Wildlife by the Sea – Pheasants & Deer
Read/Listen first
Last summer we rented a small wooden house by the sea for a quiet family holiday. In front of the house there was a wide, high meadow that reached almost to the beach. Every evening after dinner we sat on the sofa and watched the animals outside the big window. First a few colourful pheasants walked slowly through the grass, shaking their long tails. Then, just before sunset, two shy deer usually appeared at the edge of the field. They listened carefully, then stepped forward and began to eat in the middle of the meadow. The sea was calm behind them, and we could hear the waves while the sky turned orange. The landscape itself was very flat and sometimes a little boring, but those moments with the pheasants and deer made the countryside feel wild and special. Even the children stayed amazingly quiet during our private little safari.⚡ Learning goals
- I can describe a quiet seaside holiday using clear past-tense sentences.
- I can talk about wildlife in a meadow and how it makes a place feel.
- I can give a balanced opinion about a flat landscape using contrast words like “but”.
✨ Key language
- there was a wide meadow “There was a wide meadow in front of the house.”
- two shy deer usually appeared “Two shy deer usually appeared at the edge of the field.”
- the countryside felt wild and special “Those evenings made the countryside feel wild and special.”
⚙️ Rules & Grammar — 4 Structures
1️⃣ Past simple for holiday stories
Rule: Use the past simple to describe finished events on a holiday (renting, watching, hearing).
Examples: We rented a small wooden house by the sea.; We watched the animals outside the window.; We heard the waves while the sky turned orange.
Common pitfall + fix: Learners often mix present and past (for example, *we rent a house yesterday*). — Keep verbs in the past when the time is finished (*we rented a house yesterday*).
Choose the correct sentence for the story.
Tip: For finished holidays, keep verbs in the past simple.
Fill with the best answer: Last summer we ___ a small wooden house by the sea.
Tip: Use the past simple form after a clear past time like “last summer”.
2️⃣ There was / There were for places and animals
Rule: Use “there was” with singular nouns and “there were” with plural nouns to describe what existed in a place.
Examples: There was a wide, high meadow in front of the house.; There were colourful pheasants in the grass.; There were two shy deer at the edge of the field.
Common pitfall + fix: Many speakers say *there were a meadow* or *there was two deer*. — Match “was” with one thing and “were” with more than one.
In the story: “There ___ two shy deer at the edge of the field.”
Tip: Use “were” because “two shy deer” is plural.
Fill with the best answer: In front of the house there ___ a wide, high meadow.
Tip: “Meadow” is singular, so we choose “was”.
3️⃣ Adverbs of frequency in stories
Rule: Place adverbs of frequency like “usually” between the subject and the main verb to show how often something happened.
Examples: Two shy deer usually appeared at the edge of the field.; We often sat on the sofa and watched the animals.; The meadow sometimes looked completely empty at sunset.
Common pitfall + fix: Learners sometimes put adverbs in the wrong place (*they appeared usually*). — Keep them before the main verb (*they usually appeared*).
Which option fits the story best?
Tip: Put “usually” before the main verb to sound natural.
Fill with the best answer: Two shy deer ___ appeared at the edge of the field.
Tip: This adverb tells us that something happens on most evenings.
4️⃣ Contrast with “but” for balanced opinions
Rule: Use “but” to connect two ideas when the second contrasts with the first.
Examples: The landscape was very flat and sometimes a little boring, but those evenings felt special.; The meadow looked empty at first, but suddenly animals appeared.; The countryside was quiet, but the wildlife made it exciting.
Common pitfall + fix: Learners sometimes forget the contrast (*it was boring and special*). — Use “but” to show a positive idea after a negative one.
Choose the best connector: “The landscape was flat and boring, ___ the animals made it special.”
Tip: Use “but” when the second idea is different or surprising.
Fill with the best answer: The landscape was flat, ___ the evenings with the deer felt magical.
Tip: “But” helps you balance something negative with something positive.
✍️ Vocabulary
meadow
Meaning: a field of grass and wild flowers, often near the countryside or sea.Synonyms: field, grassland, pasture.
Chunk/Idiom: a high meadow by the sea.
Example: The deer walked slowly across the high meadow at sunset.
Morphology: noun; singular countable noun.
Self-practice: Describe a meadow you know or imagine near your home.
pheasant
Meaning: a large colourful wild bird that often lives in fields and meadows.Synonyms: gamebird, fowl, bird.
Chunk/Idiom: colourful pheasants in the grass.
Example: We watched two pheasants cross the grass in front of the house.
Morphology: noun; plural form “pheasants”.
Self-practice: Say how many pheasants you imagined in the meadow.
deer
Meaning: a wild animal with long legs; the males often have antlers on their head.Synonyms: stag, doe, wild animal.
Chunk/Idiom: shy deer at the edge of the field.
Example: Two shy deer usually appeared near the edge of the field.
Morphology: noun; same form for singular and plural.
Self-practice: Explain why deer might be careful near a quiet house.
countryside
Meaning: land outside towns and cities, with fields, farms and small villages.Synonyms: rural area, landscape, farmland.
Chunk/Idiom: quiet countryside by the sea.
Example: The quiet countryside felt wild and special in the evening light.
Morphology: noun; uncountable abstract noun.
Self-practice: Compare the countryside near your home with the one in the story.
sunset
Meaning: the time in the evening when the sun goes down and the sky changes colour.Synonyms: dusk, evening light, sundown.
Chunk/Idiom: a quiet sunset over the sea.
Example: At sunset the sky turned orange behind the meadow and the sea.
Morphology: noun; compound of “sun” and “set”.
Self-practice: Say what colours you usually see in the sky at sunset.
waves
Meaning: lines of moving water on the surface of the sea or a lake.Synonyms: surf, breakers, ripples.
Chunk/Idiom: hearing the waves behind the meadow.
Example: We could hear the waves while we watched the animals in the meadow.
Morphology: noun; plural of “wave”.
Self-practice: Describe the sound of waves during a calm evening by the sea.
☁️ Examples (+ audio)
We watched pheasants crossing the meadow at dusk.
Two shy deer usually appeared near the edge of the field.
The sea was calm behind the high meadow that reached the beach.
The flat countryside felt special when wildlife filled the quiet evening.
✏️ Exercises
Grammar
Last summer we ___ a small wooden house by the sea.
Tip: Use past simple for a finished holiday in the past.
There ___ two shy deer at the edge of the field.
Tip: Choose “were” because “two shy deer” is plural.
Fill with the best answer:
The wide meadow ___ almost to the beach.Tip: Use a past-tense verb that describes movement towards the beach.
Fill with the best answer:
The landscape was very flat, ___ the evenings still felt special.Tip: Use a contrast word to join a negative and a positive idea.
Vocabulary & Comprehension
Where was the high meadow in the story?
Tip: Think about what the family could see from the sofa.
When did the two shy deer usually appear?
Tip: Look again at the part of the story that mentions the orange sky.
Fill with the best answer:
We could hear the ___ behind the meadow while we watched the animals.Tip: It is a plural noun connected to the sound of the sea.
Fill with the best answer:
The deer began to eat in the middle of the ___.Tip: It is the grassy field in front of the house.
✅ Guided practice
Mini-dialogue:
A: Did you enjoy staying in the small house by the sea?B: Yes, especially in the evening when the pheasants and deer crossed the meadow.
A: What made those evenings feel so special for your family?
B: The flat countryside was quiet, but the wildlife made it feel wild and alive.
Why this matters:
Being able to describe a place in detail helps other people imagine it clearly. Using past tense and contrast words lets you tell more interesting stories about holidays. Talking confidently about wildlife and landscapes is useful in small talk, travel conversations and presentations.Verb & Adjective Pack:
walked slowly — The pheasants walked slowly through the tall grass.appeared suddenly — Two shy deer appeared suddenly at the edge of the field.
flat and boring — The countryside looked flat and boring during the day.
quiet and wild — In the evening the same place felt quiet and wild.
calm — The sea was calm behind the meadow while the sky turned orange.
Try & compare:
Fill with the best answer: We watched the animals in the high ___ by the sea.
Tip: Use the word for a grassy field full of flowers.
Self-correction: Fix the sentence: The landscape was flat and the evenings felt magical.
Tip: Replace “and” with a contrast word to show two different feelings.
Practice aloud: Listen, repeat, then type the sentence.
In the evening the countryside felt quiet but wild.
Tip: Pay attention to the rhythm of the sentence and the word “quiet”.