Theme 3: Hard Times

Unit Vocabulary

Hardship & Challenges

Word	Type	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example
struggle	v./n.	/ˈstrʌɡəl/	mücadele etmek	They struggled to survive during the war.
survive	v.	/sərˈvaɪv/	hayatta kalmak	Many people survived the earthquake.
poverty	n.	/ˈpɒvərti/	yoksulluk	Many families lived in poverty during that period.
challenge	n.	/ˈtʃælɪndʒ/	zorluk, meydan okuma	Life was full of challenges in the old days.
hardship	n.	/ˈhɑːrdʃɪp/	zorluk, sıkıntı	They faced many hardships during the winter.
earthquake	n.	/ˈɜːrθkweɪk/	deprem	The earthquake destroyed hundreds of buildings.
flood	n.	/flʌd/	sel	The flood damaged many homes near the river.
frightened	adj.	/ˈfraɪtənd/	korkmuş	The children were frightened during the storm.
exhausted	adj.	/ɪɡˈzɔːstɪd/	bitkin, tükenmiş	After walking for hours, they were completely exhausted.
relieved	adj.	/rɪˈliːvd/	rahatlamış	We were relieved when the storm finally stopped.
donation	n.	/dəʊˈneɪʃən/	bağış	They collected donations for the earthquake victims.
immigrate	v.	/ˈɪmɪɡreɪt/	göç etmek	Many families immigrated to other countries during the war.
inspire	v.	/ɪnˈspaɪər/	ilham vermek	Her story of survival inspired thousands of people.
last resort	idiom	/lɑːst rɪˈzɔːrt/	son çare	Leaving home was a last resort for the family.
shelter	n.	/ˈʃeltər/	sığınak, barınak	After the flood, people stayed in temporary shelters.

Past Life & Habits

Word	Type	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example
decade	n.	/ˈdekeɪd/	on yıl	A couple of decades ago, life was very different.
generation	n.	/ˌdʒenəˈreɪʃən/	nesil, kuşak	The older generation had a completely different lifestyle.
candle	n.	/ˈkændəl/	mum	People used to use candles because there was no electricity.
electricity	n.	/ɪˌlekˈtrɪsəti/	elektrik	There was no electricity in the village back then.
habit	n.	/ˈhæbɪt/	alışkanlık	People had different habits in the past.
mobile phone	n.	—	cep telefonu	When my grandparents were young, there were no mobile phones.
lifestyle	n.	/ˈlaɪfstaɪl/	yaşam tarzı	Their lifestyle was much simpler than ours.
scholar	n.	/ˈskɒlər/	akademisyen, bilgin	In the past, scholars used to travel long distances to study.
steady	adj.	/ˈstedi/	istikrarlı, düzenli	Life used to follow a more steady routine back then.

Sequence & Story Words

Word	Type	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example
suddenly	adv.	/ˈsʌdənli/	aniden, birdenbire	Suddenly, the lights went out.
meanwhile	adv.	/ˈmiːnwaɪl/	bu arada, bu sırada	Meanwhile, his family was waiting for him at home.
eventually	adv.	/ɪˈventʃuəli/	sonunda	Eventually, the rescue team arrived.
at the same time	phr.	—	aynı anda	Two events were happening at the same time.
at first	phr.	—	başlangıçta, ilk önce	At first, nobody understood what had happened.
in the end	phr.	—	sonunda	In the end, everything turned out fine.
plot	n.	/plɒt/	olay örgüsü	The plot of the story was very exciting.
climax	n.	/ˈklaɪmæks/	doruk noktası	The climax of the novel was truly surprising.
toss	v.	/tɒs/	fırlatmak, atmak	He tossed the letter into the fire and walked away.
touching	adj.	/ˈtʌtʃɪŋ/	dokunaklı, duygusal	It was a very touching story about a family’s survival.

Grammar

Past Continuous — Events Happening at the Same Time

Affirmative (+)

Subject + was/were + verb-ing

Subject	was/were	Example
I / He / She / It	was + -ing	He was riding his bike when the accident happened.
You / We / They	were + -ing	They were sleeping when the earthquake started.

Negative (−)

Subject + was/were + not + verb-ing

Subject	Negative	Example
I / He / She	wasn’t + -ing	She wasn’t watching TV at that moment.
You / We / They	weren’t + -ing	We weren’t expecting the storm.

Questions (?)

Was/Were + subject + verb-ing?

Q: Was he driving when the accident happened?

A: Yes, he was. / No, he wasn’t.

Q: What were you doing at 9 o’clock last night?

A: I was studying for the exam.

Two events at the same time

While I was driving in India, I found myself in the tiger area.

Hindistan’da araba sürerken kendimi kaplan bölgesinde buldum.

My brother was riding his bike when he broke his leg.

Ağabeyim bisikletine binerken bacağını kırdı.

“used to” — Past Habits & States

Affirmative (+)

Subject + used to + verb (base form)

Form	Structure	Example
Affirmative	used to + verb	People used to use candles at home.
Negative	didn’t use to + verb	They didn’t use to have mobile phones.
Question	Did + S + use to + verb?	Did they use to wash clothes in the river?

Examples from the past

As there was no electricity, people used to use candles at home.

Elektrik olmadığı için insanlar evde mum kullanırdı.

A couple of decades ago, people used to wash their clothes in the river.

Birkaç on yıl önce insanlar kıyafetlerini nehirde yıkardı.

When my grandparents were young, there were no mobile phones.

Büyükannem ve büyükbabam gençken cep telefonu yoktu.

When do we use “used to”?

Past habits — things we did regularly but don’t do now

Geçmişte düzenli yapılan ama artık yapılmayan şeyler

Past states — situations that were true but aren’t now

Geçmişte geçerli olan ama artık geçerli olmayan durumlar

When / While / As — Time Conjunctions in the Past

While / As + Past Continuous

While / As + subject + was/were + verb-ing, … (Past Simple)

Examples

While I was walking home, it started to rain.

Eve yürürken yağmur başladı.

As she was cooking dinner, the doorbell rang.

Akşam yemeği pişirirken kapı çaldı.

When + Past Simple

When + subject + Past Simple, … (Past Continuous)

Examples

When I went home, she was cooking dinner.

Eve gittiğimde o akşam yemeği pişiriyordu.

When the phone rang, I was taking a shower.

Telefon çaldığında duş alıyordum.

Two Continuous Actions (at the same time)

While + S + was/were + -ing, S + was/were + -ing

While Mum was cooking, Dad was reading the newspaper.

Annem yemek pişirirken babam gazete okuyordu.

Quick Rule

while / as + uzun eylem (Past Continuous)

when + kısa eylem (Past Simple) — uzun eylemi bölen olay

Vocabulary Focus

Grammar Focus

Unit Vocabulary

Grammar

Affirmative (+)

Negative (−)

Questions (?)

Affirmative (+)

While / As + Past Continuous

When + Past Simple

Two Continuous Actions (at the same time)

Vocabulary Match Game

English

Türkçe

Unit Quiz