past perfect

We use the verb had and the past participle for the past perfect:

I had finished the work.
She had gone .

The past perfect continuous is formed with had been and the -ing form of the verb:

I had been finishing the work
She had been going.

The past perfect is used in the same way as the present perfect, but it refers to a time in the past, not the present.

We use the past perfect tense:

·         for something that started in the past and continued up to a given time in the past:

When George died he and Anne had been married for nearly fifty years.
She didn’t want to move. She had lived in Liverpool all her life.

We normally use the past perfect continuous for this:

She didn’t want to move. She had been living in Liverpool all her life.
Everything was wet. It had been raining for hours.

·         for something we had done several times up to a point in the past and continued to do after that point:

He was a wonderful guitarist. He had been playing ever since he was a teenager.
He had written three books and he was working on another one.
I had been watching the programme every week, but I missed the last episode.

We often use a clause with since to show when something started in the past:

They had been staying with us since the previous week.
I was sorry when the factory closed. I had worked there since I left school.
I had been watching that programme every week since it started, but I missed the last episode.

·         when we are reporting our experience and including up to the (then) present:

My eighteenth birthday was the worst day I had ever had.
I was pleased to meet George. I hadn’t met him before, even though I had met his wife several times.

·         for something that happened in the past but is important at the time of reporting:

I couldn’t get into the house. I had lost my keys.
Teresa wasn’t at home. She had gone shopping.

We use the past perfect to talk about the past in conditions, hypotheses and wishes:

I would have helped him if he had asked.
It was very dangerous. What if you had got lost?
I wish I hadn’t spent so much money last month.

past continuous

The past continuous is formed from the past tense of be with the -ing form of the verb:

We use the past continuous to talk about the past:

·         for something which continued before and after another action:

The children were doing their homework when I got home.

Compare:

I got home. The children did their homework.
and
The children did their homework when I got home.

As I was watching television the telephone rang.

This use of the past continuous is very common at the beginning of a story:

The other day I was waiting for a bus when …
Last week as I was driving to work … 

·         for something that happened before and after a particular time:

It was eight o’clock. I was writing a letter.

Compare:

At eight o’clock I wrote some letters.

In July she was working in McDonald’s.

·         .to show that something continued for some time:

My head was aching.
Everyone was shouting.

·         for something that was happening again and again:

I was practising every day, three times a day.
They were meeting secretly after school.
They were always quarrelling.

·         with verbs which show change or growth:

The children were growing up quickly.
Her English was improving.
My hair was going grey.
The town was changing quickly.

past simple

Forms

With most verbs the past tense is formed by adding -ed:

call >> called; like >> liked; want >> wanted; work >> worked

But there are a lot of irregular past tenses in English. Here are the most common irregular verbs in English, with their past tenses:

infinitive	irregular past
be begin break bring buy build choose come cost cut do draw drive eat feel find get give go have hear hold keep know leave lead let lie lose make mean meet pay put run say sell send set sit speak spend stand take teach tell think understand wear win write	was/were began broke brought bought built chose came cost cut did drew drove ate felt found got gave went had heard held kept knew left led let lay lost made meant met paid put ran said sold sent set sat spoke spent stood took taught told thought understood wore won wrote

Use

We use the past tense to talk about:

·         something that happened once in the past:

I met my wife in 1983.
We went to Spain for our holidays.
They got home very late last night.

·         something that happened again and again in the past:

When I was a boy I walked a mile to school every day.
We swam a lot while we were on holiday.
They always enjoyed visiting their friends.

·         something that was true for some time in the past:

I lived abroad for ten years.
He enjoyed being a student.
She played a lot of tennis when she was younger.

·         we often use phrases with ago with the past tense:

I met my wife a long time ago.

Questions and negatives

We use did to make questions with the past tense:

When did you meet your wife?
Where did you go for your holidays?
Did she play tennis when she was younger?
Did you live abroad?

But look at these questions:

Who discovered penicillin?
Who wrote Don Quixote?

For more on these questions see question forms

We use didn’t (did not) to make negatives with the past tense:

They didn’t go to Spain this year.
We didn’t get home until very late last night.
I didn’t see you yesterday. 

past tense

There are two tenses in English – past and present.

The past tense in English is used:

·         to talk about the past

·         to talk about hypotheses – things that are imagined rather than true.

·         for politeness.

There are four past tense forms in English:

Tense	Form
Past simple:	I worked
Past continuous:	I was working
Past perfect:	I had worked
Past perfect continuous:	I had been working

We use these forms:

·         to talk about the past:

He worked at McDonald’s. He had worked there since July..
He was working at McDonald’s. He had been working since July.

·         to refer to the present or future in conditions:

He could get a new job if he really tried.
If Jack was playing they would probably win.

and hypotheses:

It might be dangerous. Suppose they got lost.
I would always help someone who really needed help.

and wishes:

I wish it wasn’t so cold.

·         In conditions, hypotheses and wishes, if we want to talk about the past, we always use thepast perfect:

I would have helped him if he had asked.
It was very dangerous, What if you had got lost?
I wish I hadn’t spent so much money last month.

·         We can use the past forms to talk about the present in a few polite expressions:

Excuse me, I was wondering if this was the train for York.
I just hoped you would be able to help me.

present continuous

The present continuous tense is formed from the present tense of the verb be and the present participle (-ing form) of a verb:

Use

1. We use the present continuous tense to talk about the present:

·         for something that is happening at the moment of speaking:

I’m just leaving work. I’ll be home in an hour.
Please be quiet. The children are sleeping.

·         for something which is happening before and after a given time:

At eight o’clock we are usually having breakfast.
When I get home the children are doing their homework.

·         for something which we think is temporary:

Michael is at university. He’s studying history.
I’m working in London for the next two weeks.

·         for something which is new and contrasts with a previous state:

These days most people are using email instead of writing letters.
What sort of clothes are teenagers wearing nowadays? What sort of music are they listening to?

·         to show that something is changing, growing or developing:

The children are growing quickly.
The climate is changing rapidly.
Your English is improving.

·         for something which happens again and again:

It’s always raining in London.
They are always arguing.
George is great. He’s always laughing.

Note: We normally use always with this use.

2. We use the present continuous tense to talk about the future:

·         for something which has been arranged or planned:

Mary is going to a new school next term.
What are you doing next week?

3. We can use the present continuous to talk about the past:

present simple

The present tense is the base form of the verb: I work in London.

But the third person (she/he/it) adds an -s: She works in London.

Use

We use the present tense to talk about:

·         something that is true in the present:

I’m nineteen years old.
He lives in London.
I’m a student.

·         something that happens again and again in the present:

I play football every weekend.

We use words like sometimes, often. always, and never (adverbs of frequency) with the present tense:

I sometimes go to the cinema.
She never plays football.

·         something that is always true:

The adult human body contains 206 bones.
Light travels at almost 300,000 kilometres per second.

  

·         something that is fixed in the future.

The school term starts next week.
The train leaves at 1945 this evening.
We fly to Paris next week.

Questions and negatives

Look at these questions:

Do you play the piano?
Where do you live?
Does Jack play football?
Where does he come from?
Do Rita and Angela live in Manchester?
Where do they work?

·         With the present tense, we use do and does to make questions. We use does for the third person (she/he/it) and we use do for the others.

 We use do and does with question words like where, what and why:

 But look at these questions with who:

Who lives in London?
Who plays football at the weekend?
Who works at Liverpool City Hospital?

Look at these sentences:

I like tennis, but I don’t like football. (don’t = do not)
I don’t live in London now.
I don’t play the piano, but I play the guitar.
They don’t work at the weekend.
John doesn’t live in Manchester. (doesn’t = does not)
Angela doesn’t drive to work. She goes by bus.

·         With the present tense we use do and does to make negatives. We use does not (doesn’t) for the third person (she/he/it) and we use do not (don’t) for the others.

Grammar Pattern 10: Questions with "Which"

Grammar Pattern 10: Questions with "Which" 
(This is a good pattern when you want to know your speaking partner's choice or what he/she likes. After you hear your partner's answer, you can ask another question to "follow up". Have fun!)

Model Sentence 
Which do you like better, fish or meat?

Pronunciation Practice - Repeat each question out loud!

1. Which do you like more, TV or movies? 
2. Which do you prefer, bread or rice? 
3. Which season is your favorite? 
4. Which time of the year is best in your hometown? 
5. Which is more interesting, watching sports or playing sports?

Conversation Practice - Ask these questions to your friends!

1. Which sport is your favorite? 
2. Which job is best for you? 
3. Which sound in English is hardest for you to make? 
4. Which do you like more, reading books or listening to music? 
5. Which did you enjoy more, your high school days or your elementary school days?

Discussion Practice - Give longer answers to these questions.

1. Which is more important to you, being rich or being happy? 
2. Which do you think is more dangerous, eating too much or driving too fast?

Grammar Pattern 9: "Have you ever...?"

Grammar Pattern 9: "Have you ever...?" 
(This is one of the best ways to start interesting conversations in English! Learn them well, listen for your speaking partner's answer. Finally ask follow-up questions to keep on talking on any topic in English.)

Model Sentence 
Have you ever been to China?

Pronunciation Practice - Repeat each question out loud!

1. Have you been to California? 
2. Have you seen any good movies recently? 
3. Have you ever seen a ghost? 
4. Has your sisters seen your new car? 
5. Has English become easier or more difficult for you? 
6. Has your hometown changed a lot in the past ten years?

Conversation Practice - Ask these questions to your friends!

1. Have you read any good books this year? 
2. Have you travelled somewhere interesting in your life? 
3. Have you ever tried a dangerous sport? 
4. Have you studied a foreign language other then English? 
5. Has anyone told you an interesting story recently?

Discussion – Give longer answers to these questions.

1. Would you enjoy flying an airplane by yourself? 
2. Could we have a cheap electric car in the future? 
3. Should cloning (making a "copy" of people!) be allowed in the future? 
4. What should people do to make our world cleaner? 
5. How could we make a million dollars in a short time? 
6. Where should we put all of the world's garbage?

Grammar Pattern 8: Conditional Questions

               

          Grammar Pattern 8: Conditional Questions 


(These questions use "would" and "could" but they are NOT polite questions! Instead, they are questions about "possibilities". These questions are VERY good for starting interesting conversations.)Model Sentence
Would you like to travel to the moon some day?

Pronunciation Practice - Repeat each question out loud!

1. Would you like to visit London? (Yes, I would. / No, I wouldn't.)
2. Could you take a train to work next week? (Yes, we could. / No, we couldn't.)
3. Should we study this for the test? (Yes, you should. / No, you shouldn't.)
4. Would you have studied harder as a student? [If you had another chance.] (Yes, I would have. / No, I wouldn't have.)
5. Could you have found a better way? (Yes, I could have. / No, I couldn't have.
6. Should you have asked for help before the test? (Yes, we should have. / No, we shouldn't have.)

Conversation Practice - Ask these questions to your friends!

1. Would you like to travel in space?
2. Would you like to visit the moon?
3. Could a lion beat an alligator in a fight?
4. Could a time machine be built in the future?
5. Should we spend more time at work or with our families?
6. Should we give money to poor people on the streets?

Discussion – Give longer answers to these questions.

1. Would you enjoy flying an airplane by yourself?
2. Could we have a cheap electric car in the future?
3. Should cloning (making a "copy" of people!) be allowed in the future?
4. What should people do to make our world cleaner?
5. How could we make a million dollars in a short time?
6. Where should we put all of the world's garbage