Grammar Corner SIMPLE PAST TENSE

Study the example: Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl called Cinderella. She had two ugly step sisters. She had to sweep the floors. One day a special invitation arrived at Cinderellas house. was, had, arrived are the past simple tense. We use the past simple to talk about actions or situations in the past.

Its very often the past simple ends in ed, for example: 1. We invited them to our party but they decided not to come. 2. The police stopped me on my way home last night. 3. She passed her examination because she studied very hard 4. But many verbs are irregular. This means that the past simple does not end in ed, for example: 1. Leave ------ left 2. Go --------- went 3. Cost ------- cost We all left the party at 11 oclock. Yesterday I went to London to see my friend of mine. This house cost $35.000 in 1980.

The past of the verb be (am/is/are) is was/were: 1. I/he/she/it was 2. We/you/they were 3. I was angry because Tom and Ann were late. In past simple questions and negatives we use did/didnt + the infinitive (do/open/rain, etc) 1. 2. 3. 4. When did Mr. Edwards die? What did you do at the weekend? We didnt invite her to the party, so she didnt come. Why didnt you phone me on Tuesday?

PAST CONTINOUS TENSE Study of the example: Yesterday Tom and Jim played tennis. They began at 10 oclock and finished at 11 oclock. What were they doing at 10.30? They were playing tennis. They were playing means that they were in the middle of playing tennis. They had started playing but they hadnt finished. This is the past continuous tense.

We use the past continuous to say that someone was in the middle of doing something at a certain time. The action or situation had already started before this time but hadnt finished. 1. This time last year I was living in Brazil. 2. What were you doing at 10 oclock last night?

The past continuous does not tell us whether an action was finished or not. Perhaps it was finished, perhaps not. Compare: 1. Tom was cooking the dinner (past continuous) = He was in the middle of cooking the dinner and we dont know whether he finished cooking it. 2. Tom cooked the dinner (past simple) = He began and finished it.

We often use the past continuous (I was doing) and the past simple (I did) together to say that something happened in the middle of something else: 1. Tom burnt his hand when he was cooking the dinner. 2. I saw Jim in the park. He was sitting on the grass and reading a book. 3. It was raining when I got up. 4. While I was working in the garden, I hurt my back.

But to say that one thing happened after another, use the past simple: Yesterday evening, Tom was having a bath when the phone rang. He got out of the bath and answered the phone. Compare: When Tom arrived, we were having dinner (past continuous) = We had already started dinner before Tom arrived. When Tom arrived, we had dinner (past simple) = Tom arrived and then we had dinner.

PAST PERFECT TENSE Study the example: I went to a party last week. Tom went to the party too. Tom went home at 10.30. So, when I arrived at 11 oclock, Tom wasnt there. When I arrived at the party, Tom wasnt there. He had gone.

This is the past perfect tense I / he /she had gone = Id / hed / shed gone I / he /she hadnt gone Had you / he / she gone?

We form the past perfect with had + the past participle (gone/opened/written, etc). Sometimes we talk about something that happened in the past: I arrived at the party We use the past perfect to say that something had already happened before this time: When I arrived at the party, Tom had already gone home. Here are some more examples: When I got home, I found that someone had broken into my flat and had stolen my fur coat. George didnt want to come to the cinema with us because he had already seen the film twice. It was my first time in an airplane. I was very nervous because I hadnt flown before.

The past perfect (I had done) is the past of the present perfect (I have done). Compare these situations! Present Im not hungry. Ive just had lunch. The house is dirty. We havent Past I wasnt hungry. Id just had lunch. The house was dirty. We hadnt

Cleaned it for weeks.

cleaned it for weeks.

TIME CONJUNCTION A conjunction is a word that connects or joins together words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. There are two kinds of conjunctions, coordinating conjunctions and subordinating or subordinate conjunctions.

Coordinate conjunctions: 1. Cinderella fetched a golden pumpkin, six grey mice, a whiskered rat, and six lizards. 2. She fixed their hair in fancy waves and curls. 3. The fairy godmother touched them with her wand and the pumpkin became a golden coach.

Subordinate conjunctions: 1. When the day of the ball came, they made such a fuss. 2. As soon as they had gone, Cinderella sat down by the fire. 3. As she ran down the palace steps, one of her glass slippers fell off.

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