SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hello and welcome back to your English Five a Day on the English Like a Native Podcast. This is your short daily dip into the English language so that day by day, bit by bit, you are building your English vocabulary, improving your listening skills, and becoming more confident with the English language. My name is Anna, and today is Friday. We are on week eight, day five, of our story following Gabriel. And as it's Friday, that means that I'll bring the whole chapter together and complete it today. This week we've explored Glaswegian expressions, lively personalities, social phrasal verbs, and even the challenge of understanding rapid fire speech with a thick accent. But today Gabriel experiences something uniquely Scottish, a huge cultural event filled with music, colour, and tradition. Now I'll also be jumping into the technical aspect of some of the language that we've seen this week when I head into the language lens towards the end of this episode. And as always, supporting materials are available for you to download over at www.joineelan.com forward slash plus. Now let's begin by revisiting the entire chapter. Here we go. Gabriel was off to Glasgow using a community ride sharing app called LiftShare. You just had to join up, add your journey, and find someone who was making the same trip. The driver sets a suggested contribution and Bob's your uncle. Gabriel waited at the agreed place until a blue Volkswagen golf pulled up, and a man in a grey hoodie called out You must be Gabriel.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

I'm Callum. Hop in. This app is pure handy.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Gabriel frowned at the word pure. He mouthed the expression silently, trying to work out what it meant. Callum laughed, noticing.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

In Glasgow, pure just means very I should know. I'm on my way home there now.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

In the car, Gabriel asked Callum what Glasgow was like. Callum grinned.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Ah, you'll love it. It's a belter of a city. And before you ask, belter means something brilliant, like a belter of a night means uh a great night out.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Just then, as they were joining the M8 motorway, another car cut in sharply. Callum shook his head.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

Oh, can he need do that, pal?

SPEAKER_00 3:07

He muttered. Despite the dangerous driving, Gabriel couldn't help bursting into laughter. He apologized quickly and told Callum that he was finding it very difficult to understand him. Callum calmly explained that this one just means please don't do that. But with a bit more feeling. They swapped stories about their lives until Gabriel spotted a few dark clouds moving ominously ahead. He commented that it looked like rain.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Aye, welcome to Glasgow, Callum replied. But Ganino greet about that. We don't mind the rain, so no need to start moaning.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

As they went further into the city, they passed a group of men in football shirts, talking loudly outside a pub.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

They'll be steaming already, observed Callum.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

He quickly reassured Gabriel that Glasgow's got a different character, so even if someone sounds or looks rough, they're probably still friendly. Gabriel would find out just how friendly people could be later in the week. Gabriel had checked into his hostel smoothly and spent his first day sightseeing. He went to the Riverside Transport Museum to see vintage vehicles. Then he visited Glasgow Cathedral and the Glasgow necropolis. The latter is a beautiful Victorian garden cemetery with great views. The next day though, it started raining. Well, chucking it down actually. But as Callum had said, gunnay no greet about it. Gabriel had got a few tips about what to do when, not if, it rained, from Callum. So now he was going to a pub in the West End for a French conversation meetup. This time the chat was supposed to be based around a French film called Yannick. Gabriel knew the film as he'd gone to see it in Lyon with Sophie. Inside the pub, the atmosphere was lively. The room buzzed with the boisterous energy of people getting together over a few drinks. Callum was already there, and he beckoned Gabriel over, giving him a cheeky grin as he asked, Will you have a pint of tenants to begin with, Gabe?

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Or just a half.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Gabriel took his glass with a large red capital letter T printed on it over to a table. He quickly noticed how good humoured everyone seemed, and he felt immediately at ease. Callum leaned over to him, saying that everyone there was straight talking and full on, and that they would tell him what they thought without pulling any punches. Gabriel was over the moon to join in with the French conversation. Of course, he also joined in when they switched to English. A second pint of tenants helped him with that. It seemed to him that if he lived here, then he would have very good friends. One of the group, a woman around his age called Isla, invited him to a music festival later in the week. When Callum heard this, he gave Gabriel another cheeky grin. And Gabriel didn't know where to look. Gabriel met up with Ayla, the girl from the French Conversation Club, outside King Tut's Wawa Hut. This is an intimate and hugely popular live music venue in Glasgow. Despite the continuing rain, the place was buzzing outside. Isla said, grinning. Gabriel agreed, remembering how Glaswegians used the word pure. They broke away from the crowd outside and went into the club, which was also packed.

SPEAKER_01 7:27

You gonna buy me a drink, man, Gabe?

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Isla winked. He supposed that she had bought the tickets, so it would be the least he could do. He squeezed his way to the bar, where he was amazed to find Callum working. Callum told him that one of the perks of his job was that he got free tickets from time to time, and so he'd let Isla have a couple.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

I noticed her chatting up in the pub, and I thought I'd give you a chance to get to know each other better.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

He winked. Gabriel had learned what chat up meant during his course on British idioms. He didn't have time to respond, though, as Callum was busy serving the next thirsty customer. He brought Isla her drink and they went to watch the first band. To be honest, they weren't exactly Gabriel's cup of tea, and it showed on his face. After their short set, Isla told him not to worry.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

We should stick around, she said. It'll get better.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

Gabriel told Isla that he had bumped into Callum at the bar. Aye, she replied, and started speaking to him in French for a while, before she switched back to her own language, and asked him if he'd like to go for a wee walk. He felt that he had really hit it off with Isla, but he wasn't exactly sure what this walk might lead to. The rain outside King Tut's wawa hut had got even heavier. So in the end, going for a walk had been completely out of the question. Isla was right when she said that they should stick around. The groups on stage had got better, and so Gabriel had had a lot of fun. It was quite intoxicating too, to be speaking a sort of secret language to Isla, which no one else could understand. In order to escape from the rain today, he was at Glasgow Central Library. He admired the beautiful arched windows and the timeless elegance of the main reading room. What a setting for him to work on his blog. Thanks to his regular updates, Gabriel's friends and family had been able to read about his experiences and see his photos and videos. Back in Gabriel's home city of Lyon, his language partner Sophie was one of the followers of his blog. It was raining in Lyon as well, so she checked to see if Gabriel had written anything since he got to Glasgow. Glaswegian speech is something else. It's fast, sometimes rapid fire, and if you don't listen carefully, you might miss half of it. Words get mumbled together or slurred when people are talking quickly, and the accent is thick, really thick. Sometimes I hear someone blurt out whole stories before I've even had time to process the first word. So far I've been best able to understand a woman called Isla, who I met in a pub and who took me to a concert. But maybe that's because we speak French together sometimes. Sophie raised her eyebrows. A woman called Isla in a pub, speaking French together. She paraphrased slowly. It was lucky that Gabe wasn't there in front of her, as she might have blurted out something herself. She looked through the list of emojis, wondering which one she should send as a comment. The rain finally almost stopped on Saturday morning. Gabriel grabbed the chance to get outside and went to Glasgow Green, eager to see the main day of the World Pipe Band Championships. The park was wide but still packed with colourful tents, food stalls and excited spectators. Through the spitting rain, the energy of the event was impossible to ignore. Bands from across Scotland, as well as a few from abroad, were setting up. There were kilted pipers everywhere. Drattled, bagpipes droned, and the air vibrated with the anticipation of the competition. Gabriel walked along the edge of the field, taking in a sight that he had never seen before. He watched bands marching across the field and playing in different formations. Their sound was just like the conversation in the pub. Pretty full on. Gabriel felt the drums pounding through his chest, and his ears were filled with the rich harmonics of the bagpipes. He could see the dedication and feel the tradition. The variety of tartans and presentation styles was dazzling. It was a powerful display of Scottish culture. He spent a while people watching too, as the spectators chatted amongst themselves or cheered for their favourite bands. Between the performances, he wandered among the tents, sampling local foods, admiring crafts, and even chatting with the members of a pipe band from Brittany, who would be among the prize winners later in the day. Gabriel himself was about to swap the busy city full of sound for the peace of the open country. He was heading to the highlands. He made sure to buy a spare pair of walking boots after his mishap in the Peak District. He hoped for clear skies and fair weather to be able to experience the full splendour of the mountains, locks, and isles that he had heard so much about. And speaking of Isles, Isla was coming too. Well, she had suggested that they go for a walk, after all. Fantastic, that wraps up chapter eight. And now it's time for us to get technical as we look through our language lens. When we tell a story, we often use reported speech to explain what someone said earlier rather than repeat their exact words. We report what was said with the help of reporting verbs such as said, told, asked, explained, or wondered. The original words were spoken in one moment and we report them later. As a result, some tenses, pronouns, and time or place expressions change because we are looking back in time. Let's focus now on the various categories of reported speech that we heard in Glasgow. The first present simple to past simple. When the original sentence is in the present simple, it usually changes to the past simple in reported speech. Here's an example. In reported speech, Gabriel asked Callum what Glasgow was like. The question in direct speech would be what is Glasgow like? So to change that question from direct speech into reported speech is changes to was. The order of the words also changes as in reported speech a question becomes a statement. All right, second, let's look at present continuous to past continuous. Ongoing actions described in the present continuous usually move one step back in the past continuous. Here's an example. In reported speech, Gabriel apologized quickly and told Callum that he was finding it very difficult to understand him. Now in direct speech, Gabriel would have said, I am finding it very difficult to understand you. So again, is changes to was, the gerund doesn't change. Third, let's look at past simple to past perfect. If we report the past simple, the step back that we take is to change to the past perfect. We do this when the original action happened before the moment of reporting. Recall that Gabriel told Ayla he had bumped into Callum at the bar. The direct speech from Gabriel here is, I bumped into Callum at the bar. Gabriel bumps into Callum. He tells Ayla that he bumped into Callum. And the narrator reports that Gabriel had bumped into Callum. Are you still with me? Remember, all of this is written down in your language lens PDF that you can download for free over on the website. The link's in the description. But let's carry on. Number four, or rather fourth, let's look at will to would. We can even report future forms. In the pub, Callum leaned over to Gabriel saying that everyone there was straight talking and full on, and that they would tell him what they thought. The direct comment of Callum would be everyone here is straight talking and full on, and they will tell you what they think. Will in direct speech changes to would in reported speech. Okay. We're going to look at point five and six together. We're looking at changes in pronouns and location reference. Now the sentence in the previous part, part four, is particularly rich in reported speech features. Apart from the changes in verb and verb tense, there is also a change of pronoun and a change of reference to location. From the direct speech, you and here change to him and there in reported speech. Listen again. Everyone here is straight talking and full on, and they will tell you what they think. Callum said that everyone there was straight talking and full on, and that they would tell him what they thought. Okay. Number seven, yes and no questions. If the answer to a question can be yes or no, we call it a yes no question. These are reported using if or whether. Again, the word order changes to that of a statement. At the concert, we can easily imagine Isla saying to Gabriel, would you like to go for a wee walk? In the reported speech of the narrator, we have she asked him if he'd like to go for a wee walk. Okay, last let's look at modal verbs. You might have noticed that the modal verb would didn't change in the previous example. That's because some modal verbs do not change in reported speech. Common examples include should, could, might, and would, as in Isla was right when she said that they should stick around. Isla said we should stick around. Here only the pronoun changes. Reported speech helps stories sound more natural and fluent, especially when we are describing conversations, memories, or experiences. So now it's your turn. Listen again or read the story and write three or four sentences reporting what someone said, asked or thought during a time that you were together. Try to include at least one example of each of the following: a present to past tense change, a past simple to past perfect change, a yes-no question reported using if, a modal verb that does not change. Now this task will help you to practice turning direct speech into reported speech naturally, just like in Gabriel's Glasgow Adventure. Thank you for joining me in week eight. I hope that you'll come back for a Highland adventure next week. Until then, take care and goodbye.