Learn English through the most effective scene from the legendary movie Titanic!

The film is a love story set against the backdrop of the famous shipwreck in 1912. The film has many memorable scenes. Scenes in the film contain important structures in English grammar. Today, let's learn English through this classic movie Titanic!

1. Tag question

In one scene, Jack, played by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, has dinner with a group of rich people. DiCaprio doesn't come from a wealthy background – in fact, quite the opposite. He's not home.

A rich woman asked Jack a difficult question. She asked him if he liked his homeless life.

You can hear the silence stress after her question.

“And you find that sort of rootless existence appealing, do you?”

“And you find that kind of rootless existence appealing, don't you?”

 “Well, yes, ma’am, I do.”

“Yes, yes, ma'am, I do.”

Consider this short exchange.

We'll start with the woman's question. The woman's question is a type of tag question:

• First, she declared:
  

“And you find that sort of rootless existence appealing”

• The woman followed the statement with a tag question:

“do you?”

Note: If an English speaker gives a sentence using the verb no must be be, tag questions often use an auxiliary verb such as door have. In this case, the woman was speaking using a verb find, and she used an auxiliary verb do in the tag question.

2. How to address politely

Think about answer by DiCaprio opposite to to the woman's question.

DiCaprio responded by saying:

Well, yes, ma’am, I do.”

“Yes, yes, ma'am, I do.”

The order of DiCaprio's words is important.

• • DiCaprio started with the word “Well” is a common word that has many uses. We often use “Well” when giving explanations.
  • DiCaprio then said “yes”, a term of agreement.
  • The next word is "I have" .

"I have" is a polite term. Americans often use it to talk to a woman they don't know. Speakers often use “I have" in the answer – after the word “yes” or the word “no”.

In other words, you are more likely to hear Americans say “yes, ma’am” or “full, ma'am". Americans do not use the term “I have" along with a woman's name.

DiCaprio makes good use of the words: Well, yes, ma’am, to show politeness and show that an explanation is coming.

Note: DiCaprio could have responded in a different, more direct way, as in:

”And you find that sort of rootless existence appealing, do you?”

“Yes, I do.”

Such an answer would be a bit too strong. That's why DiCaprio didn't say it.

summary

The purpose of this story is to show you that you can learn about culture and grammar by watching movies or TV shows. Even short clips can give you a lot of information.

When watching these movies or shows, try asking yourself some questions. Why does the speaker say those things? Can they change the way they say their lines? These can be difficult questions to answer, but you will learn a lot by thinking about them.

Advice: It's helpful to choose a clip from something you like – maybe a movie or a show you've watched before.