BEFORE WE DIVE IN
New video on YouTube
This is from a video I made earlier this year teaching decision-making expressions. Please like and subscribe x
There are moments when being British in Barcelona creates daily conflict.
Not dramatic conflict.
Just… time conflict.
To me, the word afternoon is simple.
It means the time after noon.
And noon is 12:00.
So, 1pm? Obviously afternoon.
Apparently not.
The first time I said “Good afternoon” to a student at 1pm, they looked genuinely confused.
“But I haven’t had lunch yet. It’s not afternoon!”
I looked at my watch.
Then back at their face.
And whispered to myself:
“…It’s still morning.”
Yes, Jack. You live in Barcelona.
And in Barcelona, lunch determines the time of day.
1pm is not afternoon.
Let’s call it late morning.
These days, when someone asks for classes “in the afternoon,”
I know what they really mean:
3 or 4pm, maybe 5. After coffee. Definitely after lunch.
Because while afternoon is an English word…
Barcelona runs on its own clock.
And that clock doesn’t care what time it is.
Only whether you’ve had lunch yet.
Who doesn’t love a menu del día
This week’s three tips:
SOMETHING TO AVOID 🫣
🤦🏻♀️ “I haven’t lunch yet”
We cannot say “I haven’t lunch yet” because the verb isn’t “lunch”. The verb is “to have lunch” and as we have mentioned before “to have” is a difficult verb as it can be both a verb and an auxiliary.
✅ “I haven’t had lunch yet”
So the correct structure needs an Auxiliary. In the present it’s “do”, in the future “will” and the Present Perfect “have”.
Do you have lunch at work every day?
What will you have for lunch?
SOMETHING TO SOUND CONFIDENT 🧐
👔 NOT a Business expression!
“Liquid lunch”
A liquid lunch is an informal (and often humorous or ironic) expression referring to a lunch that consists mainly of alcoholic drinks, rather than solid food.
It’s often used to describe boozy business lunches or social drinking in the middle of the day, sometimes suggesting a lack of productivity afterward.
Looks like the sales team had a liquid lunch. They came back from their ‘meeting’ a little too happy.
SOMETHING TO WATCH 👀
NEXT STEP ➡️
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Keep learning,
Jack & Krystallo
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