English for Appointments | Master Meeting & Schedule Conversations

Our next situation will be preparing for an appointment. So, perhaps this is a medical appointment. Maybe you're sick and you need to go and have surgery or some kind of procedure. Our grammar point today will be the basic use of the subjunctive and gerunds. So, I know subjunctive can be a scary topic, but in this lesson we will use it very simply and we will use its second form with gerunds. So, that's ing verbs. So, we're going to do, as I mentioned, a basic introduction of the subjunctive. So, these are some common words that use the subjunctive mood, as we call it, but we'll look at that in the next slide. So, some five of our most common words can be prefer, suggest, recommend, propose, and insist. And starting with prefer, this is a very soft suggestion. So, it's not strong, but they like it if this happens. And insist is a very strong suggestion and it's a must. In fact, we often use insist with, I must insist. So, let's look at some differences in meaning between these five words. Prefer is normally, we are happy if this happens, but if it doesn't happen, that's not a big deal. Suggest is a very common word and it usually means it's better if this happens. Recommend is to mean this is usually a good idea. And recommend is a very, very useful word when you are giving advice. Propose is an interesting word. It usually means I have an idea for the group. So, if you propose something, it's usually for a group to consider. Insist, again, this is very important, a strong suggestion. You must do this. Now, usually when we use the subjunctive, we use two forms. So, the subjunctive form is using that. But another way that we can use these five words is with an ing verb or a gerund. So, consider the first sentence. I recommend that you buy tickets now. In this form, that is necessary, but buy is the simple form of the verb. So, I recommend that you buy tickets now. And similarly, I recommend buying tickets now. Now, the difference between these two sentences is very small nuance. But basically, these are the two kinds of forms we will work with today. Now, starting with the basic form of the subjunctive, the basic structure is subject, verb, that, object, and simple present verb. Now, the simple present verb is very important because with certain words, for example, we suggest, you can drop the that. So, we suggest that you arrive five minutes early can also be, we suggest you arrive five minutes early. We most often use the subjunctive when giving formal advice on behavior to get the best outcome in the future. So, it normally comes from an authority. So, an authority is someone who usually knows better than you know. For example, doctors or business professionals. So, this is why we will practice preparing for an appointment today because this kind of advice usually comes from doctors or someone who knows what to do. As I mentioned before, often when you use the subjunctive, you can drop the that in most of these words. So, you insist that, I suggest that, I recommend that, I propose that. With all four of these words, sometimes that is not necessary. The only word in this group of five that does require that is prefer. So, you may have heard before, I prefer you to, which is not usual. So, normally you would say, I prefer that you. Let's look at some examples of the subjunctive. She proposed that we set up regular appointments. I insist that you speak to a professional. They prefer that you make an appointment, but you can walk in as well. Notice the times where you can and cannot drop that. So, some more context for these sentences. She proposed that we set up regular appointments. So, with the word propose, it's a good idea for the group. So, at these appointments, there will be more than one person. I insist you speak to a professional. It's very important, a strong suggestion, and a must. So, for example, if you have some problem medically and you think that it will just go away, but your doctor says, nope, I insist you speak to a professional. They prefer that you make an appointment, but you can walk in as well. So, here, prefer, meaning a soft suggestion, and remember to keep that. They prefer that you make an appointment. Now, remember our strong and weak suggestions, insist versus prefer. In the first situation, they insisted I pay in advance. This is very important, and you must pay in advance. So, they insist that I pay in advance. The second situation, we prefer that you bring a friend or family member. So, it's best, usually, if you do bring a friend or family member, but if you can't, that's okay, too. I mentioned this before, but something to stay away from when using the subjunctive is to. So, with all five of our words, sometimes you might want to use to. For example, like, he told me to bring a snack, but this is reported speech, and the subjunctive is a little bit different. So, he suggested I bring a snack instead of he suggested me to. So, this is very unnatural and not grammatically correct in English to say that with suggested. So, it's best to remember which words can use the subjunctive. So, he suggested that I bring a snack. Our next form of this topic will be gerunds. So, the basic structure of these is a subject, a verb, and an ing verb. We don't recommend driving home. So, this is a similar meaning to the that form, but it's rather casual. So, instead of your doctor saying, I recommend that you exercise more, your friend might say, I recommend exercising more. But, in formal settings, you might hear the gerund form, the ing form, with the negative. Something to keep in mind is that when using ing, there are certain words we cannot use with ing. So, you can use suggest with that or ing, recommend with that and ing, and propose with that and ing. But, we cannot use prefer or insist when we're giving advice. So, you would have to say, I prefer that you arrive early, but you cannot say prefer arriving early. And, same with insist. We don't usually use insist with ing verbs. Here are some examples of the ing form. I definitely suggest getting there early. They don't recommend exercising after the procedure. She proposed setting up regular appointments. So, a little more detail about these sentences. I definitely suggest getting there early is a more casual suggestion than something a doctor might say. They don't recommend exercising after the procedure. So, this is still a formal suggestion, but this is in the negative. So, with the negative form in a formal suggestion, we will often use the ing form of the verb. She proposed setting up regular appointments. Now, this sounds very much like she proposed that we set up regular appointments, but sometimes the meaning is just very similar, and you can use both. So, in the third sentence, you can use that or an ing verb. Let's practice. So, five practice sentences we have here. I've given you a hint. So, drink, go, get, exercise, meet. Now, the bolded you, I, or we are the topic. So, let's say you want to change the verb and use the you, I, or we. Okay, and some answers here. We don't recommend drinking a lot of coffee. So, in this case, you could also use we don't recommend that you drink a lot of coffee, but the hint just had drink. So, there was no object there. So, we don't recommend drinking a lot of coffee. Again, in the negative, we will use the ing. I insist that you go to the hospital immediately. So, remember, insist, we can only use with the that form, but if you want, you can drop the that. So, I insist you go to the hospital immediately. We prefer that you get eight hours of sleep before the procedure. So, again, this is advice that is softer, but they prefer that you get, and, again, we cannot use the ing form here because insist and prefer do not use the ing form. He suggested that I exercise more often. In this case, this is a good idea. You can also use the ing verb here. He suggested exercising more often, but it's more formal, let's say. They propose that we meet twice a week. So, again, that is optional, but this is something that is advice or some suggestion for a group of people, which is why we use propose. And now here is our main topic for the day, preparing for a medical procedure. So, let's make sure we use our subjunctive with that or ing, and we'll use all five of our verbs, prefer, insist, suggest, recommend, or propose. So, we only have four blanks. So, take a look at the verb in bold and decide which one would be best. And there are multiple answers, but there are some that are better than others in some situations. Let's look at some answers to these questions. We recommend that you eat a full meal 12 hours before. So, this is a doctor speaking. We will usually use the formal. We recommend that you eat. Again, here, that is not necessary, but you can use it or not use it in any situation. But we don't suggest eating anything after that. So, our hint here was don't. So, this is the negative sentence. We don't suggest eating, which is very common with the ing. You can say we don't suggest that you eat anything, but it's much more common and natural to say we don't suggest eating anything after that. The day of the exam, we prefer that you arrive 15 minutes early. With prefer, remember that we must use that in this situation. We prefer that you arrive. Unfortunately not. We must insist that you arrange a ride home. So, insist is the very important advice in this situation and often is used with must. We must insist that you arrange a ride home, but that is optional here. And remember that insist cannot use ing. So, let's read this through. Your appointment will be next Tuesday at 9 a.m. Great. Thank you. Should I do anything to prepare? We recommend that you eat a full meal 12 hours before, but we don't suggest eating anything after that. The day of the exam, we prefer that you arrive 15 minutes early. And can I drive home afterwards? Unfortunately not. We must insist that you arrange a ride home as you will be sedated. Excellent job with the basic use of the subjunctive with that and ing. And I hope the next time you have to go to the doctor, you might understand the kinds of things they're explaining to you. So, when you're getting advice from a doctor, make sure you listen. Very nice job and see you in the next lesson.