A Story - The Morels - auxiliaries in responses.

Although Dan and Ria met in the Ukraine, they were both English.
He was very big, with black hair, and he dressed well. He didn't need to draw attention to himself because you couldn't miss him, so he didn't speak a lot.
Ria was little, with dark curly hair and a friendly personality.
They had a friend in common called Paul. Paul was Dan's friend at work and he had also shared a flat with Ria, so, through him, the two met and fell in love.

They returned to England together where they planned to get married, inviting all their friends and families from the Ukraine and the U.K. to the wedding.
There was one problem: they were both in their thirties, their LATE thirties, and neither had been married before.
To everyone else it seemed obvious that they were in love.
'You're in love, aren't you?' said Nell, Ria's sister.
'Yes, we are', said Ria, 'but we're not sure if we're right for each other'.
'Isn't Dan your Mr. Right?' asked Nell.
'Yes. I think he is,' said Ria.
'Does he want to marry you?' said Nell.
'Yes. I think he does,' said Ria.
'Then what are you waiting for? A sign?' Nell laughed.

Dan talked to his friend, Paul. 'Do you think we are right for each other?'
Paul laughed. 'Don't YOU? Trust your feelings!'

So Ria and Dan got married.
They had a wonderful wedding on a lovely summer's day. The groom looked handsome and the bride looked pretty. They both looked extremely happy. The reception was in the garden of the bride's parents and there was Scottish dancing in the house. There was lots of champagne and great food cooked by the bride's mother. Everyone had a wonderful time.

Then they both got jobs in London - did I tell you they were teachers? They bought a big house and did it up, painting the whole place and fixing the garden in their spare time.
Dan had been brought up in the country and sometimes, at the week-ends, he liked going fishing and he also liked growing fruit and vegetables in their garden. Ria had been brought up in the city and she hated fishing - but she liked fresh fruit and vegetables. When Dan went fishing in the country Ria stayed in the city and did city things with her friends, going to the cinema and the theatre. When they got back together after a week-end apart things were even better! Life was good!

Then something strange happened. In their city garden in the spring - it rained a lot that spring - some really peculiar things appeared all over the garden.
They were dark with open webbing within their knobbly cone shapes and their stalks were pale and hollow where the tops broke away.
'Ugh!' Ria said, pointing at them. 'Look at those horrible fungus things!'
Dan crouched down. 'I haven't seen those since I was a kid in the country,' he said. 'They're very expensive and very rare mushrooms.'
'And here they are, growing in a London garden? How strange! They look poisonous,' Ria said.
'They're not. They're good to eat. We'll pick them and dry them. They're morels.'

It was like a sign. The house and the couple were meant for each other: both traditional and unique, both old and new. The morels grew well. That was their sign!

Grammar notes:
n.b. Notice the use of the auxiliaries, and the word order, in the conversations: Yes, we are. I think he is. He says he does. Don't you?
Also notice, when you are telling a story, that you need the Simple Past Tense, and sometimes the Past Perfect, as in line 5. Try writing a story yourself.

See The A - Z of English Grammar & Usage for the rules.

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