ESOL 075
Intermediate Grammar and Writing
by
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.
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- Examples: open/opened, start/started, wait/waited, memorize/memorized
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- Irregular Verbs are verbs that change form in the past and past participle form.
- 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:
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 15th.
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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