Everyday English (Elementary)

Topic: Wild Man (Article)

In this lesson we will use a short newspaper article about a hermit living alone in the Scottish wilderness. We will study the past simple, countable/uncountable nouns, quantifiers, and time expressions with in, on, ago, yesterday and last.

Lesson Notes October 27, 2026 (Elementary)

Words & Phrases

• I would like to show you something. Have you (ever) eaten pawpaw?

  • I bought this pawpaw in Nagano at a farmer’s market.

• It often rains at that shrine. When I went there, (luckily) the sun came out (for my visit).

• I recommend going there by car.

  • My friend recommended that we drive there. (NOT we drive to there; when we use “there” do not use “to”)

Grammar

Prepositions and Modes of Transit

• BY + mode of transit

  • by car, by train, by bus

  • We usually don’t use possessive in this form, (NOT by my car)

• (IN / ON) + possessive + mode of transit

  • in my car, on your bike, on the train

Pronunciation

• Thistle (noun) ˈθɪsəl / THIS-ul

  • The “th” sound uses the exact same sound as “think”, “three” and “path”

  • The second “t” silent, and it rhymes with “whistle” and “missile”.

• Cyclamen (noun) ˈsaɪkləmən / SY-kluh-mun

Appropriate Language

• In English, we usually say muscles, or whole body parts (like legs, arms, or back) are tired or sore. For shins we usually describe them as sore, aching or hurting.

  • My shins were sore, so I had to sit down.

  • My legs were tired, so I had to sit down.

• Side roads (noun) = smaller, quieter roads off a main road, especially in a town or city.

  • The police blocked the main avenue, forcing drivers to take a narrow side road.

  • Children were safely playing on the quiet side road near their houses.

• Backroads (noun) = small, rural, or indirect roads, especially ones that connect areas or towns

  • Canadians love driving the backroads during the autumn season.

  • I don’t like driving on highways, so I always take the backroads to where I’m going.