📕 Part 1: Parties

Do you like parties?

Well, not as much as I used to. As I get older, I find myself less and less inclined to go to big events like that. I just don't like the noise, and it's a lot of effort when you could have just as much fun with a smaller gathering of friends. Or even just one or two of them.

What sort of parties do you like?

Honestly, I prefer small ones with just a few friends these days. That limits the extent of the cleanup operation afterward. I say this, of course, and then, every now and then, I throw a bash for my birthday or some other milestone.

Have you ever organized a party?

I have, indeed. I put together everything for a few going-away parties before I left my old job and my birthdays as an adult, I wouldn't say I did a particularly good job of them, but I did organize them.

How often did you have parties when you were a child?

Not that often. We had people over to play. But I think parties were largely limited to birthdays, and occasionally Mum and Dad would throw something for their work friends.

Will you have more parties in the future?

I've been meaning to have another big one with my friends, but I haven't quite got around to doing it yet. Maybe just after the summer when we're all together again and I've finished the major alterations to my house.

Yay!

It's party time!

Yeah, dear listener, we talk about birthday parties, wedding parties. You know? Just like usual Friday party. Every day could be a party. So any party you want, like you get together with some friends, it's already a party. But also you can talk about some special parties. Like what do you call a party for boys before a wedding?

A stag party?

Yeah. A stag party. Or a hen, a hen party for ladies before the woman gets married. Only for ladies.

I don't know much about that, because I've never had or been to a stag or a hen party.

Yeah, but you must have seen some crazy stag parties British people, your people organize in, let's say, Budapest, for example, Amsterdam.

I've heard what people in my country get up to, and I diss about everything they've done.

Yeah. Yeah, dear listener, if you see a group of rowdy men doing all sorts of crazy things, perhaps they're British.

It's not just the men, the women are just as bad.

Oh, yeah, women are even more horrible. You can say that I love parties, I am a party animal. Or you can say that these days I'm less inclined to go to big events. So as I get older, you know, I'm 30 years old... So I find myself less inclined to go to parties. So I don't like parties as much as I used to. I don't like the noise or you can say I love the noise. I love a good party. Or you can say I prefer a small gathering of friends. So a party is a gathering. So you get together with your friends. You can call it a get-together. Also, like, don't think that a party should always be a big party. Could be anything. You have your three friends. So there are three of you, it's already a party. Or even with, like, two of you. Or maybe you are alone and it's a party.

Maybe you're alone and you're just crazy.

Yeah, you know? I have a party with my cat or with my dog, with my fish. I prefer small parties, or I prefer big parties. I prefer birthday parties or wedding parties. Or there are different kinds of parties, surprise parties, garden parties. Maybe you like cocktail parties. Tea parties. Ooh, tea parties are my favourite. Tea parties, dear listener. Maybe you enjoy your dances and costume parties. When everyone wears a mask or a costume, it's called a fancy dress party. So maybe you enjoy these ones. Then pool parties. Ooh, nice, I love a good pool party. So a party by the pool, or maybe graduation parties, dear listener. When you finish school or graduate from a university, you have a graduation party. Also, there are parties which are called showers. For example, a baby shower. Rory, what's a baby shower?

That's just a celebration of when someone finds out they're having a baby?

Yeah, for example, your friend is having a baby, so they are throwing a baby shower, so the woman and her future baby and everybody comes in with presents. Yay. These days, gender reveal party is a very common type of party where the gender of a future baby, no, a future baby, of the baby is revealed. So you kind of, you find out, is it a boy or a girl? Housewarming party, dear listener. You move house and you have a housewarming party. Farewell party. Oh, gosh, so many parties, yeah. Pre-party and after-party.

How many kinds of parties are there?

So there is a pre-party, then there is a party and after party. So dear listener, choose, choose whatever you enjoy. Okay? The cleanup operation is our after-party, usually. Yeah? So you have your friends over and then you clean up.

Or you hire someone to clean up.

Yeah. What does it mean if I throw a bash?

Just throw a party.

Yeah.

A birthday bash.

We throw a party, or we organize a party, but usually we say, like have a party, or throw a party, meaning to have a party. Or you can say a bash, meaning a party. Have a bash, have a party. So you can say, ooh, I usually throw a bash for my birthday. I put together everything for the party. So I've bought food, I've hired some waiters, maybe. I've sent out invitations, I left my old job. And had a party.

A leaving party.

Yeah, it was like a farewell party, a leaving party, goodbye party. Or you can say that I've hired some people and they organized the party for me. So I had my party organized. When you have a party, you have people over, so you invite them over to your place. You can say, ooh, I had a big, massive, oh, I had a nice birthday party, and I had all my friends over. I had them round* my place. And we throw parties for our friends, for our colleagues. If you're planning to organize a party, but you haven't done it yet, you can say, I haven't quite got round to doing it. So to get round to doing something? Like to do it.

Or I've been meaning to have.

Yeah, I've been meaning to have a party, but I haven't had it yet, but kind of it's on my list. So I've been meaning to have a party soon. I haven't organized it yet, or I haven't got enough time to do it. I haven't got round to doing it. And now, Rory's vocabulary party.

Yes, it's the part of the episode where I ask Maria questions about the grammar and vocabulary I used in the episode. You can follow along. So, Maria, the first question was, do I like parties? And I did say I prefer to have smaller parties, but I didn't say smaller parties. What did I say?

Gatherings.

Yes. And then we were talking about the sort of parties that I like, and I explained I prefer these smaller gatherings. But there is a reason why. There was something that was much less of a problem if the party is smaller. But what was that?

The problem is the cleanup of operation after the party.

Yes. Or we could just say the cleanup. Then Maria asked me if I'd ever organized a party. And I talked about a specific kind of party when you are leaving a place.

Going away party.

Hey! And then you asked how often I had parties when I was a child, and I said that my parents would have parties for their colleagues at work, but I didn't say have parties. What did I say?

Throw parties.

Ah, excellent. Then you asked me about parties I want to have in the future. And I said, I want to have another big one, but I didn't say I want to have. That's too simple. What is the complex grammar that I used here?

I've been meaning to have a party for a long time.

Whoo. It's Present Perfect Continuous. I also said I haven't quite got round to doing it, which I think is a mixture of Perfect Tense, but also with Future. Oh my god, it's so advanced. Even I can't name what that is. That's your bonus question, Maria. I said I haven't quite got round to doing it yet. What grammar is that?

Well, it's just Present Perfect, Rory.

Well, what, round to doing it?

Yeah, it's just Present Perfect.

But it's -ing.

Yes...

But you know what it is though? It's to and -ing, and we almost never have that.

Yeah, it's like to get around to doing something.

Yes, that's a good one to highlight. It's a set phrase. So this is where, if you're more advanced, you need to be very careful, because usually we use to or -ing, but here we're using both. Oh, wow.

And I have a party joke.

Oh, God...

What's the best way to remember your wife's birthday? Forget it once.

Yeah, and then you never hear the end of it.

Yeah. It's a good one. So if you are married and if you forget your wife's birthday, that's it, you're done. That's it. That's the end of your life. Okay? Because, like, ah, if you forget a woman's birthday...

I feel like, if you forget anyone's birthday, you're in trouble.

Yeah. So the joke is like, what's the best way to remember when your wife's birthday is? Just you forget it once, and then...

And that's the end.

Yay! Thank you very much for listening! And we'll get back to you in our next episode! Bye.

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