Once Upon a Time...
2023-01-13
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1Have you ever read stories like Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, or the Frog Prince?
2These stories are called fairy tales.
3Although you might not have read them in English, you likely can find these magical stories in your own language and culture.
4Fairy tales are stories passed down through the generations.
5The names of the characters might be in a different language, but many of these stories seem to tell of similar events.
6In today's Everyday Grammar, we will look at the beginnings of these stories, and find out the "when, "who," and "what" of these stories we loved as children.
7Many fairy tales in English start with the same opening: "Once upon a time."
8When we read this phrase, we immediately know the story is a fairy tale and have ideas about what might happen.
9Many cultures have similar expressions beginning their fairy tales.
10We know that these stories are made up. We set aside our disbelief to enjoy the magic of these stories.
11"Once upon a time" answers the question of "when."
12In English, the expression "once upon a time" means "at some point in the past."
13It is used to talk about a story that happened a long time ago, but the exact time is not important.
14"Once upon a time, there lived an old woman..."
15"Once upon a time, there was a rich man who lived happily for a long time with his wife." (From Cinderella)
16Some fairy tales open with "There was once a..." This phrase also shows that the story happened in the past.
17Both openings help us understand that the story is in the distant past.
18But they do not tell us about the characters in the story.
19Which brings us to our next question of "who."
20In fairy tales, nouns identify important people, places, and things.
21But adjectives are also very important.
22The adjective "little" can be used before a character's name.
23Like, "Little Briar Rose" in the Grimm Brothers' version of Sleeping Beauty.
24Other characters might be described with two nouns together like "Snow White" or "The Snow Maiden."
25There are several kinds of characters in a fairy tale.
26Sometimes the stories are about families.
27There are often siblings: brothers and sisters.
28You might read about a husband and wife or children and their parents.
29In the story of Hansel and Gretel, the children are brother and sister, and they get lost in the forest.
30Sometimes there are even stepparents or stepsiblings, family members created by a remarriage.
31Cinderella has two stepsisters.
32There is always a good character.
33This might be the hero or heroine, a female hero, in the story.
34This person carries out actions like rescuing someone or helping others.
35Or they might have a task to do or solve a problem.
36Jack is the hero after he climbs the beanstalk and kills the giant.
37Cinderella's fairy godmother acts as a heroine by helping Cinderella get ready for the ball.
38There are "villains" or bad people in fairy tales that might harm or put a spell on the hero or other characters in the story.
39Cinderella has an evil stepmother who makes her into her house servant.
40There is often "royalty," a queen or a king, in the stories because during the time of these tales that was how things were.
41And, if there is "royalty," there are also "commoners" or everyday people who might come from poor situations.
42Rapunzel is a princess who is locked in a tower.
43There also are magical numbers and objects found throughout fairy tales.
44The most common magical numbers are "three" and "seven."
45For example, there is the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
46In the fairy tale of Snow White, there are seven dwarves in the forest.
47Sometimes words, phrases, or actions are repeated three times.
48We can also find magical objects in fairy tales.
49These can help the hero or heroine, like the glass shoes in Cinderella.
50They can also be used by the villain of the story, like a house with chicken legs in the story of Baba Yaga or the Evil Queen's talking mirror in Snow White.
51And there are magical animals that can talk and have human-like traits in fairy tales.
52These animals can be either good or bad.
53They can help or hurt the main character.
54In some tales, they might be the main character.
55The cat in Puss in Boots talks and wears boots.
56Today, we talked about the beginning of fairy tales.
57We answered the question of "when" in the opening "once upon a time."
58And we answered the questions of "who" and "what" by thinking about the different characters, magical numbers, and objects in a few stories.
59Let's close with some homework.
60Choose a favorite fairy tale in English.
61Then, write down the answers to the following questions: How does the story begin? What opening sentence does the story use?
62When does the story take place? Who are the characters?
63After that, describe a few characters.
64Are there any magical numbers or talking animals?
65Who is the hero? Is there a villain?
66Send you answers to learningenglish@voanews.com
67Share your work in the comments below!
68I'm Faith Pirlo.
69And I'm Jill Robbins.
1Have you ever read stories like Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, or the Frog Prince? 2These stories are called fairy tales. Although you might not have read them in English, you likely can find these magical stories in your own language and culture. 3Fairy tales are stories passed down through the generations. The names of the characters might be in a different language, but many of these stories seem to tell of similar events. 4In today's Everyday Grammar, we will look at the beginnings of these stories, and find out the "when, "who," and "what" of these stories we loved as children. 5Beginnings: when? 6Many fairy tales in English start with the same opening: "Once upon a time." When we read this phrase, we immediately know the story is a fairy tale and have ideas about what might happen. Many cultures have similar expressions beginning their fairy tales. 7We know that these stories are made up. We set aside our disbelief to enjoy the magic of these stories. 8"Once upon a time" answers the question of "when." 9In English, the expression "once upon a time" means "at some point in the past." It is used to talk about a story that happened a long time ago, but the exact time is not important. 10"Once upon a time, there lived an old woman..." 11"Once upon a time, there was a rich man who lived happily for a long time with his wife." (From Cinderella) 12Some fairy tales open with "There was once a..." This phrase also shows that the story happened in the past. 13Both openings help us understand that the story is in the distant past. But they do not tell us about the characters in the story. Which brings us to our next question of "who." 14Who? or What? 15In fairy tales, nouns identify important people, places, and things. But adjectives are also very important. 16The adjective "little" can be used before a character's name. Like, "Little Briar Rose" in the Grimm Brothers' version of Sleeping Beauty. 17Other characters might be described with two nouns together like "Snow White" or "The Snow Maiden." 18There are several kinds of characters in a fairy tale. 19Sometimes the stories are about families. There are often siblings: brothers and sisters. You might read about a husband and wife or children and their parents. 20In the story of Hansel and Gretel, the children are brother and sister, and they get lost in the forest. 21Sometimes there are even stepparents or stepsiblings, family members created by a remarriage. 22Cinderella has two stepsisters. 23There is always a good character. This might be the hero or heroine, a female hero, in the story. This person carries out actions like rescuing someone or helping others. Or they might have a task to do or solve a problem. 24Jack is the hero after he climbs the beanstalk and kills the giant. 25Cinderella's fairy godmother acts as a heroine by helping Cinderella get ready for the ball. 26There are "villains" or bad people in fairy tales that might harm or put a spell on the hero or other characters in the story. 27Cinderella has an evil stepmother who makes her into her house servant. 28There is often "royalty," a queen or a king, in the stories because during the time of these tales that was how things were. And, if there is "royalty," there are also "commoners" or everyday people who might come from poor situations. 29Rapunzel is a princess who is locked in a tower. 30There also are magical numbers and objects found throughout fairy tales. 31The most common magical numbers are "three" and "seven." For example, there is the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. In the fairy tale of Snow White, there are seven dwarves in the forest. 32Sometimes words, phrases, or actions are repeated three times. 33We can also find magical objects in fairy tales. These can help the hero or heroine, like the glass shoes in Cinderella. They can also be used by the villain of the story, like a house with chicken legs in the story of Baba Yaga or the Evil Queen's talking mirror in Snow White. 34And there are magical animals that can talk and have human-like traits in fairy tales. These animals can be either good or bad. They can help or hurt the main character. In some tales, they might be the main character. 35The cat in Puss in Boots talks and wears boots. 36Final thoughts 37Today, we talked about the beginning of fairy tales. We answered the question of "when" in the opening "once upon a time." And we answered the questions of "who" and "what" by thinking about the different characters, magical numbers, and objects in a few stories. 38Let's close with some homework. Choose a favorite fairy tale in English. Then, write down the answers to the following questions: How does the story begin? What opening sentence does the story use? When does the story take place? Who are the characters? 39After that, describe a few characters. Are there any magical numbers or talking animals? Who is the hero? Is there a villain? 40Send you answers to learningenglish@voanews.com 41Share your work in the comments below! 42I'm Faith Pirlo. 43And I'm Jill Robbins. 44Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 45_________________________________________________________________ 46Words in This Story 47fairy tale -n. a simple children's story about magical things 48magical -adj. something with impossible powers 49phrase -n two or more words that do not form a complete sentence but that express an idea 50character -n. a person in a story, book, movie or play 51task -n. a job or something that must be done 52beanstalk -n. a bean plant 53fairy godmother -n. a person with magical powers who saves someone from trouble 54spell -n. a group of secret words that carry magical power 55tower -n. a tall structure 56dwarves -n. (pl.) people in stories who are much smaller than most 57trait -n. a quality that makes a person different from others 58boots -n. (pl.) tall shoes that protect the lower part of the leg