Once and For All

Intro

We love to talk about other people, and we really like to talk about relationships. Maybe, one of your friends thought that a girl at school was cute. He chose to go for it and asked her out. You probably want to ask him many questions, but if you ask him all of your questions, it could bother him. He might tell you to stop talking about it once and for all.

When someone says, “once and for all,” they want something to end. Probably, they want someone to stop talking about something or stop doing something. These words make a sentence stronger. For example, your friend could say, “Please, stop talking about it.” If you keep asking questions, he will probably say, “Once and for all, stop talking about it!” When someone tells you this, it is time to let the idea go and talk about something new.

Brian and Gary are catching up, and Brian wants to know more about Gary’s past relationship with Jessica. Find out if Gary is really over her in today’s lesson about letting go.

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Brian : So, I have a question for you.

Gary : What’s up?

Brian : Romeo stopped by yesterday. And we were catching up, and he said something that caught my attention. He said that Jessica is cute.

Gary : I have to agree with him. Jessica is cute.

Brian : So, that doesn’t bother you?

Gary : Brian, once and for all.  I am over Jessica!

Brian : Are you sure? Because I told him I wanted to check with you before he asked her out.

Gary : Definitely. Tell Romeo to go for it.

Brian : OK. It’s just that it’s hard to know for sure when you two won’t talk about what happened between you at all.

Gary : It’s not something I like to talk about. OK?

Brian : It was bad?

Gary : It was very bad.

Brian : Seriously bad?

Gary : The worst.

Brian : Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?

Gary : You need to let this go once and for all.

Brian : Fine.

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Discussion

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  Romeo told Brian that he thinks Jessica is cute. This caught Brian’s attention because Gary and Jessica had a relationship in the past. Brian wanted to talk to Gary before Romeo asked her out. Gary doesn’t often talk about his relationship with Jessica.

  Gary tells Brian that he is over Jessica. He isn’t in love with her now. Brian is worried because he doesn’t want Romeo to bother Gary. He keeps asking Gary questions because he wants to know for sure. Gary tells him to let this go and stop talking about it once and for all.

  When did you want someone to stop talking once and for all? Did you tell them how you felt?

  Grammar Point

  Direct vs. Reported Speech

  Brian tells Gary what Romeo said. Brian says, “He said that Jessica is cute.” He uses reported speech.

  Direct and reported speech are two different ways to say what someone said.

  In direct speech, we quote the exact words that a person said. We put quotation marks around their words and add a speech tag such as “he said” or “she asked” before or after the quote. For example:

  “Are you free tonight?” she asked.

  “I failed a test last week,” she said.

  He asked, “Have you seen any good movies lately?”

  We can also use direct speech to say what someone is saying right now, as in: She says, “Hurry up.”

  Reported speech is another way of saying what someone said, but without quotation marks. Reported speech doesn’t usually repeat the words exactly as the person said them. It typically changes the tense of the verbs. For example, if the speaker used a present tense verb, we change it to the past tense. If the speaker used a past tense verb, we change it to past perfect. We also change pronouns and time expressions.

  See how the quotations above look in reported speech. Notice the changes in verb tense:

  She asked if I was free that night.

  She said she had failed an exam the week before.

  He asked if I had seen any good movies lately.

  When Brian talks about Romeo, he says, “He said that Jessica is cute.” This is a special example of reported speech. No verbs changed tense. This is because Romeo said a fact: Jessica is cute. She is always cute, in the past, present, and future. When we use reported speech and the person said a fact, no verbs change tense.

  Which is correct, “He said that water boils at 100°C,” or, “He said that water had boiled at 100°C”?

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Vocab

stop by v.

Definition : visit in person

Example : I’ll stop by around 3:00. Does that sound good?

catch one’s attention expr.

Definition : notice something particular; hear or see something specific

Example : Her beautiful smile caught my attention.

be over expr.

Definition : done with something; not in love with someone anymore

Example : Mike and I broke up. He was mean to me, and I’m over him now.

for sure expr.

Definition : definitely, without a doubt, 100%

Example : I don’t work tomorrow, so I’m going to the party tonight for sure.

go for it expr.

Definition : do it, try

Example

If you want to travel and see the world, just go for it!

I want to be a musician, so I’m going to go for it and study music.

I finally went for it and asked Michelle out. She said yes!

ask out v.

Definition : ask someone to go on a date

Example : Tyler wants to ask Ashley out, but he’s so nervous!

bother v.

Definition : cause someone to feel troubled, worried, or annoyed

Example : It bothers me when you don’t listen to me.

once and for all expr.

Definition : for the last time, finally

Example : Once and for all, stop talking about it!

catch up v.

Definition : share new information; talk with a friend

Example : I can’t wait to see you next week! We can catch up.

let go v.

Definition : stop worrying or caring about something; release, stop holding

Example : It was difficult for my mom to let go when I became an adult. She cried when I went to college.