to speak, understand and connect.
My name is Josipa and like you I’m learning the English language. My guest today is Winmas Yu from SBS Cantonese who’ll tell us the legend about giving red envelopes to children during Lunar New Year.
Hi Winmas, thanks for joining us.
Winmas:
Hi Josipa, the red envelope custom comes from some of the oldest stories of Lunar New Year. We are talking about ancient times, and I can’t wait to share the legend with your listeners.
Hi Josipa, the red envelope custom comes from some of the oldest stories of Lunar New Year. We are talking about ancient times, and I can’t wait to share the legend with your listeners.
Josipa:
Thanks for that, sounds exciting. We’ll come back to you a little bit later, because first we are going to learn how to talk about future plans.
Thanks for that, sounds exciting. We’ll come back to you a little bit later, because first we are going to learn how to talk about future plans.
You might have learned to use ‘will’ to talk about the future.
For example: I will describe how to talk about future plans. You will definitely enjoy this episode.
But there are many other ways to talk about the future and it can be confusing to know which one to use. In this episode we’ll explain why you might choose one phrase instead of another.
To help us understand have a listen to this conversation between Winmas and Janine. They are talking about their plans for Lunar New Year.
Winmas:
Janine, what are you doing for Lunar New Year? Anything exciting?
Janine, what are you doing for Lunar New Year? Anything exciting?
Janine:
Oh, we’re organising a big family lunch. How about you?
Oh, we’re organising a big family lunch. How about you?
Winmas:
I haven’t got anything organised yet but we normally all have dinner at my mum’s on New Year’s Eve. I need to organise what food to bring. Is your family handing out ‘lai see’?
Janine:
Of course! Although we call ‘lai see’, red packets or envelopes. Everyone’s bringing red envelopes for the children. The kids are gonna be so excited to get them.
Winmas:
Cool. I think I’ll make my famous hand-made dumplings for my family dinner.
Janine:
Sounds delicious! I won’t have to; my sister is making them this year. I’m guessing you’ll also be taking your erhu? You are so good at playing that instrument!
Winmas:
Of course! I’m gonna play all night long.
A lot is going on in this simple dialogue, but that’s ok, let’s go through it step by step.
When Winmas made a commitment to bring food he said,
I’ll make my famous hand-made dumplings for my family dinner.
I’ll make. Like we said earlier, you might have already learnt to say ‘I will’ when talking about future plans. This is common when making a commitment or promise. However, notice that he said ‘I’ll make’ not ‘I will make’.
Winmas used the short form of ‘will’ which is common when we are speaking rather than writing. For example:
- I’ll bring dumplings.
- She’ll cook fried noodles.
- I’ll arrive before 11 o’clock.
The full form, 'I will' sounds formal and sometimes a little forceful. It is often used in arguments or to contradict someone. So, use the short form when making a commitment or promise.
And like we promised, there are also other ways to talk about future plans. Remember what Janine said when describing what she was doing for Lunar New Year?
We’re organising a big family lunch.
So, ‘Will organise’ became ‘We are organising’ or ‘We’re organising’. That’s the short form again!
Got it yet? Don’t worry, let’s listen to some more examples. Winmas said,
Is your family handing out lai see?
Handing out lai see. Instead of saying “Will your family hand out lai see”, you can say “Is your family handing out lai see?”
Everyone’s bringing red packets for the children
Everyone’s bringing red packets. Instead of saying 'Everyone will bring red packets', you can say 'Everyone’s bringing red packets'.
Do you remember if Janine is making dumplings this year? She said,
I won’t have to; my sister is making them this year.
I won’t. Won’t is a short form of will not.
I won’t and I will not mean the same thing, and yes, you guessed it, when speaking we normally use the shorter version, unless we are being forceful, and in that case, we would say ‘I will not’.
Let’s learn one more way to talk about the future. Winmas, who is very good at playing a traditional Chinese instrument, said,
I’m gonna play all night long.
‘Gonna’ is a short way to say ‘Going to’. We also use ‘gonna’ when talking about future plans or commitments. For example: 'I’m gonna listen to SBS Learn English every week!'
But, we can also use 'going to' or ‘gonna’ when we make predictions or guesses about the future.
For example, after looking in the dark cloudy sky, you could say: 'I think it's going to rain.'
Or I might say 'I think you’re gonna be more confident talking about the future after listening to this episode!'
We’ve just explained 3 different ways to talk about future plans. We could continue for hours and still not cover all the different ways we could talk about the future.
But let’s leave that for some other episode. We have no time to lose.
If you have no time to lose, it means that you are short on time and must take action immediately.
I’ll take immediate action by asking Winmas a question.
So, Winmas, do you know what fortunes can we expect in the Year of the Tiger?
Winmas:
We spoke with James Zheng, a Feng Shui master about the coming year. He says that during the Year of a Tiger the pandemic won’t be as serious as the previous year, and he predicts that the pandemic will completely disappear over the next two years.
We spoke with James Zheng, a Feng Shui master about the coming year. He says that during the Year of a Tiger the pandemic won’t be as serious as the previous year, and he predicts that the pandemic will completely disappear over the next two years.
Josipa:
Let’s hope his predictions are gonna come true. Did he say anything else interesting?
Let’s hope his predictions are gonna come true. Did he say anything else interesting?
Winmas:
Well, according to Master Zheng, this year traditional business models won’t be very successful. He also says that for stock and foreign exchange trades there’ll be big ups and downs in the Chinese calendar months of July and November.
Well, according to Master Zheng, this year traditional business models won’t be very successful. He also says that for stock and foreign exchange trades there’ll be big ups and downs in the Chinese calendar months of July and November.
Josipa:
Talking about money, what’s the idea behind giving the red envelopes at Lunar New Year?
Talking about money, what’s the idea behind giving the red envelopes at Lunar New Year?
Winmas:
Red envelopes we call hong bao in Mandarin or lai see in Cantonese. We put money in them, and we give them to children. But actually, the real importance of these red envelopes is not money but the red paper, because red symbolises energy, happiness and good luck in Chinese culture.
Josipa:
That’s a very cool tradition. How did it start?
That’s a very cool tradition. How did it start?
Winmas:
According to the legend, there was a demon called Sui who was scaring children while they were sleeping. So parents, to keep their children safe, would allow them to stay awake for the whole night of Lunar New Year’s Eve. And on one year, one child was given eight coins to play with to keep him awake. And he played with his coins by wrapping and unwrapping them in the red paper. When this child finally got tired and fell asleep, his parents placed his red envelope with eight coins under his pillow. And when the demon Sui came into his room and tried to touch his head, coins from the envelope gave a strong light that scared the devil away. The coins turned out to be fairies and from then on, giving money in the red envelopes became a way to keep children safe and bring good luck.
Josipa:
That’s such a cute story. From your conversation with Janine, I also concluded that you sing and play an instrument called erhu. What kind of instrument is that?
That’s such a cute story. From your conversation with Janine, I also concluded that you sing and play an instrument called erhu. What kind of instrument is that?
Winmas:
An erhu is a traditional Chinese instrument with two strings. It is also known as the Chinese violin in the Western world. And the song we play is called Gōng xǐ gong xǐ. The title means "Greetings, greetings” in English. It's very popular so you can hear it everywhere in public places like supermarkets at this time of the year.
Josipa:
Thank you so much for your time. I learned a lot.
Thank you so much for your time. I learned a lot.
Winmas:
It’s been a pleasure.
Xin gửi lời cảm ơn sâu sắc đến chuyên gia tư vấn giáo dục của chúng tôi, Giáo sư Lynda Yates, các khách mời Winamas và Janine.
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