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0:01This week on Everyday Grammar, we learned some of the grammar you need to talk about getting the things you need while on vacation. A common summer vacation might involve a trip to a beach or a lake. Let's say we are going to Big Bear Lake in California for a week. Because I am describing my plans like a story, I will use only the present tense. Here is how I would plan our The first thing we should do is find out where we can stay. My family loves camping, so I look for a campground. On the Big Bear Lake website it says Pine Knot Campground is good for families. Hiking and mountain biking trails are nearby. So I call and make a reservation for a campsite, a place to put up our tent. Here is how the call begins.
1:01I'd like to reserve a campsite at Pine Knot Campground for the last week of July. The verb reserve means to arrange to use something at a later date. It is a transitive verb, so you need an object. In this case, the object is a campsit. The reservation manager asks me some questions. Do you want a tent or RV space? How many people are in your party? The expression in your party means the number in your group. An RV or recreational vehicle is a camping vehicle, often with a bed and kitchen. I answer, I want a tent space for five people. I learn that the cost will be $42 a night. You might hear per night or a night when you make a reservation to sleep in a place. I give my credit card number to the manager to make the reservation, and she says I will
2:08get an email confirmation. Usually, a confirmation is a number or printed code that shows you have made a reservation. With the campsite reserved, the next thing I need to do is to find mountain bike rentals. My family likes to ride bicycles in the woods, but we cannot bring our bicycles to the lake. I find a few sports shops on Big Bear Boulevard near the park. I call to see if I'd like to rent five mountain bikes for the last week of August. Note that I do not ask to borrow the bikes because I am paying to use the bikes, so I am renting them. The clerk at the shop asks, Kids or adults? And do you want pedal or electric ones? There are a lot of hills around here. I had not thought about using an electric bike.
3:13It would make biking in the mountains easier, but I need more information. So I ask. I need three kids' bikes and two adult bikes. What is the price difference between pedal and electric? The clerk answers. Pedal is $48 a day and electric is $120 a day. We only have electric in the adult size though. The price helps me to decide, because $120 a day is a very high daily rate. We will pedal. After I finish renting the bikes, there was just one more thing to plan. What will we do on the lake? I heard there are lots of water sports at Big Bear. I find a web page for the marina, the place where boats are kept. It says they have many different kinds of boats available for rent. A quiet day fishing on the Lake is my family's idea of a good time.
4:21So I called to find out about renting a fishing boat. Do you rent boats and fishing gear together? The Marina staff member answers, We have an all-included fishing package that is the boat, gear, bait, and even lunch. How many people? This sounds like a good package. Businesses offer a package deal when one price covers a number of things that would normally be sold separately. is a general word for everything you might need for an activity. For fishing, it means a pole, hooks and line, and a life jacket. I answer, 5. How much is it for the whole day? I learn it is $200 for the boat and $25 for the gear. I arrange to rent the boat and make a note to be sure to bring sunscreen and sun hats for everyone. In this lesson,
5:26Again, we use some common expressions that you will hear when making reservations and renting things. They are to reserve, to make a reservation, confirmation, a night or per night, a day, price difference, package, and gear. Put these into use and you can plan your own vacation trip. Learning about all of these rental and reservation costs a month or two before our vacation makes me think. Planning ahead for a vacation is a good idea. Now I will not be surprised by extra costs, and I will enjoy the time with my family. I hope you enjoy your vacation too! And that's Everyday Grammar. I'm Jill Robbins
This transcript was generated automatically from the recording, so it will contain mistakes — especially around names and places.