M: Do you ask for help when you have a problem?

R: Depends on how serious it is, I suppose. If it's something I can fix by myself with relative ease, then I usually just go it alone. And if it's something more complex, like a leak in the plumbing, then it's probably time to call in an expert.

M: What kinds of help do you often ask for?

R: Well, anything and everything connected to home maintenance. I know nothing about DIY or electrical work, so I always need a hand with that when something goes wrong.

M: Why are teachers always willing to help students?

R: Probably because it's their job? I mean, the entire point of being a teacher is someone who supports and challenges appropriately. So if they aren't doing that well, then what are they doing?

M: When was the last time you asked for help?

R: Well, currently I'm in the middle of trying to get a new shower installed in the house, which has been a bit of a pain. I must have called about a million different numbers for advice, but none have been forthcoming so far, unfortunately. If you're looking for a specific time, then probably yesterday, I suppose.

M: So dear listener, asking for help. We ask for help. That's it. What other synonyms? Like I can ask for help, I can...

R: Ask someone to give you a hand. Or ask for a hand with something.

M: Right. Yeah. Give me a hand with my homework. Help me with my homework. Ask people to give me a hand with something.

R: Or help you out with something. But that's still got the word help in it.

M: Yeah, help me out. I usually ask people to help me out with IELTS writing essays. So you can say that if it's something I can fix by myself if I can fix it myself if I can do it myself, I just do it alone. But if it's something more complex, more complicated...

R: Then it's time to call in an expert. So if we call someone in, they're helping us out.

M: And you physically call somebody? Like on your phone.

R: It could be. Yeah. Or even just any process by which you get them to the house is calling them in. So it could be an email or a message.

M: Yeah. And as an example, you can talk about something that breaks in your house. Like a leak. A leak is usually in your bathroom when you have water coming out from your pipes. Yeah? From your toilet. Something like there's water coming from somewhere in your house. There is a leak. And you can say that if there is a leak in my house, I usually call in an expert. I usually call an expert to fix this. And plumbing. What is plumbing?

R: So broadly speaking, at least in my experience, plumbing is anything to do with the supply of water in and around the house. So that could be pipes for the water supply, like the hot and the cold water, or it could be connected to the heating or anything that runs off of that. So your shower, your bath, your taps, those are all part of the plumbing.

M: And this is a very good example to give when you talk about something that you cannot fix yourself. Plumbing is spelt with plumbing. But we say plumbing, dear listener. And a person who fixes is called a plumber. And you can say it like, if there is something wrong with the plumbing at my home, I usually call in an expert. So plumbing is about water pipes in your building, in your house, in your flat. So everything with this, you know, like pipes and water, what else can break in your house?

R: Oh, God, anything and everything. The windows could break, and you have to call in an expert to replace them unless you can replace your windows yourself. I don't know anyone who can do that.

M: Air conditioning.

R: Yeah. The various pieces of furniture could break. Your computer could break.

M: Yeah, the internet, for example. Wi-Fi connection.

R: The entire internet could break.

M: No, no. What kinds of help do we usually ask for? So we ask for what?

R: Effective help.

M: Yeah. Quality help. Home maintenance. So we've been talking about plumbing. And generally, it is called home maintenance. Maintenance is how you take care of your flat, of your house, how you maintain your house, dear listener. So we maintain our house, we take care of it. And maintenance. Maintenance is the work needed to keep a road building, and machines in good condition. And usually, we say, like, a house needs a lot of maintenance. So if you live in a house, it does need a lot of attention, it does need your care.

R: Well, apparently it does. I mean, should houses need that much care if they've already been built?

M: Well, yeah, you have the heating. You have, you know, pipes and water and electricity and all these, you know, tubes and pipes and... The internet.

R: It is a lot to take care of. That's true.

M: If you have a swimming pool. You know? All this, you know, electricity wires everywhere. Like woo...

R: And all I wanted is a new shower.

M: So you can say that I usually ask for home maintenance. So, everything is connected to home maintenance. And you can say that I don't usually do it myself, so I know nothing about DIY. Do it yourself, yeah? Like do-it-yourself furniture, do-it-yourself, I don't know, internet. And electrical work. I know nothing about electrical work. So electricity? No, no, no, no, no. And actually, it's very dangerous.

R: To mess around with the electrical work.

M: Exactly. Yeah, a friend of mine wanted to kind of get rid of some wires. Wires? What are wires?

R: They're the things that conduct electricity in the house.

M: Yeah. And he wanted to get rid of it, and he touched it, and he got what? Shot? A shot of electricity? He got electrified.

R: Well, his body would have been electrified, but the injury is, he would be electrocuted, or electrocution.

M: Yeah. So he was electrocuted. He was like... Like this.

R: Oh, was he okay?

M: Yeah, yeah. But still, you know, unpleasant. So you see, dear listener? It's dangerous. How can you say, kind of I don't want to get electrocuted, so I call in an expert. Could you give us a sentence?

R: Well, what, my wires were not working properly or needed to be replaced, so I had to call in an electrician.

M: And I couldn't do it myself, because I don't want to be electrocuted. Yeah?

R: Yes.

M: So I always need a hand with home maintenance. Or I always need help with home maintenance. I always need a hand with plumbing, with electrical work, with my internet. Or I always need a hand when something goes wrong in my flat or in my house. Yeah. Or in my life. Yeah, what about psychological help, Rory? You just like you focused on house, but people often ask for psychological help for, you know, like to maintain their mental health. Could you give us a sentence about like psychological help?

R: What would the question be? What kinds of help do you often ask for? Sometimes I talk to a therapist about my mental health. You could say that. I don't have a therapist, so I don't really know much about what you would talk to them about.

M: Teachers are willing to help students, which means they want to help students, because it's their job, okay? They are paid to give help. And the entire point, the whole point of being a teacher is to support somebody, to help them when they face challenges, when they have challenges. The last time I asked for help was yesterday, for example. Rory also focused on his house maintenance. He needs a new shower installed. Okay?

R: Is it passive voice?

M: Yeah, yeah. So Rory pays to some people and they install a shower. So I'm trying to get a new shower installed in my house, or I'm getting a new kitchen installed, or a new Jacuzzi installed in my house, and this has been a bit of a pain. Oh, it's just like... It's difficult. It's been difficult. I can't do it myself, so I've been waiting for a long time. So you can say it has been a bit of a pain in the neck. It has been difficult.

R: And it still is difficult. Please, if anyone knows the plumber, let me know.

M: Yeah, because, like, you need to choose a person, call them, arrange a special time. So... Yeah. Rory, what do we call a person who is always asking for help all the time?

R: I mean, it depends, because if they're always asking for help and they need it, then they're a person that always needs help. But if it's in a negative... If it's describing them in a negative way, then we could say they're quite needy.

M: Yeah. Needy, dear listener. You can say that I'm not needy. Or I'm very needy, when it comes to emotional support, and psychological help, I'm needy. I'm in need of help. And what do we call a person who helps other people? Like a generous person?

R: Generous, helpful. I'm trying to think of any others, just one-word ones, but I can't think of any. Willing to help is pretty good. Selfless, also.

M: Yep, yeah. Because selfish and selfless. And what about financial help? Some people often ask for financial help. So what can we say? Like, I sometimes ask for money. I ask people to give me money.

R: Yeah, so they... Well, I suppose you'd have a well-off friend doing that, wouldn't you? But that's not to do with being helpful. That's to do with having money.

M: And you can say that I sometimes ask my friend for money, or I sometimes borrow money from my friends, or like I ask for financial help. Yes, dear listener. And we are here to help you with your grammar and vocabulary, okay? And Rory has used a nice one. Must have been. Why did you use must have been? Oh, yes, I must have called about a million different numbers to fix my shower.

R: Yes. But that's just like logical deduction. I'm thinking about how frustrating the experience was, together.

M: Sweet. Thank you very much for listening. Hopefully, you are a nice, helpful and generous person. We're here to help you, dear listener. So if you need more help, just write to Rory on Instagram.

R: Unless you're going to ask me about how to fix things in the home or how to refer to these things, in which case I'm completely hopeless. Please talk to a plumber, an electrician or a joiner.

M: Oh, and don't ask Rory about conditionals.

R: Yes. Ask Maria about the conditionals.

M: Ask me about the conditionals. Bye!

R: Bye!

Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff!

Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi
Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi