Coffee Break English, season 3, episode 3.
Hello and welcome back to Coffee Break English, season 3.
My name's Josie. And I'm Mark.
And we're delighted to be back with you today for another episode of our podcast.
Josie, what are we talking about today?
Well, today we are back in the USA and we're talking about Elvis.
A very, very famous singer from the USA.
OK, so we're going to hear from Kate, who's going to be telling us about Elvis.
But Josie, is there something we should be listening out for?
Yes. So today's language point is when to use the infinitive.
And when to use the gerund after certain verbs.
OK, let's have a listen to the text.
Hi, everyone, I'm Kate.
And today we're talking about a very famous American, the one and only Elvis Presley.
Elvis Aaron Presley, known simply as Elvis, was one of the true icons of the 20th century.
Often called the king of rock and roll, he had 18 number one hits in the USA and was known all over the world for the groundbreaking style and cultural influence of his music.
Elvis was born on January 8th, 1935, in Mississippi.
From a young age, he loved singing and playing music.
He sang in school talent shows and learned to play guitar with his uncles.
However, he said he was very shy and he really didn't enjoy singing in public.
When he was 12, he was invited to perform on a local radio show by the host's younger brother, who was one of his classmates.
Elvis overcame his stage fright to perform live on radio for the first time.
After his first radio performance, Elvis's family moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
Elvis still wanted to have a career in music and he tried to break into the industry.
After two unsuccessful recording sessions at a local studio, he decided to try one more time.
They continued playing late into the night and the producer was losing hope when Elvis picked up a guitar and started freestyling a cover of Arthur Crudup's That's All Right.
His backing musicians joined in and they produced a recording.
The track was so popular that it played on a loop on the radio the next day.
Elvis quickly became famous after That's All Right, performing live shows in Tennessee and eventually appearing on national television.
His name was known everywhere and he had forgotten his stage fright and now loved performing.
Later in his career, Elvis was drafted into military service and after his return, he started to act in films.
He starred in lots of major movies before returning to music.
Elvis died tragically of a sudden heart attack in 1977, aged just 42.
However, his legacy lives on and his music will certainly be remembered for many years to come.
Thank you, Kate. So, Mark, are you an Elvis fan?
I'm not a huge fan of Elvis's style of singing, but I do think some of his music is very good.
Definitely. I agree with that.
Let's have a look at the text.
Elvis Aaron Presley, known simply as Elvis, was one of the true icons of the 20th century.
Yes. So his full name was Elvis Aaron Presley.
But he was known simply as Elvis.
So simply is the adverb related to the adjective simple, and it means that this was the simple version of his name.
And he was one of the true icons of the 20th century.
We've talked about this word before, but what is an icon, Mark?
It's a symbol, someone or something very recognizable.
Exactly. Yes. Let's continue.
Often called the king of rock and roll, he had 18 number one hits in the USA and was known all over the world for the groundbreaking style and cultural influence of his music.
Yes. So he had 18 number one hits.
First of all, what is a hit, Mark?
A hit is a popular song.
Exactly. Yes. So his songs were number one hits.
So that means they went to number one in the music charts, the music rankings of the most popular music.
And what about the word groundbreaking?
He was known all over the world for his groundbreaking style.
Yes. So groundbreaking means revolutionary.
It means something that is different to what has come before.
If you think about the way the word is made, we have ground and breaking.
It's like it's literally breaking the ground because it's so different and it's so new.
Good. Elvis was born on January the 8th, 1935 in Mississippi.
From a young age, he loved singing and playing music.
He sang in school talent shows and learned to play the guitar with his uncles.
Yes. So from a young age, from when he was young, he loved singing and playing music.
Here we have our first example of a verb which is followed by the gerund form.
Remember, the gerund is a verb plus I -N -G.
So singing and playing are gerunds.
And after the verb love, we usually use the gerund form.
So he loved singing and playing music.
Could we say here he loved to sing and to play music?
We could. We could.
This is where the rules get a little bit unclear.
Usually in the UK, we say love singing.
But in other parts of the world, we can say he loved to sing.
It's less common, but you can hear it.
Yes. Okay. And he sang in school talent shows.
What's a talent show, Josie?
Yeah. So a talent show is a time at school when some children perform and they show their talents, their things that they can do.
So when you were at school, Mark, did you perform in the school talent show?
I did. I played the piano in the school talent show many times.
Oh, well, I know you're very good at playing the piano.
So I'm sure that was that was a good performance.
And did you perform in the school talent show?
I did. I used to dance a lot in the school talent shows, but I'm not a good dancer.
So I don't want to think about that anymore.
Okay. The talent shows are like American Idol and The X Factor.
These are also talent shows.
So they don't always happen in a school.
That's right. Exactly.
So he learned to play the guitar with his uncles.
Here we've got learned to play.
Yes. So learn is a verb which we always follow with the infinitive form.
So remember, the infinitive of a verb is to and then the verb.
So to play, to sing, to do, to go.
So when we use the verb learned, the next verb must be the infinitive.
So learned to play.
Okay. Now, Jose, can we also see learned?
Here we have learned with a T at the end.
But is there also a word learned with E .D.
at the end? Yes, there is.
This is a verb which is used to be irregular.
We used to say learned always.
But this verb is changing.
So now we can also say learned.
This is the same for, well, the verb dream.
We can say in the past, dreamt or dreamed.
Okay, let's continue on.
However, he said he was very shy and he didn't enjoy singing in public.
Yes, he said he was very shy.
Shy is the opposite of confident is like timid.
Now, the text says he really didn't enjoy singing.
So here we've got didn't enjoy and then a gerund form singing.
What's happening here?
That's right. So enjoy is a verb where we always have to use the gerund.
After it, we can't say he didn't enjoy to sing.
It just doesn't work.
So he didn't enjoy singing.
When he was 12, he was invited to perform on a local radio show by the host's younger brother, who was one of his classmates.
Yes, so here he was invited to perform.
We always invite someone to do something using the infinitive after the verb invite.
Unfortunately, there isn't really a rule to remember that, but the best way to learn is just to keep listening and keep noticing which verbs we use, the infinitive and the gerund after.
And that's what we are here for with Coffee Break English.
So he was invited to perform on the local radio show.
He overcame his stage fright to perform live on radio for the first time.
Yes, he overcame his stage fright.
First of all, what is stage fright, Mark?
Stage fright is when you're very scared about being on stage and performing.
That's right. So you feel very scared, very nervous, but Elvis overcame his stage fright.
This means that he got over his stage fright.
He managed this problem.
Good. Okay, we are going to pause there and we'll be back in a moment to find out more about Elvis.
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Welcome back to Coffee Break English.
We're talking about Elvis.
Let's continue on with her text.
After his first radio performance, Elvis's family moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
Elvis still wanted to have a career in music and he tried to break into the industry.
Yes, so Elvis's family moved, but Elvis wanted to have a career in music.
So the verb want is another verb after which we have to use the infinitive.
Wanted to have a career in music.
I could say I want to make pasta for dinner tonight.
Okay. And he tried to break into the music industry.
So to break into something normally that would be used, for example, a burglar or thief would break into a house.
But if you're trying to break into the industry, it means that you want to enter or become part of the industry.
That's right. So as you say, if someone breaks into a house, they want to steal something from the house, but Elvis didn't want to steal something from the music industry.
He wanted to become a part of it.
Yes. And also here, it's written, he tried to break into the industry.
Tried to break. Tried is another verb after which we use the infinitive.
Okay. After two unsuccessful recording sessions at a local studio, he decided to try one more time.
Yes. So he had two unsuccessful recording sessions.
What does unsuccessful mean, Mark?
They didn't go well.
That's right. They were not successful.
They were not. They were not good.
Yes. But after these unsuccessful recording sessions, he decided to try one more time.
So decide is another one of these verbs after which we have to use the infinitive.
So I can decide to read a new book, decide to watch a new series on Netflix, but always with the infinitive after decide.
They continued playing late into the night and the producer was losing hope when Elvis picked up a guitar and started freestyling a cover of Arthur Crudup's That's All Right.
Yes. So Elvis picked up a guitar and started freestyling.
What's freestyling, Mark?
Freestyling is when you improvise.
You just play what you feel like.
That's right. It's like you're not following some music which is written, are you?
OK, and going back to the beginning of this phrase, they continued playing late into the night.
Could I also say they continued to play late into the night?
Yeah, that would work, too.
So continued to play or continued playing.
That's right. Continue is a kind of flexible verb and we can use the gerund or the infinitive after it.
That's actually the same with the verb start.
So Elvis picked up a guitar and started freestyling.
I could also say and started to freestyle, couldn't I?
His backing musicians joined in and they produced a recording.
The track was so popular that it was played on a loop on the radio the next day.
Yes, so this recording that Elvis made was very, very popular, so popular that it was played on a loop.
What's on a loop, Mark?
It's been played over and over again many, many times.
That's right. So a loop is like a circle.
So you can think about a circle.
It never stops. It never ends.
So the track was played again and again.
OK, Elvis quickly became famous after That's All Right, performing live shows in Tennessee and eventually appearing on national television.
His name was known everywhere and he had forgotten his stage fright and now loved performing.
Yes, so he had forgotten his stage fright.
He was not scared of being on stage any longer.
Later in his career, Elvis was drafted into military service and after his return, he started to act in films.
Yes, so Elvis was drafted into military service.
What does this mean, Mark?
That means he had to serve in the military because it was obligatory.
That's right. So maybe at the time, all men had to serve in the military.
But after he returned, he started to act in films.
So earlier we saw started freestyling, start followed by the gerund, and now we have started to act, start followed by the infinitive.
It's important to say that there are not many verbs after which you can use the gerund or the infinitive.
Usually you can't choose.
But with start and continue, you can.
Good. He starred in lots of major movies before returning to music.
Yes, so he starred in major movies.
What does it mean if someone stars in a movie?
Mark, it means that they are the star of the movie.
They are the very important actor in the movie.
That's right. Exactly.
Elvis died tragically of a sudden heart attack in 1977, aged just 42.
However, his legacy lives on and his music will certainly be remembered for many years to come.
Yes, so Elvis died tragically.
He died tragically means it was very sad and it was it was sudden, a sudden heart attack.
It was not expected.
OK, so let us now listen again to the text and this time listen out for all of these examples where a verb is followed either by an infinitive or a gerund.
Over to you, Kate. Elvis, Aaron Presley, known simply as Elvis, was one of the true icons of the 20th century.
Often called the king of rock and roll, he had 18 number one hits in the USA and was known all over the world for the groundbreaking style and cultural influence of his music.
Elvis was born on January 8th, 1935 in Mississippi.
From a young age, he loved singing and playing music.
He sang in school talent shows and learned to play guitar with his uncles.
However, he said he was very shy and he really didn't enjoy singing in public.
When he was 12, he was invited to perform on a local radio show by the host's younger brother, who was one of his classmates.
Elvis overcame his stage fright to perform live on radio for the first time.
After his first radio performance, Elvis's family moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
Elvis still wanted to have a career in music and he tried to break into the industry.
After two unsuccessful recording sessions at a local studio, he decided to try one more time.
They continued playing late into the night and the producer was losing hope when Elvis picked up a guitar and started freestyling a cover of Arthur Crudup's That's All Right.
His backing musicians joined in and they produced a recording.
The track was so popular that it played on a loop on the radio the next day.
Elvis quickly became famous after That's All Right, performing live shows in Tennessee and eventually appearing on national television.
His name was known everywhere and he had forgotten his stage fright and now loved performing.
Later in his career, Elvis was drafted into military service and after his return, he started to act in films.
He starred in lots of major movies before returning to music.
Elvis died tragically of a sudden heart attack in 1977, aged just 42.
However, his legacy lives on and his music will certainly be remembered for many years to come.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Coffee Break English.
We hope it's been useful for you.
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Next time, we're off to the Caribbean to learn about a specific type of cooking.
I can't wait. Until then, thank you very much and see you soon.
Bye bye.
