Mastering Past Tense: Grammar Unit 3 for ESO Students
Josep Tous School – Barcelona
English Department / 2nd ESO
Teacher: Marga Alegre
Grammar Unit 3: Past Tense
Verb to Be: Was / Were
WAS / WERE = Ser o estar en passat (ESTAVA o ERA).
I WAS
YOU WERE
HE WAS
SHE WAS
IT WAS
WE WERE
YOU WERE
THEY WERE
(+) Subject + WAS / WERE + complements
(-) Subject + WAS / WERE + NOT + complements
WAS + NOT = WASN’T
WERE + NOT = WEREN’T
(?) [Wh- QUESTIONS] + WAS / WERE + Subject + complements?
Josep Tous School – English Department – Teacher: Marga Alegre / Grammar Unit 3 Page 2
Examples:
(+) We were at home yesterday.
(-) We weren’t at home last Friday.
(?) Were we at home last month? Yes, we were / no, we weren’t.
(?) Where were we two weeks ago? … at home.
(+) She was a famous actress.
(-) She wasn’t a famous actress.
(?) Was she a famous actress? Yes, she was / no, she wasn’t.
(?) What was she? She was a famous actress.
There Was / Were
(Past forms of there is / are)
THERE WAS / WERE … = Hi havia …
Singular: (+) There was …
(-) There was not or there wasn’t …
(?) [Wh- QUESTIONS] + was there ….?
Josep Tous School – English Department – Teacher: Marga Alegre / Grammar Unit 3 Page 3
Examples:
(+) There was a fly in the classroom.
(-) There wasn’t a fly in the classroom.
(?) Was there a fly in the classroom?
Yes, there was / no, there wasn’t.
(?) What was there in the classroom? … a fly.
Plural: (+) There were …
(-) There were not or there weren’t …
(?) [Wh- QUESTIONS] + were there ….?
Examples:
(+) There were some flies in the classroom.
(-) There weren’t any flies in the classroom.
(?) Were there any flies in the classroom?
Yes, there were / no, there weren’t.
(?) What were there in the classroom? … flies.
Josep Tous School – English Department – Teacher: Marga Alegre / Grammar Unit 3 Page 4
Past Simple
USE: To express an action that we did or happened in the past.
(+) Subject + VERB IN PAST + complements
REGULAR / IRREGULAR
-ed ending 2nd column of the list
Work / worked run ran run
I worked a lot last year We ran a lot in the PE class yesterday
Special points about regular verbs (only in affirmative):
- -e ending, we only add -d.
dance / danced.
- 1 syllable verb, (c + v + c):
we double the last consonant and we add -ed.
stop / stopped
clap / clapped
Attention! Help – Helped, not helpped !!!
Josep Tous School – English Department – Teacher: Marga Alegre / Grammar Unit 3 Page 5
- Y ending:
If there is a vowel before -y —————— -y never disappears and we add -ed: play / played.
If there is a consonant before -y ———– -y changes into -i and we add -ed: cry / cried.
- -l ending: we write double l and we add -ed.
travel / travelled - Two syllable verb, stressed at the end.
We double the last consonant.
prefer / preferred
(-) Subject + DID + NOT + verb in INFINITIVE + complements
DIDN’T = DID NOT
(?) [Wh- QUESTIONS] + DID + Subject + verb in INFINITIVE + complements ?
Josep Tous School – English Department – Teacher: Marga Alegre / Grammar Unit 3 Page 6
Examples:
Regular verb:
(+) My father worked in a bank two years ago.
(-) My father didn’t work in a bank last year.
(?) Did your father work in a bank 10 years ago?
Yes, he did / no, he didn’t.
(?) Where did your father work two years ago?… in a bank.
(?) When did your father work in a bank? … 10 years ago.
Irregular verb:
(+) My mum made a delicious pizza yesterday.
(-) My mum didn’t make a delicious pizza last week.
(?) Did my mum make a delicious pizza last Saturday?
Yes, she did / no, she didn’t.
(?) What did my mum make two weeks ago? … a pizza.
(?) When did my mum make a delicious pizza?
Josep Tous School – English Department – Teacher: Marga Alegre / Grammar Unit 3 Page 7
Time Expressions:
Yesterday ahir
The day before yesterday abans d´ahir
Last …. week la setmana passada
month el mes passat
year l´any passat
class la darrera classe
2, 3, 4, … days ago Fa 2, 3, 4, …. dies
week setmanes
months mesos
years anys
Position:
We place these time expressions at the end of the sentence and, occasionally, at the beginning with comma