PARTIE 1 · LEÇON 8 SUR 30 · 33 MINUTES

I Declare the Office Open

Monday the tenth of March, twenty thirty-one, ten in the morning, the office by the river, in the Northeast. A brass plaque by the lift, a bigger room next door, corn couscous from Edson's mother on the table and three clients on the wall. Marcos, Daniel's old boss, has flown up from Sao Paulo and sees him in person for the first time in three and a half years; Fernanda took the six o'clock flight from Rio. Daniel's two-minute speech, in the register of a ceremony, ends on "it is with great joy that I declare the office open"; Marcos says his line from twenty twenty-seven again, and Fernanda says "nobody said anything about moving" without being asked, this time with no "for now". At lunch, Edson explains why the city's own people put an article in front of its name, and who doesn't. Say "I thank you all for being here", "without further ado", "it is with great joy that I declare the office open" and "whoever is from here says the city's name with the article".

Langue des explications audio : anglais