The words first, then, suddenly, finally to show the order of events

Hello, boys and girls! My name is Bobby.

And my name is Tobby. This is our friend Mobby.

Welcome to our lesson.

Today we have two guests.

It’s Frank and Melvin.

Hi, everyone!

So what brought you here, boys?

Guys, Melvin and I want to take part in a literary contest. Our task was to write a short but interesting story.

And yesterday Frank and I wrote our stories.

Oh, guys, that’s so cool!

Yeah, we are proud of you!

Oh, guys, there is nothing to be proud of.

Melvin, why are you saying that? 

Oh, it’s because Frank said that I had made lots of mistakes in my story. And it means that I have no chance to win this contest.

Yes, it’s true! You’ve made 4 mistakes in the story! Of course, you won’t win!

Stop! I don’t want to hear that! Good friends are not supposed to say such words!

Melvin, good friends are supposed to be honest!

Guys, please don't quarrel!

Can we read your stories, please?

This will help us to understand who is right and who is wrong.

Oh, yes, of course!

First, let’s read Melvin’s story.

Last Friday Kyle and his mother went to the cinema. First, they bought two tickets. Then, they went upstairs to take their seats. Suddenly, a huge dinosaur appeared in front of them. They wanted to run away, but they couldn’t. Finally, Kyle woke up!

Oh, wow! Melvin, your story is great!

Thank you, guys. But what about mistakes?

Well… To tell the truth, there are no mistakes in your story.

What? How is that possible?

Frank, it’s true. Melvin doesn’t have any mistakes.

Okay. In this case, could you read my story, please?

Sure!

A little mouse came to the birthday party. Suddenly, he gave his friend a present. Finally, he saw a huge piece of cheese on the table. So the mouse went straight to that table. First, he saw a bird under the table. Then, when he raised his eyes, he saw that the cheese had disappeared.

Frank, your story is also great!

Oh, thank you so much! And what about mistakes?

Well… We are so sorry to disappoint you, but you’ve made 4 mistakes in the story. You’ve put the words “suddenly”, “finally”, “first” and “then” in the wrong places.

What? It’s not possible! I thought that Melvin is wrong.

Yeah! But the truth is that you are wrong!

Oh, I’m so sorry, Melvin.

It’s okay, Frank.

Boys, now I will lose this contest!

No, you won’t!

We will explain this rule to you.

After that we will correct your mistakes.

Oh, guys, thank you so much.

You’re welcome.

All right. Let’s start our lesson.

So today in the lesson we will:

talk about the words “first”, “then”, “suddenly” and “finally” as a way to show the order of the events;

And

put the knowledge into practice.

First of all, you need to know that the words “first”, “then”, “suddenly” and “finally” are called connectives. They are called so, because they help us connect our ideas and describe the order of the events. These words make our speech easier to understand.

You also need to know that connectives perform different functions.

For example, the word “first” is translated as “сначала”. And as you can understand, we use it to describe the action that happens before any others. The word “first” is usually used to begin the story.

Let’s look at the example:

First, Megan washed the dishes.

Now let’s talk about the word “then”. It’s translated as “затем, потом”. We use it to describe the action that happens after another action. The word “then” is usually used to continue the story.

Look at the example:

Then, she swept the floor and did the laundry.

The following word we will talk about today is “suddenly”. It’s translated as “внезапно, вдруг”. We use this word to interrupt the story or to add a new element to it.

Let’s look at the example:

Suddenly, the girl smelled smoke and knew that something was burning.

Now let’s talk about the word “finally”. It’s translated as “в конце концов, в заключение”. And as you can understand, we use it to describe the action that happens at the end or after any others. The word “finally” is usually used to mark the end of the story.

Look at the example:

Finally, Megan understood that it was the smell of the burnt chicken in the kitchen.

Pay attention! We have to put a comma after the connectives:

“first”, “then”, “suddenly” and “finally”.

Frank, we’ve told you everything you need to know about the words “first”, “then”, “suddenly” and “finally”.

Did you understand everything?

Yes, I did! Thank you so much, boys!

You’re welcome, Frank!

But now we would like to check your knowledge!

Oh, sure!

And your task is to put the parts of the story in the correct order.

Check yourselves.

Last Friday my grandfather and I had a great time!

First, we had breakfast and did morning exercises.

Then, my grandad and I got dressed and went for a walk.

We were walking in the park near our house for hours.

Suddenly, we saw something strange behind the tree.

It looked like a wolf! My grandad and I got scared!

Finally, when the wolf came closer, we understood that it wasn’t a wolf at all. It was a frightened dog.

Well done, Frank!

Now we see that you know everything about the connectives.

That’s right!

Great! Now look through your story once again and correct the mistakes.

My first mistake is at the beginning of the story. I needed to write “first” instead of “suddenly”. The following mistake is in the third sentence. I had to write “then” instead of “finally”. The third mistake is in the fifth sentence. Here I needed to write “suddenly” instead of “first”. And at the end of the story I had to write “finally” instead of “then”.

Wonderful, Frank!

Now you have a good chance of winning!

Yes, that’s right! Thanks again, boys!

You’re welcome.

That’s all for today, our dear friends.

See you soon.