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Zapp! English Vocabulary & Pronunciation Audio 2.14 - Time
Taught by Katie Wood — Cambridge CELTA · Cambridge DELTA · Cambridge-accredited Teacher Trainer
Recorded and taught by a team of British and North American English teachers, based in Oxford (UK) and Barcelona (Spain).
Ask someone how old they are in decades and you get a pause. Katie tries it in this episode, and the answer comes back: "three and a third". That sets the tone for the whole recording — one time word, one real answer, and a bit of teasing. Later she runs the same game with Tom, who reaches for "in a while" and "in a bit" before landing on the phrase she wanted, then admits that "a minute is a very long minute".
What you'll hear in this episode
Two unscripted English conversations, both built as a guessing game: Katie describes a word or phrase about time, and the other person tries to name it.
In the first, she talks with Donnie. They start with the ways English talks about now without meaning this exact second — nowadays, these days, at the moment — and Donnie uses them straight away to describe a full diary: teaching, a little acting, and playing guitar in bars and clubs every weekend. The word for ten years leads into a genuine problem with English: "Some people call it the noughties", he says, before asking "what about now are we the teens are we the tens?" Katie confesses "I always get confused, which century are we in now?" On punctuality, Donnie is honest — "I should be more punctual" — and one of the speakers admits to hating lateness and usually arriving early, with an exception on the night of the conversation.
In the second, Tom works through in a minute, ages, eventually, in the end, while and now and then. The first of those comes with a confession from one of the speakers: they use it constantly to put off a parent who wants something done immediately. Tom's own examples are unforced — "It's been ages since I went to the cinema." When he finally lands on eventually, Katie can't resist: "Eventually Tom guessed the right answer!" His reply: "Silly me!"
Quick facts
| Episode | 2.14 — Time |
| Pack | Vocabulary and Pronunciation 2 |
| Level | 2 |
| Length | 21 minutes 06 seconds |
| Speakers heard | Katie, Donnie, Tom |
| Workbook | Included in the all-in-one pack (€39) |
What you'll learn
The meaning distinctions here are the ones learners get wrong for years. On time and punctual mean the same thing; in time does not — Donnie's own gloss is that it's "a little bit earlier than you need to be", enough time before the train goes. Eventually means after a long wait; in the end means after everything else has happened. And in a minute has nothing to do with sixty seconds.
The pronunciation work is about sounds vanishing. In now and then, the teaching section points out that "We don't pronounce the d", and and is reduced to /ən/. The same weak /ə/ turns up in nowadays, in a minute, at the moment and for ages — which is why these phrases sound like single words at speed. In in the end you get the opposite effect: "you get an extra /j/ sound when you join these words together". You'll also work on stress in decade (on /dek/) and the syllables of punctual and eventually, repeating each one after the beep.
Vocabulary from this episode
- nowadays (adverb) – at the present time, around now, not past
- these days (phrase) – at the present time, around now, not past
- at the moment (phrase) – this minute, right now or around now but not exactly at this minute
- a decade (noun) – a period of ten years
- a century (noun) – a period of one hundred years
- punctual (adjective) – at the correct or expected time
- in time (phrase) – with enough time before something happens
- in a minute (phrase) – very soon
- ages (noun) – a long period of time
- eventually (adverb) – after a long time
- in the end (phrase) – finally after a period of time
- while (conjunction) – at the same moment or time, happening at the same moment or time
- now and then – sometimes but not regularly
What's in the workbook
The workbook for this unit carries the full transcript of both conversations, so you can go back and see exactly how Donnie hedged on the name of the current decade, or how Tom stacked up once in a while and "Every so often" at the end. It also contains the scripts for both Meaning and Pronunciation sections, with the phonetic breakdowns used in the audio, and a glossary giving each term with IPA and a short definition.
Then there are three practice tasks. Practice 1 asks you to match five sentence halves — one of them ends "while I was in Mexico". Practice 2 is word order, five sentences to rebuild, including "He was a king in the 17th century." Practice 3 is pronunciation: underline the weak /ə/ sound in five words and phrases. Answers are printed at the back.
This workbook is part of the Zapp! English all-in-one pack, which covers every episode across the courses for €39.
Get the complete courseAll workbooks and audio — €39
Common questions
Does "in a minute" ever mean a minute?
No. As Tom puts it, it means "soon. Very soon" — and, as he adds, "a minute is a very long minute". You'll also hear in a bit and in a while used the same way.
What's the difference between "on time" and "in time"?
On time is arriving at the arranged moment. In time is arriving early enough for something to still work — catching the train, not missing the start.
Is the audio scripted?
The conversations are completely unscripted, hesitations and all. The teaching sections that set up the guessing games and give the answers are scripted, so the instructions stay clear.
Do I need the workbook to follow along?
No — the audio stands on its own. The workbook is for checking the transcript, the phonetics and the three practice tasks afterwards.
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