🎁 Gratuit · English From Zero · Level B1 · Lesson 79

🖼️ Someone Stole The Painting!

A famous painting disappeared from the City Art Museum! Learn the vocabulary of news stories (thief · theft · police · security guard · steal · break into · arrest), the indefinite pronouns someone · something · somewhere, how to put a story in order (then · the next day · three days later) and how to preview a news article like a real reader.

🎬 Let's Imagine...

Breaking News!

Saturday morning, breakfast time. Dad reads the news on his tablet.

DadListen to this: "Someone stole a painting from the City Art Museum on Friday night!"

LinaWhat? Our class visited that museum two weeks ago! How did the thief get in?

DadHe broke into the museum through a back window. The next day, the police came. And three days later… they arrested a man near the port. The painting is back on the wall!

🧑‍🏫 Teacher SamiUse someone for an unknown person, something for an unknown thing, somewhere for an unknown place. And tell the story in order: on Friday night → the next day → three days later.

🤔 Do you read or watch the news? What was the last story you heard?

Au petit-déjeuner, Papa montre à Lina sur la tablette un cadre doré vide au musée ; Lina est surprise — 📰 Someone stole a painting from the City Art Museum!

Step 1 · Vocabulary

📰 News And Crime Vocabulary

News stories cover many topics: crime, politics, the economy, business… In this lesson we focus on stories about theft. Click a card to hear it.

👤 Nouns

⚡ Verbs

⚡

steal → stole (irregular) · break into → broke into (irregular) · arrest → arrested (regular). A thief is a person, a theft is the crime: The thief stole a painting. The theft was on Friday.

🎯 Word Detective

Choose the right word. 8 rounds.

Step 2 · Grammar

🕵️ Indefinite Pronouns: Someone, Something, Somewhere

Some pronouns refer to an unknown noun. They are called indefinite pronouns.

👤 someone / somebody

an unknown person

Someone stole a painting from the museum.

Somebody put too much soap in the dishwasher! (same meaning)

📦 something

an unknown thing

The thief stole something from the woman's bag.

I heard something in the kitchen.

📍 somewhere

an unknown place

Water is coming from somewhere!

My uncle lives somewhere in Canada. I don't know his address.

🕵️ Someone, Something Or Somewhere?

Complete the sentence. 8 rounds.

Step 3 · Expressions

🔢 Sequencing A Story

When you tell or write a story, it is important to make the order of events clear. There are several ways to do this.

➡️ then · the next day

the day after another event
They stole 15 computers on Friday night. The next day, the police came.

⏩ number + time word + later

how long after another event
There was a theft on Friday night. Three days later, the school hired a security guard.

⏪ ago · last · the day before yesterday

when, from today
The theft was three days ago. They broke in last Friday.

🧩 Put The Story In Order

Click the events in the right order. The time words are your clues! 3 stories.

Step 4 · Reading

🔍 Previewing A News Article

News articles can be difficult. A useful strategy: preview the whole article before you read it. Click each part of the article to learn what to look for.

Saturday editionThe Tunis DailyLocal news

👆 Click the headline, the byline, the photo or the first paragraph.

🎯 The 5 W Hunt

The lead paragraph tells you who, what, when, where — and sometimes how and why. What does each part tell you? 8 rounds.

👤 who📦 what🕘 when📍 where🔧 how

Dans la salle du musée, le mur vide où était le tableau ; une guide, le gardien et un policier qui prend des notes, une fenêtre entrouverte — 🔍 The next day, the police talked to the staff and the security guard.

🎧 Sound Lab

Listen And Repeat!

Click 🔊 Listen to hear the phrase, 🐢 Slowly to hear it slower, then 🎙️ My turn and say it out loud into your microphone!

Step 5

✍️ Practice Time!

Exercise 1 — True Or False?

Exercise 2 — Complete The Dialogue

Fill in the missing word in each line of the conversation.

Step 6 · Final Task!

🎭 Create & Record: My School News Report

Write a short news article for the school newspaper about a mystery (a lost cup, a missing ball, a surprise gift…). Include a headline, a byline, a lead paragraph with who / what / when / where, two indefinite pronouns (someone, something, somewhere) and three sequencing words (then, the next day, two days later…). Give it a happy ending!

Someone took…somethingsomewhere on Monday morningthenthe next day two days laterBy … (byline)the school guard

🎙️ Now, Record It!

Read your article like a TV news presenter: clear, serious — and a big smile for the happy ending! Listen back.

✨ Available now

🎯 Final Quiz — The Museum Mystery

Answer 7 questions to test everything you learned in this lesson!