Personal and Family Stories: A Brief Narrative

Hi, My Name is Martha

Hi, my name is M., well, it's really M.C.O.P., but everyone calls me Martha. I am 53 years old and live in Sagunto, Valencia.

About Me

I'm going to tell you about myself. I'm at vocational school studying integral aesthetics. I'm in my last year, and I really like it. I live with my sons and my daughter in a house in the mountains. I have a dog and two cats.

As you can see, I have black hair and brown eyes. My sons say that I am very thin, but I believe that it is not like that.

I think I'm a passive person. My friends say I'm funny, and it's true; I like making people laugh. But at work, I am serious and responsible.

I don't have much free time because when I'm not in class, I have to do my degree project. But I like to rearrange things at home. I watch home renovation shows on Divinity.

My Oldest Son, Marko

Hello, my oldest son's name is Marko; well, actually, his full name is Marco Antonio. He will turn 28 on July 7th, and he lives in Lleida.

About Marko

I'm going to tell you something about him. He is a chef at an inn in his city and lives in a flat near his work. He has an 8-month-old Rottweiler dog named Maggy; she is very naughty.

He has black hair and brown eyes. His body is athletic, and he looks a bit like me.

He is a very focused person; he does not like injustices. He is the youngest of his group of friends; they love him very much.

In his spare time, he creates new recipes, and some are approved and put on the restaurant menu. He will come in August to spend his holidays with us.

Tenses Review

• Present Simple:
  • Affirmative: I/you live; he/she/it lives; we/you/they live.
  • Interrogative: Do I/you live?; Does he/she/it live?; Do we/you/they live?
  • Negative: I/you don't live; he/she/it doesn't live; we/you/they don't live.
• Past Simple:
  • All forms start with 'Did' for questions.
  • Affirmative: Pronoun + verb (with -d/-ed ending).
  • Negative: Pronoun + didn't + verb.
  • Interrogative: Did + pronoun + verb?
• Verb To Be (Present): I am; you are; he/she/it is; we/you/they are.
• Verb To Be (Past Simple): I/he/she/it was; you/we/they were.
• Present Continuous:
  • Affirmative: I am + verb-ing; you are + verb-ing; he/she/it is + verb-ing; we/you/they are + verb-ing.
  • Negative: I am not + verb-ing; you are not + verb-ing; he/she/it is not + verb-ing; we/you/they are not + verb-ing.
  • Interrogative: Am I + verb-ing?; Are you + verb-ing?; Is he/she/it + verb-ing?
• Past Continuous: was/were + verb + -ing.
• Gerunds and Infinitives: Gerunds always end in -ing.
• First Conditional: if + present simple, will + verb.
• Should/Shouldn't: should + verb (for advice).
• Second Conditional: if + past simple, would + verb.
• Present Perfect:
  • Affirmative: I/you have eaten; he/she/it has eaten; we/they have eaten.
  • Negative: I/you haven't eaten; he/she/it hasn't eaten; we/they haven't eaten.
  • Interrogative: Have I/you eaten?; Has he/she/it eaten?; Have we/they eaten?
• Passive (with Present Simple):
  • Affirmative: I am; you are; he/she/it is; we/they are + past participle.
  • Negative: I am not; you aren't; he/she/it isn't; we/they aren't + past participle.
  • Examples: speak = is spoken; grow = is grown; water = are watered; check out = are checked out; make = are made; pay = is paid; catch = are caught; open = are opened; pick up = are picked up; clean = are cleaned; know = is known; give = are given; elect = is elected.
• Used to: Pronoun + used to (+); Pronoun + didn't use to (-).
• Present Perfect: Infinitive: to + verb (e.g., to decide, to forget).
• Verbs followed by infinitives: hope, learn, need, play, pretend, promise, remember, start, try, want, would like.
• Verbs followed by gerunds (-ing form): enjoy, finish, go on, hate, like, love, mind, spend, start, stop, feel like.