Past Simple

Past Simple




#grammar Past simple is used to communicate an action that didn’t happen, happened once or happened several times in the past. 

It is often used to give details about an event in the news or in a story. Regular verbs in positive sentences in past simple use the suffix  -ed. 

Positive	Negative	Question
They scored the winning goal.	They didn’t score the winning goal.	Did they score the winning goal?
He ordered a pizza.	He didn’t order a pizza.	Did he order a pizza?
We asked her to move her car.	We didn’t ask her to move her car.	Did you ask her to move her car?

In the negative form, we use the auxiliary verb do in its past form did with the negative not. This can be shortened to didn’t. We then use the bare infinitive of the main verb.

Negative: didn’t + bare infinitive (without to)

For questions the auxiliary verb did comes before the pronoun.

Question: did + pronoun + bare infinitive (without to)

There are three important spelling rules to remember when using regular verbs with -ed. 

1	With verbs ending in e, add -d. For example, the verb score changes to scored.
2	With some verbs ending in a short, hard vowel sound or that end in the letter L after a vowel, the last letter is doubled. For example, the verb admit changes to admitted, and the verb travel changes to travelled.
3	With verbs ending in -y, the letter y changes to i. For example, the verb carry changes to carried.

However, there are many irregular verbs that do not follow this pattern and must be learnt individually. One of the most commonly used and most important is the verb to be. The verb to be is unusual because it can be used to make negatives and question forms without an auxiliary verb.

Positive	Negative	Question
She was happy.	She wasn’t happy.	Was she happy?
They were late to the party.	They weren’t late to the party.	Were they late to the party?
We were impressed.	We weren’t impressed.	Were you impressed?

Sentences in past simple can include a time marker when necessary.

Mr Smith broke his arm last week.

I went on holiday last year.

She flew to Japan yesterday.

Use past simple to report several actions that happened in sequence

He came in, slammed the door and threw his keys on the table.

or to report an action that happened in the middle of another action.

The children were coming in from the playground when the alarm sounded.

Past simple also appears in the first clause of second conditional to talk about hypothetical situations that are unlikely to happen:

If	I	won	the lottery	,	I would	buy a house
	he	lived	In Australia		he would	be better off
	she	went	on holiday		she would	go sightseeing
	we	moved	to Canada		we would	live near the mountains
	they	had	children		they would	take them to the park

Exercise 1: Use the words to make sentences in past simple

1. dog / run / street

2. make / she / a sandwich.

3. they / the shopping / carry.

4. be / it / yesterday / cold.

5. he / not / holiday / last year / go


Exercise 2: Use the words to write questions in past simple

6. you / out / at the weekend / go

7. visit / she / family

8. good time / have / they

9. be / good / film

10.  car / left / turn


Write your answers in the comments



Sources

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/past-simple
Swan, M. (2005) Practical English Usage (3rd Edition): OUP: Oxford

5 Most Common Phrasal Verbs and How to Use Them

Suitable for intermediate CEFR B1+

What is a phrasal verb?

#phrasalverbs A phrasal verb is a phrase that consists of a verb and one or more particles. The particle is usually a preposition or an adverb, which changes the meaning of the main verb.

A verb is an action word. For example, help, run, put, do or make.

A preposition is a word that describes the relationship between two nouns. For example, in, on, at, above, under, behind, etc. are used to describe the relative location between people and items.

An adverb is a word that describes a verb. Many (but not all) adverbs in English end with -ly, like  suddenly, early, slowly, easily.

Phrasal verbs are very common in spoken English, so you probably already know some of them. For example, you may have heard someone say ''come on, let's go'' or ''come on, you can do it'' in conversation. The word ''come'' on its own means to approach or to move towards something, but adding the preposition ''on'' changes the meaning to an expression of encouragement.

The bad news...

There are hundreds of phrasal verbs in English, enough to fill a whole dictionary, and it will no doubt take some time and practise to become comfortable using them in your conversations. It is important to know that often a phrasal verb has a very different meaning to the main verb on its own, so if you are unsure of the meaning, ensure you are looking it up in a phrasal verb dictionary.

As there are so many, it can be useful to create smaller groups of phrasal verbs according to their meaning or function, which will make them easier to learn. I recommend choosing 5 phrasal verbs to focus on at one time. Once you have mastered 5 and you feel confident using them in conversations, you can choose another set.

Sometimes the particle in a phrasal verb can move in the sentence, these are called transitive phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs that have a particle that can't move in a sentence are called intransitive. Don't worry too much about this because in my phrasal verbs series I will indicate whether a phrasal verb is transitive or intransitive and give example sentences to help you.


The good news...

Phrasal verbs are everywhere in English! You can start by looking or listening for them. If you notice a verb that is often used in conversation with a preposition or an adverb, there is a good chance it could be a phrasal verb. You can check if it is a phrasal verb or just a common collocation by looking it up in a phrasal verb dictionary.

Let's start by learning 5 of the most common phrasal verbs in the English language.


1. Have on 
Have on means wearing or to wear something and it is transitive. For example, you can say  ''she has on a new pair of shoes'' or ''she has a new pair of shoes on.'' Notice that the particle is always separated from the main verb in a transitive sentence with a noun (phrase) or a pronoun. Also notice that the main verb must change according to the tense, just like with all verbs in English. In these present simple sentences, have changes to has as it is conjugated with she.

2. Bring back
Bring back means to return something and it is transitive. For example, a teacher might say ''please complete this task at home and bring it back on Thursday'' or if you led a pen to someone in class you might say ''please can you bring it back when you've finished.''

3. Add up
Add up means to increase the amount of something or that something makes sense, and it is a transitive phrasal verb. For example, in a restaurant with your friends you might want to pay for only some of the bill and ask ''Can you add up how much I owe?'' If you're confused about a friend's story and you think they may be lying you might say ''It doesn't add up.''

4. End up 
To end up means to finally arrive in a particular location or situation and it is intransitive. ''We wanted to go to France today, but the Ferry was delayed so we ended up in Dover.''

5. Find out 
Find out means to discover some new information and it is intransitive. ''I just found out my sister is pregnant.''


Do you know some more phrasal verbs? Write them in the comments or practise making your own sentences with these examples! 

Vocabulary for Beginners: Autumn Vocabulary

Suitable for beginners CEFR A1+

The leaves are turning shades of golden yellow, burnt orange and red here in southern England. Squirrels are collecting acorns, pine cones are scattered on the ground and children are playing with conkers. It's getting dark earlier and rain clouds are gathering. Autumn is here, so wrap-up warm. It's my favourite time of the year!

Leaves (n.) (pl.)  Leaf (s.)

 

Leaves fall from the trees in autumn.

Squirrel (n.)

Squirrels are small mammals that live in trees and feed on nuts and seeds.  



Acorns (n.)

 


Acorns grow on oak trees.  



Pine cone (n.)

 

Pine cones are traditionally used to make a variety of seasonal decorations. 



To scatter (v.)
 

The man is scattering seeds on the ground. 


Conkers (n.)





 

Conkers are fun for children to play with.



Rain clouds

 

These clouds bring rain.



Wrap-up

 

Wear a scarf or a hat and coat to wrap-up warm. 


Do you know any other autumn vocabulary? Write words in the comments!

IELTS Writing Task 1: How to Use the Passive Form of Present Simple

Suitable for intermediate CEFR B1+

The passive form of present simple is often used to describe processes, where the person completing an action is either not important or unknown. You can often see the passive form of present simple used in formal texts that describe processes and in documentary programmes. 

The passive form of present simple is also used in part 1 of the academic IELTS writing test to describe process diagrams. 

The passive form of present simple is made with the present form of the verb to be. 

is / are + past participle (third form)

For example:

          Cars are made in the factory. 

          The cows are milked every morning

          The coffee beans are harvested in South America.

          The plastic is dyed one of three colours. 

          The pond is cleaned thoroughly, and weeds are removed every year. 

In these sentences the object receiving the action (verb) is most important and comes at the beginning and the person or subject completing the action is omitted. In some cases the subject may be added to the end of a sentence in the passive form using the preposition by.

Now try changing the active sentences in the following exercise into the passive form.

Exercise

1. The boss sends a weekly email to the employees. 

2. People destroy the rainforest.

3. The secretary deletes unnecessary files. 

4. Housekeepers clean the hotel rooms every day.  

5. Birds eat a variety of insects.

Post your answers in the comments below.

Improve Your Accent: The 3 Pronunciations of -ed Regular Verbs in Past Simple

Suitable for low intermediate CEFR A2+

#pronunciation #verbs 

 

You are probably familiar with the -ed suffix in English. It is used at the end of regular verbs to change them into the past tense. 

But did you know that it has three very different pronunciations?

Being aware of the three different pronunciations of -ed is really important to improve your general English level, and can help you sound more fluent instantly. Take a look at the pronunciation rules here and practise your knowledge in the exercise at the end. 

1. soft /d/

The soft /d/ sound is the most common of the three pronunciations of -ed, as in the following  examples. 

used

listened

believed

described

finished

argued

influenced

cleared

cleaned

called

continued

hoped

released

played

shared

agreed

informed

achieved

2. hard /t/

The hard /t/ sound is generally used if the word ends with K, S, Ch, Sh, F, P or Th as in the following examples. 

helped

packed

marched

walked

watched

jumped

stopped

locked

washed

asked

talked

3. /Id/

The pronunciation /Id/ is used if the word ends with D or T as in the following examples. 

wanted

limited

consisted

affected

suggested

visited

waited

recorded

tended

invited

reported

Exceptions

The following words are exceptions to these pronunciation rules.

aged   

blessed   

crooked 

dogged   

learned   

naked 

ragged   

wicked   

wretched 

Exercise

Write the correct pronunciation /d/ /t/ or /Id/. 

1. The car was damaged in the accident. ___

2. He laughed at my joke. ___

3. She rented an apartment in the city. ___

4. We wanted to leave early. ___

5. At the end of her presentation, she repeated the most important point. ___

6. I asked him to leave the classroom. ___

7. They packed their bags before they went on holiday. ___

8. I cleaned the house yesterday. ___

9. She mentioned that she enjoyed her stay at the hotel. ___ ___

10. The little crooked house was destroyed in the storm. ___ ___

Write your answers in the comments! 

How to Learn English Online: My Teacher Introduction

  

#ELT #EnglishTeacher Hello! I'm Cara. Watch this short welcome video to find out more about me and how I can help improve your English

 Teaching Approach

My approach to teaching English is very simple: interaction. I motivate and support my students to speak and be involved in the lesson as much as possible because, as the famous philosopher, Confucius, once said: 

'tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand.'

As your teacher I will listen carefully to your needs and identify gaps in your understanding so that we can focus on the language you most want to learn or improve. 


Teaching Background

I have been teaching English for over 7 years giving private lessons online and teaching in classrooms, and for the past 3 years I have been teaching international students aged 12-18 at a British Council accredited school in the UK. Before that I worked with various other education and language service providers teaching both adults and children of all levels and abilities. I have prepared many students successfully for Cambridge English exams including #CAE #IELTS #CPE #FCE.



Qualifications

Master of Education MA Ed (Applied Linguistics)
Cambridge Certificate for English Language Teaching (CELTA) 
BSc (Hons) Psychology