Class #10 - Simple Past

VOCABULARY

BENCH

THEY'RE ON A DATE

SHE'S EATING

ELDERLY WOMAN / YOUNG WOMAN

ICE CREAM

KNITTING

THE GIRL IS MEETING THE BOY

PARK

POPCORN

RAIN / IT'S RAINING

SHE'S SHY

STANDING / SITTING

ROCKING CHAIR

NEWSPAPER

SUNNY DAY

ZOO

LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY

H: Gertrude.

G: Yes, Harold.

H: Do you remember when we were young?

G: Of course I do. I remember like it was yesterday.

H: I remember the day we met. You were fourteen. I was fifteen.

G: Actually, I was sixteen and you were seventeen.

H: I was?

G: Yes, you were.

H: You were beautiful.

G: Oh, no I wasn't.

H: Yes, you were Gertrude, you were very beautiful.

G: You were handsome.

H: Me? Handsome? No, I wasn't. I was nothing special.

G: That's not true. You were very handsome. And very special.

     I remember I was shy.

H: You weren't shy at all. You were very outgoing and very popular.

G: Oh, that's right. I was very popular. And you were very popular too. You were always very busy.

H: I was. I was always with my friends.

G: Do you remember our first date?

H: Of course. We went to the zoo.

G: No, we didn't. We went to the park.

H: We didn't go to the park Gertrude, we went to the zoo. I remember.

G: Harold, we went to the park. We sat on a bench in the park and we talked for hours and hours.

H: Gertrude, we didn't go to the park and we didn't sit on a bench. We went to the zoo and looked at the animals.

G: You're wrong, Harold. I remember. I remember like it was yesterday.

H: You know what? The zoo was in the park.

G: That's right! It was! We went to the zoo in the park.

H: We did. And we sat on a bench and we talked for hours and hours. 

G: We ate some ice cream. 

H: That's right. And we had some popcorn

G: That's right, we did.

H: It was a beautiful day.

G: Actually, it started to rain.

H: It didn't rain, it was sunny.

G: No, it wasn't Harold, it wasn't sunny. It rained.

H: It didn't rain, Gertrude. 

G: Yes, it did.

H: Well, maybe you're right. 

G: It doesn't matter. It was a very special day.

H: You're right, it was. I remember like it was yesterday.

GRAMMAR

The Simple Past Tense

English uses verbs in the simple past tense to refer to actions, situations, or events that are finished and that happened before now. There are three ways to form simple past tense in English. One way is what happens with the verb be: it uses the special forms was and were. 
Another way is what happens with regular verbs.
(They are called regular because they all add the same ending--ed--or some variation on it.)

Regular Verbs:

Regular verbs make their past tense by adding - d, - ed, or (if the verb ends in a consonant + y), changing the y to i and then adding - ed. Examples: Add -d:  baked, cared, eased, filed, greased, hated, liked, piled, raced, seized, smiled, typed, wheezed, whined Change y to i and add -ed: apply / applied; bury / buried; cry / cried; fry / fried; hurry / hurried; marry / married; pry / pried; spy / spied try / tried vary / varied worry / worried Add -ed:  other regular verbs: asked, belonged, clapped, dialed, filled, guessed, hopped, looked, marked, needed, pulled, reached, started, touched, viewed, washed, yelled, zipped

But there are a lot of irregular past tenses in English. Her are the most common irregular verbs in English, with their past tenses:

infinitive	irregular past
be begin break bring buy build choose come cost cut do draw drive eat feel find get give go have hear hold keep know leave lead let lie lose make mean meet pay put run say sell send set sit speak spend stand take teach tell think understand wear win write	was/were began broke brought bought built chose came cost cut did drew drove ate felt found got gave went had heard held kept knew left led let lay lost made meant met paid put ran said sold sent set sat spoke spent stood took taught told thought understood wore won wrote

 Use

We use the past tense to talk about:

• something that happened once in the past:

I met my wife in 1983.
We went to Spain for our holidays.
They got home very late last night.

• something that happened again and again in the past:

When I was a boy I walked a mile to school every day.
We swam a lot while we were on holiday.
They always enjoyed visiting their friends.

• something that was true for some time in the past:

I lived abroad for ten years.
He enjoyed being a student.
She played a lot of tennis when she was younger.

• we often use phrases with ago with the past tense:

I met my wife a long time ago.

Questions and negatives

We use did to make questions with the past tense:

When did you meet your wife?
Where did you go for your holidays?
Did she play tennis when she was younger?
Did you live abroad?

But look at these questions:

Who discovered penicillin?
Who wrote Don Quixote?

For more on these questions see question forms

We use didn’t (did not) to make negatives with the past tense:

They didn’t go to Spain this year.
We didn’t get home until very late last night.
I didn’t see you yesterday.

Class #9 - Past Tense of the verb to be

Vocabulary

BASEBALL GAME

PENNANTS

BALLPARK

GRANDPA / GRANDMA

MEETING

BIRTHDAY PARTY

Tommy: Hi, Jeff.

Jeff: Morning, Tommy.

Tommy: Jeff, can I ask you a question?

Jeff: Sure, Tommy.

Tommy: Were you at the ballgame last night?

Jeff: No, I wasn't. I was at the movies.

Tommy: Oh, I see. Was dad at my baseball game?

Jeff: No, he wasn't. He was at a meeting.,

Tommy: How about mom? Was she there?

Jeff: No, Tommy, she wasn't. She was at her computer class.

Tommy: How about Katie and Melissa? Were they at my game?

Jeff: No, they weren't. They were at Jennifer Anderson's birthday party.

Tommy: I can't believe it. Mom wasn't there, dad wasn't there, my sisters weren't there, my brother wasn't there... Nobody was at my ball game.

Jeff: That's not true Tommy.

Tommy: Huh?

Jeff: Somebody was at your ball game.

Tommy: Who?

Jeff: Grandma and Grandpa were there.

Tommy: They were?

Jeff: Yes, they were. 

And you know what they said? You were terrific.

Tommy: I was terrific?

Jeff: You were great!

Tommy: Yes!

Jeff: Hey, Tommy.

Sorry I wasn't there.

Tommy: That's ok. Next time.

Past Tense - Verb To Be

To Be - Affirmative

Subject	To Be	Examples
I	was	I was tired this morning.
You	were	You were very good.
He	was	He was the best in his class.
She	was	She was late for work.
It	was	It was a sunny day.
We	were	We were at home.
You	were	You were on holiday.
They	were	They were happy with their test results.

To Be - Negative Sentences

The negative of To Be can be made by adding not after the verb (was or were).

Subject	To Be	Examples
I	was not	I was not tired this morning.
You	were not	You were not crazy.
He	was not	He was not married.
She	was not	She was not famous.
It	was not	It was not hot yesterday.
We	were not	We were not invited.
You	were not	You were not at the party.
They	were not	They were not friends.

To Be - Negative Contractions

The can make negative contractions of the verb To Be in the Past tense by joining the verb (was or were) and n't (e.g. were not = weren't). We don't make a contraction of the subject and the verb (e.g. I was).

I was not tired this morning.	OR	I wasn't tired this morning.
You were not crazy.	OR	You weren't crazy.
He was not married.	OR	He wasn't married.
She was not famous.	OR	She wasn't famous.
It was not hot yesterday.	OR	It wasn't hot yesterday.
We were not invited.	OR	We weren't invited.
You were not at the party.	OR	You weren't at the party.
They were not friends.	OR	They weren't friends.

* Notice that we don't have contractions for To Be in Past Tense affirmative sentences.

To Be - Questions

To create questions with To Be, you put the Verb before the Subject.

Affirmative	You	were	happy.
	Subject	Verb
Question	Were	you	happy?
	Verb	Subject

Affirmative	Question
I was late	Was I late?
You were sick.	Were you sick?
He was surprised.	Was he surprised?
She was from Italy.	Was she from Italy?
It was a big house.	Was it a big house?
We were ready.	Were we ready?
You were early.	Were you early?
They were busy.	Were they busy?

To Be - Short Answers

In spoken English, we usually give short answers in response to questions.

Was he from Japan? - Yes, he was (from Japan). The last part (from Japan) is not necessary. We use shorts answers to avoid repetition, when the meaning is clear.

Question	Short Answers**	Short Answers
Was I late?	Yes, you were.	No, you weren't.
Were you sick?	Yes, I was.	No, I wasn't.
Was he surprised?	Yes, he was.	No, he wasn't.
Was she from Italy?	Yes, she was.	No, she wasn't.
Was it a big house?	Yes, it was.	No, it wasn't.
Were we ready?	Yes, we were.	No, we weren't.
Were you early?	Yes, we were.	No, we weren't.
Were they busy?	Yes, they were.	No, they weren't.

** With To Be, We don't use contractions in affirmative short answers.

Somebody, Someone, Anybody, Anyone etc.

There is no real difference between somebody and someone. Similarly, there is no difference between anybody and anyone, everybody and everyone or nobody and no one.

Note that the forms with body are a little more informal.

There is somebody at the door. (= There is someone at the door.)
Is there anybody? (= Is there anyone?)

Some- and any-

The difference between somebody and anybody, somewhere and anywhere and something and anything are the same as the difference between some and any.

The words somebody, something, somewhere etc., are used in affirmative clauses, whereas the words anybody, anything, anywhere etc., are used in negative and interrogative sentences.

There is somebody at the door.
Did anyone come?
I don’t want to go anywhere too expensive.
If you need anything just tell me.

When these words are used as subjects they are followed by singular verbs.

Everybody loves her.
Everything is ready.

Note that somebody is normally used to refer to only one person. To refer to more than one person, we use some people.

Somebody wants to meet you.
Some people want to meet you.

To refer back to somebody, anybody etc., they, them and their are used with singular meanings.

Nobody came, did they? (Here the pronoun they refers back to nobody.)
Somebody left their umbrella in the office. (Here the pronoun their refers back to somebody.)

Class #8 - Friends

Vocabulary

ARTIST

BABY

BATHROOM

BOWL

BOX

CANDLE

CLEAN / DIRTY

COUCH OR SOFA

HE'S CROSSING HIS ARMS

CURLING IRON

CURLY HAIR           STRAIGHT HAIR

HAIR STRAIGHTENER

DUST RUFFLE

SHE'S EMBARRASSED

FINGERS

SHE'S SOAKING HER FINGERS IN THE WATER

HOOK

KID / CHILD

PICTURE

PILLOW

PILLOWS

POUTPORRI

STICK

SUMMER

WATERING CAN

WET / DRY

Friends Video

Chandler: Look, you gotta be careful, this girl thing is dangerous. It's spreading already.

Joey: It is?

Chandler: Yeah. Is this your pretty pink pillow on the couch?

Joey: No. 

Chandler: Is that your tiny little box that's too small to put anything in?

Joey: No.

Chandler: No! Ok, this is not good. You are a guy, ok? This is a guy's place. If you let this go you're gonna be sitting around with your fingers soaking in stuff.

Joey: Alright, alright, you're right. I'll talk to her.

Chandler: Yes, talk to her! Be a man!

Joey: I'm a man!

Chander: Defend yourself!

Joey: Hmm!

Monica: Chandler, come on, we have to hand the new dust ruffle!

Chandler: Be right there sweetams. (to Joey) Totally different situation.

________________________________________________________________________

Chandler: That's weird, I don't think my boss likes me either.

Monica: I don't think mine likes me either.

Ross: Maybe it's a universal thing.

Joey: Or maybe... It's because you're all hanging around here at eleven-thirty on a Wednesday!

Chandler: Yeah, let's head off to work.

________________________________________________________________________

Janine: Hey, Joey.

Joey: Hey! Uhm.. Can I talk to you for a second? There's a kid in this picture. Do you know this kid? Is that like a relative or something? 

Janine: No, I just thought it was cute.

Joey: Yeah, That's what I was afraid of. Uhm... Look, Janine, I really want you to feel at home here, but some of this new stuff, it's just, it's too girly. 

Janine: Like what?

Joey: Like this. Pictures of cute babies we don't know. We can't have that.

Janine: Joey, it's Anne Guedes, she's a famous artist.

Joey: Look, I don't know this baby. I don't know if she's a famous artist or not. I don't wanna be a jerk, but you're changing too much around here.

Janine: I'm sorry, I just thought I'd try and make the place a little nicer.

Joey: Yeah, but it's too much stuff. You know, like, you got the candles, and the "foofy shmuffer" thing here. And over here you got a picture of a watering can!

Janine: Oh, I just thought...

Joey (interrupting Janine): I'm sure it's a famous watering can, ok? But, come on! And what is with the really hot stick in the bathroom?

Janine (crossing her arms): It's a curling iron.

Joey (embarrassed): Oh well, that's ok, then. But, ok, my towels for instance, ok? I come into the bathroom here and my towel is not on the floor where I keep it. It's up here, on some hook. And smells different.

Janine: It's clean!

Joey: Yeah, but, it feels different.

Janine: It's dry...

Joey: Ok, I can make my peace with the clean dry towels. But hey, ok, also, what is with these chips you bought? I don't...

Janine: No, no, it's poutporri, you're supposed to smell it.

Joey: Well, that's like summer in a bowl.

Joey: I'm sorry but we gotta get rid of all this girly stuff in here. I.. I gotta be a man! Ok? The living room has to remain a guy's place. Ok? That is just the way it has to be.

Janine: Oh, if that is what you want I'll just put it all in my room.

Joey: Great! And thanks for being so understanding, I mean, I don't wanna make a big deal out of this. You know... But you could... Uh... Put the picture of the famous baby in my room. I mean, if you want to... 

Janine: Ok...

Joey: And, uh.. And maybe the watering can, yeah...

Janine: Sure... 

Joey: And a couple of these tiny boxes.

Janine: Joey, do you want me to put it all in your room?

Joey: Ok...

Grammar

Have got / Has got

Affirmative sentences

>have<	>have got<
I have a brother.	I have got a brother. I've got a brother.
You have a sister.	You have got a sister. You've got a sister.
He has a cat.	He has got a cat. He's got a cat.
She has a dog.	She has got a dog. She's got a dog.
It has Bluetooth.	It has got Bluetooth. It's got Bluetooth.
We have books.	We have got books. We've got books.
You have a nice room.	You have got a nice room. You've got a nice room.
They have pets.	They have got pets. They've got pets.

have got is often used in its contracted form even in written language.

Negative sentences

>have<	>have got<
I do not have a brother. I don't have a brother.	I have not got a brother. or I haven't got a brother. or I've not got a brother.
You do not have a sister. You don't have a sister.	You have not got a sister. or You haven't got a sister. or You've not got a sister.
He does not have a cat. He doesn't have a cat.	He has not got a cat. or He hasn't got a cat. or He's not got a cat.
She does not have a dog. She doesn't have a dog.	She has not got a dog. or She hasn't got a dog. or She's not got a dog.
It does not have Bluetooth. It doesn't have Bluetooth.	It has not got Bluetooth. or It hasn't got Bluetooth. or It's not got Bluetooth.
We do not have books. We don't have books.	We have not got books. or We haven't got books. or We've not got books.
You do not have a nice room. You don't have a nice room.	You have not got a nice room. or You haven't got a nice room. or You've not got a nice room.
They do not have pets. They don't have pets.	They have not got pets. or They haven't got pets. or They've not got pets.

Questions

>have<	>have got<
Do I have time?	Have I got time?
Do you have pets?	Have you got pets?
Does he have a computer?	Has he got a computer?
Does she have a mobile phone?	Has she got a mobile phone?
Does it have mudguards?	Has it got mudguards?
Do we have ketchup?	Have we got ketchup?
Do you have a yellow car?	Have you got a yellow car?
Do they have nice teachers?	Have they got nice teachers?

Negations in questions:

Don't you have a brother?

Haven't you got a brother?

---

Be careful!

1) The contracted forms 've or 's are only used with have got - not with have.

correct	incorrect
I've got a new mobile phone.	I've a new mobile phone.
He's got a new car.	He's a new car.

2) Do not use an auxiliary with have got - only with have. Be careful when using negations.

correct	incorrect
Have you got a garden?	Do you have got a garden?
Do you have a pet?	Have you a pet?
They haven't got a house.	They haven't a house.

3) >have< cannot always be substituted with >have got<. You can only substitute >have< with >have got< when you talk about possession and relationships.

have got	have
I've got a brother.	I have a brother.
incorrect: I had got an accident.	I had an accident.
incorrect: We had got lunch.	We had lunch.

---

Note:

In American English >have< is dropped in informal speech like in the following example.
We've got a problem. -> We got a problem.

Affirmative sentences

long form	contracted form
I have got a brother.	I've got a brother.
You have got a sister.	You've got a sister.
He has got a budgie.	He's got a budgie.
She has got a dog.	She's got a dog.
It has got Bluetooth.	It's got Bluetooth.
We have got CDs.	We've got CDs.
You have got a nice room.	You've got a nice room.
They have got pets.	They've got pets.

Negations

long form	contracted form
I have not got a brother.	I haven't got a brother. or I've not got a brother.
You have not got a sister.	You haven't got a sister. or You've not got a sister.
He has not got a budgie.	He hasn't got a budgie. or He's not got a budgie.
She has not got a dog.	She hasn't got a dog. or She's not got a dog.
It has not got Bluetooth.	It hasn't got Bluetooth. or It's not got Bluetooth.
We have not got CDs.	We haven't got CDs. or We've not got CDs.
You have not got a nice room.	You haven't got a nice room. or You've not got a nice room.
They have not got pets.	They haven't got pets. or They've not got pets.

Questions

question	short answer
Have I got time?	Yes, I have. No, I haven't.
Have you got lots of friends?	Yes, I have. No, I haven't.
Has he got a mobile phone?	Yes, he has. No, he hasn't.
Has she got a pink car?	Yes, she has. No, she hasn't.
Has it got mudguards?	Yes, it has. No, it hasn't.
Have we got milk?	Yes, we have. No, we haven't.
Have you got a brown bag?	Yes, we have. No, we haven't.
Have they got nice books?	Yes, they have. No, they haven't.

Do not use >got< in the short answer.
Have they got lots of friends?
correct: Yes, they have.
incorrect: Yes, they have got.

I gotta + (verb)

'I gotta' is grammatically incorrect. It is more of a spoken form. If you want to say this with proper grammar, the equivalent would be, 'I have got to' or 'I've got to'. In the spoken form, 'got to' is shortened to 'gotta' and the word 'have' is dropped.

Here are some examples:

"I gotta manage my money."
"I gotta obey the laws."
"I gotta move to a bigger house."
"I gotta impress my boss."
"I gotta brush my teeth."
By adding the word 'have' you can change what you are saying to express something that needs to be done in the near future.

Here are some examples:

"I have got to be on time to work."
"I've gotta try harder at school."
"I've gotta tell my wife I'll be late."
"I've gotta learn more about the laws."
"I've gotta clean my house today."



Also / Too / Either

Also

USE

"Also" is used in positive sentences to add an agreeing thought.

Examples:

• Jane speaks French. Sam also speaks French.
• I love chocolate. I also love pizza.
• Frank can come with us. Nancy can also come with us.

PLACEMENT

"Also" comes after "to be."

Examples:

• I am also Canadian.
• I was also there.

With verbs other than "to be," "also" comes before single verb forms.

Examples:

• I also sing.
• He also helped us.

In verb tenses with many parts, "also" comes after the first part and before the second.

Examples:

• I have also been to Hong Kong.
• I am also studying economics.

Similarly, since modal verbs are usually followed by a second verb, "also" comes after modal verbs.

Examples:

• I can also speak French.
• I should also be there.

Too

USE

"Too" is used in positive sentences to add an agreeing thought. It has the same meaning as "also," but its placement within the sentence is different.

Examples:

• Jane speaks French. Sam speaks French too.
• I love chocolate. I love pizza too.
• Frank can come with us. Nancy can come with us too.

PLACEMENT

"Too" usually comes at the end of a clause.

Examples:

• I am Canadian too.
• I can speak French too.
• I am studying economics too.
• If he wants to go too, he should meet us at 8:00.

IMPORTANT

Although "too" is usually placed at the end of a clause, it can sometimes be used with commas after the subject of the sentence. This is usually only done in formal speech.

Examples:

• Mr. Jones wanted the contract. Ms. Jackson, too, thought it was necessary.
• Donna is working on a solution to the problem. I, too, am trying to find a way to resolve the conflict.

Either

USE

"Either" is used in negative sentences to add an agreeing thought.

Examples:

• Jane doesn't speak French. Sam doesn't speak French either.
• I don't love chocolate. I don't love pizza either.
• Frank cannot come with us. Nancy cannot come with us either.

PLACEMENT

"Either" usually comes at the end of a clause.

Examples:

• I cannot speak French either.
• I am not studying economics either.
• I don't want to eat either.
• I didn't like the movie either.

Confusing Sentences

Sometimes the first sentence is negative and the agreeing idea is positive.

Examples:

• The weather wasn't very appealing. I also wanted to stay home and finish my book. That's why I didn't go to the beach.
• The car wasn't expensive, and I needed a way to get around town too. That's why I bought it.

Sometimes the first sentence is positive and the agreeing idea is negative.

Examples:

• Jane is too short. She is not a good athlete either. I don't think she would make a good basketball player.
• He is lazy. He doesn't study either. That's why he doesn't do well in school.

I wanna + (verb) The word 'wanna' is incorrect grammatically. It is equivalent to 'want to.' When combined with the word 'I' it helps communicate something you want to do. Here are some examples: "I wanna talk." "I wanna search for a job." "I wanna order some food." "I wanna marry her." "I wanna listen to that song." By adding the word 'don't' you can change the meaning of what you are saying to something you 'want' to do to something you 'do not' want to do. Here are some examples: "I don't wanna talk." "I don't wanna search for a job." "I don't wanna marry her." "I don't wanna listen to that song." "I don't wanna order some food." Reflexive Pronouns We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural). There are eight reflexive pronouns:   reflexive pronoun singular myself yourself himself, herself, itself plural ourselves yourselves themselves Look at these examples:   reflexive pronouns the underlined words are NOT the same person/thing the underlined words are the SAME person/thing John saw me. I saw myself in the mirror. Why does he blame you? Why do you blame yourself? David sent him a copy. John sent himself a copy. David sent her a copy. Mary sent herself a copy. My dog hurt the cat. My dog hurt itself. We blame you. We blame ourselves. Can you help my children? Can you help yourselves? They cannot look after the babies. They cannot look afterthemselves.