SIMPLE PAST Here we go again. The Simple Past tense, is a simple tense to describe actions occurred in the past or past experiences. For example: The structure is quite simple: I visited my grandparents last week. Yesterday, she bought a new sweater. Subject + Verb in Simple past + Complement/Time expression Jennifer went to Guanajuato last summer. In the simple past, verbs don t change with third person or singular personal pronouns. I ate pizza with my friends We rented a new house You forgot her birthday You played basketball He went to the dentist You played basketball She stayed home They created a new electrical system The only exception is the verb be, which has two forms: was/were I was shy in high school. They were my best friends. For the negative sentences we have to use the auxiliary verb for the simple past: did not = didn t I didn t like sports in high school. Laura didn t buy a movie, she bought a book. We also use the auxiliary verb for the past in the Yes/No questions and Wh-Questions: Did you visit your parents? Yes, I did. We went to a nice restaurant. No, I didn t. I stayed home and called them at night. But of course, we don t use the auxiliary in questions with verb be, because the verb be is actually an auxiliary verb. Were you nervous in your wedding? Yes I was. I was really nervous. No, I wasn t. I was very relaxed. Where were you last night? I was in my girlfriend s house. Who was your best friend in college? My best friend was Mark. We were crazy.
Now, some notes to remember: Regular verbs Verbs that have the same ending in their simple past and past participle form: -ed play-played / stay-stayed / paint-painted / study-studied / visit-visited Irregular verbs Verbs that have a different ending in their simple past and past participle form:? eat-ate / write-wrote / buy-bought / meet-met / go-went / swim-swam / drink-drank Personal Pronouns I you He She It We You They S. past of be was were was were
PAST CONTINUOUS VS SIMPLE PAST Ok. The contrast between the simple past and the past continuous, shows the interruption of a continuous past action by a simple past action: I was watching TV when the telephone rang. Past C. S. Past Robert received a message while he was giving a speech. S. Past Past C. To introduce the second action we can use the expressions when and while: To introduce the simple past action use when. To introduce the past continuous action use while. My parents were cooking dinner when the lights went out. Jennifer sprained her ankle while she was training for the race. In simple words, we describe two actions that happened in the past: a continuous action interrupted by a simple action. Time Expressions yesterday last year last night last summer last Friday two days ago last week five months ago last month two years ago last November long time ago last semester in 1987 last vacations
HEALTH PROBLEMS-MEDICINE-REMEDIES Well, as you already know the vocabulary to describe health problems and illnesses is quite extensive, and it s just the same for medicines and remedies. The grammar for this unit requires the use of the modal verbs to make suggestions and express obligation: You should see the doctor. She should take some aspirins. He must get some rest. Talking about medical check-ups, imperatives are common since doctors tell you what to do, what to take and when to take it. Take some vitamins. Apply muscle cream on your shoulder. Breathe deeply and relax. Imperatives are basically orders, and these begin directly with the verb accompanied by the rest of the information: Sleep eight hours and don t work too hard. VOCABULARY Body Parts arm hand shoulder mouth knee skin wrist eye finger neck throat head ankle thumb leg feet nose lip hair elbow hip hand toe ear tongue stomach back chest/breast Health problems / Illnesses a fever earache runny nose exhausted the flu backache a broken arm/leg/bone nauseous a bad cough a cold burn overwhelmed stomachache hangover cut scared a sprained ankle chicken pox insect bite thirsty a black eye smallpox nosebleed uncomfortable sore eyes hiccups annoyed weak neck pain sore throat dehydrated worried headache allergies dizzy Medicines / Remedies cold tablets sunburn spray eye drops ointment insect bite spray ear drops cough drops aspirin chamomile tea with honey sleeping pills nasal decongestant chicken soup
SOME VOCABULARY head eye ear nose teeth mouth neck stomach shoulder elbow arm hand fingers leg toes foot
AND MORE VOCABULARY Common health problems: a backache an earache a headache a stomachache a toothache a cold a cough a fever the flu sore eyes a sore throat Common remedies:
COMPARATIVES-SUPERLATIVES We use different adjectives to describe people, things, situations, etc. Charles is tall*. Sometimes we have to compare two things by means of their qualities, in this case we will use the Comparative adjectives: short adjectives end in er, while long adjectives are preceded by more. Robert is taller than Charles. History is more interesting than Chemistry. In some other cases, we will point out the uniqueness of something (with an adjective). Here, we will use the Superlatives (the + short adjective + -est / the most + long adjective). These are used, mostly, when talking about famous natural wonder, buildings, places, and specific qualities. Phil is the tallest student in the classroom. Adjective Comparative Superlative Irregular adjectives tall taller the tallest good better the best short shorter the shortest bad worse the worst fast faster the fastest Exception slow slower the slowest fun more fun the most fun cheap cheaper the cheapest funny funnier the funniest expensive more expensive the most expensive With nouns interesting more interesting the most interesting seats the most seats boring more boring the most boring tourism the most tourism visited more visited the most visited championships the most championships *Apart from the cases in which we mention proper names, we place all adjectives before any noun. He is a tall guy.
FUTURE Talking about the future is important. To talk about the future, we usually use two forms: will and be going to. We use will to talk about ideas we have about the future. It has not certainty but it is used to talk about long-term plans. It will rain tomorrow. She will buy a new car next year. I will probably travel to Puebla in the summer. Yes/No question: Will you go to the party? Wh-question: What will you do for your birthday? Negative: I won t stay home in the winter. Since will describes an uncertain future, we can use specific words and expressions to reflect this uncertainty: -Maybe -I think -I guess -Probably We use be going to when talking about previously made decisions, things we are really sure will happen. It is used to talk about short and mid-term plans. She s going to have a party. Next week, I m going to fix the car. We are going to visit my grandparents next month. Yes/No question: Are you going to cook dinner? Wh-question: What is she going to wear for the party? Negative: I m not going to paint the house again.