BBC Learning English

London Life
10 years ago – April 1996

Callum: Hello, I'm Callum Robertson and this is London Life.

If you are a regular visitor to the BBC Learning English website you will
probably have noticed that this month we are having a special celebration. It's a
decade, a full ten years since the first English Language learning materials
appeared on the site.

In this programme I'll be finding out what members of the current BBC
Learning English team were doing 10 years ago when the site first launched.

It will also be a good opportunity to look at the grammar we use when we are
talking about our memories of a particular time. Listen out for the verb forms
that people use to express their memories of 1996.

First, here's Nuala, writer of our online soap, The Flatmates. What was she
doing ten years ago and what was her bad habit?

NUALA
Ten years ago I was living in Thailand. I was working as a teacher and teacher trainer, so I
was living and working in Bangkok. And in the most polluted city in the world I was
polluting my own body too 'cos I'm ashamed to say that ten years ago I used to smoke 20
cigarettes a day.

Callum: In 1996 Nuala was living in Thailand and was working as a teacher and teacher
trainer. She 'was living' and she 'was working'. In each example she uses the

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 past continuous verb form. A quick reminder of how that is made – there are
two parts, an auxiliary verb - the past form of to be, which is 'was' or 'were'.
The auxiliary is followed by the present participle or ing form of the main verb.

And what was Nuala's bad habit? Well she used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day.
She used to smoke. 'Used to do something' is a phrase we can use to talk about
something which was a habit in the past. The structure here is 'used' U S E D
followed by the infinitive of the verb including to. Nuala used to smoke 20
cigarettes a day. Now she's happy to say she doesn't smoke at all. Listen again.

NUALA
Ten years ago I was living in Thailand. I was working as a teacher and teacher trainer, so I
was living and working in Bangkok. And in the most polluted city in the world I was
polluting my own body too 'cos I'm ashamed to say that ten years ago I used to smoke 20
cigarettes a day.

Callum: So we heard two different ways of talking about the past there. Listen now to
Jackie, producer and presenter at BBC Learning English. How does she talk
about the past and what was she doing in 1996?

Callum: Now, here's Doug Campbell, our producer and presenter from Canada. What
was he doing 10 years ago?

DOUG
Ten years ago I was a freelance writer and I was writing a book about the English of the news,
as a matter of fact. And I was living in North London near Hampstead Heath, which is a
lovely part of north London.

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Callum: In 1996 Doug was a freelance writer. He uses the past simple here to describe
his job – he was a freelance writer. A freelance writer is someone who isn't
employed by one company. They produce work for different companies. He
also uses the past continuous - he was writing a book about the English of the
news and he was living in North London. He also uses the present simple at the
end of his speech. Why do you think that is? Listen again, can you hear it?

DOUG
Ten years ago I was a freelance writer and I was writing a book about the English of the news,
as a matter of fact. And I was living in north London near Hampstead Heath, which is a lovely
part of north London.

Callum: He was living in north London near Hampstead Heath which 'is a lovely part of
north London'. Although he was living there 10 years ago, it is still a lovely
place now, so it's OK to use the present.

And what about me? Well ten years ago I was in my early thirties. I was an
English teacher and teacher trainer. I was living and working in London. I had
no connection with the BBC then but I was interested in computers and the
internet. I didn't imagine then that 10 years in the future I would be talking to
you on the BBC.

Who knows what we'll all be doing ten years from now.

That's all from this edition of London Life.

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