Lesson 17.

1. Past of the verb to be

I You
He We Were
She Was
They
It

 Affirmative to be.
Subject To Be Examples
(1) I was tired this
I was
morning.
(2) You were very
You were
good.
(3) He was the best in
He was
his class.
(4) She was late for
She was
work.
It was (5) It was a sunny day.
We were (6) We were at home.
(7) You were on
You were
holiday.
(8) They were happy
They were with their test
results.

 Now, according to each picture, match the right sentence

() () () ()

() () ()

()
  Negative to be.

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.

 Negative contractions
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.
  Questions

 Were they in Spain last year?

- Yes, they were in Spain last year
- No, they weren´t in Spain last year

 When were you born?

- I was born on December, thirtieth, nineteen ninety

 Where were you yesterday?

- I was in my house yesterday

 Were you at school yesterday?

- Yes, I was at school yesterday
- No, I wasn´t at school yesterday

 Were there any problems on the flight?

- Yes, there were some problems on the flight
- No, there weren´t any problems on the flight
 2. I was about to…
We use this expression when we are near to do something:

 I was about to call you, but I was busy

 They were about to play, but it started to rain

 Were you about to come two minutes ago?

- Yes, I was about to come two minutes ago, but my mom called me
 3. Past continuous:

It refers to something that was going to happen but at the end it did not happen.

Structure:
Subject+ was/were+present participle (verb in ing) + complement

Some examples:

 I was reading a book this morning

 She was going to the bank when I met her

 They were studying for the lesson last night

 Questions

 Were they studying for the lesson last night?

- Yes, they were studying for the lesson last night
- No, they weren´t studying for the lesson last night

 What were you doing the last weekend?

- I was taking an English course in Canada

 Who was making the dinner last night?

- My mom was making the dinner last night
Past expressions:

 Last year
 Ago
 Last week
 Yesterday
 Last night

Some examples:
 I was watching this same film two minutes ago

 I was in my mother´s house last week

 Yesterday, I stayed in my office all night long

4. Prepositions of time

 AT: a time (times: 10 o'clock, 5:30, etc.)

 ON: (days and dates: Monday, Thanksgiving, the 9th of June, etc.)

 IN :a period (periods of time: week, month, year, 4 hours, morning, etc.)

 AT

 I get up at 9 o'clock

 I was there at noon (noon= 12:00 pm)

 You can come at lunch time

 ON

 I went to Berlin on Monday

 I was born on May 2nd

 My brother arrived on Christmas Day

  IN

 He was born in the 19th century

 She had her holidays in June

 Don't go to Egypt in summer

 IN can be used in two other special cases:

1- To say how soon something will happen

- I'll see you in two days (also: ...in two days' time)

- Come to see me again in a week (also: ...in a week's time)

2- To say how long something takes to happen

- I can run 200 meters in 30 seconds

- He wrote a book in a month

 EXCEPTIONS

1- We say "in the morning", "in the afternoon", "in the evening", but: "at
night". The expression "in the night" means "during one particular night".
Compare:

- Don't go out at night, it can be dangerous

- We slept in a tent, but I woke up in the night and could only sleep two hours
2- At the weekend / at weekends (on the weekend)

3- On holiday

4- ON + day + part of the day

- I went there on Monday morning

- Come with us on Saturday night

- We get our presents on Christmas morning

5- We say: In the past, in the future, but... at present

6- Christmas, Easter and other long holidays use On for the day but AT for all
the period

- Come and see us on Christmas Day (December 25)

- I stayed at home at Christmas (all my Christmas holidays)

- We're going to Zamora at Easter

- What are you doing on Easter Monday?

Note: when talking about Dec 25, American people say "on Christmas" or (less
often) "on Christmas Day", but in British English we only say "on Christmas Day".

"At Easter" is the same as "In the Holy Week" (less often). "On Easter" is the
same as "on Easter Sunday". For the other days of Easter we must specify: on
Easter Monday, etc.

When we say next, last, this week, every day we do not use at, in, on.

 I went to Paris last summer (not: in last summer)

 I'm starting my holidays next Saturday (not: on next Saturday)
 I go home every Easter (not: at every Easter)
 We'll call you this afternoon (not: in this afternoon)



Let´s practice…!

1. Listen to the audio and complete the next dialogue.

Those school days

Paulette: our days in high school.

Paul: Really? so good.
Paulette: Oh, yes. Do you remember when we were planning our prom?
Paul: Yes! ballyhoo because of that, and we all
looking for our companions.
Paulette: True! that perfect person for that
.
Paul: preparing his dressing for that special night.
Paulette: Oh yes! I remember that.
Paul: We were .

2. Complete the following story with the right past of the verb to
be.

Last summer my family and I in Tenerife. It a great

experience. We in a gorgeous hotel in front of the sea. Our room
next to the swimming pool, on the first floor.

The first day we in the town buying some clothes and other things. My
mother so excited because the malls and shops extremely beautiful.
My brother a little bit bored because he doesn´t like to go shopping, he
prefers baseball or basketball games.

The next day, there an exhibition at the aquarium. There

beautiful dolphins jumping and playing. It amazing to see that, all of us
charmed during the show.

At the end of the trip we sad because we had to come back home, but
definitely an amazing trip.
 3. Complete each sentence with the right preposition of time.

a) My brother has a new job. He works the evening.

b) We´re having a picnic Saturday afternoon.
c) I can finish my homework one hour.
d) When is the meeting? Is it two o´clock?
e) Tom´s birthday is next week, January 14th
f) My father was born 1950
g) My family and I like to ski winter.
h) This year Labor Day is September 7th, 2020.
i) What time do your children go to bed night?
j) Our school serves lunch 11:00.

4. Reading comprehension. Read the following text and answer

the questions.
I wasn´t listening

While I was driving on the highway, I was enjoying the landscape.

Everything was passing through my eyes as a film. That was really nice. I was
remembering when I was a little child. There was the same landscape in front of
my countryside house. The forest animals were running and playing; they were
coming and going. I was also remembering when I was climbing up the trees to
catch the squirrels that were running fast to the top of those trees…I really like
those memories.

That was what I was doing, officer. I´m really sorry, I wasn´t listening your calling!.
 Questions

a) What was he doing on the highway?

b) What was he remembering?

c) Were the forest animals dying?

d) What were the squirrels doing?

e) What wasn´t he doing?

Lesson 18.
Simple Past

Simple Past: sometimes called the preterit, is used to talk about a completed
action in a time before now. The simple past is the basic form of past tense in
English. The time of the action can be in the recent past or the distant past and
action duration is not important.

Structure:

Subject+verb in past+complement

Some examples:

 John Cabot sailed to America in 1498.

 I came with you this morning

 He lived in Fiji in 1976.

 We crossed the Channel yesterday.

 In Simple Past there are two types of verbs: regular verbs and irregular verbs.
Ask your teacher the list of regular and irregular verbs in past. Is an important
resource for this lesson.

As we said before, in simple p0ast we can find regular verbs, so these are the
rules that we need to follow to work with regular verbs.

Rules of regular verbs

 If the verb ends in Y, and it has a vowel before the Y, just put ed at the end.
 Examples: Play-played; Enjoy-enjoyed

 If the verb ends in Y, and it has a consonant before the Y, change it into I,
and put ed at the end.
 Examples: Worry-worried; reply-replied

 If the verb ends with ¨s/sh/ss/x/o¨, just add ed at the end of the verb.
 Examples: Watch-watched; Fix-fixed

 ¨Ed¨ pronunciation rules

 ¨ id¨  ¨d¨
 T wanted  L called
 D needed  N cleaned
 R offered
 G damaged
 ¨t¨  V loved
 P helped  S used
 K looked  Z amazed
 F sniffed  B rubbed
 Gh laughed  M claimed
 Sh Washed
 Ch Watched
 Ss Kissed
 C Danced
 X Fixed
Now, let´s take a look at some irregular verbs:

 Speak-spoke
 Tell-told
 Make-made
 Do-did
 Go-went
 Forget-forgot
 Break-broke
 Fight-fought
 Take-took
 Eat-ate
 Drive-drove
 See-saw
 Bring-brought
 Read-read (The difference here is in the pronunciation, in present is: ¨rid¨
and in past is: ¨red¨.

Some examples

 They took the bus at the train station

 Sally flew from Bristol to London last Thursday

 John saw no one at the beach

  Jim drank 80 beers in twenty minutes

 The journalist wrote an amazing report about coronavirus. It is very

interesting!

 I didn´t dance all night long because I was so drunk

 I didn´t stay with you at home because I had so many things to do at work

 She didn´t call me yesterday

 They didn´t go anywhere last summer





 
 

  Difference between simple past and past continuous

First, let´s take a look on both structures:

Past continuous Simple past

Subject+ was/were+ present participle Subject+verb in past+ complement
(ing)+complement

Let´s compare:

Doctors were treating patients in temporary beds Doctors treated patients in temporary beds and
and they were trying to do their best in a difficult they were trying to do their best in a difficult
situation situation.
Past continuous: Writer chooses to choose Past simple: Writer chooses to show the events as
the events as ongoing at that time in the past. finished.

Events in progress in the past

We use the past continuous to talk about events and temporary states that were in progress
around a certain time in the past. We use the past simple to talk about events, states or habits at definite times
in the past.

Compare

At 4 pm last Tuesday, I was working in the office The past continuous emphasizes the action or
event in progress around a time in the past. The
event (working) was in progress at 4 pm.
The event was not completed at that time.
At 4 pm last Monday, I finished worked early and The past simple emphasizes the event that happened
went home. at a definite time in the past.
The focus is not on events in progress but rather on
the whole events (finished work, went home)
 Let´s practice

Complete the sentences with past simple or the past continuous form of the verbs in
brackets

a) What ___________ (you/do) when I ___________ (call) you last night?

b) I ________ (sit) on a bench when you ___________ (call) me
c) When you ___________ (arrive) at the party, who______ (be) there?
d) Susie _________ (watch) a film when she _________ (hear) the noise.
e) Yesterday, I ___________ (go) to the library, next I _______ (have) a swim, later I
_________ (meet) with Julia for a coffee.
f) We _________ (play) tennis when John _________ (hurt) his ankle
 Questions

 What did you do yesterday?

- I played football yesterday

 Where did you go the last weekend?

-I went to the cinema with my friends

 Did you walk to come here?

-Yes, I did. I walked to come here

-No, I didn´t. I didn´t walk to come here

 Who made the dinner last night?

-My mom made the dinner last night

Read the following dialogue

She got on with it cautiously

Tim: Hello Jane, How are you doing?

Jane: Uhm…not so well. I´m tired
Tim: Why? What happened?
Jane: I got a situation at Central Park. A gas turbine bursts and there was a big fire
Tim: Was anybody hurt? How did you manage that?
Jane: I got on with it cautiously. Thanks God anybody got hurt. We all tried to put
out the flames carefully and everything was good
Tim: My God! It´s good to know that you handle it quickly
Janet: Yes, we tried hard to do it until we finish that perfectly.
Tim: Well, that´s why you all are excellent firefighters.
Janet: We surely are, thanks
  Reflexive pronouns

Myself
 I
 You Yourself
 He Himself
 She Herself
 It Itself
 We Ourselves
 They
Themselves
 You
Yourselves

Examples:

 When the subject is the same than the object, we say:

 I hurt myself while playing hockey

 I look at myself in the mirror

 They call themselves ¨Dire Straits¨

 They are eating all the food themselves

 When the subject is different than the object, (the subject is alone), we
say:

 She needs to buy a car by herself

 I am doing this activity by myself

 I am buying a present for myself

 Difference between ¨by¨ and ¨for¨

 He was cooking by himself: In this case nobody is helping him. He is

cooking alone.

 He was cooking for himself: In this case he is cooking only for him. He is
going to be the only one who is going to eat.
Let´s practice…!

1. It´s dictation time! Listen to your teacher and underline the

verbs in past that you find.

2. Complete the sentences with the past simple

(affirmative/negative/interrogative) of the verbs in brackets.

a) My sister and her husband (come) from Greece two weeks ago.
b) I (not like) the U2 concert.
c) On Monday, John (go) to school on foot.
d) (they/leave) the country last Sunday?
e) They (finish) the homework yesterday.
f) (she/go) to the cinema with her parents last night?
No, she didn´t. She (stay) at home. She (get) a cold.
g) Many years ago, it (be) very difficult to live without electricity.
h) I (meet) him the day before yesterday.
i) I (have) a wonderful holiday with my family last July.
j) Last year, I (buy) a house at the seaside.
k) (you/ travel) to Madrid by car or by plane?

3. Watch the video and answer the questions

a) What is the simple past of the following verbs?

 Go
 See
 Leave
 Eat
 Buy
b) Did Mark have a good time last night?

c) What did he do?

d) Who did he go with?

e) What film did he see?

f) Did Mark and Susan see the same film?

g) Why is Mark sad?

 4. Reading comprehension: Read the following text and
complete the activity below.

Read the text and choose a suitable title above.

A study carried out in Germany has found that chocolate may be good for your
heart. This is fantastic news for all chocolate lovers. The extensive research was
conducted over eight years. The research team followed the chocolate-eating
habits and health of almost 20,000 people. They compared how much chocolate
was in their diet to the number of heart attacks and strokes people had. Lead
researcher Brian Buijsse said: "The good news is that chocolate is not as bad as
we used to think, and may even lower the risk of heart disease and stroke." Mr
Buijsse said his team found that dark chocolate was the healthiest kind to eat:
"Dark chocolate exhibits the greatest effects, milk chocolate fewer, and white
chocolate no effects," he said.

The German study showed that people who ate the most chocolate (at least one
bar per week) reduced their risk of having a heart attack by 27 per cent. The risk of
suffering a stroke was cut by as much as 48 per cent. Nutrition experts believe that
natural compounds in chocolate called flavonols are good for our heart. Flavonols
also help reduce blood pressure. They are found in cocoa beans so dark chocolate
(which has more cocoa) contains more of them than milk chocolate (which has
more fat). Buijsse warns people not to suddenly eat lots of chocolate: "Eating
higher amounts will most likely result in weight gain. If people start eating small
amounts of chocolate, it should replace something else, preferably other high-
calorie sweets or snacks."
Write T for True or F for False according to this text.

1) The article says German chocolate is the healthiest in the world. T / F

2) A study looked at 20,000 people over an eight-year period. T / F

3) Researchers followed people who were on a chocolate diet. T / F

4) Researchers found white chocolate helped reduce heart attacks. T / F

5) Chocolate cut the chances of strokes more than heart attacks. T / F

6) Chemicals in chocolate called flavonols are not found in nature. T / F

7) The lead researcher warned people not to eat too much chocolate. T / F

8) The researcher suggested replacing sweets with chocolate. T / F

Lesson 10
Past Perfect
Read the following dialogue

Ronny: Hey, Oliver! What´s up?

Oliver: Hey, Ronny. I went to the cinema with my girlfriend, Brooke,
yesterday Ronny: Sounds fun. How was the movie? Did you guys enjoy it?
Oliver: Not really. Before we went to the theater, we had had an
argument Ronny: I´m sorry to hear that. What were you arguing?
Oliver: When I told Brook which movie we were going to watch, she said no.
Ronny: Why not?
Oliver: She had seen it last week, so she didn´t want to see it again
with me Ronny: Then why did you make her do it?
Oliver: I´d heard that the movie was really scary, so I didn´t want to see it
alone Ronny: Well, why didn´t you invite somebody else? Did Brook still see it
with you at theend?
Oliver: Yes, she did. And she made me pay
for it Ronny: That sounds fair.

Past perfect is used to talk about something that happened before the past.
Form: Subject + had + past participle + complement

In this picture we have two actions in the past (arrived at the cinema and already started. The
number 2 is an action which happened in the past (they arrived at the cinema), but before that we have
another action (the film had already started) which is number 1, so, in this case we apply the past
perfect form.
 Look at the following sentences:

 John left the house at seven o´clock yesterday morning

 Mary rang John´s doorbell at a quarter past eight yesterday

Both actions happened in the past, so we use the past simple tense. But, look at
how we can combine the sentences:

 Mary rang John´s doorbell at a quarter past eight yesterday, but John had already
left the house.
We use the past perfect (had left) because the action happened before another action in
the past (Mary rang John´s doorbell).

More examples:

 When Mrs. Brown opened the washing machine, she realized she had washed the
cat
 I got a letter from Jim last week, we´d been at school together but we´d we lost
touch with each other
Look at these examples:

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I´d decided to go there I hadn´t decided to go there Had I decided to go there
before you came before you came before you came?
She had gone to the doctor She had not gone to the Had she gone to the doctor
when I called her doctor when I called her when I called her?
We had seen this movie We had not seen this movie Had we seen this movie
before, I know the end before, I don´t know the end before?
They´d been at home the They hadn´t been at home Had they been at home the
day before the party, so they the day before the party, so day before the party?
didn´t do it they did it
It had been so cold the It had not been so cold the Had it been so cold the
weather yesterday, I had to weather yesterday, I didn´t weather yesterday?
use a sweater use a sweater

When not to use Past Perfect

Don’t use the past perfect when you’re not trying to convey some sequence of
events. If your friends asked what you did after you discovered the graffiti, they would
be confused if you said:

For example: I had cleaned it off the door

They’d likely be wondering what happened next because using the past perfect
implies that your action of cleaning the door occurred before something else
happened, but you don’t say what that something else is. The “something else”
doesn’t always have to be explicitly mentioned, but context needs to make it clear.
In this case there’s no context, so the past perfect doesn’t make sense.
 Past Perfect continuous

Form: Subject +had+ been+ verb in ing+

complement The past perfect can also be used in the

continuous form

 I realized I had been working too hard, so I decided to go on vacations.

 By the time Jane arrived, we had been waiting for three hours.

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I´d been cooking before he I hadn´t been cooking before Had I been cooking before
called me yesterday he called me yesterday he called me yesterday?
She had been staying with a She had not been staying Had she been staying with a
friend before her trip with a friend before her trip friend before her trip?
We had been studying for We had not been studying Had we been studying for
this lesson by the time the for this lesson by the time this lesson by the time the
teacher started to talk the teacher started to talk teacher started to talk?
They´d been playing video They hadn´t been playing Had they been playing
games when I left the house video games when I left the videogames when I left the
house house?
It had been working well It had not been working well Had it been working well
before you started to use it before you started to use it before you started to use it?

Questions

1. Had you gone to the meeting when I arrived to your house?

- Yes, I´d gone to the meeting when you arrived to my house.

2. Had she spoken with the principal when her parents called?
- No, she hadn´t spoken with the principal yet

3. Had they been standing at the door while we were having a party?
- Yes, they´d been standing at the door while we were having a party

4. Had you been learning Japanese before your trip to Tokyo?

- No, I hadn´t. I had to learn it there

5. What had you been planning for my birthday the last year? I need ideas
- We´d been buying all the ingredients for your big cake and then we called
Everybody

6. Where had you been working twenty years ago after you finished high school?
- I´d been working in a coffee shop and later in a grocery
 Listening

1. Recording 1: Where had she done her research for the vacation?

o Watching TV shows
o From friends
o In the library

2. Recording 1: Where did her husband begin feeling pains?

o At the
airport
o In the
taxi
o In The
plane

3. Recording 2: Where was the restaurant located?

o Near the canals

o Near the hotel
o Near the central square

4. Recording 2: Why didn't his wife pay?

o She never has money on her

o She didn´t have enough
o She paid half
 5. Recording 3: How good was her Italian?

o she'd studied it at university

o she couldn't speak a word
o the Italians told her it was perfect

6. Recording 3: What was the problem?

o they had the wrong type of car

o it was too hot
o they ran out of money

7. Recording 4: Which of these happened to her?

o her parents argued a lot

o she was ill because of the food
o her parents left her at home

8. Recording 4: When did she hear about her boyfriend?

o when she got back

o on the plane
o coming home in a postcard
  Difference between past perfect and past perfect continuous

Past perfect simple = I had worked Past perfect continuous = I had been working

We use the past perfect simple with action verbs to emphasize the completion of an event. We use
the past perfect continuous to show that an event or action in the past was still continuing.

Compare

The builders had put up the scaffolding around Past perfect simple emphasizes the completion
the house of the action (the scaffolding is up)
The builders had been putting up the scaffolding Past perfect continuous emphasizes a continuing or
when the roof fell in oingoing action

 Difference between past perfect and past simple

The past perfect simple is used to sequence events in the past to show which event happened
first
Compare

The music started when the curtains opened Past simple+past simple: The music started at the
same as the curtains opened
The music had already started when the curtains Past perfect simple+past simple: The music started
opened and then the curtains opened.

The past simple often suggests a stronger connection between the time of the two events.

Compare

When she came through the door, everyone Past perfect simple+past perfect: This sentence
shouted: ‘Surprise! Happy Birthday!’ shows as she came through the door, everyone
immediately shouted ‘Surprise!’
When she had read all the greetings cards, she Past perfect simple+past perfect: This sentence
made a short thank-you speech emphasizes that she had finished reading the cards
before she made her speech.
 Let´s practice…!
1. Complete the sentences with the right past participle

a) They had (spend) the weekend with me, and then went to their house
b) I´d (be) at the gym working out, but I had to go to the market
c) You hadn´t (speak) with the principal yet, so he called to my house
d) He had (go) to the meeting by the time the party started
e) She´d cooked the dinner last night when I went to bed
f) I had (write) the story about my family when the teacher asked it in class

2. Past Perfect and Simple Past exercises

a) After Fred (spend) his holiday in Italy, he (to want) to learn

Italian
b) Jill (to phone) Dad at work before she (to leave) for her trip
c) Susan (to turn on) the radio after she (to wash) the dishes
d) When she (to arrive) the match already (to start)
e) After the man ( to sing) a song he (to play) the guitar
f) Before he (to sing) a song he (to play) the guitar
g) She (to watch) a video after the children (to go) to bed
h) After Eric (to make) breakfast he (to phone) his friend
i) I (to be) very tired because I (to study) too much
j) They (to ride) their bikes before they (to meet) their friends