the creaky step
Learn English With Jokes
The Creaky Porch
Intermediate · Past Perfect · Reported Speech
✦
Survolez les mots en ambre pour voir les définitions en français (CAPS).
A man named Joe had been meaning toAVAIT L’INTENTION DE fix the creaky stepMARCHE QUI GRINCE on his front porch for over three years.
Every time he walked up to his house, he would tripTRÉBUCHER or the loud creak would echo through the neighbourhoodQUARTIER. His wife kept reminding himN’ARRÊTAIT PAS DE LUI RAPPELER, but Joe always said, “I’ll get to it tomorrow.”
One evening, after a long day at work, Joe stepped on the stepA POSÉ LE PIED SUR LA MARCHE, broke straight through it, and landed knee-deepJUSQU’AUX GENOUX in the mudBOUE underneath. His wife came rushing out, saw him flailing aroundSE DÉBATTANT, and sighedSOUPIRA.
Joe looked up at her, completely defeated, and said, “You know… it’s high time I admittedIL EST GRAND TEMPS QUE J’ADMETTE: I’m not much of a handymanBRICOLEUR.”
His wife crossed her armsCROISA LES BRAS and replied, “No, Joe. It’s high time I bought you a new porch for your birthday — and stopped letting you near a toolboxBOÎTE À OUTILS.”
📘 Key Vocabulary
📖 Grammar Points
1. Past perfect for earlier actions
In “Joe had been meaning to fix the creaky step for over three years” — the past perfect shows an action that started and continued before another past event (the evening he fell through).
2. Reported speech and future in the past
Joe always said, “I’ll get to it tomorrow” becomes reported naturally in the past narrative. The wife’s reply uses “It’s high time I bought…” to express strong recommendation about the present/future from a past viewpoint.
🔁 Synonyms & Alternatives
💬 Mini Dialogue
Context: Two neighbours, Sarah and Tom, chatting about home repairs.
Sarah: “Mike had been meaning toAVAIT L’INTENTION DE mend the fence for ages.”
Tom: “What happened?”
Sarah: “He stepped on the stepA POSÉ LE PIED SUR LA MARCHE and ended up knee-deepJUSQU’AUX GENOUX in mud. His wife sighedSOUPIRA and said it was high timeGRAND TEMPS she called a proper handymanBRICOLEUR.”
Uses past perfect, reported speech, and key vocabulary naturally.
Comments