Hello,

 

My name is Aida and I’ve decided to make this podcast to help you listen to authentic material, spoken by a native speaker in colloquial Arabic. If you’re a beginner to pre-intermediate, then this is the right place for you to be to improve your Arabic listening and speaking skills.

 

In this series, you will be listening to a different topic each time. The purpose is to provide you with the necessary vocabulary on a wide range of topics, such as family, hobbies, studying, travelling and so on.

 

 

Today I’ll be speaking about presents. The questions I’ll be discussing are:

 

Are presents important? Does everyone like to buy presents? What is important when buying a present?

 

A present is one of those things that brings us joy. It’s an expression of love and appreciation. If we love someone, we gladly spend some money to get them a present we believe they will like. The person who receives the present feels that he or she is appreciated. 

 

Presents do not have to cost a lot of money, but they should reflect that the buyer has put in some effort to consider what might make the recipient happy.

 

People buy presents for common occasions, such as birthdays, marriage, and graduation. These are well-known occasions across the globe. But the present that seem to be best appreciated are those that are not expected.  Unexpected presents are probably the best because you know for sure that the person who gives you the present did not have to do so.

 

Some people love to buy presents because, on the one hand, they love to go shopping; and on the other hand, they are natural philanthropists, who thrive in making other people happy. Others do not enjoy buying presents, perhaps because they don’t enjoy shopping, or because they find it difficult to buy presents.

 

Presents are important since they have become the norm in most societies, and since most people expect to receive presents, at least on special occasions. Not receiving present might cause disappointment and sadness.

 

Obviously, some presents are good, while others might be described as bad presents. Perhaps the worst kind of presents are those that are clearly too cheap or presents that are the opposite of what the recipient likes.

 

 

Now let me give you an example of what people might say in reply to questions related to presents.

 

 

I like to receive presents. They make me feel that the people around me love and appreciate me. Presents don’t have to be expensive, but if I can afford it, I like to pay a little extra money to buy a special present for someone I love.

 

The best presents are those made by people with emotional intelligence. They tend to pay attention to small details that make people happy. Such people remember your favourite colour and keep it in mind when someone uses phrases such as: I wish I had, or when I’ve saved a little money, I’m going to buy…

 

When it comes to children, too many presents can be harmful, as the child might get used to getting everything they want. Also presents should not become an alternative to affection. Children also need to receive love and attention from their parents, not just presents.

 

Sometimes buying presents can become cumbersome if you run out of ideas. It becomes more and more difficult to come up with new ideas for birthdays every year, for instance. In this case, the internet might be helpful. For people who can’t come up with new ideas, or who do not like to go shopping, it is easy nowadays to either shop online, or research new ideas for specific occasions. Buying presents online is especially helpful when you have a busy life schedule and cannot always find the time to go out and buy a present.

 

Now try and answer the following question in colloquial Arabic: do you like to buy presents? what do you like or not like about it?

 

So, that’s all I have to say about presents for now. I hope you have found this episode useful. If you liked it, remember that listening to the same episode more than once is very helpful in remembering the new vocabulary you have learnt. It was great having you with me. I’d appreciate you leaving me a like and would love it if you could join me for more episodes.

 

This is Aida from Learn Arabic with Ease! Bye Bye!