Un- words and what I did long ago
The prefix un- means not. Unhappy means not happy. Unsafe means not safe. Uncomfortable means not comfortable. We use the past simple for things that finished. Regular verbs take -ed: walk, walked. After e we add -d: live, lived. After a consonant and y we write -ied: study, studied. Some verbs are irregular: make, made. For a negative we use didn’t and the plain verb: I didn’t know. We use ago to say how long before now: I lived in a village four years ago.
Where did you live three years ago?
I lived in a flat near the sea. I didn’t have my own room then.
Were you happy there?
Yes, I was. But the stairs were unsafe in the dark.
Four years ago, Hoda lived in a small flat near the sea. She didn’t have a bedroom of her own, and she shared with her sister. The old armchair was uncomfortable, and the stairs were unsafe in the dark, so the family moved. Hoda was unhappy at first, but she made new friends. Now she loves her new home.
Long ago interview. The child asks the grown-up: What did you do ten years ago? What didn’t you do? The grown-up answers with ago and didn’t. Then the child answers the same questions about two years ago. Say each answer in a full sentence.