Hi. This is Gill at www.engvid.com, and today,
we have a lesson which was requested by Karim, who left a comment on our website. So, Karim, I
hope you're watching. This is for you. Okay. So, the subject of the lesson is called: "Missed
Situation", which means you were going to do something, but something else happened
and it stopped you doing what you wanted to do. So, there are different ways of expressing
this in English. So I'm going to show you six different ways of talking about this kind
of situation. Okay, so we have the first three examples on the board,
so let's have a look. So: "I was going to go shopping,"-that was my
intention. I have planned to go shopping-"but"-and there's always a "but"-"I got a phone call
which lasted nearly an hour,"-someone phoned me and I was talking for nearly an hour-"and
by the time the call ended"-when I finished the call, a whole hour had gone by-"the shops
were all shut." The shops had closed, so that meant I could not go shopping. Okay? So I was
going to go shopping, but da-da-lum, and by the time the call ended, the shops were all
shut. So my plan to go shopping - I couldn't go. Right? So that's one way: "I
was going to, but..." All right? Another way of saying this is: "I was all
set to", I had everything arranged. "I was all set to go on holiday, but then my car
broke down,"-something went wrong with my car-"and I had to spend the money on repairs
instead." Instead of going on holiday. The money I was going to spend on the holiday,
I had to spend that money getting the car repaired. Okay. So, again: "All set to", "I
was all set to". Maybe I'd got my suitcase packed, I'd taken time of work, I was ready
to go on holiday, but this happened and I had to spend the money on
repairs instead. Okay? Right, and then the third example, this is
talking to somebody. You had an intention, but you didn't do it, and that this is the reason
why. "I would have called you yesterday,"-I would have phoned you yesterday-"but my phone
wasn't working." Okay? So: "I would have", I was wanting to. I would have, but something
stopped me - my phone wasn't working. Okay, so that's three ways of saying what
you meant to do and it didn't happen. We'll now move on to another three. Okay, so our next three examples. "I had every
intention of returning the book to the library", I planned to, I was going to. "I had every
intention of returning the book to the library", this is a book that you borrow from the library,
and if you don't return it by a certain date, they usually charge you a fee for late returning.
So: "I had every intention of returning the book to the library last week, but"-"but"
again-"I have a friend staying,"-that's a friend staying with me at my home-"and she's
been reading it." So because my friend is reading the book, I can't return it yet. Okay?
So once she's gone home, I will return it, but not yet. Okay. Next example: "I had it all arranged to give
my friend a surprise party", so I had made the arrangements; I had all the plans, I had
invited people on a particular date and at a time. It was all arranged. "I had it all
arranged to give my friend a surprise party,"-a party that she didn't know about-"but then
she found out"-she discovered, she found out about my plan, she discovered my plan-"and
said she didn't want one!" She didn't want a surprise party. Okay? Some people love surprise
parties; some people hate them. So, obviously, this person hates
surprise parties. I once had a surprise party which I didn't know
about, and it was okay. It was a surprise, obviously, but it was okay. Arranged by my
husband. And then a few years later he was trying to arrange another one, but when I
discovered that he was doing it, I said: "No, no. I don't want it this time." So if you
find out about something, it's possible you don't actually want it.
But anyway. Okay, and then finally one example here is
a little bit different. It's not a missed situation, but the wording of it is quite
useful because it's something that you did do, but you wished that you hadn't. You think:
"Oh, why did I do that? That was stupid." So it's a reverse of the missed situation.
It's a situation you should have missed; it would have been better
if you had missed it. So: "If only" is a very good phrase to use.
"If only I'd listened to your advice, then", so there's no "but" this time; there's a "then".
"Then I wouldn't have invested with that bank." I wouldn't have put some money into that bank.
And then you can add another sentence: "As it is", meaning: I did do that and what happened
was. "As it is,"-now-"I've lost a lot of money." It was a bad investment. The bank... It wasn't
a good bank to invest with. So if only I'd listened, I wouldn't have invested. As it is,
I've lost a lot of money. Okay? So that's the reverse of the
missed situation. So, I hope all those wordings are helpful for
you in describing something that you missed, but you wanted to do, or perhaps something
you did do that you wish you hadn't done. And if you'd like to test yourself on these
words, please go to the website www.engvid.com where there is a quiz. And if you found this
lesson helpful, please subscribe to my channel on YouTube. And hope to see you again very
soon. Okay, thanks for watching. Bye.
