Speaker 1Well, I once went to London with my dad to a weekend there and the hotel room was extremely . The information we'd got was because on the web page, the photos of the rooms, they looked a lot . In fact, they were so small that you could just about open the without hitting the bed. It was really because it was the middle of summer, and it got really claustrophobic. So my dad to the manager, but he didn't even . We thought we our money back and we were really .
Speaker 2The worst holiday I ever had actually last summer. I was going to a school with my friends and we were going to Barcelona. So, while we were on the bus, we that we weren't actually going to Barcelona, we were going to the near Barcelona. And it was really while we were there because we hadn't the right clothes for it, and because after each day in the mountains we got . So, we were really uncomfortable and we complained to the, to the of the school and to the, yeah, to the of the, of the school trip. And they apologised and in the they took us to Barcelona for a few days.
Speaker 3Well I was about , and we travelled by car to Benidorm, me and my family, including my and my cousins. And we were in a hotel and one morning, two days before we were going to , my grandad looked through the and asked my dad if he'd the car in the middle of the night. And my dad said, "No, the car should be there." And my granddad was like, "Well, it's not in the parking ." So my dad went down to for it and they spent about three hours in the morning looking for it and it wasn't there. So our car had been and so they went to the and, because they were talking in English, the police couldn't them, so it was a bit of a . And we had to go back on a bus, which about two days, so we had to leave . And it was kind of a mess and we never our car.
Listen from 0:00 to 2:25, and drag the missing words into the text.Écoute de 0:00 à 2:25, et fais glisser les mots manquants dans le texte.
Listen from 2:25 to the end, and drag the missing words into the text.Écoute de 2:25 à the end, et fais glisser les mots manquants dans le texte.
Speaker 4The worst holiday was actually when I went with my dad to and that's because he moved there for a because he works with a that has to move around a lot. So, I went there, I went there with him, with my as well, and we were thinking it was going to be a holiday, he was going to us around the local and stuff, but in the end he just ended up throughout the whole holiday whilst we sat at home, getting a bit and stuff.
Speaker 5We were going to Puerto Rico from California and we had a in New York, and we got in a blizzard. So we had to in the airport the first night. And they apologised, but there was we could do and we were for them to get us a new and they put us in a hotel and, of course, we didn't for it, but it was extremely and boring and we were fifteen minutes from Manhattan, one of the most cities. And, well, we were all for sunny, Caribbean weather, even though it was time. And we had no clothes, so we couldn't go out in the blizzard and we stayed there for two days and then we slept a fourth day in the airport again until we went over to Puerto Rico. But the of that trip was horrible.
Speaker 5We were going to Puerto Rico from California and we had a in New York, and we got in a blizzard. So we had to in the airport the first night. And they apologised, but there was we could do and we were for them to get us a new and they put us in a hotel and, of course, we didn't for it, but it was extremely and boring and we were fifteen minutes from Manhattan, one of the most cities. And, well, we were all for sunny, Caribbean weather, even though it was time. And we had no clothes, so we couldn't go out in the blizzard and we stayed there for two days and then we slept a fourth day in the airport again until we went over to Puerto Rico. But the of that trip was horrible.
Read the rule, then choose the right form.Lis la règle, puis choisis la bonne forme.
The past perfect: had + past participle
When you tell a story in the past, use the past perfect for something that happened before another past action:
So our car had been stolen. (= someone stole it during the night, before they looked for it)
We were uncomfortable because we hadn't brought the right clothes. (= before the trip)
My grandad asked my dad if he'd moved the car. ('d = had)
The information we'd got was misleading. (= they read it before they arrived)
Same form for all persons: I / you / he / we / they had gone. Negative: hadn't + past participle.
When you tell a story in the past, use the past perfect for something that happened before another past action:
So our car had been stolen. (= someone stole it during the night, before they looked for it)
We were uncomfortable because we hadn't brought the right clothes. (= before the trip)
My grandad asked my dad if he'd moved the car. ('d = had)
The information we'd got was misleading. (= they read it before they arrived)
Same form for all persons: I / you / he / we / they had gone. Negative: hadn't + past participle.
- When the family went down to the car park, somebody their car.
- The room was much smaller than the photos they on the web page.
- The students got soaked because they warm clothes.
- Dad to the manager the next morning.
- Grandad asked: " the car last night?"
- Grandad asked Dad if he the car during the night.
- When they arrived in New York, the snow to fall.
- They were bored in India because their dad any time off.
- The family back to the police station two days later.
- We to Benidorm before that holiday.
- By the time the bus stopped, the students it wasn't Barcelona.
- They finally in Puerto Rico after four days.
Your turn: tell your worst holiday!À toi : raconte tes pires vacances !
1. Vox pop (in groups of four): like the people in the video, tell your worst holiday (or day out) in one minute. Where were you? What went wrong? What had happened before? How did it end? The group chooses the best story and tells it to the class.
Useful: The worst holiday I ever had was… · We were staying in… when… · Actually, … · We realised that we had… · So we complained to… · They apologised, but… · In the end, … · It was a bit of a mess!
2. Discuss (in pairs, then with the class): rank the five holidays of the video, from the worst to the least bad. Which problems could people avoid? Which were nobody's fault?
3. Write (on a sheet of paper, 10 to 12 lines): you are speaker 1 or speaker 2. Write an email of complaint to the hotel manager or to the organiser of the school trip. Say what you had expected, what happened, how you felt, and what you want now.
Useful: Dear Sir or Madam, · I am writing to complain about… · On your website, … · When we arrived, we realised that… · We had expected… · I was very disappointed / upset… · I would like a refund / an apology. · Yours faithfully,
General comprehension · The details · Watch and complete · The past perfect · Your turn · The words · Back to Talking about the holidays