Revision of elementary grammar: simple present, present continuous, simple past and irregular past participles.

 I.Fill in the gaps with verbs in the SIMPLE PAST (affirmative or negative).

Tom got up very early yesterday morning and __________ a bath. Then he __________ to the kitchen and __________ two pieces of toast and __________ a glass of milk. Tom works in the local hospital and, yesterday he __________ his house at about 8 o'clock.

He __________ the number ten bus and he __________ at work at 8.30. He __________ 'good morning' to his secretary, Maura, and then he __________ all the mail that was on his desk. Then he __________ Maura for a cup of coffee and he __________ four very important e-mails.

At one o'clock, Tom __________ lunch in a café and __________ the newspaper. He __________back  to the office at two o'clock and __________ at six. He _______ not _______ the bus because a colleague __________ him in his car.

In the evening, he __________ in the local swimming pool and __________ the shopping at the local supermarket, where he __________ a lot of food. He __________ very tired in the evening so he _____ not _____________ TV and __________ to bed at 11 o'clock .

II.Write the correct form of suitable verbs in the SIMPLE PRESENT.  

Every day, Peter ---------------- at 7 in the morning and --------------- out of bed at 7:15. Then he--------------- a shower at 7:30 and -------------------breakfast with his cat. After that he ---------------- to work. He ----------------------- in the office until 6 pm and when he --------------, he  ---------------home. He usually -------------------a salad and a fruit for dinner.  At 9:30 he usually-----------------asleep in front of the TV.

 III.Choose an appropriate verb to complete each sentence using the PRESENT CONTINUOUS tense:  

1.    I ________________ very hard today because I have an exam at school tomorrow.

2.    Look at that dress that Sharon ________________. Isn't it beautiful!

3.    Don't disturb Dan. He ________________ the big football match on TV.

4.    Jon must be really tired. Look! He ________________ on the sofa like a baby.

5.    Take your umbrella with you. It ________________ very hard.

6.    Sara and Kevin aren't here at the moment. They _______________ in the garden with the other children.

 

IV.        Write the missing IRREGULAR verb forms.

Translate in the 4th column.

 

KNOW	………………..	………………..	= …………………….
…………….	STOLE	………………..	…………………..
…………	………/……..	BEEN	…………/…………….
SAY	……………..	………………	…………..
BUY	…………..	………	………….
LEAVE	…………………	……………	…………….
TELL	………………	………………	……………….
SPEND

 

SIMPLE PAST OR PRESENT PERFECT?

Fill in the blanks with either a past simple or a present perfect form of the verb.

Example: That actress is amazing! I really think she has become more beautiful with age. (become)
1. We ....................................tennis five times last week. (play)
2. I ..................................the new James Bond movie last week. (see)
3. We .................................the TV you are watching since 1974. (own)
4. My daughter..................................... on her own for six years now. (be)
5. I returned the shoes I bought at the mall because they........................... (not fit)
6. My nephew .........................................in Germany since he was born. (live)
7. Since the weather was so nice I ..................................my bicycle to work yesterday. (ride)
8. Alligators, which are common in Florida, ..............................for tens of millions of years. (exist)
9. I .......................from my friend in over a year. I wonder what he is doing these days. (not hear)

10. I .....................................................this fish fresh today. It’ll taste great when we eat it. (catch)

DO SELF-CORRECTION HERE :
http://www.1-language.com/englishcoursenew/unit54_grammar_exs.htm

Narrative tenses: simple past- past continuous and past perfect.

Try to complete this story using appropriate verbs in the SIMPLE PAST, PAST CONTINUOUS OR PAST PERFECT.

drink up – raise – open - have – decide - need – discover -not normally spend – hate - be – save - look (2 - smile – know  – turn -  remember - want

Many years ago I 1……………………………. to spend New Year’s Eve with my family.  I 2 …………………………………. new year with my parents but I had nowhere to go, and being with my family seemed preferable to being on my own.

When my parents 3 …………………………… the door I could see they 4…………………………. , and that they were genuinely happy to see me. I 5 ……………………. addicted to heroin for 10 years, and for them, seeing me was the confirmation that I wasn’t dead in an alley. Unfortunately, I 6 …………………………… nothing new or exciting to tell them, just the same sad old stories. I 7 ……HAD BEEN GOING… from crappy job to crappy job, being invariably sacked, and I 8 ………………………. to crime whenever I was out of money.

During dinner, I 9 ……………….. several glassfuls of whisky and I had to go to the bathroom once to do some heroin. I 10 ……………………………… something to make me feel better, because for the whole evening my sisters 11…HAD BEEN LOOKING ....  at me with such contempt that it was unbearable. My own sisters 12 ………………………… me. Then I had a moment of realisation; I 13 ………………………………that they would never hate me as much as I hated myself.

When we finished dinner I 14 ………………………. my glass and said “I’m going into rehab”. My parents 15 …………………………….at me with some kind of hope. Parents never lose hope. But my sisters just 16 ……………………………….. down with disdain. They 17 ……………………………….perfectly well, that I had been in rehab centres many times before, and that this time wouldn’t be different.

It was different. After that day, I 18…………………………..  that look in my sisters’ eyes every day, every time I 19 …………………….. to shoot some heroin.  10 years later, on a New Year’s Eve, I thanked my sisters because they 20 …………………….. my life. They kissed me with their new look in their eyes, the look of love.  

PAST SIMPLE, PAST CONTINUOUS OR PERFECT.

Choose verbs from below and write them in the PAST SIMPLE, PAST CONTINUOUS OR PERFECT.

drive  – get – see  - receive - happen- try - start-

I'm Steve, a motor mechanic and this is the story of something strange that -----------------to me about five years ago.

It was a freezing cold winter. One day I------------a call to assist a motorist whose car had broken down and was stuck in the snow.

As I------------------to the place where the motorist was stranded, I noticed that the snow was getting heavier. When I------------the phone call, I was sure I knew where the motorist was. But when I got there, I couldn't see a car anywhere. I----------to call my office, but my mobile's battery was dead. I looked around, the snow had stopped, but it was lying thick on the ground.

I got out of the car and --------------looking for some sign of the motorist. I looked down and saw some footprints in the snow. I began following them. They led over a small bridge and across a park. It was freezing cold. 

I had been following the footprints for about five minutes when I ---------a phone box about one hundred metres away. I listened. I heard a noise. …….

Narrative Tenses: Simple Past,Past Continuous and Past Perfect.

http://www.eltbase.com/quiz/201_02.htm

click on the link above ,do the exercise online. Click on Check and do self- correction.

PAST SIMPLE (ENGLISH AND SPANISH)

 Simple past: theory and examples ( in pdf)

PRESENT PERFECT AND PAST SIMPLE- THEORY AND EXAMPLES( EXPLANATIONS IN SPANISH!)

Present Perfect -Pretérito Perfecto

El pretérito perfecto se forma con el verbo have ("haber") y el participio pasado. Es otro modo de expresar el pasado.

• He has studied English and French.Ha estudiado inglés y francés.
• I have read many books.He leído muchos libros.

A menudo el participio pasado en inglés es exactamente el mismo que la forma pasada de un verbo. Sin embargo, muchos verbos tienen participios pasados irregulares.

• She has forgotten her name. She has amnesia.
• Ha olvidado su nombre. Tiene amnesia.
• I have already drunk the coffee.Ya he bebido el café.
• They have gone to see the President. Han ido a ver al Presidente.
• She has come to see you.Ha venido a verte.

Cuando se usa have en el presente perfecto, se puede contraer con el pronombre que lo precede.

• I've been to New York once before.He estado en Nueva York una vez.
• He's gone to the fish market.Ha ido al mercado de pescados.
• We've come to help.Hemos venido a ayudar.

La negación del pretérito perfecto se forma con not. Cuando está presente not, have puede contraerse con not pero no puede contraerse con el pronombre que lo precede.

• She hasn't spoken to him.No ha hablado con él.
• We've not spoken with her.

Para hacer una pregunta, se usa have al frente de la oración.

• Have you seen Matthew?¿Has visto a Matthew?

Hay cierto grado de superposición entre el pretérito simple y el perfecto, pero sin embargo existen diferencias importantes entre ellos.
Cuando se precisa un tiempo pasado específico, debe usarse el pretérito simple (=simple past tense).

• He finished three days ago.Terminó hace tres días.
• They finished a long time ago.Terminaron hace mucho tiempo.

Cuando no se especifica el tiempo se usa el pretérito perfecto.

• I have already finished.Ya he terminado.

El pretérito simple expresa más finalidad que el pretérito perfecto.

• John has taught math for twenty years.John ha enseñado matermáticas durante veinte años.

• John taught math for twenty years. John enseñó matemáticas durante veinte años.

En las oraciones anteriores,
-la primera oración deja abierta la posibilidad de que John continúa enseñando matemáticas.
- La segunda implica que John ya no enseña matemáticas. Tal vez se jubiló, cambió de profesión o falleció.

• Steve and Carol have eaten at that restaurant twice. They really like it.Steve y Carol han comido en el restaurante dos veces. Realmente les gusta.
• Steve and Carol ate at that restaurant twice. Steve y Carol comieron en el restaurante dos veces.

Si algo comenzó en el pasado y continúa hasta el momento de la enunciación, se usa el pretérito perfecto.

• They have lived here for a long time.Han vivido ahí por mucho tiempo.
• She has been in Australia for two years.Ha estado en Australia por dos años.
• We have studied for 5 hours straight.Hemos estudiado durante 5 horas seguidas.
• Tim has waited for 30 minutes.Tim ha esperado por 30 minutos.

Las siguientes oraciones implican que la actividad comenzó en el pasado y ya ha terminado.

• They lived here for a long time.Vivieron aquí durante mucho tiempo.
• Melissa waited for 30 minutes.Melisa esperó 30 minutos.

Cuando hay since ("desde") en la oración, siempre se usa el preférito perfecto.

• We have lived here since June.Hemos vivido aquí desde junio.
• She has been in China since last month.Está en China desde el mes pasado.

PRACTICE OF VERB TENSES: PAST SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS.

Complete the sentences with the words in parentheses using the SIMPLE PAST or the PAST CONTINUOUS: 

1. Christine ______________________ (eat) dinner last night when you ______________________ (knock) on the door.
 2. I ______________________ (begin) to study at nine last night and I ______________________ (still / study) at eleven. 
3. When Jack ______________________ (drop by) to visit me, I______________________ (have) dinner. 
4. Did your parents call you last night while you _______________________ (watch) TV?
 5. When Sam ______________________ (finish) his assignment I ______________________ (talk) to my friend on the phone. 
6. Yesterday Alicia and Gaby ______________________ (go) to the cinema; yet, I stayed at home to finish my project. 
7. As we ______________________ (travel) from Paris to Brussels we ______________________ (stop) at a small restaurant to get something to eat. 
8. While I ______________________ (try) to repair the leaking roof, I ______________________ (fall) down. 
9. My brother ______________________ (be born) in Lisbon in 1986. 
10. I ______________________ (graduate) from Oxford in 1997.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Answers: 
1. Christine was eating dinner last night when you knocked on the door. 
2. I began to study at nine last night and I was still studying at eleven. 
3. When Jack dropped by to visit me, I was having dinner. 
4. Did your parents call you last night while you were watching TV? 
5. When Sam finished his assignment I was talking to my friend on the phone.
 6. Yesterday Alicia and Gaby went to the cinema; yet, I stayed at home to finish my project. 
7. As we were travelling from Paris to Brussels we stopped at a small restaurant to get something to eat. 8. While I was trying to repair the leaking roof, I fell down. 
9. My brother was born in Lisbon in 1986.
10. I graduated from Oxford in 1997. 

Simple Past and Present Perfect Simple.

Use

In British English, the use of Simple Past and Present Perfect is quite strict. As soon as a time expression in the past is given, you have to use Simple Past. If there are no signal words, you must decide if we just talk about an action in the past or if its consequence in the present is important. Note that the following explanations and exercises refer to British English only.

-Do you want to express that an action happened at a certain time in the past (even if it was just a few seconds ago) or that an action has just / already / not yet happened?

Simple Past ---àcertain time in the past

I phoned Mary 2 minutes ago.

Present Perfect Simple---à indefinite time in the past    just / already / not yet

I have just phoned Mary.

-Do you want to express when a certain action took place or whether / how often an action has happened till now?

Simple Past: He went to Canada last summer.

Present Perfect Simple: Have you ever been to Canada? / I have been to Canada twice.

-Emphasis on action or result?

Do you just want to express what happened in the past? Or do you want to emphasize the result (a past action's consequence in the present)?

Simple Past--à Emphasis on action

I bought a new bike. (just telling what I did in the past.)

Present Perfect Simple--àEmphasis on the result

I have bought a new bike. (With this sentence I actually want to express that I have a new bike now.)

Signal Words

Simple Past----à  yesterday  ago  in 2008  the other day   last ...  when…

Present Perfect Simple--à  just   already  up to now /so far   until/till now    ever    (not) yet

lately / recently

Past simple or present perfect?

TAKEN FROM:

http://suz.digitaleschulebayern.de/english/grammar/pastorpresentperfect.htm?docbase=http://suz.digitaleschulebayern.de/english/grammar/index.php

She............ tennis last night. (play) They ...........................about that, haven't they? (just, hear) Many years ago they ................................in this area. (live) They...................... (just, move) Some time ago he............................to marry her. (want) She.............................the office. (just, leave) They are tired because they......................soccer for some time. (play) What are you looking for?..............you ................your keys? (lose) She....................him when she was little. (know) Shakespeare........................many plays. (write)

Simple Past / Present Perfect / Past Perfect

Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses. Check your answers by clicking on the link below.

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs12.htm

1. When I (arrive) home last night, I discovered that Jane (prepare) a beautiful candlelight dinner.
2. Since I began acting, I (perform) in two plays, a television commercial and a TV drama. However, I (speak, never even) publicly before I came to Hollywood in 1985.
3. By the time I got to the office, the meeting (begin, already) without me. My boss (be) furious with me and I (be) fired.
4. When I (turn) the radio on yesterday, I (hear) a song that was popular when I was in high school. I (hear, not) the song in years, and it (bring) back some great memories.
5. Last week, I (run) into an ex-girlfriend of mine. We (see, not) each other in years, and both of us (change) a great deal. I (enjoy) talking to her so much that I (ask) her out on a date. We are getting together tonight for dinner.
6. When Jack (enter) the room, I (recognize, not) him because he (lose) so much weight and (grow) a beard. He looked totally different!
7. The Maya established a very advanced civilization in the jungles of the

Yucatan; however, their culture (disappear, virtually) by the time Europeans first (arrive) in the New World.
8. I (visit) so many beautiful places since I (come) to Utah. Before moving here, I (hear, never) of Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, or Canyonlands.

Combining past simple and present perfect .

Umed from Iraq writes:
In the news, I heard a reporter from BBC World talking about the casualties of a blast.
"Two have been killed and twenty were injured," he said.
My question is: is it possible to use two different tenses when describing the same event (have been and were) and what is meant by this?
......................................................
Roger Woodham replies:
Have been or were?
Combining have been and were in this way is perfectly acceptable here, Umed. Often, in language use, deciding whether to use the present perfect or the past simple depends on your perspective on the event.

Two people were killed when the bomb went off but the effect of that is still with us - the recent past is connected to the present, so I choose to use the present perfect passive tense. Similarly, twenty people were injured when the explosion occurred - I am thinking of that moment in time in the past, so I choose to use the past simple passive. But their injuries are still evident at the present time, so I could have used the present perfect passive. There are no time phrases in this example to guide us, so any combination is possible depending on whether you are viewing it as a past act or one that impacts on the present:

Two people have been killed in an explosion and twenty have been injured.

Two people were killed in a bomb blast and twenty were injured.

Two people have been killed in an explosion and twenty were injured.

Two people were killed in a bomb blast and twenty have been injured

Of course, if you decide to specify the moment in time when this happened as a fixed point in the past, you are obliged to use the past simple passive:
Two people were killed this morning when the bus they were waiting for mounted the pavement and crashed into the bus stop.
You would then continue with this tense:

Six more were seriously injured and taken to the nearest hospital.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Here are some more examples of the way in which these tenses have been combined and used in press and media reporting over the last few days:

Sea marshes return to Norfolk
Sea defences, which were erected to protect farmland on a mile-long stretch of coastline in East Anglia, have been dismantled in order to return 200 acres to salt marsh.

Here, the past simple passive is used first to describe the erection of the sea defenses at some point in the past and then the present perfect passive to describe their dismantling, the effect of which is still with us.

The Oktoberfest draws larger crowds
Beer consumption and attendance have both risen at this year's Oktoberfest in Munich. The world's biggest beer party has so far drawn 5.1 million visitors and roughly 5.7 million litres of beer have been served since 21 September.

Note that this event was still in progress when the report was made, so only the present perfect is used. Note the use of time adverbials, so far and since 21 September, which are associated with the present perfect.
If it had been written after the festival had ended and was clearly in the past, it would have looked like this:

Beer consumption and attendance both rose at this year's Oktoberfest in Munich. The world's biggest beer party drew a total of 5.9 million visitors and 6.4 million litres of beer were served during the course of the festival.

Knifeman attacks Paris mayor
The Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, was stabbed during an all-night party at the town hall yesterday. The suspect, Azedine Berkane, a computer programmer, has been arrested. He was taken into custody immediately and has confessed to the stabbing, according to judicial officials.

Here, we are back to a mixture of past simple and present perfect. The stabbing occurred at a particular point in time in the past, so the past simple passive is used. The suspect is still under arrest, so the present perfect passive is used here. He was taken to the police station immediately after the stabbing - this is a finished action, so the past simple again. He has not withdrawn his confession, so we return to the present perfect here.

TAKEN FROM: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/
learnit/learnitv241.shtml

PASSIVE VOICE IN PRESENT,PAST AND FUTURE TENSES.

TAKEN FROM: http://www.english-4u.de/passive_ex3.htm

1 English ----------------(speak) all over the world. (Present tense)
2 This quarrel ---------------------(forget) in a few years' time. (Future tense)
3 My pencil case------------------------- (steal). (Present perfect)
4 We---------------------------- (never / beat) at badminton. (Present perfect)
5 This shirt----------------------- (make) in France. (Past tense)
6 The dogs----------------------------- (keep) in house. (Present tense)
7 Her new book ----------------------(publish) next month. (Future tense)
8 Milk -------------------------(use) to make butter and cheese. (Present tense)
9 They ----------------------(take) to school. (Past tense)
10 Not a sound ---------------------(hear). (Past tense)
11 Some ink------------------ (spill) on the carpet. (Present perfect)
12 The thieves----------------------------(catch) by the police. (Past tense)
13 The homework------------------------- (correct) by the teacher. (Future tense)
14 Her ring ---------------------(find) under the bed. (Past tense)
15 I -------------------------------(offer) an interesting job. (Past tense)
.........................................................
Answer key:

1 English is spoken (speak) all over the world. (Present tense)2 This quarrel will be forgotten (forget) in a few years' time. (Future tense)3 My pencil case has been stolen (steal). (Present perfect)4 We have never been beaten (never / beat) at badminton. (Present perfect)5 This shirt was made (make) in France. (Past tense)6 The dogs are kept (keep) in house. (Present tense)7 Her new book will be published (publish) next month. (Future tense)8 Milk is used (use) to make butter and cheese. (Present tense)9 They were taken (take) to school. (Past tense)10 Not a sound was heard (hear). (Past tense)11 Some ink has been spilt (spill) on the carpet. (Present perfect)12 The thieves were arrested by the police. (Past tense)13 The homework will be corrected (correct) by the teacher. (Future tense)14 Her ring was found (find) under the bed. (Past tense)15 I was offered (offer) an interesting job. (Past tense)

1º C - D : SIMPLE PAST-THEORY AND PRACTICE.

FROM : http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/pastsimple/menu.php

The past simple is used to talk about actions and states which we see as completed in the past.
We use it to talk about a specific point in time.

I saw her in the street yesterday - He came back last Thursday. - We didn't agree to the deal.

We can also use it to talk about a period of time.

We lived in Japan for five years. - She was in London from Monday to Thursday last week. - When he was living in New York, he went to all the bars and clubs he could.

You will often find the past simple used with time expressions such as these:
Yesterday - three weeks ago - last year - in 2002 - from March to June - for a long time - for 6 weeks - in the 1980s - in the last century - in the past

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*ALSO,READ AND SEE IF YOU UNDERSTAND THIS JOKE:

The lawyer joke.
Note: Lawyers are very unpopular in the USA and there are many jokes about them.

A teacher, a politician , and a lawyer all died and went to heaven. St. Peter was in a bad mood because there were too many people in heaven and he wanted to make it more difficult to enter. When they got to the gate, St. Peter told them that they had to pass a test before they could to get into Heaven: they all had to answer one question. St Peter turned to the teacher and said, "What was the name of the ship that hit the iceberg and sank with all its passengers?" The teacher thought for a moment and then replied:" I think it was the Titanic".St. Peter let him through the gate. He didn't like politicians so he decided to ask a more difficult question,St. Peter turned to the politician, and asked"How many people died on the ship?" The politician was very lucky because he had read a book about the Titanic.He said "1228" This is correct so St. Peter let him through the gate. St. Peter turned to the Lawyer and asked "What were their names?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADAPTED FROM : http://esl.about.com/od/beginningenglish/ig/Basic-English/Past-Simple.htm
All subjects take the same conjugation of the verb.
-Regular verbs end in '-ed'. visit - visited / enjoy - enjoyed
-Irregular verbs have various forms and each verb needs to be learned. see - saw / think - thought
The past simple is used to express a finished past action which occurs at a specific moment in the past.
Examples
-She visited Iran last month.
-They didn't go to Tom's party last weekend.
-Where did you go on vacation last summer?

Positive Form
Subject + past form of verb + object(s) + time
Examples
They flew to Chicago last month.
Peter completed his course three weeks ago.

Negative Form
Subject + did + not + INFINITIVE+ object(s) + (time)
Examples
They didn't expect to see you at Christmas.
She didn't understand the question.

Question Form
(Wh?) + did + subject + INFINITIVE+ (object(s))+ (time)?
Examples
Where did you study French?
When did you arrive last week?

Test your understanding with this short quiz.http://esl.about.com/library/beginner/bl_bgspast.htm

Beginning English Course - UNIT 5 - Past Forms, 'A' 'An' and 'The'

What did you do last weekend?Learn the basics of the simple past including regular and irregular
Where were you yesterday?The simple past form of the verb "to be
"A, An, The"A, An, The - definite and indefinite articles in English - Beginning Guide to indefinite articles.
Listening Comprehension
Ordering Food in a RestaurantWhat do the man and woman order at the restaurant? Do this listening comprehension to find out!

from: http://esl.about.com/c/ec/2.htm