Transcript for:
Maya's New York City Trip Challenges

So tell me about the trip, Maya. How was New York City? Did you and Carl get to know each other better?

Yes, we did. The trip was… okay. Ever since Carl invited me to New York City, I had been marking the days off the calendar. Well, I had been hoping to have a romantic trip with Carl, but you know that Lucy decided to come along.

Yes, I know. You told me. Did she ruin the trip? Kind of.

But I know she didn't do it on purpose. Anyway, I had been worrying things might not turn out the way I wanted ever since Lucy invited herself to come along. I have to admit that I'd been getting a little worried too. I'd been thinking that something like that might happen.

Please tell me about it. First, Carl and I wanted to have a romantic dinner, so we made a reservation at a fancy restaurant. I had been encouraging Lucy to go to a Broadway show so that Carl and I could be alone. Lucy bought a ticket for the show, but then said she needed to get dinner. Please tell me she didn't go to the same restaurant as you.

Not at first. She said she wanted to try food from a street vendor she had seen. We went our separate ways. Then, when Carl and I sat down to dinner, Lucy showed up.

She had been walking around for a while, trying to find something to eat. She decided she didn't want to eat food from a street vendor, so she came to check out the restaurant. We had been enjoying our time together so much before she showed up.

Did you get any alone time with Carl? I tried. I had been waiting for Carl to get up from the table, as I didn't want to embarrass Lucy in front of him. When he went to the bathroom, I told Lucy I had been looking forward to spending time with Carl on the trip. Was Lucy understanding?

I thought she was at first. She nodded and told me that she had been watching Carl and I together. And we seemed like the perfect match. What happened next?

I had been keeping an eye on the time, and I told her that she didn't want to be late to the show. Lucy left the restaurant to go to the Broadway show. Carl and I enjoyed the rest of our dinner together. Then we decided to take a romantic walk on the Hudson River.

We had been dreaming about seeing the Statue of Liberty all lit up at night for a long time. We walked in that direction. That sounds so romantic. I'm glad you finally got some alone time with Carl. We had been walking for some time when Carl took my hand.

He had been leaning towards me, trying to kiss me. When Lucy called. She didn't like the Broadway show, so she left early.

She had been riding the subway when she had the idea to call me. She asked where Carl and I were, so I told her. She decided that she would visit the Statue of Liberty with us. Carl had been getting more and more irritated with Lucy, but that was too much for him.

Why didn't you just tell Lucy that you wanted more alone time with Carl? I couldn't. Because Carl had been standing there and had been listening to everything I said. I was way too embarrassed to say all that in front of him. So, did you two ever get to kiss?

Yes, sort of. It was kind of funny. The next day, Lucy wanted to go to Central Park. She'd been looking for things to do when she saw a carousel.

She thought that it would be fun for all of us to ride it. Carl and I climbed onto the carousel next to each other, and Lucy chose to ride right behind us. And you kissed on the carousel?

I had been hoping for a more romantic story than that. The ride had ended, and I had been trying to get off the carousel, but my leg was stuck on the horse. Carl came over to help me. He tugged on my shoe, trying to get it unstuck. Lucy had been watching.

Then she wanted to help and tried to push me off. She pushed me into Carl and we both fell on the ground. Is that when you kissed?

Yes, we kissed by accident. I would have liked a more romantic moment, but it was okay. The rest of the trip, Lucy followed us.

Every place I said I wanted to go, Lucy said she had been planning on visiting too. Wow. So I guess Lucy was with you the whole time.

At least she helped you have your first kiss with Carl. Yes, she's a great friend and a very nice person, and I'm sure she meant well. But good intentions can sometimes do more harm than good. Next time I plan a romantic trip, I'll make sure I don't tell anybody about it. The Past Perfect Continuous shows that an action that started in the past continued up until another time in the past.

The structure of the Past Perfect Continuous is Subject plus head plus pin plus the verb and IND. The signal words for the Past Perfect Continuous are When, For, Since, Before. She'd been looking for things to do when she saw a carousel.

We had been dreaming about seeing the Statue of Liberty all lit up at night for a long time. Ever since Carl invited me to New York City, I had been marking the days off the calendar. We had been enjoying our time together so much before she showed up.

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