Let's Travel
The same tense as last class, doing the job it was made for: travel arrangements. Flights, bags, hotels — all of it fixed, all of it in the future, and none of it needing a new verb form.
Warm-up
Short answers. Tap a card when you have answered it.
Watch the little words in front of the transport. We say by plane, by car, by bus — with no a and no the. But we say on foot, never by foot.
Useful language
In the desert
Click a word, then click its meaning. Correct pairs turn green.
True or false about you?
Click a word in the bank, then click a gap. Then read each sentence out loud and say if it is true for you.
I normally go on
_____ twice a year.
I prefer going to the
_____ to going to the mountains.
I usually travel by
_____.
I carry my phone and my keys in a small
_____ on my shoulder.
I sometimes stay in
_____.
I always use my
_____ to pay for things.
Before the beach I always buy
_____.
For long trips I take a big, hard
_____ with four wheels.
An afternoon in the desert
Watch the video, then read. The comprehension questions have the minute written on them.
Dubai sits on the edge of a desert, and one of the best things you can do there is a desert safari. This video follows a small group for one afternoon.
"One of the best experiences in Dubai is a luxury desert safari, so that's what I'm doing today, and we're starting it off with a camel ride."
"This is the perfect time of day to be doing this. We're up high, it's not too hot, and the sun is setting down, so it's making the sand colorful."
He says he never thought he would sit and watch the sun setting from the top of a camel. It is, he says, the most authentic desert experience anybody could ask for.
Then they arrive at a camp with little stations where you go around and learn different traditions. One of them is henna. Traditionally only women did it; now men do it too.
"The traditional meal is called ghuzi, so we've got some vegetable rice, some lamb, chicken shish kebabs, yogurt, camel meat." He goes back for a second plate.
At the end, a woman in the group says it best: "This was way better than what we expected. For all of us in our group, it was incredible and amazing."
Multiple choice
Click an answer and you get the result right away, with the reason. The blue number is where to look in the video.
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0:07Where is the man?
He names the city in his first sentence.
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0:09What is he doing?
"One of the best experiences in Dubai is a luxury desert safari."
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0:13How do they start the safari?
And it is the part he talks about most.
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0:26Why is it the perfect time of day?
Two reasons, and he gives them both in one breath.
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0:29What is the sun doing to the sand?
Low sun, long shadows, orange sand.
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0:37He never thought he would watch the sunset from:
He calls it the most authentic desert experience anybody could ask for.
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0:52Where do they go next?
With little stations for different traditions.
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1:02Traditionally, who did henna?
And the video says it is now common for men as well.
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1:10What is the traditional meal called?
The other two are in the video too, but neither one is food.
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1:12Which of these is NOT in the meal?
Rice, lamb, chicken kebabs, yogurt and camel meat. No fish in a desert.
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1:18What does he do after he tries the food?
"That's delicious."
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1:23What does the woman in the group say?
"Incredible and amazing" — and she is speaking for the whole group.
Travel arrangements
This is the tense of the diary. Anything with a day, a time or a ticket attached to it goes here — flights, hotels, meetings, haircuts. If it is only a wish, it does not.
- Monday: I'm paying my bills.
- Tuesday: I'm going shopping for clothes and buying sunscreen.
- Wednesday: I'm packing my bags. · Thursday: I'm having lunch with Carol.
- Friday: I'm exchanging money. · Saturday: I'm going to the hairdresser.
- Sunday: I'm going to the airport and flying. Yay!
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Is Cris busy this week?
Seven days, seven arrangements.
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"On Monday, I'm ______ my bills."
The I'm is already there, so the verb needs its -ing.
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"On Friday, I'm ______ money."
You exchange money when you swap one currency for another.
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Which sentence is an arrangement, not just a wish?
A day, and probably a ticket. That is what this tense is for.
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"They ______ tomorrow." (not fly)
The not goes after are, and do stays away.
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"______ he ______ in a hotel?"
Both halves have to move together.
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"We're leaving the cat with our parents." What does this mean?
Leave something with somebody = give it to them to keep for a while.
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Which time expression can NOT go with this tense?
Nothing in the future can be last week.
What goes in the bag?
Four people, four trips. Read what each one says and decide.
b) "I'm visiting my grandparents in the mountains. I'm leaving on Friday and I'm staying for one week."
c) "I'm going to Paris with my sister. We're taking a big suitcase. We're flying on Monday morning."
d) "I'm visiting New York next month. I'm staying in an apartment with my cousin. I'm so excited!"
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Speaker a needs, above everything:
She says she can't wait to swim in the sea.
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Speaker b is going to the mountains, so she needs:
Mountains are cold, whatever the month is.
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Speaker a is staying:
With her friends.
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Speaker d is staying:
With her cousin, in New York.
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Who is traveling with a sister?
To Paris, with one big suitcase between them.
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Who is leaving on a Friday?
And staying for one week. Speaker c flies on a Monday.
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"I'm going to the beach next weekend." This is:
Every sentence in the box with am, is or are plus -ing is one — count them.
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Which one has the longest trip?
One week. Speaker a goes for a weekend, and speaker c does not say.
Complete Cris's week
Write only the verb, with -ing. The cue gives you the base form.
Two of these days have two verbs. Both need the -ing, even though the I'm is only written once — it covers both.
payOn Monday, I'm ______ my bills.
goOn Tuesday, I'm ______ shopping for clothes
buyand ______ sunscreen.
packOn Wednesday, I'm ______ my bags.
haveOn Thursday, I'm ______ lunch with Carol.
exchangeOn Friday, I'm ______ money.
goOn Saturday, I'm ______ to the hairdresser.
goOn Sunday, I'm ______ to the airport
flyand ______. Yay!
Write the arrangement
Full sentences, with short forms. The cue tells you the form: + affirmative, - negative, ? question.
+We / pack our bags / on Monday morning.
-They / not fly / tomorrow.
+I / buy a new travel bag / next Friday.
?you / buy summer clothes for the trip
-She / not travel by car.
?he / stay in a hotel
+We / leave the cat / with our parents.
Role-play: choose a destination
Pick one of the four cities, then answer every question about your trip in full sentences.
Rio de Janeiro — hot and sunny · the beach, swimming, eating local food
Tokyo — cloudy and cold · temples, shopping, eating sushi
New York — warm and sunny · walking in the city, Central Park, shopping
Useful language
My dream vacation
80–120 words, one paragraph. Where are you going, when, how are you traveling, who with, where are you staying, what are you packing, and what are you doing there? Every sentence in the present continuous.
My results
Check your score, then copy it and send it to your teacher on WhatsApp.
Write Cris's week for yourself. Seven lines, one for each day of next week, all starting with On Monday I'm… It takes three minutes and it is the best practice there is for this tense.