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14

Unit 14: New Year, New Project
Present perfect with just, already and yet

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  1. 1Nice to meet you!
  2. 2What to wear
  3. 3Like this, like that
  4. 4The daily grind
  5. 5Christmas every day
  6. 6Great achievers
  7. 7The Titanic
  8. 8Travel
  9. 9The big wedding
  10. 10Sunny's job hunt
  11. 11The bucket list
  12. 12Moving and migration
  13. 13Welcome to BBC Broadcasting House
  14. 14New Year, New Project
  15. 15From Handel to Hendrix
  16. 16What's the weather like?
  17. 17The Digital Revolution
  18. 18A detective story
  19. 19A place to live
  20. 20The Cult of Celebrity
  21. 21Welcome to your new job
  22. 22Beyond the planets
  23. 23Great expectations!
  24. 24Eco-tourism
  25. 25Moving house
  26. 26It must be love
  27. 27Job hunting success... and failure
  28. 28Speeding into the future
  29. 29Lost arts
  30. 30Tales of survival

Session 3

The words just, already and yet are often used in a business and work context. Let's have look at that now as we join a morning meeting in a technology company.

Wayiitiwwan marii boqonnaa kana keessaa

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    Activity 1
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    Activity 2
  1. Activity 1
  2. Activity 2

Activity 1

The O-Brush

Mornings will never be the same...

In the last two sessions we looked the present perfect tense with just, already and yet. Now let's look at this language in the context of a business meeting…

Welcome to Smarter Mornings Ltd. Their products make your mornings even easier and more relaxing! You're going to listen to a business meeting in which the Smarter Mornings staff discuss a new product – the O-Brush.

What do you think it does?

A. It cleans your teeth while you're still asleep

B. It cleans your teeth only when they need it

C. It sends you a message if your breath smells

Now listen to the audio to see if you guessed correctly. Check the vocabulary box if you need help with new words.

Listen to the audio and try the activity

Barreeffama agarsiisiBarreeffama dhoksi

Coughing and rustling paper.

Suzi
Thank you for coming, everyone. Martin, the agenda?

Martin
Oh yes, thank you, Suzi. Just one item on the agenda today – the O-Brush. We've already reached week two of January – and, as we know, we need to deliver by March. Rufus, tell us some more.

Rufus
Ok, right, well… This is going to revolutionise your morning. None of our competitors have done this yet. The O-Brush not only cleans, it reads you the news headlines, tells you about traffic delays, and even takes a 'mouth selfie' – a picture of the inside of your mouth, and posts it to social media!

(general cheering and applause)

Rufus
And, the best bit. It sends you a text when your breath smells.

Martin
Wow. That's just fantastic, Rufus. Really fantastic. Now, any updates on the design?

Rufus
Yeah, sure, we've made this prototype.

Toothbrush being handled and passed around

Suzi
Wow - already? Great job. Love the pink handle. What about money - how much is it going to cost?

Rufus
Well we haven't finished the full budgetyet Suzi. But we think it will sell for £50.

Martin
Fabulous… I'm excited. And Zack, what about marketing?

Zack
I've just received the market research. This is going to sell like hot cakes.

Martin
Very good, very good. So, does this prototype work? (Martin switches it on) Oh, there we go! It's… it feels fantastic!

BEEP

Martin
What was that? 

Suzi
I think that was your phone, Martin. It just beeped.

O-Brush
THIS IS A MESSAGE FROM YOUR O-BRUSH. MARTIN, YOUR BREATH SMELLS. THANK YOU.

Coughing

Martin
It's obviously not quite ready yet. 

Suzi
Er, any other business?

To do

That was an interesting meeting! So, the O-Brush actually texts you - sends you a message on your phone - if your breath smells.

We heard just, yet and already quite a few times. Suzi said: "I think that was your phone, Martin. It just beeped." Martin said: "It's obviously not quite ready yet."

In natural spoken English, people don't always use just, yet and already with the present perfect, but the meaning of the words is still the same. Have a go at this this multiple choice quiz to see and practice some more example sentences.

Already, just, yet quiz

6 Questions

Choose the correct word to complete each sentence

Baga gammadde! Qormaata xumurteetta
Excellent!Great job!Carraa badaa!Qabxii argatte:
x / y

Next

Well done! There were a lot of business words in the O-Brush conversation, like agenda, budget and market research. Do you know what they all mean? Try our quiz on the next page.

Caasluga kutaa kanaa

  • just = a very short time ago.

    She’s just finished her second year at university.

    already = before now, or earlier than expected.

    I've already done that module.

    yet = 'before now', or 'until now'.

    I haven't had lunch yet.

    Have you finished your essay yet?

Wabii caasluga guutuu agarsiisi

Session Vocabulary

  • agenda
    the subject you plan to talk about in a meeting

    item
    (here) one subject you talk about in a meeting

    deliver
    finish a project

    competitors
    people or companies who are trying to be more successful than you

    updates
    information about progress of a project

    prototype
    the first example of a product

    budget
    the amount of money you have to spend on something

    marketing
    the things companies do, for example advertising, to persuade people to buy things

    market research
    collecting and studying information about what people buy and why

    sell like hot cakes
    to sell very quickly

Wabii jechoota guutuu agarsiisi

Wiirtuu gadi-buufatan

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