I B Person Roommate Night Morning Time Questions

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While in school it is common to have a roommate when you are in the dormitory. In the States, it's also common to share an apartment with a roommate. This lesson will cover the English you will need to talk to your roommate. Of course you can talk about many things, but I will specifically target this lesson towards roommate stuff.

Dormitory Roommate

When you first go into a dormitory, you will either be greeted by the person already there, or you will have to greet someone that is coming later than you. Most dormitories have one room for two people. After the dormitory section, I will cover living in an apartment with a roommate.

When you arrive to the dormitory, you can usually engage in small talk first. Most of the time, you have to get to know one another. Talk is initiated by both parties simultaneously. You can ask questions like where they came from, what year they are in, or what they like to do. But besides that, you have to find out the living habits of each other. After you engage in small talk, you can ask these questions:

It's important to know the sleeping habits of your roommate, so ask if they are a night person or a morning person.

So, are you a night owl or a morning bird?"

A night person is referred to as an owl. That is because owls are more active at night. Birds on the other hand wake up early. So they associate morning people to birds.

If you don't want to use this expression, you can ask,

Are you a night person or a morning person?"
What time do you usually go to sleep?"
What time do you usually wake up?"
If you didn't have anything to do the next day, what time would you sleep till?"

It's common courtesy to respect each other. If you are asleep, the roommate should be quiet. This goes for you too.

When you get sleepy, you can either go to sleep, or tell your roommate that you are going to sleep.

I'm a little tired. I'm going to sleep now. Have a good night."
I'm sleepy. Time to go to bed. See you in the morning."

If you like listening to music, you can ask your roommate,

Does the music bother you?"
Let me know if you want me to turn the music off."
Do you mind if I turn the stereo on?"

But when you ask questions about music or TV, you should make sure that person is not studying. If they are, then it's pointless to ask because it should be quiet. This is only good for times when you are both doing nothing.

Roommate - Sharing things and Questions

Sometimes a roommate will bring a mini refrigerator, or it might turn out that you will. It's polite to let your roommate use the refrigerator too.

Feel free to use the refrigerator."
Can I put my drinks in your fridge?"
Do you mind if I use your refrigerator?"

If you connect with the Person And you become friends, then you will not even need to ask. For example, after you get to know the person your comments will be different. Say I become a friend of my roommate. And then after a month or so, he brings a refrigerator. I wouldn't ask to use it, I would rather comment on how useful it will be. It's assumed that a friend can use the refrigerator, so no need to sound weird by asking politely. Instead you can say,

Cool, you brought a fridge. I can go buy milk now."

This comment is saying that you appreciate the refrigerator by saying, 'cool', then you indicate that you are going to use it by saying you will buy milk. If your friend doesn't object to your comment, then it is the same thing as getting permission to use the refrigerator.

Responding to questions

Are you a night person or a morning person?"
I'm a night owl. I usually sleep pretty late."

What time do you usually go to sleep?"
It varies. Usually between midnight and one in the morning."

What time do you usually wake up?"
I don't wake up until I have to."
I usually wake up at nine in the morning."

Does the music bother you?"
No not at all. I like it."

Do you mind if I turn the stereo on?"
Oh, feel free."
Can I put my drinks in your fridge?"
Sure. Don't worry about it."

Do you mind if I use your refrigerator?"
No problem at all."

Roommate - Apartment

When people live in an apartment, it is usually among friends. So there's no need to worry about being too polite. As long as you have common courtesy, you will have no problem. On the other hand, if you are looking for a roommate, then there are some things you should learn how to say. The list of questions below are examples of questions you should ask when looking to join existing people in an apartment.

Questions

What is the rent here?"
How many people live in the apartment?"
How many bedrooms does the apartment have?"
How much is utilities?"
Does the rent cover the utility bills?"
Do you have any rules for living here?"
Does it get loud in here?"
What time do people usually go to sleep?"
Do you hold any parties here?"
How many people share the bathroom?"
Do you have cable?"
Do you have high speed Internet?"

Common answers

The rent is $1200, so you would only pay $400."
This is a three bedroom unit, so you would be the third person."
On average, utilities are about $125."
The rent does not cover utilities. You would be responsible for 1/3 of the utilities."
We are pretty quiet during the week days, but on the weekends, it can get a little loud."
We have both cable and DSL here."

Roommate - Interactive Practice

Click on Listen All and follow along. After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, become Person A by clicking on the Person A button. You will hear only Person B through the audio file. There will be a silence for you to repeat the sentences of Person A. Do the same for Person B. The speed of the conversation is native speed. Use the pause button if the pause between each sentence is too fast for you. After practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.