PAST TENSE

PAST TENSE

WARM UP

How to form the Past Tense in English

The main rule is that for every verb in English, there is only one form of it in the past tense.
(The exception is the Past tense of To Be, which has two forms: was and were)

This is totally different from other languages such as Spanish, French, Italian etc. where you change the verb ending for every subject.

For example: The past tense of the verb want is wanted.
Wanted is used as the past tense for all subjects/pronouns.

• I wanted
• You wanted
• He wanted
• She wanted
• It wanted
• We wanted
• They wanted

So you just have to learn one word to be able to use it in the past tense. In this case we just needed to learn the one word wanted which can be used for all subjects (or people).

Past Tense Regular Verbs

To change a regular verb into its past tense form, we normally add –ED to the end of the verb.

• play – played
• cook – cooked
• rain – rained
• wait – waited

There are some exceptions with a slight change in spelling which you can see here:
Spelling of words ending in ED.

Examples of sentences using regular verbs in the past tense

• Last night I played my guitar loudly and the neighbors complained.
• She kissed me on the cheek.
• It rained yesterday.
• Angela watched TV all night.
• John wanted to go to the museum.

Note: There are three different ways of pronouncing the –ed at the end of a verb in the past tense.
We recommend reading our guide about the pronunciation of –ED at the end of words.

Negative sentences in the Past Tense

We use didn't (did not) to make a negative sentence in the past tense.
This is for regular AND irregular verbs in English.
(Exception is To Be and Modal Verbs such as Can)

Compare the following:

Present: They don't live in Canada.
Past: They didn't live in Canada.

The main verb (live in the example above) is in its base form (of the infinitive). The auxiliary DIDN'T shows that the sentence is negative AND in the past tense.

NOTICE: The only difference between a negative sentence in the present tense and a negative sentence in the past tense is the change in the auxiliary verb.

Both don't and doesn't in the present tense become didn't in the past tense.

Compare the negative sentences in the examples below:

Present: You don't need a mechanic.
Past: You didn't need a mechanic.

Present: You don't walk to work.
Past: You didn't walk to work.

Present: He doesn't speak Japanese.
Past: He didn't speak Japanese.

Examples of negative sentences in the Past Tense

• I didn't want to go to the dentist.
• She didn't have time.
• You didn't close the door.
• He didn't come to my party.
• They didn't study so they didn't pass the test.
• We didn't sleep well last night.

Questions in the Past Tense

We use did to make a question in the past tense.
This is for regular AND irregular verbs in English.
(Exception is To Be and Modal Verbs such as Can)

Compare the following:

Present: Do they live in France?
Past: Did they live in France?

The main verb (live in the example above) is in its base form (of the infinitive). The auxiliary DID shows that the question is in the past tense.

NOTICE: The only difference between a question in the present tense and a question in the past tense is the change in the auxiliary verb.
Both Do and Does in present tense questions become Didn't in past tense questions.

Compare the questions in the examples below:

Present: Do you need a doctor?
Past: Did you need a doctor?

Present: Do you ride your bike to work?
Past: Did you ride your bike to work?

Present: Does he live in Italy?
Past: Did he live in Italy?

We can also use a question word (Who, What, Why etc.) before DID to ask for more information.

• Did you study? – Yes, I did.
• When did you study? – I studied last night.
• Where did you study? – I studied at the library.

Read more about short answers in the past tense.

Examples of Questions in the Past Tense

• Did you go to work yesterday?
• Did they arrive on time?
• Did she like the surprise?
• Where did she go?
• What did you do yesterday?
• What did you say? - I didn't say anything.
• Why did we have to come?

Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense

Irregular verbs are ONLY irregular in affirmative/positive sentences.
(An exception to this is with the verb TO BE in the Past Tense).

For example: The past tense of GO is WENT.
It does not end in –ED so it is considered irregular.

The word went is used for all subjects – I, you, we, they, he, she, it.

• I went to the beach
• He went to the park.
• She went to the zoo.
• They went to the library.

BUT, as we mentioned before, it is only in its irregular form (went) in sentences that are affirmative/positive.

Compare the following using GO in the past tense.

• They went to the beach
• They didn't go to the beach --- Didn't shows that we are talking in the past tense.
• Did they go to the beach? --- Did shows that we are talking in the past tense.

Another example with an irregular verb.
The past of EAT is ATE.

• You ate my cake.
• You didn't eat my cake.
• Did you eat my cake?

Retrieved by https://www.grammar.cl/english/past-tense.htm

ACTIVITIES

WRITING

https://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-simple-past.php

QUANTIFIERS

QUANTIFIERS

WARM UP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SjukUQ4CvM

GRAMMAR

We use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number of something: how much or how many.

Sometimes we use a quantifier in the place of a determiner:

Most children start school at the age of five.
We ate some bread and butter.
We saw lots of birds.

We use these quantifiers with both count and uncount nouns:

all	any	enough	less	a lot of	lots of
more	most	no	none of	some

and some more colloquial forms:

plenty of

heaps of

a load of

loads of

tons of

etc.

Some quantifiers can be used only with count nouns:

both

each

either

(a) few

fewer

neither

several

and some more colloquial forms:

a couple of

hundreds of

thousands of

etc.

Some quantifiers can be used only with uncount nouns:

a little

(not) much

a bit of

And, particularly with abstract nouns such as time, money, trouble, etc:, we often use:

a great deal of

a good deal of

Members of groups

You can put a noun after a quantifier when you are talking about members of a group in general…

Few snakes are dangerous.
Both brothers work with their father.
I never have enough money.

…but if you are talking about a specific group of people or things, use of the … as well

Few of the snakes are dangerous.
All of the children live at home.
He has spent all of his money.

Note that, if we are talking about two people or things we use the quantifiers both, either and neither:

One supermarket	Two supermarkets*	More than two supermarkets
The supermarket was closed The supermarket wasn't open I don’t think the supermarket was open.	Both the supermarkets were closed. Neither of the supermarkets was open. I don’t think either of the supermarkets was open.	All the supermarkets were closed None of the supermarkets were open I don't think any of the supermarkets were open

*Nouns with either and neither have a singular verb.

Singular quantifiers:

We use every or each with a singular noun to mean all:

There was a party in every street.	=	There were parties in all the streets.
Every shop was decorated with flowers.	=	All the shops were decorated with flowers.
Each child was given a prize.	=	All the children were given a prize.
There was a prize in each competition.	=	There were prizes in all the competitions.

We often use every to talk about times like days, weeks and years:

When we were children we had holidays at our grandmother’s every year.
When we stayed at my grandmother’s house we went to the beach every day.
We visit our daughter every Christmas.

BUT: We do not use a determiner with every and each. We do not say:

The every shop was decorated with flowers.
The each child was given a prize.

Retrieved by https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar/quantifiers

ACTIVITIES

WRITING

https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/confusing_words/few_little3.htm

LISTENING
http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/listening/1L4-applepie.php

READING

SPEAKING

Prepare a dialogue in which you use quantifiers.

 

GERUNDS

GERUNDS

WARM UP

                  
GRAMMAR

                

Gerund as Subject:

Going to party is fun

Gerund as Object:

I enjoy reading

Gerund after the following verbs

dislike

We dislike reading poems

can't/couldn't help

He couldn't help falling in love with her.

include

Your responsibility includes taking reservations on the phone.

justify

I cannot justify paying $100 for this ticket.

mention

Did Alex ever mention playing baseball?

mind

I don't mind sleeping on the couch.

regret*

Do you regret having mentioned it?

* After regret the to-infinitive is used when announcing bad news: We regret to inform you that the flight to Munich has been cancelled.

 Gerund after special phrases

to be busy

                          He is busy reading the paper.

don't mind

                          I don't mind telling them my opinion.

feel like

                         We feel like having a cup of tea.

how about

                          How about walking home instead of taking the car?

it's (no) good

                           It's no good talking to this girl.

it's no use

                            It's no use talking to the headmaster.

spend one's time

                            They spend their time reading.

there's no

                           There's no cheating anymore.

there's no point

                           There's no point in complaining further.

what about

                           What about going to the zoo?

worth

                           The book is worth reading

Taking from https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar/gerund.htm

ACTIVITIES

WRITING

Complete each sentence with one of these verbs:

ANSWER      APPLY     BE    BE    LISTEN   MAKE    SEE   TRY   USE   WASH   WORK   WRITE

1. He tried to avoid  ______________________ question.

2. Could you please stop ________________ so much noise?

3. I enjoy ________________ to music.

4. I considered ____________ for the job put in the end I decided against it

5. Have you finished ______________ your hair yet?

6. If you walk into the road without looking, you risk _____________knocked down

7. Jim is 65 but he isn´t going to retire yet. He wants to carry on ______________

8. I don´t mind you _______________ the phone as long as you pay for all your calls

9. Hello! Fancy _____________you here. What a surprise!

10. I´ve put off _________________ the letter so many times. I really must do it today

11. What a stupid thing to do! Can you imagine anybody _________so stupid?

12. Sara gave up ______________ to find a job in this country and decided to go abroad.

 READING

  Pages 110 and 111 Book English, please N° 3               

LISTENING

https://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Listening_Lab/Listening_Lab_Exercise_18_gerunds.html

PREPOSITION OF PLACES

PREPOSITION OF PLACES

WARM UP

GRAMMAR

IN: INSIDE

We use IN to show that something is enclosed or surrounded.

Example: The dog is in the garden                 She is in the taxi

We also use IN to show position within land-areas (town, countries, and continents).Example: We live in Soledad

We use the preposition IN in expressions as...in a room                                           in a building                                   in a gardenin a building                                      in a city                                          in a country

We say that somebody/something is...in a line                                             in a photograph                              in the skyin the world                                      in a book                                         in a newspaperin bed                                               in hospital                                        in prision

ON:

ON means that something is in a position that is physically touching, covering or attached to something. We use ON to show a specific place or position.Example: I can see a spider on the ceiling.

AT:

We use AT to show an exact position or particular place.Example: I met her at the bus stop.

We use the preposition AT in expressions as...

at the bus stop                                  at the door                                       at the windowat the top (of the page)                     at the bottom (of a page)                at the end

We say that somebody is at home/ at work / at school / at universityWe say that somebody is at an event (at s party / at a conference)

You can often use IN or AT with buildings. For example, you can eat in a restaurant or at a restaurant.

We usually say at when we say where an event takes place.                We went to a concert at The Royal Festival Hall

OTHER PREPOSITIONSby, next to, beside, near

• not far away in distance

• The girl who is by / next to / beside the house.

between

• in or into the space which separates two places, people or objects

• The town lies halfway between Rome and Florence.

behind

• at the back (of)

• I hung my coat behind the door.

in front of

• further forward than someone or something else

• She started talking to the man in front of her

under

• lower than (or covered by) something else

• the cat is under the chair.

over

• above or higher than something else, sometimes so that one thing covers the other.

• more than.

• across from one side to the other.

• overcoming an obstacle

• She held the umbrella over both of us.

• Most of the carpets are over $100.

• I walked over the bridge

• She jumped over the gate

across

• from one side to the other of something with clear limits / getting to the other side

• She walked across the field/road.

• He sailed across the Atlantic

through

• from one end or side of something to the other

• They walked slowly through the woods.

to

• in the direction of

• bed

• We went to Prague last year.

• I go to bed at ten.

into

• towards the inside or middle of something and about to be contained, surrounded or enclosed by it

• Shall we go into the garden?

towards

• in the direction of, or closer to someone or something

• She stood up and walked towardshim.

onto

• used to show movement into or on a particular place

• I slipped as I stepped onto the platform.

from

• used to show the place where someone or something starts:

• What time does the flight fromAmsterdam arrive? 

ACTIVITIES

WRITING

1. Complete the sentences. Use IN, ON or AT  +  one of the following


the window          my guitar         your coffee         the river         the mountain         the island

that tree                the next garage


a) Look at   those people swimming _________________________________
b) There is something wrong with the car. We´d better stop _____________________________
c) Would you like sugar ____________________________________________?
d) There is nobody living __________________________________. It is uninhabited
e) He spends most of the day sitting ______________________ and looking outside.


2. Complete the sentences with IN, ON or AT

a) It can be dangerous when children play ____________________ the street.
b) If you walk to the end of the street, you will see a small shop __________________ the corner.
c) Is Tom __________ this photogrpah ?  I can´t find him.
d) Write your name _______________ the top of the page.
e) I like that picture hanging ___________ the wall  __________ the kitchen.



http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=597

READING

https://www.thoughtco.com/reading-comprehension-for-beginners-my-office-4093554

LISTENING

Listen the audio and write the sentences

https://soundcloud.com/tara-benwell/home-sweet-home

SPEAKING

Make a mock-up or a plan of your neighborhood and describe it