General English Level 3 GELEV3 Unit 03 Topic 02.doc  LANGUAGE FOCUS 05 Talking about changes Learn how to talk about changes in your life. Maria and Rose say: Maria: That's right. I'm going home to visit my family. I used to live there, but last year I moved to Sydney. Rose: Really? Why did you move here? Maria: I came here to study Sports Medicine at university. I also want to learn to teach swimming to children. Rose: That's really interesting. I used to live in Ireland, but I came here for my work. I've been here for five months, and I'm hoping to stay. Rose: That's right, you said something before about teaching swimming to children. Maria: Yes, I think it's very important for children to know how to swim. When I was a little girl in Bogota I nearly drowned because I didn't know how to swim. Since then I have learned to swim and now I love it. Sometimes we talk about changes in our life situation in a conversation. We talk about the past. Then we talk about the present and what change has happened. Look Past Present I used to live in Ireland but now I live in London. I used to ride I rode a bicycle but now I drive a car. When I was younger I couldn't speak English but since I have learned then how to. Examples Listen to the examples. 1. I used to live in a small village but now I live in a city. 2. When I was ten, I couldn't ride a bicycle but I have learned since then. 3. When we were children, we swam in the river all summer, but now we don't swim there at all. 4. When my mother was twenty, her hair was dark but since then it has turned grey. 5. I used to play all kinds of sport, but now I only play tennis. 92 QUESTLANGUAGE