Lesson 3 Objectives
01 Talking about festivities
02 Talking about traditions
03 Talking about memories related to celebrations
Class 5 Objectives
01 Talking about festivities and traditions
02 Talking about memories related to celebrations and how
to express that something happened before another
event in the past.
4
What’s the strangest
celebration you have
ever seen or heard of?
A different
celebration…
What is it
about?
Would you ever
join them?
terremoto
September 18th
1. What are some traditions you enjoy? (If you are not from
Chile, what are the national celebrations in your country?)
2. What are the traditions that you dislike?
3. Is this your favorite celebration? If not, which is?
empanadas
fly a kite cueca
rodeo
Match these celebrations
get-together
cookout
bachelor party 1. also called a barbecue. When people cook on a grill.
2. a ceremonial procession in which people march. parade
potluck
3. a party given for a woman before she gets married (hen party). bachelorette party
feast
4. each person should bring a dish to share. potluck
parade get-together
5. a casual social gathering or small party.
bachelorette
6. a party given for a man who is about to get married (stag night). bachelor party
party
7. at this party, there is a large amount of meal. feast
baby shower
8. a party held for a woman who is expecting a baby, to which friends and
baby shower
cookout relatives (typically female) bring gifts for the child.
Speaking Task: Tell your classmate about the last celebration you attended.
Include details (when, where, etc.) and gossip .
Important celebrations in English speaking countries
What celebrations are in common in these countries?
Which are different?
Important celebrations in English speaking countries
Choose one and search information online about them.
Then, sit with a classmate and exchange information about them.
Boxing day
Discussion Questions (pair or small group):
1. Have you heard of Boxing Day before?
2. What do you usually do the day after Christmas?
3. Why do you think it’s called “Boxing Day”?
Getting ready for a
celebration
(Speaking task)
● You and your partner will be hosting a party
(choose Thanksgiving / St Patrick’s) for a
group of friends who are coming from United
States / UK / Australia by the time of one of
those celebrations.
● Include vocabulary, expressions, traditions
and activities related to that celebration. If
necessary, google some ideas.
2
Getting ready for a celebration
We use the past perfect simple to talk about a
completed action or event that happened before a
specific time in the past:
First, Pablo lost Tina’s number.
Then, he got a call from her.
Pablo was pleased when he got a call from Tina,
because he’d lost her number.
• We use the past perfect continuous to
talk about a longer action or situation
that was happening before a specific
time in the past:
When Tina called him, he told her that he had
been thinking about her but didn’t call her
because he didn’t have her number.
Use the past perfect to show which action happened first:
I forgot to set the alarm. I woke up late.
I woke up late because I’d forgotten to set the alarm.
Jim went to work. Carol rang John’s doorbell at 7:45.
Carol rang John’s doorbell at 7:45, but Jim had gone to work.
They left the tickets at home. They got to the station.
They realized the tickets were at home.
When they got to the station, they realized they’d left the tickets at home.
Complete the sentences with the past perfect or past perfect
continuous form of the verbs in brackets.
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1. The child wasn’t surprised when he got a 2. Fans had been _______(wait)
___ ____ waiting for 2 hours
had
puppy for his birthday, because he ___ when the singer finally came out to sign
_____ (ask)for one.
asked autographs and take pictures with them.
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had
3. They knew about it because someone _____ 4. She found $100 that someone ____
had just
told (tell)them what ___
already ____ had
______(drop).
dropped
happened
________(happen).
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5. When I woke up this morning I 6. When I asked my little siblings how they’d got
had _____
remembered that I ___ been dreaming
_______ had ____
all that money they told me that they ___ been
(dream) about that scary movie I saw. saving (save) their pocket money for 2 years.
______
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7. They didn’t win the competition even 8. When I asked him about the movie he told
had _____
though they ____ been training
_______(train) had not
me that he didn’t like it because he_______
very hard. understood (understand)it.
___________
In spoken English the past perfect can
Pronunciation tip sometimes be difficult to hear…
I had is shortened to I’d
had is shortened to just a /d/ sound
Work with a partner and practice
saying the following phrases aloud:
• I’d done it.
• He’d been there before.
• They’d already met .
• I’d lost her number.
• She’d watched that movie before.
• We’d had a great time.
Lesson 17: Festivities
Speaking Task: What had happened?
Work in groups of 3-4 people.
Read the situation and complete it with a ridiculous answer.
This answer must be in the past perfect tense.
The more creative, the better.
E.g.: I couldn’t go back home on Boxing Day because…
earlier that day in the morning an angry mob of shopaholics
had attacked several stores and the whole city had been put
under lockdown.
The celebration that almost went wrong!
You’re going to talk about a celebration that almost went wrong! Use your imagination
or share a real experience. Try to use the past continuous to describe what was
happening, and the past perfect to explain what had already happened before that
moment.
Useful phrases:
• We had just finished decorating when…
• While we were waiting for the cake…
• Guests were dancing when suddenly…
• We had planned everything, but…
1. Discuss these prompts in pairs or small groups:
• What were you doing when something unexpected
happened?
• What had you planned before the celebration?
• What had gone wrong before the guests arrived?
• What were the guests doing when the problem
occurred?
• How did you solve the problem?
• Had you prepared a backup plan?
• What would you do differently next time?
2. Write a short summary of the story you shared:
• Use at least three past perfect and three past
continuous sentences.
