1. A50-MS-Ricky the rat Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the mini-story for impossible2Possible. Now, as you know, in the mini-story what we do is we tell some crazy story. And we use a specific kind of technique. And the main part of this technique is asking a lot of questions. Now, my job is to tell a crazy story and ask a lot of questions. And while I’m doing that I’m teaching you some grammar and vocabulary, too.

2. You don’t need to worry about that part. Your job is simply to understand and to answer the questions. So yes, I know, you’re going to be listening to your iPod or watching on your computer, probably alone somewhere. Now you could just be normal and you could just sort of answer the questions quietly. Like if I say “There’s a boy.” And I ask “Is there a boy?” You could say yes. Or you could do nothing. But that would be bad. So don’t do that, okay?

3. One way to make these more powerful is that you have to pour more energy into your responses, okay? You have to use physical movements as you respond. And you have to kind of shout these answers, as best you can. If you’re on a crowded train, don’t shout the answers. But the ideal situation, the best way to make this learning happen faster and remember more is that as I tell the story and ask the questions that you shout your answers with a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm.

4. And you use your body as you do it. So, for example, if I say “Is there a boy?” You would say yes! You might throw up your arm like yes! And you would have a nice big loud response…yes! And I say “Is there a girl?” And you say no! Okay, you’re going to use your face. You’re going to use your voice. You’re going to use your body. As you do this you’re going to create a lot more energy in your body and in your mind.

5. You also create more and deeper connections in your brain to the story, to the grammar, to the meaning. And by doing all of this you actually will learn the grammar faster, remember the vocabulary better, improve your listening comprehension much faster. And there’s a little bit of a delay with speaking, but eventually improve your speaking much, much more, too…and much more quickly. So that’s your job is to be very enthusiastic, very powerful, with your answers whenever possible. So let’s get started with this story.

6. There was a rat. Was there a dog (woof)? No, there wasn’t a dog. Was there a cat? No, there wasn’t a cat. What was there? A rat. See you could even do this little thing, you’d be really crazy if you want to. I suggest being as crazy as possible. More crazy is more memorable. More memorable, of course, means you learn faster.

7. So what was there? There was a rat. And what was the rat’s name? The rat’s name was Ricky, Ricky the rat. Now when I say a statement, the rat’s name was Ricky, that’s not a question. But if I say a statement, you should do something like this…aaahhh. Make a noise, move your head like wow, that’s such interesting information.

8. Again, you want to be engaged and interactive. Don’t just be passive, sitting there, falling asleep. Use your body. Use your voice. Use everything you can so that you’re connected and with the story. So… There was rat. Ahhhh! And what was the rat’s name? That’s right, his name was Ricky.

9. Now, like most rats, Ricky had a lot of problems in his life. But he had one extremely big problem. Ahhhh. What was Ricky’s extremely big problem? Was he fat and overweight? No, he wasn’t. No. Ricky had a nice little rat body and he was in good shape for a rat. Was he stupid? No.

10. Ricky wasn’t stupid. Ricky, in fact, was a very intelligent and creative rat. No, his problem, his number one problem, the biggest problem in his whole life was that he lived in Dallas, Texas. And as everybody knows, Dallas, Texas is the most boring city in the world. Poor Ricky. Poor Ricky lived in Dallas, Texas, the most boring city in the world. Now where did he live? Dallas, Texas.

11. And what kind of city is Dallas, Texas? It’s boring. And how did Ricky feel in Dallas? He felt bored. Now quick note, boring, i-n-g, boring describes a person or place, right? The city is boring. But bored, with an e-d, that’s a feeling, that’s an emotion. So you feel bored or you are boring. If you say he is boring, it means generally he’s a very boring person, all the time.

12. But if you say he is bored, it means he feels bored right now. So, did Ricky feel boring or did Ricky feel bored? Well, of course, he felt bored. Ricky felt bored. And why did he feel bored? Because he lived in Dallas, Texas. And why was he bored in Dallas, Texas? Because Dallas, Texas is what kind of city? A boring city.

13. A little bit boring? No, extremely boring, Dallas, Texas is an extremely boring city. In fact, it is the most boring city in the entire world. So did Ricky love living in Dallas, Texas? No, hell no! He hated living in Dallas, Texas. So what was his huge problem? His huge problem was that he lived in Dallas, Texas, which is and was the most boring city in the world.

14. So Ricky thought and he thought and he thought. “I have to do something. I’m so bored. I’m so bored.” And finally, he found a solution. So who found a solution? Ricky. And what is Ricky, what was Ricky? A rat. That’s right, Ricky the rat found a solution to his problem. And what was the solution? If you don’t know, guess. What was the solution?

15. The solution was a round-the-world trip. He decided to buy a round-the-world ticket, right? You can buy these airplane tickets and it takes you all around the world. And you can stop at lots of different places. He decided to look at lots of different cities around the world and find a new place to live. So he saved his money and he saved his money. And finally one day he bought his round-the-world ticket. And it was the happiest day of his life. It was the best day of his life.

16. Why? Because he was finally leaving Dallas, Texas. Where was he leaving? Dallas, Texas. Was he leaving Washington DC? No, of course not. Was he leaving California? No, he wasn’t. Where was he leaving from? Dallas, Texas.

17. And who was leaving from Dallas, Texas? Ricky the rat. Ricky the rat was leaving from Dallas, Texas and that’s why he was happy. It was the happiest day of his life. And so, he left Dallas, Texas. And where did he go first? First he went to Miami. He went to Miami, Florida. And was Miami boring? No, no.

18. Miami was extremely exciting and interesting. There were lots of people from Latin America and lots of dancing and lots of great food. And, of course, the weather was fantastic. It was always hot and sunny. And there was a great beach there and beautiful ocean. He loved Miami. And he learned to salsa dance. So every night Ricky went out and he was dancing and dancing and dancing. Every night he was dancing.

19. Ricky had a great time in Miami. Ricky loved Miami. So, where did he go first? He went to Miami first. Did he go to New York City first? No, he didn’t go to New York City first. Where did he go first? He went to Miami. Why did he go to Miami first? Well, because the weather seemed great.

20. And, of course, he heard that there was great dancing there. And Ricky wanted to learn how to salsa dance. So, he went to Miami. But what if he had gone to New York City? If he had gone to New York City, what would have happened?

21. So we’re just imaging. He did not actually go to New York. He actually went to Miami. But let’s just imagine. Let’s imagine that we can see what would be possible, right, if, if he had gone to New York, what would have happened to him? Well, if he had gone to New York, he would have been mugged.

22. Mugged means to be robbed. It means someone kind of hits you and takes your money, right? That’s what, to mug, we can use it as a verb. It’s a little bit of a casual way to say that. But if someone is mugged or you mug someone, it means you hit them and you take their money. So, I know this might be a little complicated so listen carefully.

23. If he had gone to New York, right, if… …all of this is in the past, we’re telling it as if it happened in the past… if he had gone to New York. He didn’t actually go to New York but we were imagining if he did. If he had gone to New York, he would have been mugged. He would have been robbed. So who would have been robbed in New York City? Ricky the rat would have been mugged in New York City.

24. If, if he had gone to New York City. Luckily he actually went to Miami, but if he had gone to New York City he would have been robbed, would have been mugged. And where would he have been robbed? New York City. Would he have been robbed in Dallas, Texas? Well, no, no, no, no, he didn’t go to Dallas, Texas. He left from Dallas, Texas.

25. So where did he actually go? He actually went to Miami first. But if he had gone to New York City instead, what would have happened? He would have been robbed. If he had gone to New York, he would have been robbed. But thankfully he actually didn’t go to New York. So, who didn’t actually go to New York? Ricky the rat did not actually go to New York. He actually went where? To Miami.

26. And what did he do in Miami? He salsa danced. He danced and had a great time. He had a lot of fun. If he had gone to New York would he have had fun salsa dancing? No. If he had gone to New York he would have been robbed, right?

27. We’re just imagining. We’re just using our imagination. We’re just thinking about possibilities, the possibility, the probability, right? If he had gone to New York he probably would have been robbed.

28. Why? Because there’s a lot of crime in New York. Lots of people get robbed in New York. So if he had gone to New York he probably would have been robbed. But instead, luckily, thankfully, actually he went to Miami and he had a great time and he went salsa dancing and it was a lot of fun. Well, after a while, after he danced a lot and had fun in Miami, he decided to go to his next stop on his trip.

29. Next he decided to go to Germany. And it was October, so that means Oktoberfest in Germany. So he went to Oktoberfest in Germany. And he drank lots of beer. And he ate German sausages. And he got nice and fat. And he danced around on the table drunk. And he had a really good time. Ricky the rat had a fantastic time. He ate and he ate and he ate as much as he could. And he drank lots of big huge beers. It was fantastic.

30. So where did he go second? He went to Germany second on his trip. And how was Germany? Germany was fantastic. What did he do in Germany? He drank lots of beer. And he ate lots of what? He ate lots of German sausages. And where did he dance?

31. He danced on top of the table while he was drinking beer and he had a really great fun time with all the Germans. So, he actually went to Germany second and had a great time. But, what if, let’s imagine again. What if, instead of going to Germany, what if he had decided to go to London? What if he had gone to London instead? What would have happened probably if he had gone to London? Now did he actually go to London? No, he didn’t.

32. We’re just imagining. We’re just thinking of the probability. We’re just thinking of the possibility. So he actually went to Germany and had a great time drinking beer at Oktoberfest. But if, if he had gone to London, what would have happened, probably? Well, if he had gone to London he would have gotten very sick. He would have, bleach, thrown up.

33. By the way, quick point, we do not say thrown out. Some people make this mistake. This kind of action, bleah, you get sick and the food comes out your mouth? Some people say to throw out. And it’s logical but that’s not what we say. We say to throw up. So if you get sick, in English we say “to throw up”. So if he had gone to London he would have thrown up. He would have gotten sick.

34. And who would have gotten sick in London? Ricky the rat would have gotten sick if he had gone to London. He didn’t actually go but we’re just imagining, possible, probable. If he had gone to London he would have gotten sick. Why would he have gotten sick in London if he had gone?

35. Well, because, of course, England has the worst food in all of the world. England has terrible food. It’s horrible. And if you eat a lot of English food you will get sick and throw up. Everybody knows this in the world. You know this, right? So if he had gone to London he would have what? If he had gone to London he would have gotten sick.

36. Would he have gotten sick in Paris? No, probably not. French food is pretty good. If he had gone to Italy would he have gotten sick? Probably not, Italian food is also quite good. Now where did he actually go, really? Where did he actually go? He went to Germany. And did he get sick in Germany? No, he didn’t. He had a great time and he loved the food and especially the beer in Germany.

37. But if, if he had gone where? To London… If he had gone to London he would have… He would have gotten sick, that’s right. If he had gone where he would have gotten sick? If he had gone to London, he would have gotten sick. And why? Because English food is the worst food in all of the world.

38. Did he actually go to London? No, he didn’t. He did not actually go to London. Where did he actually go? He actually went to Germany.

39. Well, after drinking lots of beer he decided, okay, on to the next destination. And so the next place he went was South Korea. Next he went to South Korea. And when he went to South Korea he met a lot of artists and musicians. And he went and he saw a lot of great Korean movies. And he listened to a lot of great Korean music. And it was lots of fun. He went to concerts. He went to film festivals. It was fantastic. He had a great time in Seoul, South Korea.

40. So where did he actually go third? He actually went to Seoul, South Korea. Who actually went to Seoul, South Korea? Ricky the rat. And what did he do in Seoul, South Korea? Went to film festivals, went to concerts, etc. What if, instead, he had gone to North Korea?

41. So, did he actually go to North Korea? No, no, no, no, no. He didn’t actually go to North Korea, we’re just imagining. Where did he actually go? He actually went to South Korea. So who actually went to South Korea? Ricky the rat.

42. But if he had gone to North Korea, he would have been bored. How would he have felt if he had gone to North Korea? He would have felt bored if he had gone to North Korea. But instead, where did he actually go? That’s right, he actually went to South Korea and had a great time.

43. Well, then finally it was the last stop. And the last stop he went to San Francisco, California. He went to San Francisco, California. And he had a great time. He met a lot of people and he went to parties and parties and parties. It seemed, in San Francisco, there was always a party. So he was always going to tons and tons parties and having a great time and talking to people. It was fantastic.

44. So he actually went to San Francisco as the last stop on his trip. But what if, let’s imagine again, what if instead of San Francisco, what if instead he had gone to Los Angeles? If he had gone to Los Angeles, what would have happened? Well, he would have coughed. He would have coughed a lot in Los Angeles. Why? Because LA, Los Angeles, has terrible air quality. It’s polluted. There’s a lot of pollution in LA.

45. So if he had gone to LA, he would have coughed and coughed and coughed a lot. Did he cough a lot in San Francisco? No, he didn’t no. The air is clean in San Francisco. Did he have fun in San Francisco? Yes, he did. Which place did he actually go, did he really go, San Francisco or LA? He actually went to San Francisco. He really went to San Francisco.

46. But if, we’re just imagining the possible, the probable, if he had gone to LA, he would have what? He would have coughed. If he had gone to LA he would have coughed and coughed and coughed a lot. Luckily he didn’t actually go there.

47. Actually, really, he went to San Francisco and he had a great time. In fact, he loved San Francisco so much he decided to stay. He decided to stay in San Francisco and live in San Francisco. And that’s where Ricky the rat lives now. And he’s a very, very, very happy rat.

48. Okay, so that’s the end of our mini-story. Now in this one we’re playing with some English forms that are about possibility or probability. If he had gone, especially possibility in the past, right? If he had done something what would have happened probably? If he had done this then maybe this would happen. If he had done that something else would have happened, right?

49. We can talk about possibilities or probabilities looking back to the past. And this is how we do it. Now, here’s what I don’t want you to do. Do not try to remember what the name of these grammar rules are. Don’t go find a grammar book and look up these rules in your grammar book and try to remember all that bullshit. Because it will just confuse you.

50. Okay, then you’re going to be thinking about the rules instead of understanding and using it. You can learn how to do this in English simply by listening to the story every day for one month or more, answering the questions with a lot of energy and movements. And using the text when you need to, to understand.

51. By doing that, by listening to this mini-story again and again and again, it’s going to go deeper and deeper and deeper each time. By the end of a month you will have a very good feeling for how to use this kind of grammar. But you don’t need to know the name of the grammar rules. You don’t need to think about grammar rules at all.

52. You’ll just have a feeling about how to use it, when to use it correctly, how it’s used correctly. All you need to do is focus on the meaning in the story. And just listening repetitively, again and again, and using a lot of energy when you answer. Again, listen to this mini-story and all the lessons in this set every single day for one full month. That’s 30 times.

53. After doing this, one time each day for 30 days, your understanding and feeling for this grammar will be much, much better and much stronger. And then eventually, there will be a little bit of a delay, but eventually you’ll actually be able to start using it in your speech more easily, too. So burn the goddamn stupid textbook grammar books. They’re not going to help you. They’re going to confuse you.

54. Just listen, listen, listen. Okay, I hope you enjoyed this mini-story and I will see you again next time. Bye bye.