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📚 Vocabulary Deep Dive

a2 (Past Simple vs Present Perfect Story)

18 key termsStoryA2

🎯 Learning Priorities

Focus on these words based on their importance for understanding the text:

⭐ Central verb appearing in both tenses throughout the story; essential for understanding Emma’s travel experiences
visitverbneutral

to go to see a place or person for a period of time

📝 “She has visited fifteen countries in her life.”

Goes with: visit a country, visit friends, visit museums
Family: noun: visit/visitor | verb: visit | adjective: visiting
🇮🇹 Similar to Italian ‘visitare’ but broader usage in English
⭐ Key time marker that signals Past Simple; critical for understanding tense choice in the narrative
last yeartime phraseneutral

the year before this one

📝 “Last year, she visited three new places.”

Goes with: last year, last month, last week
Family: noun: N/A | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Signals Past Simple tense (finished time)
⭐ Essential time expression for Present Perfect; helps students understand unfinished time periods
in her lifetime phraseneutral

during all the time from birth until now

📝 “She has visited fifteen countries in her life.”

Goes with: in my life, in his life, never in my life
Family: noun: N/A | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Signals Present Perfect (unfinished time period)
⭐ Core theme word appearing multiple times; fundamental to comprehending the entire story
travelverbneutral

to go from one place to another, especially to distant places

📝 “Emma loves to travel.”

Goes with: travel abroad, travel alone, travel by plane
Family: noun: travel/traveller | verb: travel | adjective: travelling
🇮🇹 False friend: ‘travel’ is not ‘travaglio’ (which means childbirth/hardship)
⭐ Appears in both tenses showing contrast; essential for understanding Emma’s development narrative
learnverbneutral

to get knowledge or skill in a subject or activity

📝 “Emma has learned so much from travelling.”

Goes with: learn from, learn something new, learn a language
Family: noun: learning/learner | verb: learn | adjective: learned
🇮🇹 Past simple: learned (UK/US) or learnt (UK only)
⭐ Describes Emma’s key character development; important for understanding the story’s message about personal growth
confidentadjectiveneutral

feeling sure about your abilities or that something will happen successfully

📝 “She has become more confident with languages.”

Goes with: feel confident, become confident, more confident
Family: noun: confidence | verb: confide | adjective: confident
🇮🇹 False friend: not ‘confidente’ (which means confidant/friend)
⭐ Important Present Perfect marker; helps students understand completed actions with present relevance
alreadyadverbneutral

before now or before a particular time

📝 “She has already booked her flight to Japan.”

Goes with: already done, already been, have already
Family: noun: N/A | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Used with Present Perfect; position: before past participle
⭐ Thematic vocabulary that enriches understanding of Emma’s motivation and experiences
adventurenounneutral

an exciting or unusual experience, especially a journey

📝 “Last month, Emma started planning her next adventure.”

Goes with: next adventure, new adventure, exciting adventure
Family: noun: adventure/adventurer | verb: N/A | adjective: adventurous
🇮🇹 Similar to Italian ‘avventura’
⭐ Key emotion word showing Emma’s attitude; useful for discussing travel and future plans
excitedadjectiveneutral

feeling very happy and enthusiastic about something that is going to happen

📝 “She is very excited about it.”

Goes with: very excited, excited about, feel excited
Family: noun: excitement | verb: excite | adjective: excited/exciting
🇮🇹 Excited (how you feel) vs exciting (what causes the feeling)
⭐ Central to the story’s theme of transformation; appears in both tenses showing cause and effect
changeverbneutral

to become different or make something different

📝 “But travel changed her completely.”

Goes with: change completely, change someone, change your mind
Family: noun: change | verb: change | adjective: changeable
🇮🇹 Can be noun or verb, like Italian ‘cambiare/cambio’
⭐ Contrasts with ‘confident’; useful for describing personality changes but not blocking comprehension
shyadjectiveneutral

nervous and uncomfortable with other people

📝 “Before her trips, she was very shy.”

Goes with: very shy, too shy, feel shy
Family: noun: shyness | verb: N/A | adjective: shy
🇮🇹 Similar to ‘timido’ in Italian
⭐ Practical travel vocabulary; extends students’ ability to talk about trip preparation
bookverbneutral

to arrange to have or use something at a particular time in the future

📝 “She has already booked her flight to Japan.”

Goes with: book a flight, book a hotel, book in advance
Family: noun: booking | verb: book | adjective: booked
🇮🇹 As a verb, means ‘prenotare’, not the object ‘libro’
⭐ Useful phrase for discussing travel planning; adds detail but not essential for main narrative
save moneyverb phraseneutral

to keep money instead of spending it, usually for a future purpose

📝 “She saved money for two years for this trip.”

Goes with: save money for, save up, save enough
Family: noun: savings | verb: save | adjective: saved
🇮🇹 Two meanings: save money (risparmiare) vs save someone (salvare)
⭐ Advanced time marker for Present Perfect; useful extension for stronger students
so fartime phraseneutral

until now

📝 “She has lived an exciting life so far.”

Goes with: so far, up to now, until now
Family: noun: N/A | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Signals Present Perfect (time continues to present)
⭐ Common with Present Perfect but students can understand story without mastering this usage
neveradverbneutral

not at any time; not ever

📝 “She has never been to Asia before.”

Goes with: never been, never tried, have never
Family: noun: N/A | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 With Present Perfect for life experience; don’t use ‘not’ with ‘never’

📖 Complete Vocabulary Reference

All vocabulary items organized by theme:

Travel Action Verbs

Core verbs describing Emma’s travel experiences and movements

travelverbneutral

to go from one place to another, especially to distant places

📝 “Emma loves to travel.”

Goes with: travel abroad, travel alone, travel by plane
Family: noun: travel/traveller | verb: travel | adjective: travelling
🇮🇹 False friend: ‘travel’ is not ‘travaglio’ (which means childbirth/hardship)
visitverbneutral

to go to see a place or person for a period of time

📝 “She has visited fifteen countries in her life.”

Goes with: visit a country, visit friends, visit museums
Family: noun: visit/visitor | verb: visit | adjective: visiting
🇮🇹 Similar to Italian ‘visitare’ but broader usage in English
flyverbneutral

to travel by plane

📝 “In September, she flew to Portugal.”

Goes with: fly to, fly abroad, fly back
Family: noun: flight | verb: fly | adjective: flying
🇮🇹 Irregular verb: fly-flew-flown
stayverbneutral

to remain in a place as a visitor or guest

📝 “She stayed in Lisbon for one week.”

Goes with: stay in a hotel, stay for, stay with friends
Family: noun: stay | verb: stay | adjective: staying
🇮🇹 Not ‘stare’ – different meaning
bookverbneutral

to arrange to have or use something at a particular time in the future

📝 “She has already booked her flight to Japan.”

Goes with: book a flight, book a hotel, book in advance
Family: noun: booking | verb: book | adjective: booked
🇮🇹 As a verb, means ‘prenotare’, not the object ‘libro’

Personal Development Vocabulary

Words describing Emma’s growth and changes through travel

confidentadjectiveneutral

feeling sure about your abilities or that something will happen successfully

📝 “She has become more confident with languages.”

Goes with: feel confident, become confident, more confident
Family: noun: confidence | verb: confide | adjective: confident
🇮🇹 False friend: not ‘confidente’ (which means confidant/friend)
shyadjectiveneutral

nervous and uncomfortable with other people

📝 “Before her trips, she was very shy.”

Goes with: very shy, too shy, feel shy
Family: noun: shyness | verb: N/A | adjective: shy
🇮🇹 Similar to ‘timido’ in Italian
changeverbneutral

to become different or make something different

📝 “But travel changed her completely.”

Goes with: change completely, change someone, change your mind
Family: noun: change | verb: change | adjective: changeable
🇮🇹 Can be noun or verb, like Italian ‘cambiare/cambio’
learnverbneutral

to get knowledge or skill in a subject or activity

📝 “Emma has learned so much from travelling.”

Goes with: learn from, learn something new, learn a language
Family: noun: learning/learner | verb: learn | adjective: learned
🇮🇹 Past simple: learned (UK/US) or learnt (UK only)

Travel Planning Vocabulary

Words related to preparing and organizing trips

adventurenounneutral

an exciting or unusual experience, especially a journey

📝 “Last month, Emma started planning her next adventure.”

Goes with: next adventure, new adventure, exciting adventure
Family: noun: adventure/adventurer | verb: N/A | adjective: adventurous
🇮🇹 Similar to Italian ‘avventura’
save moneyverb phraseneutral

to keep money instead of spending it, usually for a future purpose

📝 “She saved money for two years for this trip.”

Goes with: save money for, save up, save enough
Family: noun: savings | verb: save | adjective: saved
🇮🇹 Two meanings: save money (risparmiare) vs save someone (salvare)
excitedadjectiveneutral

feeling very happy and enthusiastic about something that is going to happen

📝 “She is very excited about it.”

Goes with: very excited, excited about, feel excited
Family: noun: excitement | verb: excite | adjective: excited/exciting
🇮🇹 Excited (how you feel) vs exciting (what causes the feeling)
planverbneutral

to think about and decide what you are going to do

📝 “Last month, Emma started planning her next adventure.”

Goes with: plan a trip, start planning, plan ahead
Family: noun: plan/planning | verb: plan | adjective: planned
🇮🇹 Double ‘n’ in -ing form: planning

Time Expressions

Key phrases that signal when actions happened, crucial for Past Simple vs Present Perfect

last yeartime phraseneutral

the year before this one

📝 “Last year, she visited three new places.”

Goes with: last year, last month, last week
Family: noun: N/A | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Signals Past Simple tense (finished time)
in her lifetime phraseneutral

during all the time from birth until now

📝 “She has visited fifteen countries in her life.”

Goes with: in my life, in his life, never in my life
Family: noun: N/A | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Signals Present Perfect (unfinished time period)
alreadyadverbneutral

before now or before a particular time

📝 “She has already booked her flight to Japan.”

Goes with: already done, already been, have already
Family: noun: N/A | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Used with Present Perfect; position: before past participle
neveradverbneutral

not at any time; not ever

📝 “She has never been to Asia before.”

Goes with: never been, never tried, have never
Family: noun: N/A | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 With Present Perfect for life experience; don’t use ‘not’ with ‘never’
so fartime phraseneutral

until now

📝 “She has lived an exciting life so far.”

Goes with: so far, up to now, until now
Family: noun: N/A | verb: N/A | adjective: N/A
🇮🇹 Signals Present Perfect (time continues to present)

🎮 Practice Activities

Tense Choice

Choose Past Simple or Present Perfect based on the time expression

Collocation Matching

Match the verbs with their common collocations from the story

book
save
plan
visit
stay
learn
from experience
in a hotel
an adventure
a flight
money
a country

Adjective Choice

Choose the correct form: -ed or -ing

Time Expression Sorting

Sort these time expressions: which take Past Simple and which take Present Perfect?

Word Family Completion

Complete the table with different word forms

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