📙 Part 2: Describe one of your grandparents' jobs

You should say what job it was, when and where your grandparent did the job, and explain what you think about this job.

This episode's vocabulary

Self-explanatory (adjective) – easy to understand without needing more explanation.

Specifications (noun) – detailed descriptions of what is needed or wanted.

Take measurements (verb phrase) – to find out the size or dimensions of something.

Apply (paint) (verb) – to put paint or another substance onto a surface.

Run (a business) (verb) – to manage or operate a business.

Invaluable (adjective) – extremely useful; too valuable to measure.

Pillar of the community (noun phrase) – a respected and important member of a community.

Have a lot on your plate (idiom) – to have many tasks or responsibilities.

Struggle (to do something) (verb) – to have difficulty doing something.

In the traditional sense (phrase) – meaning something in the usual or most common way.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Describe one of your grandparents' jobs. You should say what job it was, when and where your grandparent did the job, and explain what you think about this job.

Rory: My grandfather was a painter and decorator his whole life, as far as I'm aware, and he built a fairly successful business. I suppose the job is fairly self-explanatory, really. You have to make sure that the interior of a house looks nice and meets the client's specifications.

So in order to do that, he would do things like take measurements, order materials and organise putting them up or into people's homes. That could include putting up wallpaper, as well as applying paint to surfaces. I'm fairly sure he did it for pretty much his entire life, from the 1930s to the 1970s when he died.

Towards the end, he was rather ill, and my grandmother ran much of the business. But he never retired, I think, so it's safe to say he lived and died a painter and decorator. When it comes to what I think about this job, I actually rather wish I had someone like that in my life right now to help me finish some work on the house. So from my perspective, it's invaluable. I suppose it must have been a lot of hard work, too, now I think about it. It's a lot to organise and calculate all by yourself. I know I'd have struggled to do it. I suppose that was why he was something of a pillar of the community back in those days, since he had a lot on his plate. It's a good thing he did do that job, because if he hadn't, I'd have had nothing to talk about. All my other grandparents didn't really have jobs or workplaces. In the traditional sense, at least.

Hey, thank you, Rory, for your story.

And thank you, Grandad Goodwillie, for contributing that.

Discussion

Maria: Right, dear listener, what if you didn't know your grandparents and you have zero idea about your grandparents' job? So Rory, what do I do in this situation? I don't know.

Rory: Talk about my grandad. Just don't look up his criminal record.

Maria: Yeah, you lie, okay? So you can talk about your father's job and say that it's your grandfather's job. It's just that in your head, you take a job from your mom, from your father, and say, oh, I'm going to tell you about my grandmother's job, which is actually your mother's job. Do you understand? Yeah, so you just kind of like... Or talk about your job and say it's your grandfather's job or your...

Rory: I love how you didn't say anything when I said my grandfather had a criminal record. Oh well, we'll just skip past that.

Maria: I have a friend whose father was a bank robber.

Rory: Really? Oh, that's much cooler. My grandad just drove a motorbike the wrong way.

Maria: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He said, oh, look, my father robbed banks. Wow. So that's a story, dear listener, you can say, oh, I'm going to tell you about my infamous mafia grandfather who used to rob banks and now he's in prison. And the examiner's going: Oh, yeah, give me that! It's better than Netflix.

Rory: Finally, something interesting.

Maria: Yeah, dear listener, this is another strategy that you can use if your English is not so good. You just take, like, you engage the examiner with your super stories. So that's possible to get a higher score. Influence, manipulate the examiner, use dirty tricks on him or her. So you can start off with: My grandfather was a lawyer, a painter… Also dear listener, if your grandfather or grandmother, if they are dead, you use the past. Was, worked, did. But if your grandfather or grandmother, if they are alive, you use present perfect, dear listener. So here Rory used the past because his grandfather is no longer with us.

Rory: I could have said my late grandfather, actually.

Maria: Yeah, my late grandfather. Now he's not with me. He died. So, dear listener, please be very careful. It's very confusing. So if you are talking about a person who is alive, so I'm going to talk about my grandfather. He has been a lawyer all his life, or he used to be a lawyer, but then he retired. Now he doesn't work anymore. Then you use the past. Okay, careful about dead people and people who retired, we use past. If your grandfather is still working, now he works as a lawyer. So Rory's grandfather was a painter or a painter and a decorator.

Rory: Yes, it's important to say painter and decorator because if you say he was a painter or if I'd said he was a painter, that would be like an artist. But my grandfather wasn't an artist, at least not for his work.

Maria: So he dealt with the interior of houses. He had to meet the client's specifications. He took measurements. He ordered materials, organised putting these materials up in people's homes. So you describe the job. And here Rory used specific words like wallpaper. So we have wallpaper on our walls and we apply paint to surfaces. So when you paint your walls, you apply paint, you put paint to surfaces, to walls. He did it for pretty much his entire life. So his entire life he worked as a lawyer, he worked as a doctor. Or if your grandfather has retired, he has become a pensioner, he used to do it for 20 years and now he doesn't work, he is a pensioner, he has retired. What else can we say about people who have retired? Who worked, then they stopped working, then they kind of receive a pension…

Rory: Well, sometimes they're called OAPs, but that's old-age pensioners. Which is the same thing, basically. A retiree, perhaps.

Maria: Or just he has retired.

Rory: Yeah, they just stopped working.

Maria: Yeah, they stopped working.

Rory: I've got the money, I'm done now.

Maria: When my grandfather got ill, my grandmother ran the business. So he runs the business, he manages the business, he is the head of the business. My grandfather never retired, so he always worked because he had his own business.

Rory: Yeah, so you don't really retire from your own business, I think.

Maria: When you change the subject, you can say when it comes to what I think about the job. So when it comes to when he did the job. I wish I had someone to help me with my flat. This means that I'd like someone to help me with my flat, but I don't have this person. So I wish I had someone to help me with my flat. I think it's hard work, it's a lot to organise, a lot to calculate. Like we calculate different things, like measurements to decorate the flat. And you can say that I would have struggled to do it. So I imagine that I'm a decorator, I would have struggled. So if I had worked as a decorator, I would have struggled. Why did you use have? Why not say like I would struggle? So if I were a decorator, I'd struggle.

Rory: I suppose I'd have struggled to do it if I were doing it then. But I could say I would struggle to do it now as well.

Maria: Yeah, in the past, yeah.

Rory: But oh, that's the other thing. It's not just about the past, it's the distance in reality. We're not talking about a real situation. So we switch to the past to do that. Look at that advanced grammar.

Maria: Super Band 9, man, oh my god.

Rory: I wasn't expecting that question. I was like, oh my god, what is the difference? And then I remember, distance from reality.

Maria: Yeah, listen, you can say that if I were a decorator, so second conditional, if I were a decorator, I would struggle, right? I wish I could do it. So just the second conditional, we're imagining that if I were a decorator now, I would struggle. A pillar of a community. What does it mean?

Rory: Or I should have said, I realised I'd made a mistake, actually. I said a pillar of a community and then I was like, it's a pillar of the community. He only lived in one his whole life. But you could use one or the other. Usually, we say a pillar of the community. A pillar of the community is someone who is well-respected and who wields a lot of power and influence, but also has a lot of responsibility.

Maria: Yeah, a pillar of something, a very important member or part of a group, organisation or system. Usually, he is a pillar of his community or he is a pillar of the local church. So this important person who organises everybody, who goes to church, does some social work. He had a lot on his plate. So he had a lot of work. He managed lots of things. So he had a lot on his plate. Like on his plate, as if he ate a lot of food all the time. And now Rory's Vocabulary Show.

Rory: Yes, once again, it's that part of the show where I talk to Maria about the different kinds of grammar and vocabulary that I used in what I said. You can join in if you want to. So Maria, we're talking about a job that an older person did. So I said that my grandfather was a painter and a decorator. So when it comes to what that job involves, it's quite clear. But I didn't say that. What did I say?

Maria: His job is fairly self-explanatory.

Rory: If you have a job where the job title tells you what you need to know, it's pretty self-explanatory. You don't need to give further information. For example, I'm an English teacher. I don't need to say, so I teach English. It's self-explanatory. But if you're something like chief of the user experience on a website, that's not self-explanatory because I don't know what that is. And then I talked about what clients want you to do. But I didn't say what clients want you to do. I said something else.

Maria: To meet the client's specifications.

Rory: Yes. So the specifications are what you need to do. And if you succeed, then you meet the client's specifications. Then I said that my grandfather was a painter and decorator for his whole life. And I did say that. I said his entire life. But I also highlighted something else. To make the same point.

Maria: He lived and died a painter and decorator.

Rory: Amazing. Last one, Maria. I said that my grandfather was very well respected and people thought well of him. But I didn't say that. What was the idiom I used?

Maria: He was a pillar of his community.

Rory: Oh, congratulations. Well done.

Maria: I love it. Yeah, dear listener. So you should find out about your grandparents. Or lie. Use Rory's story. Or talk about your job or your parents' job. And say that it was your grandfather's or grandmother's job. Careful with the tenses. Dead people - use past. If your grandfather has retired, you use past. And say that he has retired. Okay?

Rory: Yes, Maria.

Maria: Thank you very much for listening. We'll get back to you in our speaking part three. Bye.

Rory: Bye!

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