In the Dark

Intro

It’s happened to all of us. One minute you’re eating dinner or doing your homework, and the next minute the lights have gone out! Sometimes it’s the weather, and sometimes it’s just a problem with the power company.

If it’s late at night, not having lights makes things very difficult. Trying to find your way around a dark house might be OK if it’s your house, but what if you’re at a friend’s house? Or in a completely different place? It would be confusing, a little scary, and very frustrating. It’s hard to know what to do when you can’t see everything around you.

People say that they’re in the dark when they don’t know much about a subject or situation. If your friend is throwing a party, but you don’t know where or when it’s happening, you’d feel in the dark. Or if you’ve missed a week of classes because you were sick, you might feel in the dark about what your teacher is talking about when you return to school.

Marni wants to take classes at the university, but she feels in the dark about how to make it happen. Learn more in today’s English lesson!

Dialogue

Brian: So, how did it go at the university?

Marni: I think it went OK. I’m still feeling kind of in the dark, but I am meeting with an advisor, so…

Brian: That’s a really good idea.

Marni: Hey, Kellie!

Kellie: Hey, Marni!

Marni: Kellie, this is Brian. Brian, this is Kellie.

Brian: Nice to meet you.

Kellie: Nice to meet you.

Marni: I work in the same office with Brian, and I met Kellie at the registrar’s office today.

Brian: You’re a student, too.

Kellie: I am. I’m kind of in the same boat as Marni. I’m ready to go back to school, but I’m still not sure what I want to study.

Marni: Hey, are you still looking for an apartment?

Kellie: And a roommate. Why do you ask?

Brian: Oh, we know the perfect place. My girlfriend, Lily, just moved to Paris, and they haven’t rented out her apartment yet.

Marni: It really is a great place.

Kellie: I would love to see it. There’s only one problem. I don’t know the first thing about getting a roommate.

Brian: Oh, easy… just advertise online.

Kellie: What do you mean?

Marni: Just write something about the kind of person you are, and then post it on the internet.

Kellie: Wanted: Handsome musician who can cook and clean.

Brian: Maybe more about your habits, like if you like to stay up late, if you like to have parties, if you’re messy… that kind of stuff. Then your new roommate won’t be in the dark about the kind of person you are.

Kellie: I could do that. Could I email it to you first, to make sure it sounds good?

Marni: Of course. Here, let me give you my email address, and we could even get together for lunch and discuss it.

Kellie: That sounds fun. Great. Well, I’ll write soon.

Brian: See you later.

Kellie: Bye!

Discussion

Brian and Marni are walking down the street, talking about Marni returning to school. Marni is surprised to see her new friend Kellie, and she introduces her two friends to each other. When Marni learns that Kellie still needs to find an apartment, she remembers that Lily’s apartment hasn’t been rented yet. What great luck!

Unfortunately, Kellie needs to find a roommate before she can rent Lily’s apartment. Brian and Marni give Kellie some tips about how she can find a roommate she can live with. Kellie appreciates their advice, but she’s still unsure about how to make it work. Marni offers to meet for lunch and talk things over.

Do you ever feel like you’re in the dark about how to do something?

Grammar Point

Adverbs

Brian says, “My girlfriend, Lily, just moved to Paris, and they haven’t rented out her apartment yet.” Brian uses an adverb.

Adverbs are words that modify or describe other words. They can modify verbs, as in, “He speaks softly.” Or they can modify adjectives, as in, “This room is quite large.” Or they can even modify other adverbs, as in, “He walked very slowly.”

You can turn many adjectives into adverbs by adding -ly to the end, as inquietly, quickly, slowly, or gladly. But be careful! This isn’t true 100% of the time. For example, this doesn’t work for adjectives that already end in -y, such as happy. The adverbial form of happy is happily.

The adverb just that Brian uses is one of several that do not begin as adjectives. Just is an adverb of time that tells us when something happens. Other common adverbs of time that do not end in -ly are now, then, today, tomorrow, often, never, before, after, first, and last.

Adverbs can come at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. You can say, “Quickly, she ran down the street,” or, “She ran quickly down the street,” or, “She ran down the street quickly.” However, you should never put an adverb between a verb and its object. You can say, “I hungrily ate an apple,” but not, “I ate hungrily an apple.”

Which is correct, “Justin drew slowly a picture,” or, “Justin slowly drew a picture”?

                                               

Vocab

advertise v.

Definition

give information to the public about

Example

I just baked cookies, but don’t advertise it or everyone will want one.

online adj.

Definition

done using the Internet

Example

I shopped online for a new dress, and I think I found one!

post v.

Definition

put on the internet

Example

Have you seen my blog today? I posted some photos of the concert last night.

habits n.

Definition

way a person does things

Example

Todd has a lot of strange habits. For example, he likes to get up and eat cereal at 3:00am!

in the dark expr.

Definition

not know about something that other people know about

Example

I can’t believe you kept me in the dark about this. I am your mother. I have a right to know!

His job was so secret that he even had to keep his family in the dark.

I’m sorry we kept you in the dark about this, we would have told you if we thought you would have been interested.

advisor n.

Definition

person who gives information or advice

Example

My college advisor told me I’d like Art History, and she was right!

registrar n.

Definition

person responsible for registering students for classes and keeping academic records

Example

My mom is the university’s registrar, and she loves the work.

all in the same boat expr.

Definition

all experiencing the same thing

Example

My kittens are all in the same boat. They’re all tired and hungry!

messy adj.

Definition

not neat or tidy, disorganized

Example

My house is so messy that I am going to have to clean all weekend!

roommate n.

Definition

person one shares one’s home with

Example

My roommate is so nice. He cooks dinner for me every night!