THINK 1 Work in pairs. With your partner, write a list of things which were different when you were seven years old. 2 Choose two of the things and make notes about differences between the past and the present. Subject Past Now Home lived in a house live in a flat grandparents lived with us my mum, me PREPARE Organise your notes into sections. Use the same structure as Fraser's email. WRITE Individually, write your email. Use the example in exercise 1 to help you. Dear Fraser, How are you?... CHECK Read your email and answer the questions. 1 Do you include interesting information about your life when you were seven? 2 Do you explain reasons using because and because of? 3 Do you use the past simple and used to?

Think:

Here are some things that were different when I was seven years old:

• Home: I lived in a house, but now I live in a flat.


• Family situation: My grandparents lived with us, but now it's just my mum and me.

Prepare:

I will organize my notes into sections about my home and family life when I was seven, following the structure of an email.

Write:

Dear Fraser,

How are you?

I am writing to you about things that were different when I was seven. Firstly, my home was different. We lived in a house with a garden, but now I live in a flat. I miss having a garden! Secondly, my family situation was different. When I was seven, my grandparents lived with us, so there were more people in the house. Now, it's just my mum and me. It's quieter, but sometimes I miss having my grandparents around.

What about you? Were things different for you when you were seven?

Best wishes,

[Your Name]

Check:

• 1. Interesting information: Yes, I included information about my home and family situation, which were different.


• 2. Reasons: I explained that it's quieter now because it's just my mum and me, and I miss my grandparents.


• 3. Past simple and used to: I used the past simple ('lived', 'were') and implied 'used to' when describing past situations.