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  • Hi, and welcome back to engVid. In today's lesson we're looking at expanding your vocabulary,

  • so whether you're preparing for an IELTS speaking test or whether just generally you want your

  • speaking to become more interesting and varied, then this is a good lesson for you.

  • We're taking the basic phrase: "Can I...?" looking for some sort of permission, and looking at

  • different ways that we can say that. I also speak a little bit of French, and I find that

  • I can only say: "Puis-je avoir", and I don't really have any other options.

  • Obviously we're looking at English today.

  • So, a few years ago I found myself going down to the countryside and going for a rather

  • awkward walk with my now father-in-law, and I had to ask for his permission to have his

  • daughter's hand in marriage. Now, these are some ways that I could have said that.

  • I could have said: "Graham, allow me to marry your daughter.",

  • "Allow me" or: "Will you allow me to?"

  • Obviously you've got the noun: "allowance". "Allowance" more normally refers to money,

  • to have an allowance of money. You're allowed to have a certain sum of money. Okay.

  • Next word on the list for today: "permit". Now we have a noun here and a verb.

  • The noun most often speaks to some sort of formal permit to do something.

  • For example, to have a permit to go into a nature reserve.

  • But if we're asking for permission, I can say: "Permit me to..."

  • It's quite formal, so probably not the kind of thing I would say in conversation

  • to someone I know well.

  • It refers to permission. Here is the noun: "permission".

  • "Can I have your permission to do this?", "Do I have your permission to do this?"

  • The next word: "let". "Let me". This is a little bit more forceful.

  • It's taking a bit more control. "Let me do this." It's a little bit more persuasive.

  • Also, we have "let" in terms of a rental.

  • If you are sharing... If you are borrowing a place and you're living

  • in it, you are letting it. You are letting it. It's a similar word to "rent".

  • Next word: "enable". So, the prefix "en", you have "able", putting me... Making me able

  • to do something. "Help me to do this.",

  • "Enable me to do the most wonderful thing in the world.",

  • "Let me do this.", "Let me marry your daughter." Enable me. Make me able.

  • "Facilitate", now, this is a more formal word, more suited to the context of business English.

  • But if I was to use this word, which would be a bit weird in the context, I would say something like:

  • "Graham, I would like to facilitate a wedding with your daughter."

  • It means to organize, but it's not quite the right word to use here.

  • "Consent". Again, a word that is used as a noun and as a verb.

  • If I wanted to use it as a noun, I would say something like:

  • "Graham, do I have your consent to marry your daughter?"

  • Or if I wanted to use it as a verb:

  • "Do you consent me to doing a certain course of action?",

  • "Do you consent that I...?" Okay? So, noun and verb there.

  • "Go ahead", this is also the name of a sort of a cereal bar in the UK, the idea behind:

  • "Go Ahead. Go on, you can do it." Again, noun and verb phrase. As a noun:

  • "to get the go ahead", it means permission. "Do I have the go ahead to go and do this?"

  • And as a verb: "I'm going to go ahead and do this."

  • Okay? So: "Do I have your go ahead?", and as a verb:

  • "Can I go ahead and do it?", "Can I go ahead and organize the wedding?"

  • And lastly, let's think of traffic lights, yeah. So, red, stop; amber, getting ready;

  • green, off we go. So: "green light".

  • So: "Is that a green light, Graham?"

  • Okay? It's a sort of phrase to say: "Can I go off and do this?"

  • Often this phrase is used in the world

  • of film production. If a production has been agreed, the production has been green lit.

  • It's ready to go.

  • I hope you are, too, now with these fantastic new phrases to add to your vocab bank.

  • Why not test yourself by doing today's quiz?

  • Until next time, take care.

Hi, and welcome back to engVid. In today's lesson we're looking at expanding your vocabulary,

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