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Lesson 24 / Friends
5 phrases · 12 minutes · Look, listen and try.
Inquire, receive news and meet long-time friends.
Match words to pictures →Play What is She/He doing? →
A randomly assigned, fixed male or female synthetic voice for each phrase or sentence · Slow playback at 0.7× preserves pitch.
I bumped into an old classmate at the market.
I bumped into an old classmate at the market.
Do you ever bump into your neighbours in town?
Do you ever bump into your neighbours in town?
In the lesson, it was a chance encounter, not a physical collision. “Come across” can also be used with this close meaning.
Cambridge Dictionary · bump into
Your teacher asked after you this morning.
Your teacher asked after you this morning.
Please ask after his mother when you call.
Please ask after his mother when you call.
Used when asking someone how a third person is doing; This expression is more common in British English.
Cambridge Dictionary · ask after
I have not heard from Nam for a few weeks.
I have not heard from Nam for a few weeks.
It was lovely to hear from you again.
It was lovely to hear from you again.
It can be receiving messages, letters or calls, not necessarily just hearing voices.
We went to the airport to see him off.
We went to the airport to see him off.
Can you come to the station and see me off?
Can you come to the station and see me off?
You arrive at the departure point to say goodbye to the person who is leaving. Middle pronoun: “see him off”.
We called on an old friend while we were in Hue.
We called on an old friend while we were in Hue.
I will call on my uncle this weekend.
I will call on my uncle this weekend.
Here is a direct visit; don't have to call anyone.
The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 16, 7, 62, 112, 19. A2–B1 is the course’s intended level.
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Sentences using suggestions are counted as needing more practice. Review schedule based on each phrase's meaning.
OBSERVE · UNDERSTAND · MATCH
Drag a wire from the dot beside a phrase to the dot beside its matching picture. You can also tap a phrase, then a picture. Drag again to change a pair before checking.
Read the picture descriptions for more context. Similar expressions are accepted when they fit the particular scene.
Minh suddenly met his old friend at a market.
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Minh asks you about a relative who is not present.
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Minh received a text message from a friend he had not contacted for a long time.
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Minh waved his hand to see off his friend carrying a suitcase at the airport.
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Minh visited a friend at the apartment door.
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Choose a phrase to begin.
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Read the conversation and find the expressions you have learned.
I bumped into our old neighbour yesterday.
I bumped into our old neighbour yesterday.
Did she ask after your parents?
Did she ask after your parents?
Yes. I said I had heard from them that morning.
Yes. I said I had heard from them that morning.
“Bump into” describes meeting unexpectedly; “ask after” means enquire about someone, often through another person. You need not meet the person you ask after.
Try answering before revealing the suggested answer. This practice is not scored.
The answers below are models. Other answers can also work if they preserve the facts, meaning and structure requested in the task.
You unexpectedly meet a former teammate. She wants news of your brother, who is not present.
Describe the meeting using bump into.
I bumped into my former teammate.
The teammate meeting was unplanned, so use “bumped into”, with past-tense “bumped”.
Complete: She asked ___ my brother.
after
“Asked after my brother” asks about the absent brother’s well-being; “after” is required.
Write a message telling your brother about it.
I bumped into my former teammate, and she asked after you.
In the message to the brother, “you” is the person asked about; “bumped into” still describes the actual meeting.
The usage comparisons are checked against the Cambridge Dictionary entries linked beside the compared expressions. The additional conversations and exercises are written for this course.
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