What Are You Good At?

SANDRA: So … what should we do?

JULIE: Well, I like to do arts and crafts, and I’m really good at drawing. What do you think?

SANDRA: Hmm … how about playing a board game? That would be more fun.

JULIE: OK. Let’s play Scrabble! I’m really good at spelling, too!

SANDRA: Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that!

LANGUAGE NOTES

  •  So … Notice how the “o” sound is drawn out here, combined with the intonation, which shows boredom.

  •  I’m really good at “Really” means “very” and is used to emphasize “good.” It goes before the adjective.

  •  What do you Notice the pronunciation here — it sounds like “Whaddaya.”

  •  Hmm … is used to show that the speaker is thinking. It is also used to show that the speaker disagrees with an idea.

  •  How about is used to make a tentative suggestion. The speaker is introducing an idea and doesn’t want to sound too strong.

  •  Let’s is used to make a strong suggestion. The speaker feels confident about the plan.

  •  Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that! “Oh, yeah?” is used in a joking way to show a bit of friendly competition. Notice the emphasis on “that,” which refers back to “good at spelling.”

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What’s Your Favorite Sport?