F. Wentworth
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Do the following three exercises: (click on the
exercise.
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
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Use the Past Progressive to talk about an
action that was going on in the past:
Usually used when talking about two
actions.
Two things going on at the same time:
I was watching TV while I was eating dinner.
Or: Something that was going on that was
interrupted by another action. The second
action is in the simple past.
I was eating dinner when the phone rang.
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I
He
She
It
You
We
They
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was
was
was
was
+__________ ing
+ __________ing
+ __________ing
+ __________ing
were +__________ing
were +__________ing
were +__________ing
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Click here for the exercise
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Use the simple past for things that are
finished in the past. Usually there will be a
specific time word that makes it past like:
yesterday, last night, two weeks ago, last
year, in 2006, last September, at 12:00 PM,
etc. You can not use present perfect with
these time words. For example:
I went to the beach last Sunday. (Not I have
gone to the beach…)
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Present perfect is for actions or states of being
that begin in the past but are still going on in the
present, or actions that happened in the past but
have been repeated and have the possibility of
repeating in the future. Time words are not
specific:
Present Perfect often uses time expressions like:
Already/yet
Many times
For/since
Just
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I have already seen that movie. I saw it two
weeks ago.
I have been here for 6 months. I arrived 6
months ago.
I have been here since 2006. I came here in
2006.
I have just had lunch. I had lunch at 12:00.
Exercise
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Use the past perfect when talking about
things in the past that happened before
another thing in the past. For example:
(1)
(2)
I had already eaten when John came by to
visit.
The first thing that happened is in past
perfect. The second is in the past.
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I
You
He
She
It
You
We
They
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Had + Past Participle
** The past participle
is the third column on
your verb lists.**
**For regular verbs it is
the same as the past
tense.**
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I had studied English for two years before I
came to the United States.
After I had eaten lunch, I washed the dishes.
**In speaking people often don’t use the past
perfect so you will hear people say: “After I
ate lunch I washed the dishes.**
Exercise
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Use Passive Voice when the ‘doer’ (the one
performing the action or the subject) is not
known or not important.
For example: That building was built in 1876.
What is more important is the building and
when it was built, not who built it. We also
may not know who built it.
The fire was put out after many hours (by the
firefighters).
We assume that firefighters put out the fire,
so it isn’t necessary to say “by the
firefighters:).
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I
You
He
She
It
You
We
They
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Was + past participle
Was + past participle
Was + past participle
Was + past participle
Was + past participle
Were + past participle
Were + past participle
Were + past participle
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Exercise 1
Exercise 2
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There are two kinds of conditionals: Real
and Unreal.
Real-means something will happen as
long as a condition is met. If it is sunny
tomorrow, we will go to the beach. When
you use the word hope, it is a real
condition. I hope it will be sunny
tomorrow so we can go to the beach.
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Unreal: This is something that will not
happen or did not happen because it
is not possible. If I were rich, I would
travel around the world. The fact is, I
am not rich, so I can’t travel around
the world. When you use the word
wish, it is unreal. I wish I were rich so
that I could travel around the world
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Present: Used with if or when with the
present tense in both clauses: If/When
+present….present.
If (When) it rains, we usually stay home and
read.
Sentences can begin with the if/when clause
or the main clause. We usually stay home
and read when (if) it rains. (no comma when
you begin with the main clause)
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Using if suggests that it doesn’t happen
frequently. When suggests that it is a usual
occurrence.
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Future: Although you don’t really know what
will happen in the future, you know that if a
condition is met, something will happen. It
describes what you think will happen.
If, when +present……simple future
When I have a day off, I will visit you.
If it rains tomorrow, we will stay home and
watch a movie.
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Past Real: The past real conditional describes
what you used to do if a certain condition was
met.
When I was a child, my brothers and I often
played outside.
When I had a day off, I often went to see my
grandmother.
Use If/When + simple past…..simple past
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Present: Used to talk about what you would do in an
imaginary situation.
Use: If+ simple past….would+ verb (base form) (Do
not use when in unreal conditionals)
If I were rich, I would travel around the world.
If I had a car, I would visit you more often.
I would buy that computer if it were (was is often
used in conversation here) cheaper.
Using were in with I, he, she and it, is grammatically
correct, however in conversation people often use
was.
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Modals:
Present unreal: You can use could or might.
If she had time, she might go to the party.
If she were bilingual, she could get a good
job.
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Future: This is formed like the present unreal.
If I had time, I would go to your party
tomorrow.
If you helped me move, I would buy you
dinner. (The person isn’t going to help)
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Past: Use Past unreal conditional to talk about
imaginary things in the past.
If + past perfect…..would have + past
participle
If I had owned a car, I would have driven to
work.
If I had known you were sick, I would have
called you.
If she had had time, she would have helped
you move.
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Modals:
Could have
Might have
If she had lived in Spain, she could have
learned Spanish.
If she had had more money, she might have
traveled more. (She never had enough money
to travel)
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Present:
If it were raining, we would stay home and
watch a movie.
Past:
If it had been raining, we would have stayed
home and watched a movie.
Future:
If we were waiting at the airport when he
arrived, he would be very surprised.
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Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
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Hope: Use with Real Conditional
I hope it rains tomorrow
I hope he will be able to visit next week.
Wish: Use with Unreal.
I wish I were rich.
I wish I had more time
I wish I could speak English fluently.
I wish I had known you were coming. I would
have made dinner for you.
Exercise