Lily asks
What games did you love to play as a child?
How to build your answer
Opinion: four moves, about a minute.
- 1Your viewAnswer straight away. “Honestly, I think…”
- 2One reasonYour main reason, not five.
- 3An exampleFrom your own life.
- 4The other sideShow you see it. “That said…”
Lily's answer, three ways
The same story, from easy to advanced. Tap a highlighted phrase to learn it.
Easy
Lily's voice note
When I was little, I mostly played outside with my brother and the other kids on our street. Hide and seek was my favourite. There's a big bush at the back of Mum and Dad's garden, and I always hid in the same place, so I always got found first! We'd play until it got dark and Mum called us in for tea. In winter we played cards with my nan at the kitchen table. She always let me and my brother win.
Phrases to borrow
play outside
/pleɪ ˌaʊtˈsaɪd/
play in the street, garden or park, not indoors
Kids don't play outside as much as they used to.
get dark
/ɡet ˈdɑːk/
become night
It gets dark really early in December.
Natural
Lily's voice note
Ooh, this takes me back. Mostly hide and seek, outside with my brother and the other kids on our street. We'd spend hours playing. There's a big bush at the back of Mum and Dad's garden, and I always hid in exactly the same place, so I always got found first. I never learnt my lesson. We'd play until it got dark and Mum called us in for tea. In winter we played cards with my nan at the kitchen table instead. She always let me win, and my brother too, which I only realised years later.
Phrases to borrow
spend hours doing something
/spend ˈaʊəz ˈduːɪŋ ˈsʌmθɪŋ/
use a lot of time doing something
I can spend hours in a bookshop.
learn your lesson
/lɜːn jɔː ˈlesən/
understand from a bad experience that you shouldn't do something again
I forgot my umbrella twice, but I've learnt my lesson now.
let someone win
/let ˈsʌmwʌn ˈwɪn/
lose on purpose so that someone else wins
My dad always let me win at chess when I was small.
Advanced
Lily's voice note
Hide and seek, hands down. Me, my brother and the other kids on our street would play outside for ages, until it got dark and Mum called us in for tea. There's a big bush at the back of Mum and Dad's garden, and I was convinced it was the perfect hiding place. I hid there every single time, and my giggling always gave me away, so I always got found first. In winter we'd play cards with my nan at the kitchen table. She always let me win, which was lucky, because my brother was a terrible sore loser.
Phrases to borrow
hands down
/hændz ˈdaʊn/
easily, without any doubt
That's hands down the best pizza in town.
for ages
/fə ˈeɪdʒɪz/
for a very long time
I waited for the bus for ages.
give someone away
/ɡɪv ˈsʌmwʌn əˈweɪ/
show a secret or where someone is without meaning to
Her smile gave her away when she was lying.
a sore loser
/ə ˈsɔː ˈluːzə/
someone who gets upset or angry when they lose
Don't play cards with my uncle, he's a sore loser.
Your turn: answer Lily
What games did you love to play as a child?
Answer out loud, in your own words. Try one phrase you just borrowed.
Memories & childhood
spend hours doing something
use a lot of time doing something
“I can spend hours in a bookshop.”
heytardy