Learn how to explain an absence
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to RussianPod101.com. This is Business Russian for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 17 - Explaining an Absence from the Office. John Here. |
| Karina: Привет, I'm Karina. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to explain the reasons for having taken a day off or leaving the office early. The conversation takes place at the office. |
| Karina: It's between Anna and Linda. |
| John: The speakers are co-workers, therefore, they will use informal Russian. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Анна: Привет Линда, как дела? Я слышала, что ты себя плохо чувствовала вчера. |
| Линда: Прости. У меня ужасно болела голова, и я отдыхала дома. |
| Анна: Не нужно извинений, такое бывает! |
| Анна: Я тоже иногда страдаю от головных болей. |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Анна: Привет Линда, как дела? Я слышала, что ты себя плохо чувствовала вчера. |
| Линда: Прости. У меня ужасно болела голова, и я отдыхала дома. |
| Анна: Не нужно извинений, такое бывает! |
| Анна: Я тоже иногда страдаю от головных болей. |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Anna: Hello Linda, how are you? I heard that you didn't feel well yesterday. |
| Linda: Apologies. I had a severe headache and I rested at home. |
| Anna: You don't have to apologize, it can happen! |
| Anna: I also sometimes suffer from headaches. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Anna was really nice about Linda’s absence too. |
| Karina: Yeah, this seems like a really nice and friendly place to work, doesn’t it? |
| John: It does. Can I get a job there? |
| Karina: Not until after we’ve finished this lesson! Linda did give notice for her absence though, so people would be more understanding. |
| John: Absences without a notice are a no-no, I guess? |
| Karina: Right. If you’re sick, you must call your boss and tell them. |
| John: Do you need a sick note from your doctor? |
| Karina: Yes, it’s better to get a sick-voucher from the hospital so you don’t get a penalty for being absent. |
| John: We spoke about paid holiday leave in a previous lesson. Are there any occasions where you can take unpaid holidays? |
| Karina: According to Russian Labor Law, you can have five unpaid days off for a wedding, birth, or death of a close relative. |
| John: Three important events. And if there’s no real reason why you’re absent…? |
| Karina: You can be fired. |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Karina: вчера [natural native speed] |
| John: yesterday |
| Karina: вчера[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: вчера [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Karina: головная боль [natural native speed] |
| John: headache |
| Karina: головная боль[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: головная боль [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Karina: отдыхать [natural native speed] |
| John: to rest |
| Karina: отдыхать[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: отдыхать [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Karina: извинения [natural native speed] |
| John: apologies |
| Karina: извинения[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: извинения [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Karina: такое [natural native speed] |
| John: this, such thing |
| Karina: такое[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: такое [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Karina: бывать [natural native speed] |
| John: to happen, to take place |
| Karina: бывать[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: бывать [natural native speed] |
| John: And last... |
| Karina: страдать [natural native speed] |
| John: to suffer |
| Karina: страдать[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karina: страдать [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of one of the phrases from this lesson. The phrase is... |
| Karina: Такое бывает! |
| John: meaning "It can happen!" What can you tell us about this phrase? |
| Karina: First is Такое, “this” in neuter, followed by бывает. |
| John: Which is “happens” in present simple. How can this be used? |
| Karina: It’s neutral and can be used with both colleagues and your boss. |
| John: Can it be made more formal or informal? |
| Karina: If you shorten it to just бывает, then it becomes informal. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Karina: Sure. For example, you can say, - Принтер не работает! - Бывает. |
| John: ...which means "- Printer doesn't work! - (Sometimes it) happens." |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn about explaining the reasons for having taken a day off or leaving the office early. This sounds like a case for the past tense. |
| Karina: Right. There were a few examples of past tense verbs in the conversation: я слышала, ты чувствовала and я отдыхала. |
| John: “I heard,” “you felt,” and “I rested,” respectively. What can you tell us about the past tense conjugation of these verbs? |
| Karina: They are all feminine verbs, so they all end in ла. That’s typical of feminine verbs in past tense. |
| John: How about masculine verbs in past tense? |
| Karina: Replace the ть ending of the infinitive form with л, and for plural or polite form—with ли. |
| John: Let’s hear the past tense in some example sentences. |
| Karina: У меня была температура. |
| John: “I had a fever.” |
| Karina: У меня болел живот. |
| John: “I had a stomachache.” What if the issue is a recurring one, like Linda and her headaches? |
| Karina: In that case, it’s better to use the present tense and a frequency adverb. |
| John: Let’s have an example of this too. |
| Karina: Я должен водить сына к врачу каждые два месяца. |
| John: “I have to bring my son to the doctor every other month.” |
| Karina: If you’ve been ill, when you return to the office you’ll have to speak to your colleagues. |
| John: In Linda’s case that was fine though; Anna was really nice and understanding. |
| Karina: Right. It’s nice to say to a returning colleague, Не нужно извинений. |
| John: “You don’t have to apologize.” |
| Karina: This phrase is very neutral, so it can be used in both formal and informal situations. |
| John: And maybe the phrase we learned earlier in the key vocabulary section could come in handy here too? |
| Karina: Yes! Такое бывает! |
| John: “It can happen!” |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Karina: Пока! |
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