Understanding a Bank Statement
Someone reviews their monthly bank statement, identifying transactions, balances, and asking a quick question about an entry.
Dialogue
Listen and follow along with the conversation
Vocabulary
Essential words and phrases from the dialogue
bank statement
A document from your bank that shows all your money transactions, like deposits and withdrawals, and your current balance for a specific period, such as a month.
balance
The amount of money you have left in your bank account after all transactions are recorded; it's like checking how much money remains.
utilities
Basic services like electricity, water, gas, and internet that you pay for each month to run your home.
accounted for
Means something is explained, included, or matches the records; often used when checking if expenses add up correctly in finances.
track
To monitor or follow the progress of something, like keeping an eye on where your money is spent to stay organized.
subscription
A service you pay for regularly, often monthly, such as a streaming app or magazine; it's automatic unless you cancel it.
free trial
A short period where you can use a service or product without paying, to test it before deciding to subscribe.
cancel
To stop a service or subscription so you no longer have to pay for it; important for avoiding unwanted charges.
overlook
To miss or forget something by accident, like not noticing a small charge on your statement.
thoroughly
In a complete and careful way, without missing details; useful when advising someone to check something carefully.
Key Sentences
Important phrases to remember and practice
Okay, let's take a look at this month's bank statement.
This is a casual suggestion to start examining something together; 'take a look' is an informal idiom for reviewing, useful for beginning discussions about documents like statements in everyday conversations.
Anything unusual?
A short yes/no question to check for anything odd or unexpected; it's simple and direct, great for quickly scanning reports or statements in financial talks.
The balance looks about right.
Here, 'about right' means approximately correct, using 'looks' for an opinion based on appearance; useful for giving casual assessments of numbers or amounts without being exact.
Always helps to track where your money goes.
This expresses a general truth with 'always helps to' followed by a verb phrase; it's practical for advising on money management, showing the infinitive form after 'helps to'.
Hold on a second.
An idiom meaning 'wait a moment' to pause the conversation; common in spoken English for drawing attention to something suddenly, like spotting an error.
What's this 'Online Subscription Service' for $12.99?
A question inquiring about a specific item with details like price; the structure 'What's this [thing] for [amount]?' is useful for clarifying unknown charges on bills or statements.
Could it be that streaming service you tried last month that had a free trial?
A polite suggestion using 'Could it be' for possibility, with a relative clause 'that had a free trial'; helpful for guessing explanations in discussions about past actions.
You're probably right! I completely forgot to cancel it before the trial ended.
Agreement with 'You're probably right' followed by an excuse; 'forgot to + verb' shows past intention not fulfilled, useful for admitting mistakes in casual talks about subscriptions.
It's easy to overlook those things.
A general statement with 'It's easy to + verb' to describe common mistakes; practical for comforting someone about forgetting details, like small payments.
Good thing you check your statement thoroughly.
Expresses relief with 'Good thing' + clause; 'check thoroughly' means examine carefully, useful for praising habits that prevent problems in financial reviews.