Boost up your English

I mean he was very happy.

Where was Harry when he woke up?

He was in seventh heaven. When Harry the hamster woke up, he was in seventh heaven. He was very happy.

Why was Harry in seventh heaven?

It is obvious. He was very happy. He was in seventh heaven because he fell asleep and he had vivid, fantastic and beautiful dreams.

And this is the end of the mini-story for «Harry the Hamster». You know what to do, right? Listen and answer the questions. Feel confident and be in seventh heaven when you speak English. This is the best way to start speaking English the way you never did before. Okay, I’ll see you next time.

Story 1 The POV lesson

Hi, this is Alex again and now it is time for our new kind of lesson which I called Point of view stories. These stories are designed to teach you grammar intuitively. It is very important. I mean not to think about grammar rules. And of course, you remember why? Because the stories are interesting, the stories are compelling that is why, grammar takes care of itself.

So the point of view stories are designed to teach you the way a native speaker learns grammar. And we all learn grammar by listening, by understanding meaning, by understanding the message. So when you listen to these stories, here’s the good news.

Just listen. Feel great. Don’t think about rules, none of that. Just relax and enjoy the story. Notice the patterns. You can notice the changes in vocabulary because in each story what I’m going to do is I’m going to tell this exact same story from the mini-story. But don’t focus on grammar too much. It will take care of itself simply because you understand the message.

So in this story you’re going to hear the same story about Harry wanting to have dreams. But I’m going to tell it from a different point of view. It means from a different time. So, for example, I might tell that story but from the future point of view. I might say that I have an idea for a movie and the movie will happen in ten years, ten years from now. In ten years there will be a hamster by the name of Harry and he’ll have a problem. And his problem will be that Harry the Hamster will never ever sleep in his life.

And I’ll tell the whole story from the point of view of the future. Of course, I’ll change some of the vocabulary, especially the verbs, in order to tell it from the future.

And now all you have to do is just listen to it. Just say «Okay, this is the future» and just notice. All you have to do is just listen, notice some of the words change. I’ll be using will, for example, and you know that that’s the future tense. But forget this idea of the future tense. Forget your grammar books. Just notice the changes in vocabulary. Sometimes I might change the word order. Sometimes the structure might change a little bit. Just notice it. Not because grammar is not important. No, I am not saying that. I am just saying that grammar is difficult, grammar is very difficult.

That’s all you have to do. Listen carefully. Don’t think about it. Don’t analyze grammar. Don’t write down rules, none of that. Listen and notice, listen, listen, listen and listen, that’s all you need to do.

So than in the point of view stories I’m going to use two basic points of view. One is the future, which I’ve just mentioned, and the other I call the present perfect and there is actually a few of them. But don’t think about that, oh my God, oh, my Lord! Grammar, grammar, grammar term. No, forget it! All you need to know is I’ll start most of those stories with something like “Since he was young… or Since 2002…” It means something started in the past and is continuing up until now.

So that’s one of the points of view I’ll use and the other one will be the future. The main story, you may have noticed, most of the regular mini-stories are from the past.

I said, «Harry wanted to have dreams». So I did that by design. I did it on purpose. Because most people need a lot of help, a lot of practice, a lot of listening for the past, the past, the past, the past. So that’s why mini-stories, the main mini-stories are almost usually told from the past point of view. Alright, enough talking, let’s get to it. Are you ready? Let’s start with the first one.

* * *

Since his childhood Harry the hamster has always been a small, smart and significant hamster. All his life Harry the hamster has lived in a spacious, gorgeous and very comfortable cage. The reason he has been significant is that Harry has never ever slept in his life. He has never been able to sleep. As a result, he has never had dreams. No dreams for Harry.

Has Harry always been a small, smart and significant hamster? Yes, I have a question.

And the answer is yes, he has. Harry has always been a small, smart and significant hamster.

Since what time has Harry been a small, smart and significant hamster?

Since his childhood. Since Harry the hamster was a child, he has always been small, smart and significant.

Where has he lived all his life in a house?

No, he hasn’t. Harry the hamster has never lived in a house.

Where has lived all his life then?

In a cage. All his life Harry the hamster has lived in a cage.

What kind of cage has Harry lived in all his life?

All his life he has lived in a spacious, gorgeous and very comfortable cage.

Why has he been significant since he was born, since his childhood?

Because Harry the hamster has never ever slept in his life.

Has he ever been able to sleep?

No, not Harry. Harry the hamster has never been able to sleep. As a result, he has never had dreams in his life. Unbelievable, right?

Has Harry the hamster ever had any dreams in his life?

No, he hasn’t. Harry the hamster has never ever had dreams in his life. No dreams for Harry.

Harry the hamster has always wanted to have dreams. Harry has often said, «How much I want to have colorful, fantastic and vivid dreams! But I cannot sleep.»

Has Harry the hamster always or sometimes wanted to have dreams?

Of course, always. Harry the hamster has always wanted to have dreams, not sometimes.

He has wanted to have dreams since he was a baby. He has wanted to have dreams since he was a boy. He has always wanted to have dreams since he was a teenager. He has always wanted to have dreams.

What kind of dream has Harry the hamster always wanted to have?

Colorful, fantastic and vivid dreams. And he’s often said, «How much I want to have colorful, fantastic and vivid dreams! But I cannot sleep».

All his life every day hundreds of people has come to see him. All his life every day many reporters have interviewed him. All his life every day a lot of scientists have examined him, but no one has ever been able to solve his problem. No one has been able to help Harry the hamster to start having dreams.

How has Harry the hamster felt all this time?

All this time he has felt frustrated. He has felt depressed. He has felt unhappy.

But one day a woman appeared out of nowhere and she said, «You want to have vivid dreams, don’t you?»

«Yes, I do. I really really want to have vivid, fantastic and beautiful dreams. But I cannot sleep. I cannot fall asleep, so I can’t have dreams. No one can help me.»

«I can» the woman said. «I am here to help you, Harry. I do can solve your problem,» the woman said.

Harry the hamster couldn’t believe his ears. He got very much excited.

«Your problem is that you live in the cage. You must liberate yourself from that cage. Go and live like a free hamster. Smell the flowers. Then and only then you will have vivid, fantastic and beautiful dreams», the woman said. As soon as the woman finished speaking, she disappeared without a trace.

What do you think Harry the hamster did?