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Contribution Mini-Story

Hello, this is A.J. and welcome to the mini-story for the VIP lesson ‘Contribution.’ Let’s get started. We’re going to work a little bit on the past perfect this time and you don’t need to think about that really, just listen and answer the questions and relax. So let’s get started.

So there is a fish. There’s a fish named Sally.

What kind of fish is Sally?

Well, Sally is a tuna fish. Sally is a tuna fish.

Is Sally a bass? B-a-s-s, a bass fish?

No, no, she’s not a bass. Sally is a tuna fish.

And where does Sally live?

Well, Sally lives in the Pacific Ocean, of course. Sally is a tuna fish and she lives in the Pacific Ocean.

Now, has Sally always lived in the Pacific Ocean?

No, she has not. She has not always lived in the Pacific Ocean.

So, where did she live when she was a very small fish, only two years old? Where did she live?

Well, when she was two years old she lived in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City in America.

Aha. Who lived in Oklahoma City when she was small, when she was a small fish?

Sally. Sally lived in Oklahoma City when she was a small fish.

Did she live in Oklahoma City or did she live in the Pacific Ocean?

She lived in Oklahoma City.

When?

When she was only two years old.

In fact, when she was two years old, by the time she was two years old; Sally had never seen an ocean before. She had never seen an ocean.

Oh no, why not?

Because Oklahoma City is in the middle of America. There are no oceans near Oklahoma City.

So who had never seen the ocean by the time she was two years old?

Sally. Sally the tuna fish had never seen an ocean by the time she was two years old.

So by two years of age she had never seen the ocean by that time.

But she talked to her parents and her parents told her stories about their home from the past, the Pacific Ocean, the great, big, giant Pacific Ocean.

So where had Sally’s parents lived before?

Well, Sally’s parents had lived in the Pacific Ocean.

And when had they lived in the Pacific Ocean?

Well, they had lived in the Pacific Ocean before they moved to Oklahoma City.

Who had lived in the Pacific Ocean before they moved to Oklahoma City?

Sally the tuna fish’s parents, right? Sally’s parents had lived in the Pacific Ocean and then they moved to Oklahoma City.

Had Sally ever lived in the Pacific Ocean by the time she was two?

No, she had never lived in the Pacific Ocean. Sally was born in Oklahoma City.

Ah, interesting. So when she was two where did she live when she was two?

When she was two she lived in Oklahoma City.

And, by the age of two, had she ever been to the Pacific Ocean?

No, she had not. She had never been to the Pacific Ocean by the time she was two years old.

Now, had her parents ever been to the Pacific Ocean?

Well, yes, they had. They had lived in the Pacific Ocean before moving to Oklahoma City.

So who had lived in the Pacific Ocean, in the past, before Oklahoma City?

Sally’s parents.

And had Sally ever lived in the Pacific Ocean by the time she was two?

No, she had never lived in the Pacific Ocean by that time.

And, so, several more years went by and Sally got older and she dreamed about the Pacific Ocean, the great, big, blue Pacific Ocean. She dreamed about it ever night she went to sleep in Oklahoma City. And, one day, when she was 12 years old, she decided she wanted to see the Pacific Ocean. She wanted to go to the Pacific Ocean.

Now by that time, by the age of 12, still, had she been to the Pacific Ocean by that time?

No, she hadn’t. She had not been to the Pacific Ocean, still, by the age of 12. She had not.

So who had still never been to the Pacific Ocean? Who still had never been to the Pacific Ocean?

Sally. That’s right. Sally the fish, still, she had never been to the Pacific Ocean, even by the age of 12 years old.

Why did she want to go to the Pacific Ocean?

Well, because she’s a tuna fish, right? Because she is and was a tuna fish, she wanted to live in the big, wide ocean.

Did Sally like Oklahoma City?

No, no, she hated Oklahoma City.

Why did she hate Oklahoma City?

Well, because Oklahoma City is very dry. It’s a very dry place. There’s not much water in Oklahoma City. It’s not a good place for a fish.

Did Sally’s parents like Oklahoma City?

Actually, yes. Sally’s parents like Oklahoma City.

Why did they like Oklahoma City?

Well, because Sally’s father, Sally’s dad, had a good job in Oklahoma City. So her parents liked Oklahoma City, but Sally did not. She really, really hated Oklahoma City, because it was so dry, so she dreamed about the Pacific Ocean and, still, by this age, she had not been to the Pacific Ocean. She had never been to the Pacific Ocean by that time.

Had her parents been to the Pacific Ocean?

Of course they had. They had lived in the Pacific Ocean. Both of Sally’s parents, in fact, were born in the Pacific Ocean.

Aha. So at the age of 12, Sally talked to her parents. She said “Mom, dad, I’m going to go to the Pacific Ocean.” And her parents said “Okay. Good luck to you, Sally. Please be careful. Please be careful.” Sally said “I will. I’ll be careful, but I must go to the Pacific Ocean. I’ve been dreaming about the Pacific Ocean ever since I was two years old.”

So she had dreamed of the Pacific Ocean since she was two years old, right up until she was 12. And, so, finally one day, she left Oklahoma City.

Who left Oklahoma City?

Sally did. Sally left Oklahoma City and she went to the Gulf of Mexico.

Why?

Well, because the Gulf of Mexico is the nearest ocean, the nearest large amount of water, to Oklahoma City. Aha!

So who went to the Gulf of Mexico?

Sally, the tuna fish, went to the Gulf of Mexico.

Why did she go to the Gulf of Mexico?

Because she wanted to get to the Pacific Ocean, so she went to the Gulf of Mexico.

Did she enjoy Oklahoma City?

No, she didn’t. She hated Oklahoma City.

Where did she want to go?

She wanted to go to the Pacific Ocean.

Did she immediately go to the Pacific Ocean?

No, she didn’t. She didn’t immediately go to the Pacific Ocean.

Where did she go first?

First she went to the Gulf of Mexico. That’s right, the Gulf of Mexico.

How old was she when she went to the Gulf of Mexico?

She was 12 years old. Sally was 12 years old when she went to the Gulf of Mexico. And she got to the Gulf of Mexico and she said “Wow, it’s so big! Oh, wow, this is great!” Had she ever seen the Gulf of Mexico before?

No, she hadn’t. She had never seen the Gulf of Mexico before the age of 12. So she had never seen it before then.

When did she finally see the Gulf of Mexico?

Well, at the age of 12. At the age of 12, she finally saw the Gulf of Mexico and she jumped in. And she swam around and she jumped and she played and she was very happy to be in such a large amount of water and it was saltwater, too.

Do tuna fish like saltwater?

Oh, yes. Tuna fish love saltwater. So she was very happy to be in saltwater in the large, huge, gigantic Gulf of Mexico. She swam and she swan and she swam and she played and she played and she played. She jumped out of the water and back into the water.

She swam around in circles. She played with other fish. Sally was a very, very, very happy fish.

And, so, she decided to stay in the Gulf of Mexico until she was 20 years old. She lived and played in the Gulf of Mexico until she was 20 and then she remembered her dream of the Pacific Ocean and she thought I must continue. I must find my parent’s home. I must go to the Pacific Ocean.

Now, at the age of 20, had she ever been to the Pacific Ocean?

No, she hadn’t. She still had never been to the Pacific Ocean by the age of 20.

Now, by the age of 20, had she ever been to the Gulf of Mexico?

Yes, she had. Of course she had. In fact, she saw the Gulf of Mexico for the first time at the age of 12 and then she stayed in the Gulf of Mexico until the age of 20. And at the age of 20, she decided she needed to leave the Gulf of Mexico and try to reach the Pacific Ocean.

And, so, she left the Gulf of Mexico and she went into the Atlantic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean was even bigger than the Gulf of Mexico. It was huge and Sally was amazed. She was like “Oh, wow! Oh, my God, it’s huge!” She was very happy. She jumped and she played and she swam and she met new fish and she loved the Atlantic Ocean.

Now had she ever been to the Atlantic Ocean before?

No, she had not. She had never been to the Atlantic Ocean before the age of 20.

Had she ever seen the Atlantic Ocean before the age of 20?

No, she had not. She had never seen the Atlantic Ocean. She had never been to the Atlantic Ocean before the age of 20.

So when did she finally see the Atlantic Ocean?

At the age of 20. At the age of 20, she finally saw the Atlantic Ocean and she was so happy. She swam with the fish. She ran away from sharks. She had a great time swimming in circles, jumping around and playing. She loved it so much she stayed. She decided to stay in the Atlantic Ocean.

How long did she stay in the Atlantic Ocean?

Ten years. Sally stayed in the Atlantic Ocean for 10 years.

Where did she live for 10 years?

The Atlantic Ocean. She lived in the Atlantic Ocean for 10 years.

Why did she live in the Atlantic Ocean for 10 years?

Because she loved it. It was so big. It was bigger than any water she had ever seen before in her life. And, so, she loved it and she stayed in the Atlantic Ocean. She played and she made new friends and she had a great time.

But then, when she reached the age of 30, she remembered her dream again. She remembered the dream of seeing the Pacific Ocean. Her parents had told her that it was the biggest ocean in the world. It was hard for her to imagine that something could be bigger than even the Atlantic Ocean. But at the age of 30, she decided to leave the Atlantic Ocean to go south around the tip of South America and into the Pacific Ocean.

Now, by the age of 30, had she ever seen the Pacific Ocean?

No. At age 30, she still had not seen the Pacific Ocean. In all her life, until that point, she had not seen the Pacific Ocean. She had not been to the Pacific Ocean.

So, by the age of 30, who still had not been to the Pacific Ocean?

Sally. Sally still hadn’t been to the Pacific Ocean. She still hadn’t seen the Pacific Ocean by the time she was 30. So, at the age of 30, she decided finally it was time. She said “It’s time. I have to fulfill my dream. I have to fulfill my destiny. I must go to the Pacific Ocean.”

And, so, she swam south along the coast of Brazil, south past the tip of South America and then she entered into the Pacific Ocean and she swam and she swam and she swam and it was gigantic. It was huge! She was amazed. She couldn’t believe that an ocean could be even bigger than the Atlantic Ocean, but the Pacific Ocean was gigantic, huge, and enormous.

Did she like the Pacific Ocean?

She loved it. She loved the Pacific Ocean. Finally she understood her parent’s stories.

Finally she understood how great the Pacific Ocean was. She swam and she swam and she played and she played. She went to Fiji. She went to Hawaii. She went to Japan and avoided the fishermen. She had a great time. Sally the tuna fish loved the Pacific Ocean. She had found her new home.

So when did she find her new home in the Pacific Ocean?

Well, at the age of 30. At the age of 30, she finally went to the Pacific Ocean and it became her new home.

Now, before the age of 30, had she been to the Pacific Ocean?

No, she hadn’t. She had never been to the Pacific Ocean before the age of 30.

Now had her parents ever been to the Pacific Ocean?

Well, yes, they had. Her parents, in fact, were born in the Pacific Ocean. So they had been to the Pacific Ocean, but Sally had never been to the Pacific Ocean until she was 30 years old. And at the age of 30, Sally finally reached the Pacific Ocean.

Did she love the Pacific Ocean?

Yes, she did.

Did she decide to stay in the Pacific Ocean?

Yes, she did. Sally decided to stay in the Pacific Ocean and live there for the rest of her life.

So where does Sally live now?

Well, now she lives in the Pacific Ocean. Now she still lives in the Pacific Ocean.

And how old is Sally now?

Well, Sally is 40 years old now. Sally is now 40 and now she lives in the Pacific Ocean.

Now has she ever been to the Atlantic Ocean?

Well, yes, she has. She has been to the Atlantic Ocean. She went to the Atlantic Ocean when she was 20.

Has she ever been to the Gulf of Mexico?

Yes, she has. She went to the Gulf of Mexico when she was 12 years old.

And has she ever been to Oklahoma City?

Well, yes, she has. She has been to Oklahoma City. In fact, she was born in Oklahoma City.

But where does she live now?

Well, now, Sally the tuna fish lives in the Pacific Ocean.

And why does she live in the Pacific Ocean?

Because it’s the biggest ocean in the world and she’s a tuna fish and tuna fish really love to swim in the big, open, large oceans.

So is Sally happy now?

Yes, she is. Sally is a very happy tuna fish.

And that is the end of our mini-story for this VIP lesson ‘Contribution’.

Now I mixed in, you’ll notice, a lot of past perfect ‘had been’, ‘had gone’ and, you know, plenty of other little secret grammar phrases that I put in this story. All you need to do is notice the meaning.

Notice the phrases I use, such as ‘by the time she was 12’ or ‘since she was 30’. Those phrases help you understand the meaning of the grammar and the different grammar that I use, but you don’t need to think about the grammar rules. Please do not think about grammar rules. Just enjoy the lessons, understand the meaning of the story and answer the questions.

Okay, I’ll see you again soon my special VIP, bye-bye.