Grammar

Simple Past

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Verbs come in three tenses: present, past, and future.

The present tense is used to to talk about things in general. We can use it to describe actions that happen frequently or situations that are generally true.

The future tense describes things that have yet to happen (e.g., later, tomorrow, next week, next year, three years from now).

And the past tense. We use the past tense to talk about an action which happened at a precise point in time and is completely finished (e.g., earlier in the day, yesterday, last week, three years ago).

Listen carefully to this video. Take notes.

In the present simple tense, we say:

  • I/you/we/they live …

BUT, for HE, SHE and IT, we add an S to the end of their verb in the present simple. So we say:

  • He/she/it lives …

However, for the past simple tense it is much easier.
There is only one form of each verb in the past simple tense.*
* The exception is TO BE which has two forms: was and were.

The past tense of LIVE is LIVED. It is the same for all subjects including HE, SHE and IT. There is only one form for each verb.

  • I lived …
  • You lived …
  • We lived …
  • They lived …
  • He lived …
  • She lived …
  • It lived …

How do we make a past tense verb?

To make a past tense verb, we normally just add -ED to the end of a regular verb.

  • play becomes played
  • rain becomes rained
  • cook becomes cooked
  • watch becomes watched
  • need becomes needed
  • want becomes wanted

If the regular verb already ends in -E, we just add a -D to the end.

  • live becomes lived
  • smile becomes smiled
  • dance becomes danced

Let’s look at some more example sentences using regular verbs in the past simple tense:

  • I played my guitar yesterday.
  • It rained last night.
  • He fixed his bike last weekend.
  • Angela watched TV all night.
  • Paul wanted to go to the museum.
Past simple tense in English - Affirmative sentences in the past tense.

How do we make a negative sentence in the past simple tense?

Didn’t is used to make negative sentences in the past simple tense.

  • They lived in Spain … becomes …
  • They didn’t live in Spain.

We do not say they didn’t lived in Spain. No!

Remember, in the present simple tense, don’t and doesn’t are used. In the past simple tense, we only have one auxiliary: didn’t.

I didn’t, you didn’t, we didn’t, they didn’t, he didn’t, she didn’t, it didn’t.

The verb after didn’t is always the base form of the infinitive.
didn’t live … didn’t play… didn’t watch

Some more examples of negative sentences in the past simple tense:

  • I didn’t want to go home.
  • You didn’t need my help.
  • He didn’t like the soup.
  • She didn’t open the door.
  • We didn’t say anything.
  • They didn’t drive to work.
Past simple tense in English - Negative sentences in the past tense.

But how do we make a question in the past simple tense?

We use DID to make questions in the past simple tense.*
* Exceptions: Questions with To Be or Modal Verbs (can, might, must, etc.)

  • They lived in Spain … becomes …
  • Did they live in Spain?

Notice how we use the base form of the infinitive, just like with negative sentences.
We do not say: Did they lived in Spain? No!

Some more examples of questions in the past simple tense:

  • Did I win the prize?
  • Did you need my help?
  • Did he like the soup?
  • Did she open the window?
  • Did we arrive on time?
  • Did Steve walk to school?

Short Answers in the Past Simple Tense

With questions beginning with DID, you can often give a short answer.

Look at these questions. What are some possible short answers?

  • Did you need my help?
    Yes, I did … or … No, I didn’t.
  • Did she open the window?
    Yes, she did … or … No, she didn’t.
  • NOT IN VIDEO: Did we win the game?
    Yes, we did … or … No, we didn’t.
  • Did Steve walk to work?
    Yes, he did … or … No, he didn’t.

Question Words in the Past Simple Tense

With questions, you can also use one of the “question words” such as when, where, why, what, who, which etc. before DID.
Look at these example questions:

  • When did you arrive?
  • Where did they go?
  • Why did she leave early?
  • What did he say?
  • Who did you see?
  • Which did you choose?
  • How did you learn English?
Past simple tense in English - Questions in the past tense - Grammar Lesson

Past Simple Tense – Irregular Verbs – Affirmative Sentences

Let’s look at the verb TO GO.
In the present tense it is GO or GOES.
The past tense of GO is WENT.
WENT is used for all subjects…

I went, you went, he went, she went, it went, we went, and they went.

They all use WENT. For example:

  • I went to the beach last weekend.
  • She went to the dentist last week.
  • They went to the library yesterday.
  • You went to a concert last night.

Past Simple Tense – Irregular Verbs – Negative Sentences

For negative sentences in the past tense, we follow the same rules as regular verbs.

We use didn’t with the verb in its base form. For example:

  • You went to the concert.
  • You didn’t go to the concert.

Notice how we use just GO instead of TO GO.

We don’t say: You didn’t went to the concert. No!

Past Simple Tense – Irregular Verbs – Questions

We use DID at the beginning while the verb is in the base form of the infinitive.

  • Did you go to the concert?

Notice how we use just GO instead of TO GO.

We don’t say: Did you went to the concert? No! 

Past Simple Tense – Irregular Verbs – Summary

So basically, past tense irregular verbs are only irregular in affirmative sentences.
AND there is only one form for each verb. For example:

  • You went to the concert.
  • You didn’t go to the concert.
  • Did you go to the concert?

You can see that GO is only irregular in affirmative past tense sentences when it becomes WENT. In negative sentences and questions, we use GO.

Simple Present

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Verbs come in three tenses: past, present, and future.

The past is used to describe things that have already happened (e.g., earlier in the day, yesterday, last week, three years ago).

The future tense describes things that have yet to happen (e.g., later, tomorrow, next week, next year, three years from now).

This lesson will discuss the present tense which is used to talk about things in general. We can use it to describe actions that happen frequently or situations that are generally true.

Doctors work in hospitals. [true in general]

The doctor starts work at 9:00.  [happens all the time]

This tense is constructed by using the plain infinitive, the infinitive without “to”, when the subject is “I” (also known as the 1st person singular),  “you” (the 2nd person singular / plural), “we” (the 1st person plural) or “they” (the 3rd person plural).

I work as a shop assistant.

You work as a cashier.

We work at weekends.

They work together.

In the 3rd person singular, “he / she / it,”  just add “s” or “es” to the end of the plain infinitive verb.

He works at a school. [to work +s = works]

He teaches English. [to teach + es = teaches]

For present simple negative sentences or questions, English uses the verb “do”  together with the main verb. Verbs that “help” the main verb like this are called auxiliary verbs.

When “he / she / it” is the subject, “do” becomes “does”.

In negative sentences,  “do / does” is followed by “not” and then the main verb.

“Do / does not” can also be shortened to “don’t / doesn’t.”

We do not work at a school. [subject, auxiliary + not, main verb] OR

We don’t work at a school.

He does not speak English. [subject, auxiliary + not, main verb] OR

He doesn’t speak English.

To form questions, the word order changes. “Do / does” is used at the start, followed by the subject and then the main verb.

We also use “ do /does” again in the reply.

* Exceptions: Questions that have To Be or Modal Verbs (can, might, must, etc.)

Do you work here? [auxiliary, subject, main verb]

  • Yes, we do.

Does he speak English? [auxiliary, subject, main verb]

  • No, he doesn’t.

This video shows the irregular verb, to have, that changes for “he / she / it. ” It is an easy, simple and clear lesson.

Now, practice.

Reference: https://englishclassviaskype.com/blog/how-to-learn-english/present-simple-explained-in-pictures/

Especially vs specially

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A Diferença entre Especially e Specially - Adir Ferreira Idiomas

Both especially and specially are adverbs. 

Especially means ‘in particular’, ‘particularly’, or ‘most of all’. We use especially to show that what you are saying applies more to one thing or situation than to others.

  • I like food, but I especially like sandwiches.
  • He’s often a little late, but he was especially late today.
  • She looked especially beautiful that night.
  • I like all of my friends, especially Mark.
  • All of the rooms are dirty, especially the bathroom.
  • Our baby cries a lot, especially when he is hungry.
  • Dave and Mark like football. Dave, especially, watches lots of matches on TV.
  • Mark: Do you want to live abroad? Jane: Yes, I would especially like to live in France.

When especially relates to the subject of a sentence, you put it immediately after the subject.

  • Young babies, especially, are vulnerable to colds.

You can also use especially in front of an adjective to emphasize a characteristic or quality.

  • I found her laugh especially annoying.

We use specially to say that something is done or made for a particular purpose.

  • This sandwich was specially made.
  • They had a chair specially designed for her size.
  • The animals are specially trained to locate the mushrooms.
  • I bought a bag specially for my computer.
  • The suit was specially made for me.
  • I went to New York specially to see the Statue of Liberty.

We can use both, especially and specially, when we refer to a ‘special purpose,’ or ‘specifically.’

  • I bought this milk especially / specially for you. 
  • The speech was written especially / specially for the occasion. 

Practice doing the mini-test at the end of the page.

Difference between Miss and Lose

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The verbs MISS and LOSE have several different meanings in English and they can be easily confused.

When to Use MISS

We use MISS in these cases:

  1. to not attend an event or something
  • I missed your birthday. 
  • Alan, you missed a great concert last night.
  • You missed class on Friday.

2. to arrive too late to get on a bus, train, or plane

  • John missed the train this morning.

3. to not see or hear something

  • The goalkeeper missed the ball.
  • Sorry, I missed that. Could you repeat it please?

4. to feel sad about someone or something that you have stopped seeing or having

  • My sister moved to Vietnam last year. I really miss her!
  • I miss my girlfriend. She’s on holiday with her family.

IMPORTANT: if you are going to use a verb after the verb MISS, this verb must be in the gerund

  • I miss going out with my friends.

When to Use LOSE

We use LOSE in these cases:

1. can’t find something or something’s gone

  • I lost my dog. Please help me to find him.

2. sports games

  • My favorite football team lost 5-1 in the semifinal.

3. someone is gone from your life

  • I lost my Grandmother last year.
  • I’ve lost my girlfriend. We had a messy break up and I don’t think I’ll ever see her again.
  • She lost her husband during the war.

Collocations

  • miss a chance/opportunity
  • lose a chance/opportunity
  • miss the point
  • lose time/money
  • lose confidence/interest/hope etc
  • lose weight/height/speed etc
  • lose your sight/hearing/voice/balance etc
  • lose sight of something
  • lose track of something/somebody

PRACTICE: Choose between the proper form of lose or miss.

a. The lady looking after the property was very helpful when we got lost/missed on the way back.

b. It is possible to lose/miss weight fast without dieting.

c. My pen is losing/missing from my desk! Who’s had it?

d. When Sylvia noticed her credit card was losing/missing, she called her credit card provider and cancelled it.

e. My apartment is only a block from the office, so I don’t lose/miss time commuting to work.

f. I lost/missed quite a lot of money on the stock exchange last year.

g. My daughter lives in Paris. I lose/miss her a lot.

h. I’ve just lost/missed the fast train to London.

i. Can you say that again, please. I lost/missed the thread of the conversation.

j. You’ve lost/missed the point. I don’t care about the money.

a. lost; b. lose; c. missing; d. missing; e. lose; f. lost; g. miss; h. lost; i. missed; j. missed

What does he like, what is she like and what does she look like?

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The word like is used in different ways to ask questions. Such questions with like may have different meanings.

Like may be used to ask questions about:

  • Personality or the characteristics of something.
  • Preferences.
  • Hobbies.
  • Physical appearance.

The word like in these questions is used either as a verb or as a preposition.

Talking about personality or the characteristics of something

Like can be used to ask about personality or the characteristics of something. Example:

  • What’s your friend like? → He’s nice.
  • What’s the house like? → It’s huge.
  • What was the weather like? → It was sunny.

Like in the above examples is used as a preposition.

Talking about about preferences

Like can be used to talk about preferences. Examples:

  • What music does Julie like? → She likes rock music.
  • What would you like to eat? → Fish, please.

Like is used in these questions as a verb.

Talking about hobbies

To ask about hobbies, use like in questions as follows:

  • What does he like doing? → He likes singing.
  • What do you like doing? → I like reading.

Like in these examples is used as a verb.

In this video we look at two meanings of like and fix a common mistake. They will compare the verb like with like as a preposition and you’ll learn how to use two useful English questions: Do you like…? and What’s it like? Video script here.

If one thing is like something else, it’s similar. Like is a preposition here, and it is used to talk about things that are similar.

Talking about physical appearance or resemblance

Like may be used in questions to ask about physical appearance. Examples:

  • What does he look like? → He is tall and has got black long hair.
  • What does she look like? → She is beautiful. She has brown eyes and short black hair.
  • Who do you look like? → I look just like my father.
  • Who does she look like? → She looks like her grandmother.

Like in the above questions is used as a preposition.

The next video explains the differences between the three question with the word like: What does he like, what is she like and what does she look like?

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE that we usually use How?, not What … like?, when we ask about someone’s health or temporary state:

A: How’s your brother today? B: He’s feeling much better.

A: How was your boss today? B: He was very friendly today!

Now, PRACTICE:

LEVEL 1 EXERCISE

LEVEL 2 EXERCISE: Write an appropriate question to the following sentences. You’ll find the correct questions, in order, below the answers. 

  1. Oh, she is very interesting. She is very involved in community activities and loves the outdoors.
  2. He’s fine, thank you.
  3. Just awful, it hasn’t stopped raining for the last three days.
  4. Reading science fiction, watching classic films on late night TV.
  5. Very pretty, she’s got short blond hair, blue eyes and she usually wears jeans and a t-shirt.
  6. He’s quite the entertainer. He loves having people over for dinner.
  7. It can be spicy and sweet. It’s delicious.
  8. It’s a painting of a countryside with lots of flowers in the foreground.
  9. He can be difficult at times.

Questions:

  1. What’s she like?
  2. How is he?
  3. What’s the weather like?
  4. What does she like doing?
  5. What does she look like?
  6. What’s he like? or What does he like doing?
  7. What’s it like?
  8. What does it look like?
  9. What’s he like?