ANGELICA: Doesn’t the bride look beautiful in that wedding dress?
MARIA: Yes. She looks amazing. And the groom is so romantic. I just heard the story of how they got engaged! He proposed to her during a candlelight dinner in London. Did you know that was where they went to school?
ANGELICA: Oh? Wonderful. And the honeymoon! What a great idea! Most people just go to the beach for a week after they tie the knot. But they plan on heading to California and cruising the coast on their motorcycle.
MARIA: Really! What a fantastic idea. This is by far the best wedding I’ve ever been to.
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LANGUAGE NOTES
• Doesn’t …? When you have a negative question, the expected answer is “yes.” As such, it expresses the exact opposite of what is being conveyed (i.e., the bride DOES look absolutely beautiful).
• Listen to the stress on honeymoon. There are three syllables in “honeymoon,” with the stress on the first syllable [HO-ney-moon]. This content word is culturally important, so it’s emphasized: It means a trip or vacation taken by a newly married couple.
• Tie the knot is an informal way of saying “get married.”
• Can you find and explain the two usages of just in this dialogue? “Just” is an adverb that can be used in two different ways:
a) To indicate a very recent past (I just heard the story). When used to convey time, “just” is commonly used with a simple past verb because the action is complete. Sometimes it can also be used with the present perfect (He’s just finished writing a book).
b) To indicate contrast or emphasis (Most people just go to the beach). In that case, “just” can be replaced by “simply” and emphasize the word it relates to (a verb, adjective or other adverb) by denoting contrast. Compare the following sentences: “They just got married yesterday” (adverb of time). “The wedding reception was just wonderful” (adverb of emphasis).
