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Enthusiasm POV

Hello, this is A. J. and welcome to the point-of-view stories for this month’s VIP lessons.

Let’s talk more about Elvis the spider.

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So, of course, what was Elvis doing? What was Elvis doing at the beginning of the story? Elvis was swimming. At the beginning of the story, Elvis was swimming. At that specific time in the past, he was swimming, exact time, and as he was swimming, what was he also doing?

Well, as he was swimming, he was also looking at the bottom of the ocean. So, he was swimming and at the same time what was he doing? Looking at the bottom of the ocean. So, he was swimming and he was looking at the bottom of the ocean. And, of course, while he was swimming and while he was looking at the bottom of the ocean, he saw something. What did he see?

He saw a black pearl and swam down to get it. But as he was swimming down to get it, what happened at that same moment? A shark came, right? So, when did the shark come? Well, the shark came just as he was swimming to get the black pearl. Just as who was swimming to get the black pearl?

Just as Elvis the spider was swimming to get the black pearl. So, as he was swimming to get the black pearl, the shark came, got the pearl, ate it and swam off. And so, next, what happened? Well, next, he read a diving magazine, right? He read a diving magazine. As he was reading the diving magazine, right, right as he was doing it, during that same time, what happened? Well, as he was reading the diving magazine, he read about black pearls near Bunaken Island.

When did he read about black pearls near Bunaken Island? What else was he doing at that time? He was reading a magazine. He was reading a diving magazine. So, he was reading a diving magazine and then he found this information. So, was he taking a nap?

Was he sleeping when he found the information?

No, he wasn’t sleeping. He was reading a diving magazine and so, next, of course, he went to Bunaken and he went diving again and this time, as he was diving, as he was swimming to get another black pearl, what happened?

A little octopus grabbed it and swam away, swam off. Ah! So, the octopus grabbed it after, before or at the same time? Well, at the same time, at the same time he was swimming, at the same time that Elvis was trying to get the black pearl, at the same time, during the same time he was doing that, the octopus grabbed it and swam away Then, finally, of course, Elvis went to Maui. Which is what kind of island? Where is it at?

Hawaii. It’s a Hawaiian Island, part of the Hawaiian Islands, Maui, and he went to the area called Molokini Crater and this time he saw, of course, another pearl and as he was reaching for it what happened at the same time?

Well, as he was reaching, as he was trying to get this black pearl, a moray eel also tried to get it and they grabbed it at the same time. And, of course, they were fighting and fighting and fighting for it until, finally, Elvis slapped the moray eel in the face and he got the black pearl and he swam to the top. That’s the end.

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All right, that’s good; very nice. So, we’re talking about the past in that story, in that version, and we’re talking about things happening at the same time in the past. We’re talking in the very, very, very exact moment things are occurring in the past. So, it’s called…I’m not going to tell you what it’s called because I don’t want you thinking about the grammar. That’s when we use things like ‘was doing’, ‘was going’, ‘was swimming’, ‘was grabbing’. You don’t need to think about it too much, just listen and listen.

Understand the story situation and then you’ll start to understand the grammar more and more. This one is pretty easy.

Okay, let’s do the next version of the story.

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Now, in the next version of the story, Elvis has been swimming for many, many years, in fact. He has been swimming for many years. Now, has he been swimming a short time or has he been swimming for many, many years? Well, he has been swimming for many years. You know a range of years. Not just one particular time, but for a while in the past. He has been swimming for many years already when this story starts.

Now, who has been swimming for many years? Elvis the spider has been swimming for many years, before the story even starts. And, you know, he’s been looking at the bottom of the ocean for many years, too, in fact. In fact, that’s what he usually has done when he has been swimming.

So again, this is something that’s been going on. It’s been happening many times, over a range of time. He has been swimming for many years and, usually, when he has swum or swam he has also looked at the bottom. So, he has been swimming for many years and he has been looking at the bottom of the ocean for many years.

Now, has he been climbing mountains for many years? No, he hasn’t been climbing mountains for many years when the story starts. What has he been doing for many years when the story starts? He has been swimming and he has been looking at the bottom, but he has never seen before a black pearl. Before the story, before the event in the story, he has never seen a black pearl before. But, of course, during the story, finally, he has been swimming for many years, he has been looking at the bottom for many years, but this one time, finally, he sees a black pearl.

He finally sees a black pearl and when he sees the black pearl he swims down to the bottom and he tries to get it. But, of course, as he is swimming to get the black pearl a big shark comes, grabs the black pearl, eats it and swims off, swims away. Swims away, swims off, either one, same meaning. So then what does he do? Well, then he starts searching. He gets obsessed, right? ‘Obsessed’ means he thinks about it all the time.

He can’t stop thinking about it. Black pearls, black pearls, I must find a black pearl.

So, he reads lots of diving magazines and then, finally, one day he reads about Bunaken Island. The article says that Bunaken has a lot of black pearls. So where does he go next, of course? Well, next, he goes to Bunaken Island. And where is Bunaken Island? It’s in Indonesia. Bunaken Island is in Indonesia. It’s a famous diving spot in Indonesia. So, he flies to Bunaken Island and, of course, he immediately goes diving looking for black pearls. And, you know, he searches and searches and searches and searches and dives and dives and swims until, finally, he sees another one.

Of course, he swims down to get it, but what happens just as he’s about to get it? A little octopus steals it. A little octopus takes it and swims off, swims away and, once again, poor Elvis the spider is without a black pearl. So, what does he do next? Well, next, he gets on the Internet and starts searching around again, even more obsessed. I must find one! And, of course, how is he feeling as he’s doing that? Well, as he is searching online, on the Internet, he’s kind of annoyed, right? He’s annoyed that that little octopus got his black pearl.

So, finally, he discovers that Maui Island, Maui in Hawaii, is supposed to have black pearls also. So, of course, he flies to Maui next. He flies to Maui and when he gets to Maui he talks to a dive master and the dive master says “Oh, you must go to Molokini Crater. That’s where the black pearls are.” So, which part of Maui does he go to?

Molokini Crater. It’s a crater out in the ocean, in fact, near Maui, next to Maui.

So, he goes out there, of course, with his diving equipment and he dives and he dives and he looks and he looks and his air is almost gone when he sees another black pearl.

But, of course, a moray eel sees it at the same time and they both go for it. They both try to grab it at the same time and they do. They both grab it at the exact same time and then they’re both pulling it, right? They both pull and they pull and they pull and they pull and, finally, Elvis with one of his extra seven legs smacks the moray eel in the face. I guess it would be six because he would need two to grab the pearl, right? Think about it.

So, he’s grabbing it with two and then uses another one and smacks the moray eel in the face. The moray eel lets go and Elvis the spider goes to the top, takes a deep breath and celebrates. He’s very happy because he got a black pearl, finally!

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Now, of course, you notice in that story we talk about what had been happening in the past, right, kind of things that were going on before the story started. And then when we started to tell the actual story, this time we used more of the present when we were talking because it gives it more of a feeling that it’s happening now. It’s a little more exciting.

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Okay, finally, let’s go to the future, as usual. So, let’s imagine that we’re imaging this, that we know it’s all going to happen somehow and it hasn’t happened yet.

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So, in the future, what will there be or who will there be? Well, there’ll be a guy in this story. Not really a guy, but a spider, a male spider. And what will his name be in the story? Well, his name is gonna be Elvis, Elvis the spider.

‘Gonna’ means going to. All the old VIP members already know that. But if you’re new, ‘gonna’ means going to. It’s very commonly used for the future.

So, there’s gonna be this spider named Elvis and he’s going to be swimming one day and as he’s swimming he’ll see a black pearl. Then what will he do? He’ll, he’ll, hear the ‘ul’ sound? That makes it the future. He’ll swim down and he’ll try to get it and as he’s trying to get it what will happen? As he’s trying to get it, a big shark will come, eat it and swim away. So, as he’s trying to get it, a shark will come and swim away and get the black pearl.

So, next, he gets a lot of diving magazines. You know, he’ll really read and read and read and read and search and search and search and he’ll finally find information about Bunaken Island that it has black pearls. So, he’s going to go there immediately, of course. So, he goes there and then what’s going to happen? Well, then he’ll go diving again, right? He’ll go diving again and he’ll dive and dive and dive and search and he’ll see another one, finally, but this time, what’s going to steal it this time? This time a little octopus is going to take it.

Once again, he’ll lose the black pearl and he’ll be really upset. He’s going to be upset.

So, next, he’s going to get on the Internet and search and search and search where to get black pearls and he’ll find that they are in Maui. So, he’ll go to Maui. He’ll fly to Maui, he’ll talk to the dive master and then he’ll go to Molokini and he’ll dive down off of Molokini ‘off of Molokini’ means next to, in this case. So, off of Molokini, just off of Molokini, just next to Molokini, he’ll dive and he’ll dive and he’ll look and he’ll look and then he’ll see another one and so what does he do?

He swims down. He swims down and he grabs it, but just as he’s grabbing it a moray eel also grabs it and then they get in a big struggle, right? They fight for it. Gimmie, me, me, me! And then, finally, Elvis uses one of his extra legs, smacks the moray eel in the face and the moray eel, of course, is going to let go. And then Elvis will swim to the top and he’ll celebrate. Yeah!

And that’s the end of the story.

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Now, in this one you’ll notice that in the future sometimes we’ll switch to the present. It happens a lot, actually. It’s very rare. It’s not common to tell a big long story or to have a big long conversation using the future all the time. It feels a little strange to native speakers, Americans, Canadians, so quite often we will start in the future. Everyone knows we’re talking about the future and then sometimes we might just switch to the present or we might mix the present and the future. That’s also common. And sometimes we’ll just only use the present, but it’s understood that we’re talking about the future.

So, there you go. Don’t think about all that too much; just listen to the versions again and again. You’ll get used to it. You’ll learn it more and more deeply. You’ll start to understand it more automatic. No need to think about the grammar.

All right, I will see you next time. Have a great day, a great month, bye-bye.