A poor boy from a small village who became the most famous artist in the world.
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These are the new words for Leonardo da Vinci. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = C (an artist) · 2 = D (a painting) · 3 = B (a scientist) · 4 = A (an inventor)
5 = F (a notebook) · 6 = E (the body) · 7 = H (a machine) · 8 = G (curious)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
Leonardo was born in 1452 in a small village called Vinci, in Italy. This is why we call him "Leonardo da Vinci" — Leonardo of Vinci. His parents were not married, and so he could not go to a big school or to university. But this was not all bad. He had a lot of free time, and he learned by looking at the world around him. He watched birds, water, plants and animals for hours.
When he was a teenager, his father sent him to the city of Florence. There he worked in the workshop of a famous artist. He learned to draw and to paint. He was very good — better than his teacher. People say that one day he painted a small angel in his teacher's picture, and it was so beautiful that his teacher stopped painting.
Even when he was young, one thing was clear. Leonardo was very curious, but he did not finish many things. He started a painting, then he had a new idea, and he moved to something else. In 1482 he left Florence and went to the city of Milan.
1. Why could Leonardo not go to a big school?
2. What did he learn in the workshop in Florence?
1. His parents were not married. But he had free time, and he learned by watching the world.
2. He learned to draw and to paint. He was very good — even better than his teacher.
Leonardo lived in Milan for many years. Here he did many different things. He painted a very famous picture on the wall of a big room where monks ate their food. We call it The Last Supper. It was beautiful, but Leonardo used a new kind of paint, and after a short time the paint started to fall off the wall.
Leonardo was not only an artist. He was also a scientist and an inventor. He filled many notebooks with drawings and ideas. He drew plans for a flying machine, a boat that could go under the water, and many other machines. Most of them were too difficult to build at that time. He also studied the human body. He wanted to draw people well, so he learned how the body works inside.
But there was a problem. Leonardo kept his notebooks private. He did not show his science to other people. So his amazing ideas stayed secret for a very long time. Then a war came to Milan, and Leonardo had to leave the city again.
1. What happened to the paint in The Last Supper?
2. What kinds of things did Leonardo draw in his notebooks?
1. Leonardo used a new kind of paint, and after a short time it started to fall off the wall.
2. He drew machines — a flying machine, a boat that goes under water — and studies of the human body.
In these years, Leonardo started a small painting of a woman. It was a picture of the wife of a merchant from Florence. He never gave the painting to the family. He kept it with him and worked on it again and again for years. Today we know this painting very well. It is the Mona Lisa, and it is the most famous painting in the world. People love her strange, quiet smile.
When Leonardo was an old man, the King of France invited him to live in France. The king liked Leonardo very much. He gave him a house and asked only to talk with him. Leonardo was old now, and his right hand was weak, so he could not paint much. He died in France in 1519, when he was sixty-seven years old.
Leonardo finished only about fifteen paintings in his whole life. But he left thousands of pages of notes and drawings. For a long time, no one read them. Now we understand: he was one of the most curious and clever people who ever lived. Five hundred years later, we still say his name when we talk about genius.
1. Why is the Mona Lisa special to Leonardo's story?
2. Where did Leonardo spend his last years, and who invited him there?
1. He never gave it away. He kept it and worked on it for years. It is now the most famous painting in the world.
2. He spent them in France. The King of France invited him and gave him a house.
This story happened a long time ago, so we use the past. The most important past words are was and were. We use them to talk about people and things in the past.
Write was or were in each gap.
1. Leonardo born in 1452.
2. His parents not married.
3. The Mona Lisa a small painting of a woman.
4. His notebooks full of drawings.
1. was (he — one person)
2. were (his parents — more than one)
3. was (it — one thing)
4. were (his notebooks — more than one)
Write the negative form: was not (wasn't) or were not (weren't).
1. Leonardo a lazy man. He worked all the time.
2. The machines easy to build in 1500.
3. His science famous when he was alive, because it was secret.
1. was not (wasn't) (he — one person)
2. were not (weren't) (the machines — more than one)
3. was not (wasn't) (his science — one thing)
Fill each gap with was or were. Read it aloud when you finish.
Leonardo a boy from a small village. His family poor, and his parents not married. But he very curious, and his notebooks full of amazing ideas.
was (he) · was (his family — one group) · were (his parents) · was (he) · were (his notebooks)
Use was for I / he / she / it, and were for you / we / they.
There is a real podcast about Leonardo da Vinci. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. It plays on the Noiser site, or search "Short History Of Leonardo da Vinci" on Spotify.
Play on Noiser →Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of Leonardo da Vinci in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a poor boy in a small village → a young artist in Florence → his years in Milan, his notebooks and machines → the Mona Lisa → his last years in France.
Try to use was and were, and some of the key words (artist, painting, scientist, inventor, notebook, body, machine, curious).
Leonardo was an artist and a scientist at the same time. Do you like art, science, or both? What do you like to make or learn about? Why?
Tell a short story about the past. Use was and were to talk about people and things.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: