Unit 8 & 9

1. Past simple
We use the past tense to talk about:

a. Completed action in the past:

I met my best friend in 1983.

We went to Spain last year.
They got home very late last night.

b. something that happened several times in the past:

He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met his
colleagues at 10:00.
When I was a boy, I walked a mile to school every day.

c. something that was true for some time in the past:

She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.

He didn't like tomatoes before.
People paid a lot of money to buy cell phone calls in the past

d. Habits in the Past

The simple past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can
have the same meaning as "used to." we often add expressions such as: always, often,
usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.:

I used to walk 10 kilometers every day, when I was at college.

He used to play football with his friends twice a week. ,
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How do we make the Past Simple tense?
 1. Positive sentence

Subject Main verb in the past simple Object

She Visited Her family last week They Wrote An email to their boss I Did My

homework this morning He Started A new job 3 weeks ago

2. Negative sentences
Subject Auxiliary [ did + not] Object
Main verb in the base form

She Didn’t Visit Her family last week They Didn’t Write An email to their boss I Didn’t

Do My homework this morning He Didn’t start A new job 3 weeks ago

3. Yes / no questions
morning ?
Auxiliary [ did] Subject Main verb in the Did He Start A new job 3 weeks ago?
base form Yes, she did No, she didn’t Yes, they did
Object Answer No, they didn’t Yes, I did
No, I didn’t
Did she Visit Her family last week?
Did they Write An email to their boss? Yes, they did No, they didn’t
Did You Do Your homework this

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4. WH questions

WH word Auxiliary Subject Main verb in object answer

verb [ did] the base form

Who Did She visit Last week? Her family

What Did They write To their boss?
When Did You Do Your homework? This morning
An email
Did He Start His new 3 weeks
How many weeks ago job?
Past Simple with main verb be
1. Positive sentence

Subject Verb to be Complement She / he / it was In the park last evening

They / you / we were Very sad yesterday I was At the university last year

2. Negative sentence

Subject Verb to be + not Complement She / he / it Wasn’t In the park last

evening

They / you / we Weren’t Very sad yesterday I Wasn’t At the university last year

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3. Yes /No questions

Verb to be Subject Complement Answer

Was She In the park last evening? Yes, she was No, she wasn’t Yes, they
were They Very sad yesterday? were No, they weren’t Yes, I was
Were You At the university last year No, I wasn’t

4. WH questions

WH word Verb to be Subject Complement Answer Where Was She last evening?
In the park
 Why were They Very sad yesterday? Because they lost their money
When Were You At the university Last year

The spelling of the simple past form (-ed forms)

The rules of the simple past tense forms:

[Link] verbs ending in a silent e take /+d/ in the simple past and past participle:
Example: close=closed

[Link] verbs ending in a vowel + y take /+ed/ in the simple past and past participle:
Example: play=played

[Link] verbs ending in a consonant + y take /-ied/ in the simple past and past participle
(the ' y' becomes an ' i' followed by /-ed/)
Example: marry=married

[Link] the other regular verbs take /-ed/ in the simple past and past participle.
Example: visit=visited

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[Link] there is a consonant after a vowel at the end of the word, double the consonant
Example: stop – stopped , ban – banned, swap – swapped

[Link] British English we double the last 'l' of words like travel, cancel and level even
though the last vowel is not stressed. Here are some examples:
Example: travel – travelled, cancel – cancelled, level - levelled

Pronunciation of [ -ed ]

In English, past tense verbs with an -ed ending are pronounced in three different ways: [t]
, [d] or [Id].

Examples:
1) The -ed verb ending sounds like a [t], “Walked” [wakt],
2) The -ed verb ending sounds like a [d]: “smelled” [smeld]
3) Th –ed verb ending sounds like an [ɪd], “ visited “ [vizitid].
Time expressions used in the past simple

1. Time adverbial: ago [ We use time reference + ago ]

to tells us how long before the present time something happened. It tells us when and
gives us a time or a date. Because we are referring to a specific time in the past, the
simple past is used:

Examples:
The movie ended five minutes ago.
The plane arrived two hours ago.
My son was born six months ago.

[Link] adverbial: last [ We use last + time reference ]

to tell the most recent or nearest to the present day time:
Examples:
I saw a game on TV last night.
My parents traveled to Palestine last month.
She graduated from the university last January.

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[Link] adverbial: yesterday
We use yesterday or yesterday + morning / afternoon / evening to talk about the day
before today:
Examples:
My teacher wore a suit to work yesterday.
We got up early yesterday morning.
She left the hospital yesterday afternoon.
Yesterday evening she called me.

2. Giving Directions and Locations

Asking about directions and location :

Sometimes we or someone need to find a place. And we need to ask someone else for
help. When we’re asking for directions to someone, we use some phrases. These are
given below;

Examples:

How do you get to the bus stop?

 Where is the bus stop?
Where can I find the nearest bus stop?
How do I get to the bus stop?
Is there a bus stop near here?
Do you know where the bus stop is?
Is there a bus stop around here?
Can you tell me how to get to bus stop from here?
How can I get to bus stop?
How do you get to the bus stop from here?

Answering the question:

1. If we don’t know the answer, we can say;

I am sorry.
I don’t know.
I am stranger here myself.

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2. If we or someone know the question, give the directions;

Here are some verbs used for giving directions.

a. Giving Directions to Say ‘Go Straight’;

Go straight.
Go along the road.
Go down or walk down the street.
Go up or walk up the street.
Go past the bus stop.
Go straight ahead
Go straight on past the bus station. ( past the station and continue)

b. Giving Directions to Say ‘Turn’;

Turn right.
Turn left.
Turn left past the bank. ( past the bank and then turn left )
Turn left after the bridge.
Turn right / left at the traffic lights
Go right / left at the end of the road.
Take the first right”.
c. Giving Directions to Say ‘Cross’;
Cross the school.
Pass the school.
You will cross the traffic light.
Cross the bank and you are there.
Go over the bridge.

Giving locations:

Use prepositions for giving locations + using a landmark.

on the left.
on left.
on the right.
on right side.
opposite.
opposite the bank.
on opposite side of the Street.
across the road.
near the traffic light.

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next to Mall.
behind the hospital.
in front of the bus station.
between the bank and the supermarket.
at the end of Gardens Street.
on/at the corner of Mirza street .
over there, near the police station.
(just) around the corner.
just around the corner on the left / right side.
left around the corner next to the market.

Landmarks:

When giving directions we will often use landmarks help the other person understand
where to find it.

These are listed below; traffic lights, crossroads, junction, , T-junction, dead end,,
roundabout, bridge, zebra crossing, stop sign, hospital, police station, shopping centre,
garage, petrol station, Airport, bus stop, station, Bookshop, Building and etc…
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