Wildlife spotting near the sea
CEFR: B1
Read/Listen first
We stayed by the coast in a quiet northern region. In the evenings, we watched a high meadow behind the house. Colorful pheasants crossed the grass while shy deer stepped out at dusk. The landscape was very flat—just long fields and open sky. There were few people on the road and only a couple of cars at the small shop. It felt peaceful but also a little empty. Compared with other places I know, there were fewer forests and almost no hills. Still, the sea was close, the air was warm, and swimming after a hot day felt great for everyone.⚡ Learning goals
- I can describe natural places with clear details.
- I can compare two regions using basic comparative forms.
- I can talk about wildlife I observed on a trip.
✨ Key language
- flat countryside “The land is flat for many kilometres.”
- to spot wildlife “We spotted deer near the meadow.”
- compared with … “Compared with home, there were fewer forests.”
⚙️ Rules & Grammar — 4 Structures
1️⃣ There is / There are
Rule: Use it to introduce or describe the existence of things in a place.Examples: There is a meadow behind the house; There are pheasants in the field; There are few people on the road
Common pitfall + fix: Using ‘it is’ for existence — Use ‘there is/there are’ to present what exists.
Choose the best start: ___ a small shop nearby.
Tip: Use ‘there is’ for singular existence.
Fill with the best answer:
The beach is quiet; ___ many cars.Tip: Use ‘there are not’ / ‘there aren’t’ for plural negative.
⚙️ Rules & Grammar — 4 Structures
2️⃣ Comparatives with -er / more + adjective
Rule: Use ‘-er’ for short adjectives and ‘more’ for longer ones to compare.Examples: This region is flatter than home; It is more peaceful than the city; The roads are quieter than usual
Common pitfall + fix: Mixing ‘-er’ and ‘more’ — Do not use both at once.
Which is correct? The area is ___ than our town.
Tip: Short adjectives like ‘flat’ take ‘-er’.
Fill with the best answer:
It felt ___ than the city.Tip: Long adjectives take ‘more’.
⚙️ Rules & Grammar — 4 Structures
3️⃣ Past simple to narrate a trip
Rule: Use the past simple for finished events in the past.Examples: We stayed by the coast; We swam after a hot day; We watched deer at dusk
Common pitfall + fix: Using present for past events — Use the past simple forms.
Pick the correct verb: We ___ the sea yesterday.
Tip: ‘Swam’ is the past simple.
Fill with the best answer:
We ___ a pheasant near the road.Tip: Use past simple of ‘see’.
⚙️ Rules & Grammar — 4 Structures
4️⃣ Quantifiers: fewer / less
Rule: ‘Fewer’ for countable nouns; ‘less’ for uncountable.Examples: There were fewer forests; We had less traffic on the road; There were fewer people in the shop
Common pitfall + fix: Using ‘less’ with countable plural — Use ‘fewer’ with plural countables.
Choose the best option: There were ___ cars today.
Tip: ‘Cars’ is countable plural → ‘fewer’.
Fill with the best answer:
There was ___ noise at night.Tip: Uncountable noun → ‘less’.
✍️ Vocabulary
pheasant
Meaning: a wild bird often seen in fields.Synonyms: gamebird, bird, fowl.
Chunk/Idiom: a pheasant crossing the field.
Example: A pheasant ran across the road..
Morphology: noun.
Self-practice: Say: I spotted a pheasant near the meadow..
meadow
Meaning: a field of grass and wild flowers.Synonyms: field, grassland, pasture.
Chunk/Idiom: a high meadow behind the house.
Example: We walked through a quiet meadow..
Morphology: noun.
Self-practice: Describe a meadow you know in two lines..
coastline
Meaning: the shape of the land along the sea.Synonyms: shore, seashore, coast.
Chunk/Idiom: a rocky coastline / a sandy coastline.
Example: The coastline was easy to reach..
Morphology: noun.
Self-practice: Name two words for places by the sea..
flat
Meaning: without hills.Synonyms: even, level, plane.
Chunk/Idiom: a flat landscape.
Example: The land here is very flat..
Morphology: adjective.
Self-practice: Say: The road across the fields is flat..
quiet
Meaning: with little noise or activity.Synonyms: calm, peaceful, still.
Chunk/Idiom: a quiet road / a quiet village.
Example: The beach was quiet at night..
Morphology: adjective.
Self-practice: Give one quiet place you like..
to compare
Meaning: to find similarities and differences.Synonyms: contrast, set against, weigh.
Chunk/Idiom: compare two regions.
Example: We compared this area with home..
Morphology: verb.
Self-practice: Compare two places in one sentence..
☁️ Examples (+ audio)
We stayed near a quiet beach for a week.
Deer appeared at dusk beside the meadow.
The roads were quieter than in my town.
Swimming in the warm sea felt amazing.
✏️ Exercises
Grammar
Choose the best sentence.
Tip: Use ‘there is’ + singular.
Pick the correct comparative: The land is ___ here.
Tip: Short adjective → ‘-er’.
Fill with the best answer:
We ___ by the coast last summer.Tip: Past simple for finished time.
Fill with the best answer:
There were ___ people on the road.Tip: ‘People’ is countable plural.
Vocabulary & Comprehension
What is a meadow?
Tip: A meadow is grassland.
‘Compared with’ is used to…
Tip: It introduces a comparison.
Fill with the best answer:
We ___ wildlife near the house.Tip: ‘To spot’ means to see briefly.
Fill with the best answer:
The beach felt ___ at night.Tip: Adjective meaning calm.
✅ Guided practice
Mini-dialogue:
A: Did you see any animals last night?B: Yes, we spotted two deer by the meadow.
A: Were the roads busy? B: No, they were quiet.
Why this matters:
Describing places helps in small talk. Comparisons make opinions clearer. It is useful when recommending trips.Verb & Adjective Pack:
- to wander — Deer wander through the fields.
- to observe — We observed birds at dusk.
- peaceful — A peaceful evening by the sea.
- sparse — The area felt sparse after sunset.
Try & compare:
Fill with the best answer: The land here is ___ than in my town.
Tip: Short adjectives take ‘-er’.
Self-correction: Fix the sentence: There is many people on the road.
Tip: Use ‘there are’ with plural nouns.
Practice aloud: Listen, repeat, then type the sentence.
We compared this flat region with our home.Tip: Stress ‘compared’ and ‘region’.