Yesterday, I was talking with another language learner and he told me that writing combined with exercises is one of the best strategies for improving my comprehension of grammar. So, I’m still practising grammar in writing. My exercises seem to be going well since I’m now feeling a bit more comfortable about these topics. present continuous, actions that are not complete; going to for present evidence In this post, I’m going to continue practising tenses and conditionals. I’m not going to improve it from the reader’s point of view since it’s just an exercise :) going to for present intentions

I've spent a big chunk of my youth either travelling or craving travel, and I've always been one to book a flight without giving it a second thought. In my lifetime, I’ve visited several countries, including Latvia, Cyprus, Poland, Finland, Georgia, and the Czech Republic among others. While I visited some of these countries as a student, others I visited with friends and by myself. the present perfect to introduce a time

I was working random jobs in my early 20s, and I was staying in jobs only for a few months. past continuous, temporary actions At that time, my travel became more spontaneous since I not only had some money but also had some freedom. Before a trip, I would often just get a sudden thought, “It’s time that you went somewhere.” the past simple after ‘it’s time’ to talk about the present I usually bought the ticket, packed my suitcase and headed to the airport, giddy with anticipation. the past, one verb after another verb When my mom called me to find out how I was doing, oftentimes I was walking out of the airport or getting on a train. past continuous, overlap with other actions Needless to say, I started getting nervous about my trip exactly like her every time she called me. the relationship with another action, one after another. 

I was also a big fan of hitchhiking for a while. That sounds weird to me now, but asking random people on the road to pick me up and then driving with them somewhere not only didn’t frighten me but actually thrilled me to no end. Usually when someone stopped for me, there was something playing on the radio, and a friendly person, smiling and saying something like “I’ll drop you off on the way. Get.” to show the relationship with another action, one action overlap another; will for offers or suggestions More often than not, I got in the car. The driver would sometimes tell me about themselves while we drove, and some of their stories were truly exciting. past continuous, actions that are not complete However, sometimes I'd hear my inner voice tell, “You're not getting in!” and I refused to get in another car. will for refusal  

Of course, my family was always worrying about me hitchhiking. past continuous, Irregular habits At first, they hoped that I would someday stop this kind of travelling, but later they realized that I wouldn’t do it if they didn't want me to. Since everybody knew that I hate being forced to do anything, and I had never promised to stay home, at a certain point they gave up. will in the past for hopes and promises. 

Travelling has always helped me to stay true to myself, and remain inspired and optimistic. Every time I got on a plane, I knew it’d give me time to relax, to disconnect  from the bustle of the world, and to be alone for a while. will with conditional meaning I haven't traveled in a while, but I’ll probably continue doing it because I like nothing more than being on the road. prediction of the future