Learning English

Phil's life

Do you remember our drama, The Race, where the main character Phil wanted to have an exciting life experience? Well, he certainly got what he wanted: he took on a challenge to sail around the world in 80 days!

To do

Here is a transcript of Phil's conversation with his friends in the pub, right at the start of his story. But... we've put some mistakes into the transcript for you to spot. There are 6 mistakes and all of them are grammatical mistakes to do with tenses. Read the transcript and see if you can find them. Then listen to the audio to see if you were right.

The Race: Episode 1
AT THE PUB

John
Hi Phil. Late again!

Emily
Hello Phil. How are your writing going?

Phil
You know. It's all in my head not on paper.

Tom
Hi Phil, mate, how are you? We were just talking about travelling – Emily here, says she's climbed up Mount Everest! Rather extreme backpacking don't you think?!

Emily
I did do it. 5 years ago. So come on John, what amazing thing haven't you done?

John
Oh, I just went cycling across South America!

Emily
You didn't?

John
I did. In my gap year. It was such a brilliant time. 4 months on the road, although I did get a bit tired.

Tom
Sounds great. Did I ever told you that I sailed across the Atlantic to America in a yacht I built with my own hands? I still have that yacht down at the docks  – but I never use it now. How about you Phil – when did you have your big life adventure?

Phil
Oh me? I haven't never done much really. I'm not one for adventure.

Emily
Why not?

Phil
Err… I never had any money and where would I go?

John
Come on, you need some adventure in your life. Don't you feel like doing some globetrotting?

Tom
Hey! I've got an idea!

Phil
Tom has come up with a crazy idea where I could make some money and have some adventure. He has offering to lend me his yacht to sail around the world! Yeah – mad isn't it?! He thinks I could write about my adventures and make some money from it. But… I'm not someone who takes risks and I can think of some problems…

Phil
Slight problem… I can't sail.

Tom
No problem. There's an app you can download that'll show you everything.

Phil
An app? I'll need more than that. I've not ever sailed a yacht in my life.

Tom
It's easy! And how about if I give you the boat – I'll never use it again - you can sell it when you get back. It'll earn you a fortune, on top of the money you get from your travel writing.

Phil
I couldn't possibly keep your yacht. You might want to use it again one day.

Tom
Hmmm yes, that's true.

John
Why don't you make it into a challenge?

Tom
Yes! Great idea. I'll tell you what – I'll make you a bet.

Phil
A bet – for money – what is it?

Tom
Do you remember that story by Jules Verne – when that guy, Phileas Fogg had to travel around the world in 80 days?

Phil
Yes.

Tom
Well, you've got to do it in 80 days. I bet you the boat that you won't do it. If you don't do it, I'll keep the boat. If you do sail around the world in 80 days, then you can keep the boat – and you can sell it if you want. He'll never do it!

Phil
Hold on. How much have you had to drink? You want me to sail around the world, on my own, in 80 days?! Impossible.

Tom
I know but if you want an adventure – and you want to keep the yacht – then that's the challenge. Exactly 80 days to sail all the way around the world – not a minute longer.

Emily
Go on Phil, it'll be brilliant. Here, have another drink…

To do

Now listen to the audio and look at the transcript to see if you were right.

ነቲ ድምጺ ብምስማዕ ነቲ ስራሕ ፈጽምዎ

Download

Click here to download the audio (size: 5.9MB)

How did you get on?

The mistakes were….

1. 1.       Emily
   Hello Phil. How are [is] your writing going?
2. 2.       Emily
   I did do it. 5 years ago. So come on John, what amazing thing haven't [have] you done?
3. 3.       Tom
   Sounds great. Did I ever told [tell] you that I sailed across the Atlantic…
4. 4.       Phil
   Oh me? I haven't never [-] done much really. I once walked home when I missed the bus – I'm not one for adventure.
5. 5.       Phil
   Tom has come up with a crazy idea where I could make some money and have some adventure. He has offering [has offered] to lend me his yacht to sail around the world! Yeah – mad isn't it?! He thinks I could write about my adventures and make some money from it. But… I'm not someone who takes risks and I can think of some problems…
6. 6.       Phil
   An app? I'll need more than that. I've not ever [never] sailed a yacht in my life.

Next

How did you get on? If you enjoyed listening to that, have a look at episode 1 of The Race to find out more about Phil’s story.

Hopefully by now you have a better understanding of the present perfect. In the next activity we’re going to give you some homework, so you can put your learning into practice. Good luck!