4 C

JHON PULACHE ALBURQUEQUE

Using the past simple

(also called the simple past tense)
When do we need to use the past simple tense in English? Remember, this is the
basic past tense. We use it whenever we want to talk about the past and we don't
have any special situation that means we should use the past perfect, present
perfect, past continuous etc.

Click here for information on how to MAKE this tense

How to choose between the present perfect and past simple

Here's when we use it:

Finished events in the past with no connection to the

present:
Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa.
The Vikings invaded Britain.

With a finished time word (yesterday, last week, at 2

o'clock, in 2003):
I went to the cinema yesterday.
We visited Japan in 2007.

For stories / lists of events:

He went to a caf, sat down and lit a cigarette.
Yesterday I went to the library, met a friend for lunch,
and playedtennis.

Details of news:
I've hurt my leg. I fell off a ladder when I was painting my
bedroom.
I've been on holiday. I went to Spain and Portugal.

As part of the second conditional:

If I won the lottery, I would buy a house in Chelsea.
If she knew his number, she would call him.

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 oclock. I was writing a letter.
Compare:

At eight oclock I wrote some letters.

In July she was working in McDonalds.

.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.

adverbs of manner
backnext
Adverbs of manner are usually formed from adjectives by adding ly:
bad > badly; quiet > quietly; recent > recently; sudden > suddenly
but there are sometimes changes in spelling:
easy > easily; gentle > gently
If an adjective ends in ly we use the phrase in a . way to express manner:
Silly > He behaved in a silly way.
Friendly > She spoke in a friendly way.

A few adverbs of manner have the same form as the adjective:

They all worked hard.
She usually arrives late.
I hate driving fast.
Note: hardly and lately have different meanings:
He could hardly walk = It was difficult for him to walk.
I havent seen John lately = I havent seen John recently.
We often use phrases with like as adverbials of manner:
She slept like a baby.
He ran like a rabbit.

Adverbs of manner and link verbs

We very often use adverbials with like after link verbs:
Her hands felt like ice.
It smells like fresh bread.
But we do not use other adverbials of manner after link verbs. We
use adjectives instead:
They looked happily happy.
That bread smells deliciously delicious.
Try these exercises to practice your use of adverbials of manner.
Try these tasks to practice your use of placement of adverbials.

ADVERBS OF MANNER
Adverbs of manner tell us how something happens. They are usually placed either after the
main verb or after the object.

EXAMPLES

He swims well.

He ran quickly.

She spoke softly.

James coughed loudly to attract her attention.

He plays the flute beautifully. (after the direct object)

He ate the chocolate cake greedily. (after the direct object)

An adverb of manner cannot be put between a verb and its direct object. The adverb must be
placed either before the verb or at the end of the clause.

EXAMPLES

He ate greedily the chocolate cake. [incorrect]

He ate the chocolate cake greedily. [correct]

He greedily ate the chocolate cake. [correct]

He gave us generously the money. [incorrect]

He gave us the money generously. [correct]

He generously gave us the money. [correct]

If there is a preposition before the verb's object, you can place the adverb of manner either
before the preposition or after the object.

EXAMPLES

The child ran happily towards his mother.

The child ran towards his mother happily.

Adverbs of manner should always come immediately after verbs which have no object
(intransitive verbs).

EXAMPLES

The town grew quickly after 1997.

He waited patiently for his mother to arrive.

These common adverbs of manner are almost always placed directly after the verb: well, badly,
hard, & fast

EXAMPLES

He swam well despite being tired.

The rain fell hard during the storm.

The position of the adverb is important when there is more than one verb in a sentence. If the
adverb is placed before or after the main verb, it modifies only that verb. If the adverb is placed
after a clause, then it modifies the whole action described by the clause. Notice the difference in
meaning between the following sentences.

Example
She quickly agreed to re-type the letter.
She agreed quickly to re-type the letter.
She agreed to re-type the letter quickly.
He quietly asked me to leave the house.
He asked me quietly to leave the house.
He asked me to leave the house quietly.

Possessive Adjectives
Possessive Adjective

Noun

Examples:

My dog is big.

Her cat is brown.

Their sister works downtown.

Possessive Pronouns
Noun

Possessive Pronoun

Meaning
the agreement is
quick
the agreement is
quick
the re-typing is
quick
the request is
quiet
the request is
quiet
the leaving is
quiet

Examples:

The dog is mine.

The brown cat is hers.

The car is ours.

Possessive adjectives go before the noun and possessive

pronouns go after the noun. Here are some examples:

This is my car.

The car is mine.

Is that your pen?

Is that pen yours?

Here is a list of the possessive adjectives and possessive

pronouns:

Another way to show possession is to use an apostrophe. For

more information on using the apostrophe, try this page:
Apostrophe Lesson

'Used To'
Download this explanation about 'used to' in PDF.
'Used to + infinitive':
We use this expression to talk about habits or repeated actions in the past which
we don't do in the present. We also use it to talk about states in the past which
are no longer true. For example:

I used to have long hair (but now I have short hair).

He used to smoke (but now he doesn't smoke).

They used to live in India (but now they live in Germany).

Watch out! With the negative and the question it's 'use' and not 'used':

Did you use to be a teacher?

Did he use to study French?

She didn't use to like chocolate, but she does now.

I didn't use to want to have a nice house.

'Would + infinitive'
We can also use 'would + infinitive' to talk about a habit or repeated action in
the past. We usually use 'would + infinitive' in this way when we're telling a
story about the past. So, we can say:

When I was a student, we would often have a drink after class on a

Friday.

When I lived in Italy, we would go to a little restaurant near our house.

However, we don't use 'would + infinitive' to talk about states in the past. So, if
we're talking about the past, we CAN'T say:

I would have long hair.

I would live in Scotland.

'Be used to':

We use 'be used to + verb-ing' to talk about things which feel normal for us or
things that we are accustomed to:

I'm used to getting up early, so I don't mind doing it (= getting up early is

normal for me, it's what I usually do).

My little daughter is used to eating lunch at noon. So she was grumpy

yesterday when we didn't eat until one.

Note that we make the negative or the question with the verb 'be' in the normal
way. The 'used to' doesn't change:

Lucy isn't used to staying up late, so she's very tired today.

Are your children used to walking a lot?

We can also use 'be used to + noun', which has the same meaning:

I've lived in the UK almost all my life, so I'm used to rain (= rain is
normal for me).

That football team always lose, so they're used to disappointment!

We can put the verb 'be' into any tense. So we can talk about things in the past
or the future as well as the present using this expression:

It was difficult when I first started university, because I wasn't used to

the amount of work we had to do.

Soon I'll be used to driving in London and I won't be so frightened!

We can use 'get used to + verb-ing' to talk about the change of not normal to
normal. We can also use this in any tense:

Don't worry if your new job is hard at first. You'll get used to it.

It took me a while, but I got used to speaking another language every day.

It took me a few months to get used to living in Japan. At first everything

seemed very different, but then gradually it became normal for me.

Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. It is called a
"relative" pronoun because it "relates" to the word that its relative clause
modifies. Here is an example:

The person who phoned me last night is my teacher.

In the above example, "who":

relates to "The person", which "who phoned me last night" modifies

introduces the relative clause "who phoned me last night"

There are five relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that*
Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only for people. Whose is for
possession. Which is for things. That can be used for things and people only
in defining relative clauses (clauses that are essential to the sentence and do
not simply add extra information).**
Relative pronouns can refer to singular or plural, and there is no difference
between male and female.
Look at these examples showing defining and non-defining relative clauses:

defining
relative
clauses

example sentences
S=subject, O=object, P=possessive

notes

S - The person who phoned me last

night is my teacher.
- The person that phoned me last
night is my teacher.

"that" is preferable

- The car which hit me was yellow.

- The car that hit me was yellow.
O - The person whom I phoned last
night is my teacher.
- The people who I phoned last night
are my teachers.
- The person that I phoned last night
is my teacher.
- The person I phoned last night is
my teacher.
- The car which I drive is old.
- The car that I drive is old.
- The car I drive is old.

"that" is preferable
"whom" is correct
but formal
relative pronoun is
optional

"that" is preferable
to "which"
relative pronoun is
optional

P - The student whose phone just rang

should stand up.
- Students whose parents are
wealthy pay extra.
- The police are looking for the
car whose driver was masked.
- The police are looking for the car of
which the driver was masked.
non-

S - Mrs Pratt, who is very kind, is my

"whose" can be
used with things
"of which" is also
possible

defining
relative
clauses

teacher.
- The car, which was a taxi,
exploded.
- The cars, which were taxis,
exploded.
O - Mrs Pratt, whom I like very much, is "whom" is correct
my teacher.
but formal
- Mrs Pratt, who I like very much, is
my teacher.
"who" is common in
spoken English and
informal written
English
- The car, which I was driving at the
time, suddenly caught fire.
P - My brother, whose phone you just
heard, is a doctor.
- The car, whose driver jumped out
just before the accident, was
completely destroyed.
- The car, the driver of whichjumped
out just before the accident, was
completely destroyed.

"whose" can be
used with things
"of which" is also
possible

TIME CLAUSES

WHEN
When I finish writing the reports, I will go out with my friends.
She will move to ?zmir when she finds a good job.
When the party is over, well clean the house.
BEFORE
Before I go to Bodrum, Ill book a room.

Murat will visit all his relatives before he joins the army.
They wont transfer any players before they sign the advertising agreement.
AFTER
After her sister prepares dinner, theyll invite their neighbours.
My father will buy a new car after he saves enough money.
What will you do after you finish the French course?
AS SOON AS
They will go to the beach as soon as they have their breakfast.
All the players in the national team will go on holiday as soon as the Europian
Championship is over.
Dont worry mom. I will phone you as soon as I arrive Paris.
UNTIL
You can go out. I will wait until she calls.
They wont start the match until the rain stops.
I wont buy anything new until I pay all my debts.
IF
If I go home early tonight, I will watch the Olympic Games.
Tar?k will buy a new TV set if the prices goes down.
If you pass the test, what will you do?
HAVE YOU NOTICED THE STRUCTURE
when, after, before, as soon as, until, if are followed by SIMPLE PRESENT
TENSE.

Main clauses in these sentences are followed by future will.