Hi, this is Ivy from Beijing, China.
You are listening to Everybody ESL.
Welcome to episode 450 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English or just learn more English.
My name is Ben and I have a mini episode for you today where I am going to teach you about one English topic.
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Okay, let's get on with this mini-episode.
In this episode, I am going to talk about an interesting way to use the word neighborhood.
Neighborhood.
N-E-I-G-H-B-O-R-H-O-O-D.
Neighborhood.
Usually when we talk about a neighborhood, we are talking about an area of a city or a town.
We're talking about the area around your house, the area near where you live.
If you take a walk in your neighborhood, that means you are walking near your house or apartment.
You are walking somewhere around your house or apartment.
If your friend lives in your neighborhood, that means that he or she lives near you.
But we also use the word neighborhood in a different way.
Instead of using neighborhood with places or areas, We can also use it with amounts.
When we use neighborhood with an amount, we are talking about something that is approximately that amount or about that amount.
When we use it this way, we usually use it in the phrase in the neighborhood of, in the neighborhood of.
This might sound a little bit confusing, but when I give you some examples, I think you will understand it right away.
Imagine that you and your friend are traveling to a nearby town or city.
You are driving there or you are taking a train there or taking a bus there.
It really doesn't matter.
Your friend asks you, How long does it take to get where we're going?
And you answer, the trip is somewhere in the neighborhood of three hours.
In the neighborhood of three hours.
That means the trip is approximately three hours.
Or the trip is about three hours.
The trip is somewhere around three hours.
Instead of using neighborhood as a word to describe a place, you can use the word neighborhood to describe an amount near or close to another amount.
The trip is in the neighborhood of three hours.
It is about three hours.
Here's another example.
Imagine that your friend is planning to buy a motorcycle.
He is doing all kinds of research, finding information about motorcycles.
You ask your friend, how much will this motorcycle cost?
Your friend doesn't know the exact amount.
He's looking at lots of different motorcycles.
He doesn't know the exact price.
And he says, it will cost in the neighborhood of $6,000.
In the neighborhood of $6,000.
In other words, near $6,000 or approximately $6,000, about $6,000.
These examples show how we can use neighborhood in the phrase in the neighborhood of to describe things that are close to or approximately the same as some amount of something.
It could be time, distance, the number of something, or a height or a weight, some kind of amount.
And that is this different use of neighborhood, an interesting thing that I think you should know.
This is the end of episode 450 of Everybody ESL.
Remember if you have questions about English or if you have comments for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes, the same way Ivy recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode.
Send an email to everybodyesl at gmailcom.
I'll be back soon with a new episode.
And until then, keep going, keep practicing and keep learning.
I'll see you soon.
Goodbye.
