The Simple Past Tense

THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE

Form


A The simple past tense in regular verbs is formed by adding the inflectional suffix –(e)d to the infinitive base: Infinitive: to work Simple past: worked
Affirmative       Negative                             Interrogative
I worked.          I did not(didn't) work.         Did I work?

When an infinitive verb ends in –e, we add -d only:
Infinitive: to love Simple past: loved
The same form is used for all persons:
I worked you worked he worked etc.
The negative of regular and irregular verbs is formed with did not (didn't) and the infinitive:
I did not/didn 't work
you did not/didn't work etc.
The interrogative of regular and irregular verbs is formed with did + subject + infinitive:
did I work? did you work? etc.
Negative interrogative: did you not/didn't you work? etc.

SPELLING NOTES

1. When an infinitive base ends in –e, we add -d: e.g. phone/phoned, smile/smiled.
This rule applies equally to agree, die, lie, etc.
2. When an infinitive base does not end in –e, we add -ed: e.g. ask/asked, clean/cleaned, follow/followed, video/videoed.
When an infinitive base ends in a consonant and in front of it is a single short vowel, we double that consonant: beg/begged, rub/rubbed.
In two-syllable verbs the final consonant is doubled when the last syllable contains a single vowel letter followed by a single consonant letter and is stressed:
pre'fer/preferred, re'fer/referred.
Compare: 'benefit/benefited, 'differ/differed and 'profit/profited which are stressed on their first syllables and which therefore do not double their final consonants.
In American English labeled, quarreled, signaled and traveled follow the rule. In British English labelled, quarrelled, signalled and travelled are exceptions to the rule.
3. When there is a consonant before -y, the "y" changes to "i" before we add -ed: e.g. carry/carried, deny/denied, fry/fried, try/tried.
But if in front of -y is a vowel, therefore we simply add -ed and there is no change, eg.: delay/delayed, obey/obeyed, play/played, etc.

PRONUNCIATION OF –(E)D

The inflectional suffix -ed is pronounced as an extra syllable /id/, or as /t/ or /d/ at the end of the simple past and past participle forms of verbs. The pronunciation depends on the final sound of the simple form of the verb:
1. When an infinitive base ends with the sounds / t / or / d /, -ed is pronounced as an extra syllable /id/, eg.: started, needed, ended
2. When an infinitive base ends with the voiceless sounds, then –ed is pronounced as / t /, eg.: stopped, laughed, worked, sliced
3. When an infinitive base ends with the voiced sounds, then –ed is pronounced as / d /, eg.: listened, called, ordered, judged


Irregular verbs: form
These vary considerably in their simple past form:
Infinitive: to eat, to leave, to see, to speak
Simple past: ate, left, saw, spoke
The simple past form of each irregular verb must therefore be learnt, but once this is done there is no other difficulty, as irregular verbs (like regular verbs) have no inflexions in the past tense.

USES OF THE PAST SIMPLE TENSE

USE 1 Completed Action in the Past
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
Examples:
· I saw a movie yesterday.
· I didn't see a play yesterday.
· Last year, I traveled to Japan.
· Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.

USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions
We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
Examples:
· I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.
· He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
· Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

USE 3 Duration in Past
The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.
Examples:
· I lived in Brazil for two years.
· Shauna studied Japanese for five years.
· They sat at the beach all day.

USE 4 Habits in the Past
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.
Examples:
· I studied French when I was a child.
· Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
· They never went to school, they always skipped class.

USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations
The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to."
Examples:
· She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.
· He didn't like tomatoes before.
· Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
· People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.
USE 6 Sometimes the time becomes definite as a result of a question and answer in the present perfect:
Where have you been? ~ I've been to the opera. ~ Did you enjoy it? (See 184 A for further examples.)


USE 7 The simple past tense is used for an action whose time is not given but which (a) occupied a period of time now terminated, or (b) occurred at a moment in a period of time now terminated.Examples of type (a):
He worked in that bank for four years. (but he does not work there now)
She lived in Rome for a long time, (but she is not living there now)
Examples of type (b):
My grandmother once saw Queen Victoria.
Did you ever hear Maria Callas sing?


ACTIVE / PASSIVE: WAS/WERE + PAST PARTICIPLE
Examples:
· Tom repaired the car. Active
· The car was repaired by Tom. Passive

More
https://prezi.com/p/7y0kblm-g2zk/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWZ6cNq6bEY

EXERCISES

https://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs3.htm

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple-exercise-7.html

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The Present Continuous Tense

THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Form


The present continuous tense is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary verb be and the present participle:

A Affirmative                         Negative                                                 Interrogative
I am working                      I am not working                                        am I working?
you are working                 you are not working                                   are you working?
he/she/it is working           he/she/it is not working                             is he/she/it working?

B Contractions: the verb be can be contracted, so the present continuous of any verb can be contracted:

Affirmative                       Negative                                                Negative interrogative
I'm working                  I'm not working                                          am I not working?
you 're working          you 're not/you aren 't working                     aren 't you working?
he's working etc.        he's not/he isn 't working etc.                        isn 't he working? etc.

THE SPELLING OF THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE

A When an infinitive base ends in a single -e, this -e is dropped before we add the inflectional suffix -ing:
argue, arguing hate, hating love, loving
· except after age, dye and singe:
ageing dyeing singeing
· and verbs ending in -ee:
agree, agreeing see, seeing

B When an infinitive base of one syllable has one vowel and ends in a single consonant, this consonant is doubled before -ing:
hit, hitting run, running stop, stopping
· Verbs of two or more syllables whose last syllable contains only one vowel and ends in a
single consonant double this consonant if the stress falls on the last syllable:
admit, admitting begin, beginning prefer, preferring
· but
budget, budgeting center, entering (stress not on the last syllable).
· A final 1 after a single vowel is, however, always doubled:
signal, signalling travel, travelling except in American English.

C -ing can be added to a verb ending in -y without affecting the spelling of the verb:
carry, carrying enjoy, enjoying hurry, hurrying

D when the infinitive base ends in –ie, it changes into –y and we and -ing, eg
lie – lying, die – dying

I cry I am crying
He cries

USES OF THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

USE 1 Now
Use the Present Continuous with Normal Verbs to express the idea that something is happening now, at this very moment. It can also be used to show that something is not happening now.
Examples:
· You are learning English now.
· You are not swimming now.
· Are you sleeping?

USE 2 Longer Actions in Progress Now
In English, "now" can mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century, and so on. Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous to say that we are in the process of doing a longer action which is in progress; however, we might not be doing it at this exact second.
Examples: (All of these sentences can be said while eating dinner in a restaurant.)
· I am studying to become a doctor.
· I am not studying to become a dentist.
· I am reading the book Tom Sawyer.
When two continuous tenses having the same subject are joined by and, the auxiliary may be dropped before the second verb, as in the above example. This applies to all pairs of compound tenses:
She is knitting and listening to the radio.

USE 3 Near Future
Sometimes, speakers use the Present Continuous to indicate that something will or will not happen in the near future.
Examples:
· I am meeting some friends after work.
· I am not going to the party tonight.
· Is he visiting his parents next weekend?
· Isn't he coming with us tonight?

USE 4 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"
The Present Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happens. Notice that the meaning is like Simple Present, but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."
Examples:
· She is always coming to class late.
· He is constantly talking. I wish he would shut up.
· I don't like them because they are always complaining.
· He is always losing his keys.
REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Continuous with these verbs, you must use Simple Present.
Examples:
· She is loving this chocolate ice cream. Not Correct
· She loves this chocolate ice cream. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
· You are still watching TV.
· Are you still watching TV?

ACTIVE/PASSIVE
TO BE (AM, IS, ARE) + BEING + PAST PARTICIPLE
Examples:
· Right now, Tom is writing the letter. Active
· Right now, the letter is being written by Tom. Passive


STATE VERBS - VERBS NOT NORMALLY USED IN THE CONTINUOUS TENSES


The continuous tenses are chiefly used for deliberate actions. Some verbs are, therefore, not normally used in the continuous and have only one present tense, the simple present. These verbs can be grouped as follows:

A Verbs of the senses (involuntary actions): feel, hear, see, smell; also notice and observe (= notice), and feel, look, taste used as link verbs

B Verbs expressing feelings and emotions, e.g. admire (= respect), adore, appreciate (= value), care for (= like), desire, detest, dislike, fear, hate, like, loathe, love, mind (= care), respect, value, want, wish.

C Verbs of mental activity, e.g. agree, appreciate (= understand), assume, believe, expect (= think), feel (= think), feel sure/certain, forget, know, mean, perceive, realize, recall, recognize, recollect, remember, see (= understand), see through someone (= penetrate his attempt to deceive), suppose, think ( = have an opinion), trust (= believe/have confidence in), understand. But the continuous can be used with appreciate meaning 'to increase in value'.

D Verbs of possession: belong, owe, own, possess:
How much do 1 owe you?
E The auxiliaries, except be and have in certain uses.
P appear (= seem), concern, consist, contain, hold (= contain), keep (= continue), matter, seem, signify, sound (= seem/appear):
It concerns us all. This box contains explosives.
But appear meaning 'to come before the public' can be used in the continuous.

EXERCISES
https://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs2.htm
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-continuous-exercise-1.html

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Present Simple Tense

Present Simple Tense

Form

A In the affirmative the simple present has the same form as the infinitive base but we add an inflectional suffix -(e)s to the infinitive base (bare infinitive) for the third person singular.


Affirmative    Negative      Interrogative   Negative interrogative
I work.         I do not work.      do I work?      do I not work?




SPELLING NOTES


When an infinitive base ends in -ss, -sh, -ch, -x and -o we add the inflectional suffix -es, instead of -s alone, to form the third person singular:
I kiss, he kisses I box, he boxes
I rush, he rushes I do, he does
I watch, he watches I go, he goes
When an infinitive base ends in -y and in front of it is a consonant we change the -y into -i and add es:
I carry, he carries I copy, he copies I try, he tries
but when an infinitive base ends in -y and in front of it is a vowel there is no change:
I obey, he obeys I say, he says

PRONUNCIATION OF –(E)S

First we have to make a difference between voiced and voiceless sounds.

Voiceless: p t k f θ s ʃ ʧ h
Voiced: b d g v ð z Ʒ ʤ m n ŋ l w r j h All vowels
1. The -(e)s of the simple present tense is pronounced as /z/ after a voiced sound, except /z/, /Ʒ/, and /ʤ/. The voiced sounds are sounds that are produced by vibration of the vocal chords.
Examples: plays, sees, goes, robs, hangs, calls, rams, learns, blurs, clothes, receives
2. The -(e)s of the simple present tense is pronounced as /s/ after a voiceless sound, except /s/, /ʃ/, and /ʧ/. The voiceless sounds are sounds that are produced with no vibration of the vocal chords. The voiceless sounds in English are:
Examples: laughs, talks, stops
3. When a verb ends in pronunciation in /s/, /ʃ/, / ʧ /, /z/, /Ʒ/, and /ʤ/ the -es is pronounced as a separate syllable: /ɪz/.
Examples:
fix -->fixes
kiss -->kisses
wash-->washes
watch-->watches
damage-->damages
memorize-->memorizes
exercise-->exercises

USES OF THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE

USE 1 Repeated Actions
Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do.
Examples:
· The train leaves every morning at 8 AM.
· The train does not leave at 9 AM.
· When does the train usually leave?
· She always forgets her purse.

USE 2 Facts or Generalizations
The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is correct about the fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or things.
Examples:
· Cats like milk.
· Birds do not like milk.
· California is not in the California United Kingdom.
· Windows are made of glass.
· Windows are not made of wood.
· New York is a small city. It is not important that this fact is untrue.

USE 3 Scheduled Events in the Near Future
Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near future. This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as well.
Examples:
· The train leaves tonight at 6 PM.
· The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM.
· When does class begin tomorrow?

USE 4 Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)
Speakers sometimes use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is happening or is not happening now. This can only be done with Non-Continuous Verbs and certain Mixed Verbs.
Examples:
· I am here now.
· He needs help right now.
· He does not need help now.
· He has his passport in his hand.


USE 5 IT CAN BE USED IN NEWSPAPER HEADLINES:
MASS MURDERER ESCAPES PEACE TALKS FAIL

USE 6 IT CAN BE USED FOR DRAMATIC NARRATIVE
This is particularly useful when describing the action of a play, opera etc., and is often used by radio commentators at sports events, public functions etc.:
When the curtain rises, Juliet is writing at her desk. Suddenly the window opens and a masked man enters.

ADVERB PLACEMENT
There are adverbs of frequency and adverbs of definite time.
ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY
There are some adverbs that are used with the Present Simple Tense: always, usually, often, sometimes, never, etc. The question for these advebs is HOW OFTEN.
There are some rules where these adverbs can stand:
1. In front of a main verb, eg.: I always read books
2. Between an auxiliary verb and a main verb, eg.: He doesn’t always come on time.
3. After the verb TO BE, when it is a main verb, eg.: He is always cold.
4. When we want to emphasize, these adverbs are at the very beginning of the sentence, eg.: Sometimes he reads books.


ACTIVE / PASSIVE:
TO BE (AM, IS, ARE) + PAST PARTICIPLE
Examples:
· Once a week, Tom cleans the car. Active
· Once a week, the car is cleaned by Tom. Passive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkY4mo0VcIQ
http://linoit.com/users/sooneye/canvases/Present%20simple%20tense

Exerecise
https://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs1.htm
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-simple-exercise-7.html

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English is a North Sea Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now a global lingua franca. Named after the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that migrated to England, it ultimately derives its name from the Anglia (Angeln) peninsula in the Baltic Sea. It is closely related to the Frisian languages, but its vocabulary has been significantly influenced by other Germanic languages, particularly Norse (a North Germanic language), as well as by Latin and Romance languages, especially French.

English has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century, are called Old English. Middle English began in the late 11th century with the Norman conquest of England, and was a period in which the language was influenced by French. Early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the introduction of the printing press to London and the King James Bible, and the start of the Great Vowel Shift.

Through the worldwide influence of the British Empire, modern English spread around the world from the 17th to mid-20th centuries. Through all types of printed and electronic media, as well as the emergence of the United States as a global superpower, English has become the leading language of international discourse and the lingua franca in many regions and in professional contexts such as science, navigation and law.


English is the third most widespread native language in the world, after Standard Chinese and Spanish. It is the most widely learned second language and is either the official language or one of the official languages in almost 60 sovereign states. There are more people who have learned it as a second language than there are native speakers. English is the most commonly spoken language in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, and it is widely spoken in some areas of the Caribbean, Africa and South Asia. It is co-official language of the United Nations, of the European Union and of many other world and regional international organisations. It is the most widely spoken Germanic language, accounting for at least 70% of speakers of this Indo-European branch. English has a vast vocabulary, and counting exactly how many words it has is impossible.

Modern English grammar is the result of a gradual change from a typical Indo-European dependent marking pattern with a rich inflectional morphology and relatively free word order, to a mostly analytic pattern with little inflection, a fairly fixed SVO word order and a complex syntax. Modern English relies more on auxiliary verbs and word order for the expression of complex tenses, aspect and mood, as well as passive constructions, interrogatives and some negation. Despite noticeable variation among the accents and dialects of English used in different countries and regions – in terms of phonetics and phonology, and sometimes also vocabulary, grammar and spelling – English-speakers from around the world are able to communicate with one another with relative ease.

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