A young man loses his family and must survive in the desert — and the story is built from real deserts, real oil, and real old stories.
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These are the new words. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = C (a desert) · 2 = E (water) · 3 = A (a leader) · 4 = G (an enemy)
5 = H (to betray) · 6 = B (to escape) · 7 = F (power) · 8 = D (a hero)
Denis Villeneuve's Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024), based on a famous 1965 book by Frank Herbert. Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one. (There are spoilers — that is fine, we want to talk about it.)
Far in the future, there is a desert planet called Arrakis. It is the only place with a special substance called "the spice." The spice lets people travel between stars. Everyone wants to control it.
The Emperor tells a good family, House Atreides, to go and control the spice on Arrakis. Duke Leto is the father. Paul is his son. But it is a trick! The Emperor secretly wants a different, cruel family, House Harkonnen, to destroy House Atreides.
Someone the family trusts betrays them, and the Harkonnens attack. Duke Leto is killed. Paul and his mother, Jessica, must escape into the dangerous desert, where their enemies are afraid to follow.
1. Why does the Emperor send House Atreides to Arrakis?
2. What happens to the family, and how do Paul and Jessica survive?
1. It is a trick. The Emperor secretly wants the Harkonnens to destroy House Atreides.
2. Someone betrays them, and Duke Leto is killed. Paul and his mother escape into the desert, where the enemy is afraid to go.
In the desert, Paul and Jessica meet the Fremen. The Fremen are the people who live on Arrakis. They know how to survive: they save every drop of water, and they know how to travel safely near the giant sandworms.
The Fremen have an old story about a special leader who will come and save them. Some Fremen believe Paul is this person. Paul must prove himself: he fights another Fremen warrior, and later he learns to ride a giant sandworm — a very difficult and dangerous test.
More and more Fremen start to believe Paul is their prophesied leader. But Paul feels worried. He is not sure the old story is really about him — or if it is just useful for other people.
1. Who are the Fremen, and what old story do they believe?
2. What difficult things must Paul do to be accepted by the Fremen?
1. The Fremen are the people who live in the desert on Arrakis. They believe an old story about a special leader who will come to save them.
2. He must fight a Fremen warrior and learn to ride a giant sandworm.
Paul drinks a very dangerous substance and gains a special power: he can see visions of the future. He sees something terrible — if he becomes the Fremen's leader, a huge war will happen, and many, many people will die.
But Paul feels he has no choice. He leads the Fremen into a big battle against the Harkonnens and the Emperor. Paul wins, and he becomes the new, powerful ruler, controlling the spice and the whole empire.
Paul gets power, but he loses something too: Chani, the Fremen woman he loves, is very unhappy about the war and the new religion growing around him. The film ends with Paul powerful — but with a terrible war still coming.
1. What terrible vision does Paul see?
2. How does the story end for Paul, and how does Chani feel?
1. He sees that if he becomes the Fremen's leader, a huge war will happen and many people will die.
2. Paul wins the battle and becomes the powerful new ruler. But Chani is very unhappy about the war and the new religion around him.
Life in the desert on Arrakis has very strict rules. If you break them, you can die. This is exactly when English uses must, have to and mustn't.
Read the meaning in brackets and complete the sentence.
1. In the desert, you waste a single drop of water. (forbidden — very dangerous)
2. Every Fremen wear a stillsuit outside. (a strict rule)
3. You respect the sandworms — they are very dangerous. (necessary)
1. mustn't (forbidden)
2. has to (a rule for everyone)
3. must (necessary)
Put the verb in the correct form after must, have to or mustn't. Then read it out loud.
1. To survive, you must (save) every drop of water.
2. Paul has to (learn) the ways of the Fremen quickly.
3. You mustn't (remove) your stillsuit in the open desert.
1. save (must + base verb)
2. learn (have to + base verb)
3. remove (mustn't + base verb)
Fill each gap with must, have to, or mustn't. Read it aloud when you finish.
Stilgar tells Paul: "In the desert, you waste water. Every Fremen wear a stillsuit. And you walk with a normal rhythm — a sandworm will come for you."
mustn't (forbidden) · has to (a rule) · mustn't (forbidden/dangerous)
Use must / have to for necessary rules, and mustn't for dangerous or forbidden actions.
Here is the surprising part: many ideas in this story come from real cultures, real history and real politics.
The Fremen, the desert people in the story, are based on real Bedouin people from North Africa and the Middle East. Many Fremen words come directly from real Arabic. For example, "Lisan al-Gaib" — the name for the prophesied special leader — comes from Arabic words meaning something like "the voice from the hidden world." This connects to a real idea in Islam: the Mahdi, a "guided" saviour figure who many believe will appear one day.
The spice on Arrakis is only found in one difficult desert place, and the whole empire needs it to survive and to travel. This sounds a lot like real oil: oil is often found in desert regions of the Middle East, and for over 100 years, powerful countries have fought for control of it. Many experts think Frank Herbert, who wrote the original book in 1965, was clearly thinking about the politics of oil when he invented the spice.
Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of Dune in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a family goes to a desert planet to control the spice → a trick, a betrayal, and the father's death → the son and mother escape into the desert → they live with the Fremen and learn their ways → the son becomes a powerful new leader, but a war is coming.
Try to use some key words (desert, water, leader, enemy, betray, escape, power, hero) and must / have to / mustn't.
Paul sees that becoming the leader will cause a terrible war. But he becomes the leader anyway, to protect the people he loves. Was this the right choice? What would you do?
Talk about rules that help people survive in a difficult place or a difficult situation. Use must, have to and mustn't.
Not sure what to say? Choose one: