Level 2 Reading and Speaking Unit 3

ESOL 075

Intermediate Grammar and Writing

Sophia Ahmed

UNIT THREE: SIMPLE PAST TENSE

PART I. GRAMMAR IN USE

A. Watch and listen to the youtube clips about the simple past then answer the questions below in groups click here: Regular & Irregular verbs

What is the difference between regular and irregular verbs?
List the regular and irregular verbs below.

Section I. Grammar in use: The Simple Past Tense

B. Simple Past Tense:

Used to describe actions or activities that began and ended in the past.
Its emphasis is on the action itself and not on the action’s relationship to another action in the past.
It simply says, “This happened.”
For further understanding: watch the youtube clip: https://youtu.be/DFalV7tOvD0

Examples:

I went to the store yesterday, bought some milk and eggs, and returned home.

The United States fought in World War Two. Thousands of soldiers died in Asia.

My father drove a cab for many years. He only had one accident in all the years that he drove cabs for a living.

My son got up this morning, ate breakfast, and left for school.

Section II. Forming the Negative: Present and Past Tenses

Present Tense Negative Past Tense Negative

I I

You play. You play.

We don’t go. We didn’t go.

They wash. They wash.

He play. He play.

She doesn’t go. She didn’t go.

It wash. It wash.

After the helping verbs don’t, doesn’t, and didn’t ALWAYS use the base form of the verb in the present tense and in the past tense.

Use the S Form of the Verb only in the present tense for he, she, and it. Never use the

S Form in the past tense.

Notice that in the present tense and in the past tense that the verb always goes back to the base form after don’t, doesn’t, and didn’t.

Present Tense Negative Verb To Be Past Tense Negative Verb To Be

I am not I was not

He He

She is not She was not

It It

We We

You are not You were not

They

When you change the verb to be from the present tense to the past tense, you use the

words was and were. When you want to make the past continuous tense, then the main

verb always uses ing.

Remember that the words am, is, and are have the same meaning as was and were. The only difference is the time (tense).

I am in class today. I was in class yesterday.

We are living in Seattle. We were living in different places when we were younger.

My son is at work now. He was in his apartment last night.

When you change the verb to be from the present tense to the past tense, you use the

words was and were. When you want to make the past continuous tense, then the main

verb always uses ing.

Section III. Grammar in use: Regular and Irregular tenses

C. Two Types of Past Tense Verbs: Regular and Irregular

Regular verbs are verbs that end in ed in the past tense affirmative.
1. 1. Examples: open/opened, start/started, wait/waited, memorize/memorized

Irregular Verbs are verbs that change form in the past and past participle form.
1. Examples: go/went, strike/struck, fly/flew, write/wrote, put/put, forget/forgot

The same rules for the negative and question form apply to both types of verbs.

Section IV. Sounds for –ED endings for regular verbs

ED sounds like a T, ID, and D depending on the sound that comes before it in a word.

1. ED sounds like T when the last sound in a word is a: P, K, F, S, SH, CH, or X.

walk kiss crunch splash

kick clap fix staff

miss watch stop laugh

Examples:

The audience clapped for twenty minutes for the singer.

The mechanic fixed my transmission.

We watched the movie on television.

2. ED sounds like ID when the last sound in a word is a: T or D.

wait raid hate pretend

invite defend need lift

skate invent start aid

Examples:

We waited for the bus for five minutes.

He pretended to be sick.

The soldiers defended the village.

3. ED sounds like D in all other regular verbs.

arrive open close play

form buzz hang spell

bow save enjoy call

Examples:

We arrived at the meeting five minutes late.

The boy called his mother from his friend’s house.

I enjoyed watching the baseball game

For more Simple past lessons watch the clips below:

https://youtu.be/0Fno_m7b93M

Negative Sentences: Negative sentences

Affirmative (Positive) Sentences: Affirmative sentences

Section V. Grammar application

Exercise 1: Change the following sentences to the past tense, please.

8. I like to look out the window and dream.

9. My uncle fixes houses in Rhode Island.

10. My sister comes to Seattle every year.

11. I drive a 1999 Ford to work every day for many years.

12. Careful people bind packages before they send them in the mail.

13. Mothers feed babies.

14. We often creep in the grass when my friends and I play together.

15. Some children seldom help their mother to clean the house.

Exercise 2: Change the following sentences to the past tense, please.

1. We intended to buy a new car last week.

2. He had a sandwich for lunch.

3. My sister let my sons play computer games.

4. He remembered to take his wife to the market.

5. She borrowed $100 from her brother.

6. The police arrested the thief last night.

7. I forgot to pick up the milk on my way home.

8. Friday morning was the last day for class.

9. Tom brought a book to the class.

10. He helped his friend fix the car.

Exercise 3: Change the following sentences to the past tense, please.

1. We intended to buy a new car last week.

2. He had a sandwich for lunch.

3. My sister let my sons play computer games.

4. He remembered to take his wife to the market.

5. She borrowed $100 from her brother.

6. The police arrested the thief last night.

7. I forgot to pick up the milk on my way home.

8. Friday morning was the last day for class.

9. Tom brought a book to the class.

10. He helped his friend fix the car.

11. The girls made dinner for their father.

12. I wished to see the old man.

13. He invented the first telephone.

14. The teacher corrected the students’ homework assignment.

15. The businessman flew to Chicago on a business trip.

Exercise 50:Change these sentences from the affirmative to the negative, please.

1. The old man fell on the floor.

2. The housewife froze the meat that she bought at the store.

3. I lost my wallet at the meeting.

4. The tire on my car blew out last week.

5. The U. S. Army invaded a peaceful country.

6. The government collected taxes from all American people last April 15^th.

7. We saw the bank robber get away in his car.

PART II. VERBS

There are two general types of verbs in English: Regular Verbs and Irregular Verbs.
Regular verbs end in ED in their past form as well as in their past participle form. (Regular verbs that end in a consonant plus a Y change the Y to I and then add ED.) Irregular Verbs change forms in the past tense and in their past participle forms. Note the differences below.

Regular Verbs Irregular Verbs

open opened opened go went gone

start started started eel felt felt

type typed typed dig dug dug

smoke smoked smoked show showed shown

collect collected collected fly flew flown

Section I. Irregular Verbs

(This is not an entire list of irregular verbs in English. However, for beginning to low intermediate level of ESL, this list is adequate.)

Base Form	S Form	Past Tense	Past Participle	Present Participle
be (am is are)	———-	was/were	been	being
beat	beats	beat	beaten	beating
become	becomes	became	become	becoming
begin	begins	began	begun	beginning
bend	bends	bent	bent	bending
bite	bites	bit	bitten	biting
bleed	bleeds	bled	bled	bleeding
blow	blows	blew	blown	blowing
break	breaks	broke	broken	breaking
bring	brings	brought	brought	bringing
build	builds	built	built	building
buy	buys	bought	bought

buy buys bought bought buying

catch catches caught caught catching

choose chooses chose chosen choosing

come comes came come coming

cost costs cost cost costing

cut cuts cut cut cutting

dig digs dug dug digging

do does did done doing

draw draws drew drawn drawing

drink drinks drank drunk drinking

drive drives drove driven driving

Base Form S Form Past Tense Past Participle Present Participle

eat eats ate eaten eating

fall falls fell fallen falling

feed feeds fed fed feeding

feel feels felt felt feeling

fight fights fought fought fighting

find finds found found finding

flee flees fled fled fleeing

fly flies flew flown flying

forbid forbids forbade forbidden forbidding

forget forgets forgot forgotten forgetting

forgive forgives forgave forgiven forgiving

freeze freezes froze frozen freezing

get gets got gotten getting

give gives gave given giving

go goes went gone going

grow grows grew grown growing

hang hangs hung hung hanging

have has had had having

hear hears heard heard hearing

hide hides hid hidden hiding

hit hits hit hit hitting

hold holds held held holding

hurt hurts hurt hurt hurting

keep keeps kept kept keeping

know knows knew known knowing

lead leads led led leading

leave leaves left left leaving

lend lends lent lent lending

let lets let let letting

lie lies lay lain lying

lose loses lost lost losing

make makes made made making

mean means meant meant meaning

meet meets met met meeting

mistake mistakes mistook mistaken mistaking

mow mows mowed mown mowing

mowed

overhear overhears overheard overheard overhearing

Base Form S Form Past Tense Past Participle Present Participle

pay pays paid paid paying

prove proves proved proven proving

put puts put put putting

quit quits quit quit quitting

read reads read read reading

ride rides rode ridden riding

ring rings rang rung ringing

rise rises rose risen rising

run runs ran run running

say says said said saying

see sees saw seen seeing

seek seeks sought sought seeking

sell sells sold sold selling

send sends sent sent sending

set sets set set setting

sew sews sewed sewn sewing

sewed

shake shakes shook shaken shaking

shave shaves shaved shaven shaving

shaved

shine shines shone shone shining

shined shined

shoot shoots shot shot shooting

show shows showed shown showing

shrink shrinks shrank shrunk shrinking

shrunk

shut shuts shut shut shutting

sing sings sang sung singing

sink sinks sank sunk sinking

sit sits sat sat sitting

sleep sleeps slept slept sleeping

slide slides slid slid sliding

speak speaks spoke spoken speaking

speed speeds sped sped speeding

spend spends spent spent spending

spin spins spun spun spinning

split splits split split splitting

spread spreads spread spread spreading

Base Form S Form Past Tense Past Participle Present Participle

stand stands stood stood standing

steal steals stole stolen stealing

stick sticks stuck stuck sticking

sting stings stung stung stinging

stink stinks stank stunk stinking

strike strikes struck struck striking

stricken

swear swears swore sworn swearing

sweep sweeps swept swept sweeping

swell swells swelled swollen swelling

swim swims swam swum swimming

take takes took taken taking

teach teaches taught taught teaching

tear tears tore torn tearing

tell tells told told telling

think thinks thought thought thinking

throw throws threw thrown throwing

undergo undergoes underwent undergone undergoing

understand understands understood understood understanding

underwrite underwrites underwrote underwritten underwriting

undo undoes undid undone undoing

wake wakes woke woken waking

wear wears wore worn wearing

weave weaves wove woven weaving

weep weeps wept wept weeping

win wins won won winning

withdraw withdraws withdrew withdrawn withdrawing

withhold withholds withheld withheld withholding

write writes wrote written writing

Section II. Grammar Application

Practice Irregular 1

Fill in the blank spaces with the correct form of the verb, please.

1. fly ————— ————— flown —————

2. beat beats ————— beaten beating

3. flee ————— fled fled —————

4. drive drives ————— driven driving

5. find finds ————— ————— finding

6. become becomes ————— ————– becoming

7. eat ————— ————— eaten —————

8. drink drinks drank drunk —————

9. feel feels ————— ————— feeling

10. begin begins ————— begun —————

11. bite bites ————— bitten —————

12. fall ————— ————— fallen falling

13. fight ————— ————— fought —————

14. be ————————- was/were been being

15. buy ————— ————– bought —————

16. bleed bleeds bled ————- —————

17. cut cuts cut ————— —————

18. catch ————— ————— caught —————

19. break ————— ————– broken —————

20. do ————— ————— ————— doing

Practice Irregular 2

Fill in the blank spaces with the correct form of the verb, please.

1. fly ————— ————— flown —————

2. beat beats ————— beaten beating

3. flee ————— fled fled —————

4. drive drives ————— driven driving

5. find finds ————— ————— finding

6. become becomes ————— ————– becoming

7. eat ————— ————— eaten —————

8. drink drinks drank drunk —————

9. feel feels ————— ————— feeling

10. begin begins ————— begun —————

11. bite bites ————— bitten —————

12. fall ————— ————— fallen falling

13. fight ————— ————— fought —————

14. be ————————- was/were been being

15. buy ————— ————– bought —————

16. bleed bleeds bled ————- —————

17. cut cuts cut ————— —————

18. catch ————— ————— caught —————

19. break ————— ————– broken —————

20. do ————— ————— ————— doing

PART III. GRAMMAR FOR WRITING

Pre-Writing Task: Writing Task: Read the sample paragraph below and answer the question below.

Example: Tell me what you did when you were a young boy or girl, please.

My Boyhood Days

My life was very different when I was a boy. For one thing, I didn’t have many “real” responsibilities. Basically, all I had to do was feed our animals every day and clean their cages when they got dirty. Also, on Saturdays I had to wash the floors and stairs in the house. Of course, I also had to do all of my school responsibilities, too. In addition, in winter I had to shovel the snow and clear the ice off the sidewalks. After that, though, all I had to do was have fun. In spring and summer, I swam in the pond near my house and played baseball in an open field near my house. In fall and winter, I played football and went ice skating. Often, my friends and I hung out and did nothing because we had a lot of free time. Life was really very easy then..

List all the things this young boy did in order of sequence

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Section I. It’s your time to write

Tell me what you did when you were a school boy or girl. Write ten sentences below.

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Section II. Writing Homework

Read the writing prompts below and choose one topic and write a paragraph. Make sure to use simple present tenses and time clauses in your paragraphs.

What did you do last year?
Describe a major historical event in your country.
Write about your family history – for example, where your parents and grandparents came from, what they did.

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