Episode Transcript
[00:00:12] Speaker A: Did you know that not everyone celebrates Christmas?
[00:00:18] Speaker B: And did you know that Christmas season generates more than $30 trillion every year?
[00:00:26] Speaker A: Well, today we will talk about this topic. Well, welcome to the Trainin podcast. I'm Johnny.
[00:00:33] Speaker B: And I'm Aline. Today's episode is perfect for that question because we are learning gerunds and infinitives, the structures we use to talk about habits, preferences, decisions and opinions.
[00:00:49] Speaker A: So let's go. Aline. Wow, what a topic. Christmas. And, well, I think our fictional dialogue today, it's going to be a little bit different from the normal conversation from two friends talking about Christmas. So I think this is going to be a bit different for our listeners. Okay, so let us start with our dialogue. Fictional dialogue, Aline.
[00:01:14] Speaker B: Good. Let's do it.
So Christmas is almost here again. Are you planning to do anything? Jenny?
[00:01:22] Speaker A: Not really. I have decided to ignore the whole thing this year. Aline.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: Same. I stopped celebrating Christmas years ago.
[00:01:32] Speaker A: Aline. People always expect you to explain yourself when you say that.
[00:01:37] Speaker B: Yeah, they hate hearing that you're not interested.
[00:01:42] Speaker A: Honestly, I prefer staying at home and doing nothing.
[00:01:47] Speaker B: Me, too. I enjoy resting, reading, and going for long walks.
[00:01:53] Speaker A: Well, I tried traveling during Christmas once.
Big mistake.
[00:01:59] Speaker B: Exactly. I avoid booking trips at this time. It's stressful.
[00:02:05] Speaker A: I don't understand people who feel forced to celebrate same.
[00:02:10] Speaker B: I refuse to spend money just because it's December.
[00:02:14] Speaker A: Well, I think learning to disconnect is healthier. Alim.
[00:02:19] Speaker B: Absolutely. I don't regret skipping Christmas at all.
[00:02:25] Speaker A: All right, so, hey, in this conversation, we had a lot of infinitives and also gerunds. So should we go into the grammar section? Lean.
[00:02:35] Speaker B: Yeah, let's look at what's really happening in that conversation. First of all, let's discuss the gerunds.
What is a gerund? First of all is a verb, and at the end of that verb, we add ing. Okay, so we often use gerunds. After what? After verbs of preference, verbs of habit, verbs that express enjoyment or. Or avoidance.
Let's use some examples from the dialogue to see when we talk about preference, habits, or enjoyment and avoidance.
I stopped celebrating Christmas.
I enjoy resting and reading. I avoid booking trips. Sorry. I don't regret skipping Christmas each time. After stopped, enjoy, a void, and don't regret, we use a verb plus ing a gerund.
Let's talk about the verbs that are common or commonly followed by gerunds. Very often after, enjoy, after, avoid, after, finish, keep, or suggest.
Those verbs are followed by gerunds.
In general, many people avoid shopping in December.
He regrets spending so much money, she enjoys working from home.
What about infinitives? What can you tell us, Johnny?
[00:04:06] Speaker A: All right, well, then here in infinitives, as you know, you got the to plus the verb. Okay, so it's not the bare verb as usually, but it's just to.
So, and we often use infinitives to express decisions, intentions, plans, and opinions.
So some examples from the dialogue. For example, I said I decided to ignore Christmas, so I decided to ignore. That's a decision people expect you to explain yourself.
Or, for example, I refuse to spend money or I prefer to stay at home. All these are opinions. So usually with these opinions or plans, you don't use a gerund, but you use an infinitive, which are common verbs followed by infinitives. Well, you have decide, want, refuse, plan, and expect.
And here are more examples.
For example, companies plan to increase prices.
Another one, many people want to escape the pressure. And here's one more.
I choose to rest instead of celebrating.
But Aline, sometimes the problem with gerunds and infinitives is that they change meaning, right?
So some verbs change meaning depending on what follows. For example, you see here on the slide.
So if you say stop doing, then you finish an activity. But if you say stop to do, then you stop one thing in order to do another thing.
I don't know. Can you give us examples about this, Eline?
[00:06:06] Speaker B: Of course, yeah. Very good. This is a very important explanation because it drives crazy a few people.
Example, I stopped celebrating Christmas. That means I don't celebrate it anymore.
And another example is I stopped to buy a gift.
I paused and then I bought a gift. Oh, I started another action.
[00:06:29] Speaker A: Very good.
[00:06:31] Speaker B: Well, this is why gerunds and infinitives matter so much.
Depending on using, on if we use an infinitive or a gerund, we can change the sentence totally. So it's very important to master.
Well, the idea.
[00:06:48] Speaker A: Very good. Excellent. Fantastic. So that's a great example that you gave with stop is very clear. Okay. Because stop is a verb that tells us an action that we finished.
That's it. No, we don't do it anymore. Or that maybe we stop now, but we continue later. So that makes a difference. Fine.
Okay, so let us go to the question, to the audience, and then how would you say in English, Well, okay.
[00:07:31] Speaker B: And if you're watching on YouTube, please write your answer in the comments.
[00:07:36] Speaker A: That's right. Very good.
So if this episode is helping you, please, please like and subscribe. Okay.
Yeah.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: You know, learning grammar through real conversations Makes everything so interesting.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: Yeah, that's right. And remember, if you want to learn English or you want to improve your English, please visit www.trainer.com. and here you will have super teachers. Also you got fantastic tools that will help you as a campus. You've got also some classes that are recorded, but also you got live classes, group classes from €39. So yeah, you can start learning English with us.
So, Aline, let us go to our cultural discussion.
So earlier we talked about people who do not celebrate Christmas today.
But to really understand that, I think we need to go back in time because a lot of Christmas traditions didn't actually start as Christian traditions. When you talk about the early Christians and things like that.
[00:08:53] Speaker B: Exactly. True. Many people are surprised when they discover that Christmas customs come from much older celebrations.
One of the most important ones was Saturnalia, a Roman festival celebrated in mid December.
[00:09:10] Speaker A: All right, so yeah, Saturnalia was basically a huge party. No, I mean Romans laughed party. So partying was part of the tradition and things. So this Roman feast became the model for many Christmas traditions we know today.
[00:09:27] Speaker B: Yes, things like gift giving, feasting, partying, and even lighting candles were the tradition during Saturnalia. People exchanged gifts, ate large meals together, and filled the streets with celebrations.
[00:09:45] Speaker A: Well, and this is a key detail, know that during Saturnalia, all work, all businesses were suspended. So no jobs, no duties, just celebration.
[00:09:55] Speaker B: Which sounds familiar, right? That idea of stopping work, closing businesses and focusing on family and celebration is still very present at Christmas.
[00:10:05] Speaker A: That's true. It sounds familiar. No, with all this celebration. But for some people today, that this raises the questions, well, if this customs come from a Roman pagan festival, well then why?
Why do people celebrate it?
So let's see, let's see. Then just for example, you said that Christmas lights. No. Can you tell us something about that?
[00:10:27] Speaker B: Let's talk about Christmas lights. Because they also didn't start with Christmas. Europeans decorated their homes with lights and evergreens to celebrate the winter solstice.
[00:10:40] Speaker A: Yeah, okay. Yes. Because this winter solstice is the shortest day of the year when darkness feels strongest. So people use lights to symbolize hope, protection, and the return of longer days.
[00:10:53] Speaker B: And they also believed lights helps combat evil spirits. So when we put lights on our balconies or Christmas trees today, we're repeating a very old tradition.
[00:11:05] Speaker A: So for some people, that's fascinating, but for others, it feels strange to keep traditions whose origin meaning has been forgotten.
So what about, I don't know, the mistletoe?
[00:11:22] Speaker B: Another example? Is this what we see on the picture on the image? Mistletoe and holly. These plants were extremely important in ancient European cultures.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Yeah. For example, the druids believed that mistletoe had magical properties. They use it in rituals connected to health protection and fertility.
[00:11:44] Speaker B: And Holi, because it stays green all year, was seen as a promise that the sun would return after winter.
[00:11:53] Speaker A: So when people kiss under the mistletoe today, for example, which is a traditional, they are continuing a tradition that originally had nothing to do with romance.
[00:12:04] Speaker B: That's one reason why some people feel uncomfortable celebrating it. They prefer to step away from traditions whose origin don't match with their values.
[00:12:14] Speaker A: All right.
Okay. And what about the Christmas tree?
Well, let's talk about the Christmas tree. Today probably is the most iconic symbol of all.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: The tree worship was very common among pagan Europeans, and it didn't completely disappear when they converted to Christianity.
[00:12:32] Speaker A: Okay. One way it survived was through the tradition of placing a yule tree inside homes during midwinter celebrations.
[00:12:40] Speaker B: So the idea of bringing a tree indoors, decorating it, and treating it as a symbol of life during winter existed long before Christmas.
[00:12:50] Speaker A: Yeah. So for many people today, that's just fun tradition. But maybe for others, when they learn history, makes maybe rethink about celebrating all these things. And that's why many people decide maybe not to celebrate it. So that's the question, why some people don't celebrate Christmas today. Aline.
[00:13:09] Speaker B: So when people say, I don't celebrate Christmas, it's often not because they're negative or anti fun.
[00:13:17] Speaker A: Well, sometimes it's just cultural. Not everybody, not all cultures celebrate this.
Sometimes it's just religious. No, I mean, this is something that comes from some Christian religions. So not everybody is Christian. So not all have that belief. And sometimes it's simply a personal choice based on, for example, understanding some of these origins.
[00:13:40] Speaker B: Others see Christmas today as too commercial, disconnected from its original meaning, whatever meaning that might be.
[00:13:48] Speaker A: That's true. And some people just enjoy using the time to rest, travel, disconnect without the pressure of gifts, parties, or expectations.
[00:13:57] Speaker B: Which brings us back to language. Being able to explain why you do or you don't celebrate something in English is incredibly useful.
[00:14:06] Speaker A: Yeah, that's true. So that's why we are using this podcast, because sometimes you have to explain why you do something or not. So that's why this topic fits so well with today's grammar, because we are talking about choices, habits, and preferences. Will you use a gerund? Will you use an infinitive?
[00:14:25] Speaker B: So now we want to hear from you.
[00:14:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Hey, do you celebrate Christmas?
Do you prefer to skip it?
[00:14:33] Speaker B: And more Importantly, can you explain why in English?
[00:14:40] Speaker A: So you're watching on YouTube. Please leave a comment and we will read them. Of course.
So let's go back to the question.
[00:14:51] Speaker B: Yes, let's, let's see what we have to say in Spanish. What was it, Johnny?
You like that sentence?
We say it. I've decided to stop celebrating Christmas. Stop gerund. Stop celebrating Christmas.
[00:15:11] Speaker A: So perfect use of both infinitive and gerund. So fantastic.
So I decided to stop and in this case, stop celebrating Christmas because that's something you have decided to do once and for all.
Good.
[00:15:30] Speaker B: So now it's your turn.
[00:15:33] Speaker A: Fantastic. So let's practice what we have learned today about gerunds and infinitives. So what is, what are we going to leave to our friends?
[00:15:42] Speaker B: Yes, Please write one sentence about the holiday season using a gerund or an infinitive.
[00:15:49] Speaker A: Fantastic.
So if you are listening on the podcast and you want to say something out loud, you can do it. Or if you want to write a comment, please, please do it.
So what have we learned?
[00:16:04] Speaker B: Yeah. Today we've learned very useful concepts. When to use gerunds, when to use infinitives, how meaning changes depending on the structure.
[00:16:17] Speaker A: Yes. And in the next episode, we are going to talk about how to describe where things and people are.
So Visit us in trainln.com to learn English properly step by step.
[00:16:34] Speaker B: Thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.
[00:16:37] Speaker A: Yeah, Lean. Thank you very much. Okay, see you next time, friends. Bye Bye, Sam.
