I have also included some exercises and links to other material.

Me and My Family

Hello. I am going to tell you all a bit about myself, my family and my friends. My name is Pedro, I am 28 years old and I live in Valencia. I currently work at a school in the centre of Valencia and I teach Mathematics.

I love Valencia. It’s a very beautiful place and the climate is one of the best in Spain. I have a lot of friends here and my girlfriend lives just outside the city.

I really enjoy my job because I love being a teacher. I usually get up at about 7.30 am and then have some breakfast. Most days I take a shower but it depends if I get up on time or not! I get to work at 8.15 am and my first class starts at 8.30 am.

I have lunch at 1.30 pm and I usually eat a sandwich or two. I finish work at 4.30 pm. After I finish work I usually go to the gym or go for a run in the park. Sometimes I am too tired to exercise and I go straight back to bed for a nap.

In the evenings I usually prepare for my classes or go and meet my friends. My favourite bar is in the centre of Valencia and there is always someone who I know in there. I also try and do some housework every evening so that the flat isn’t too dirty! I then go to bed at around 11.30pm. From time to time I stay out late and go dancing in a club.

My girlfriend is an artist and she lives just outside of Valencia. She wants to move to Barcelona or even to New York to try and expose more of her work. At the weekends we usually go to the countryside to cook paella or to the beach. We also like mountain biking and I try to do it as much as possible. I also really enjoy watching football on television and in bars. I go to watch Valencia every now and then.

My parents live in Northern Spain. They really like the culture and the people there. They are retired and really enjoy life. My brother lives in Amsterdam and he works in a Shipyard. He has a lot of friends there and we visit him often.

I don’t want to leave Valencia but I might have to do it soon because of my girlfriend. Barcelona is a great city and I like it very much. But I love Valencia. It’s my home.

Notes

Pedro uses the present simple because he is talking about himself, his family and friends. The present simple is used for daily routines, facts, habits and to talk about things in general.

Pedro also uses adverbs of frequency. The ones used in this article are; usually, sometimes, every now and then (expression), often, from time to time (expression), always. For a list of the adverbs of frequency and how to use them – Adverbs of Frequency

Pedro has used a variety of long and short forms. An example of this is – they are = they’re
For more information of the present simple forms and how to use them – Present Simple Rules

Exercises

1. Write about yourself, your friends and your family. Use this article as a guide. Remember to include adverbs of frequency.
2. Write about your daily routine.
3. Take our quiz – Present Simple Quiz

Another good exercise is to read the story out loud. This gives you some good pronunciation practice. Please refer to the following articles to help you with the past tenses.

Links for Grammar Reference

Past Simple Rules, Forms, Exercises and Quizzes
Past Continuous (aka Progressive) Rules, Forms, Exercises and Quizzes
Pronunciation of Past Simple Regular Verbs
Past Simple and Past Continuous (Progressive) Use, Exercise and Quizzes

Key Vocabulary for the story

Travel company
Boarding pass
Abroad
Peanuts
Student exchange
Atmosphere
Romance

My Trip to the UK.

My name is Pedro and I’m from Spain. As a teenager I always wanted to go to the UK (1). In English classes at school my teacher talked about the UK a lot. She talked about how beautiful the cities are and how friendly the people are. But she also told us that the food is awful! When I was in school I was very shy (1) and although I wanted to ask more questions about the UK I couldn’t.

When I was 20 I was working at a travel company and I saved up enough money for a trip abroad. There was only one place that I wanted to go and that summer I travelled around the UK for 3 weeks (2). Before my trip I was very excited and I read about the cities that I was going to visit; London, Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh.

I took the metro to get to the Valencia airport and it only took me 20 minutes from my house (2). While I was waiting for my boarding pass someone shouted my name (3). I stopped, looked back and Sara, an old friend from school, was standing 10 metres behind me. I went over to her and we chatted while waiting for our boarding passes. She was also going to London and we decided to travel together. I always liked Sara and thought that she was looking really good. I also thought that there might be some romance on my trip!

It was a short journey and during the flight we ate some peanuts and drank some beer. The sun was shining when we landed in London (3) and everything looked so green. We quickly collected our bags and went to find a taxi to take us to a hostel. While we were waiting for a taxi we both saw someone else that we knew. Paul, who we knew from a student exchange 4 years ago, was talking with two friends. He wanted to join us as he was travelling too. He and Sara talked a lot before we all caught our taxi. I think she liked him. After a 15 minute taxi drive we arrived to a lively and friendly hostel close to the centre of London.

After we put our bags in our room I went to find a computer. While I was sending my family an email, Sara and Paul were drinking beer in the bar (4). She definitely liked him! My thoughts of romance soon went away and I decided to start thinking about the trip.

I had a great trip! London was beautiful and I went to see 3 shows in the West End. I also went to Buckingham Palace, rode the London Eye and I walked around the centre and by the river. I really enjoyed Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh also. The northern cities were a lot of fun and the people were very nice. I was very lucky because I managed to get tickets and watch a football game. Manchester City against Blackburn Rovers. The atmosphere was fantastic.

The one thing that surprised me the most was the food. It was excellent. I ate a lot of different foods from all over the world. I now love Indian food and I cook it all the time. I also ate fish and chips, sushi, and some wonderful pub food.

I also met a lot of people and I want to go back again very soon. Sara has now moved to London and she and Paul are now a couple. I liked Sara but I am happy for them. Although there wasn’t any romance, my 3 weeks in the UK was fantastic. In fact, this time 2 years ago, I was drinking beer in a bar in Leeds! (5)

Notes from the story

1. Past Simple – past facts or generalizations.

2. Past Simple – completed actions at a specific time in the past.

3. Past Simple and Past Continuous Together – the past simple action interrupts the past continuous action.

4. Two Past Continuous Actions – two actions happening at the same time.

5. Past Continuous – action in progress at a specific time in the past.

Past Simple

For a detailed look at how the Past Simple is formed you can see this here – Past Simple Forms

For a detailed look at how the Past Continuous is formed you can see this here. This also includes when not to use it – Past Continuous Forms

1. The past simple is used for completed actions in the past at a specific time. This specific time might or might not be mentioned.

1. I watched the football game last night.
2. He finished his homework.
3. Sarah saw you this morning.

2. It is used for a duration that starts and stops in the past.

1. I lived in Spain for 2 years.
2. Did you speak to her for long?
   • Yes, I spoke to her for 3 hours.

3. It is used for habits in the past.

1. When I was young I played football everyday.
2. They went there all the time.
3. Did you play a musical instrument when you were at school?

Advanced note: This is similar to ‘used to’ e.g. I used to play football everyday

4. It is also used for past facts or generalizations.

1. She was very intelligent at school.
2. We were the best team.
3. Did they move away a long time ago?

Past Continuous

1. Action in progress at a specific time in the past.

1. At 8pm yesterday I was watching football.
2. This time last week you were making a speech.
3. At 3am this morning we were sleeping.
4. The sun was shining when I woke up this morning.

Extra Note: A good example of this on television is when you hear the police interview a suspect, ‘What were you doing on the night of the murder?’

2.  Two actions that were happening at the same time.

1. I was talking with Peter while Sarah was talking with John.
2. They were listening to music while their mother was cooking.

Past Continuous and Past Simple Together

1. Interrupted actions.

The past continuous is used to show that a longer action in the past was interrupted by another action (past simple). Notice the use of ‘when’

1. I was reading the newspaper when my father called me.
2. I saw you yesterday. You were sitting on the bench near the school.
3. The sun was shining when I got up today.

———/———

2. The Past Continuous is used to give the background of an action, followed by the Past Simple to show what actions followed.

1. I was walking in the park when I saw Bill.
2. I was reading the newspaper when she came.
3. They were talking when the concert started.

We keep using the past simple to say that one thing happened after another e.g., I was walking i the park when I saw Bill. I stopped and we talked about the party. Then he had to go.

———/———/———/———/———

Exercises and Questions

1. Answer the following questions;

What did you do last night?
What did you do at the weekend?
What were you doing at 3am this morning?
What were you doing at 3pm on Sunday?
What were you like when you were 12?

2. Finish the following statements

I was walking by the river when..
I was watching television when..
This time last week I was..

TAKE OUR QUIZ – Test your knowledge of the Past Simple and Past Continuous

If you need help on your pronunciation of the past simple – Past Simple Pronunciation

This article will outline the three different sounds of the past simple regular verbs along with ways to practice these sounds.

The 3 sounds are;

1. /id/ e.g., wanted
2. /t/ e.g., worked
3. /d/ e.g., covered

Listen to the sounds  

1. /id/

We use this sound when the ‘ed’ is preceded by (t) or (d).

Pronouncing this the ‘e’ changes to an ‘i’. The /id/ sound is added as an extra syllable.

• I started yesterday
• He suggested the restaurant
• I added the water
• We decided to go
• They visited her yesterday

Listen to the sounds  

2. /t/

This sound is used when ‘ed’ is preceded by  all unvoiced sounds. (k), (p), (f), (s), (S), (tS)

• I worked on Monday.
• He helped me on Tuesday.
• You laughed all day.
• He faxed the report.
• She washed her hands.
• We watched the game.
• She kissed me!

Listen to the sounds  

3. /d/

This is used for all voiced sounds.

• I covered the cake in icing.
• I played football all day.
• He offered me the job.
• I returned the video.

Listen to the sounds  

Practice the sounds above and repeat them after the recording. Listen for the ending of each sound and practice saying this out loud. It takes time to familiarize yourself with these sounds and the more you see of them the more natural it will become.

Please take the following quiz that will test your knowledge of the sounds.

TAKE QUIZ – CLICK HERE

Enjoy!

Make sure everything is set up

This is an obvious point but also an important one. Make sure that your computer is freshly turned on, that everything is plugged in correctly and that you have tested the connection. Testing the connection is easy with skype. You can make a test call which will test your sound and also your microphone. Doing this before the class means that you will be ready for when the lesson starts.

Come prepared 

Do your homework and exercises in good time before the class. If you have been sent an article by your tutor read this carefully and underline anything that you don’t understand. Reading it out loud before the class is great practice and it will make it easier for when you do it again in the class. Practice the grammar that was set in your last class and write down any questions that you may have so that you won’t forget them when the lesson starts.

Understand what is being taught

When grammar or anything else is being taught make sure that you understand it. You won’t need to practice it at this time, just make sure that everything is clear. The practice will come later!

Conversation

Every class is an opportunity to practice your English with a native and qualified tutor. Try and allow the conversation to flow, listening and talking in a natural way. This is your chance to talk English without worrying about too many mistakes. Don’t worry, the mistakes will be corrected later!

Relax

Come to class feeling relaxed and excited. You should always enjoy language learning and this is especially true for online classes. I am currently learning Spanish and try to enjoy every lesson I have and every exercise that I do. I know that I get more out of it this way and it makes it a lot more fun!

After the lesson

After the class do something different. And then within a couple of days review what was taught in the class. You will always receive exercises after every class. Try and do your excises after the review so that you revisit what was taught twice before your next class.

Any comments on how you prepare or approach for online language lessons will be welcome.

Jack Askew @ JDAenglish.com