PAST SIMPLE (Notes)

The past simple is used to express a finished past action which occurs

at a specific moment in the past.

Examples:

 Statement - She visited Paris last month.

 Negative - They didn’t go to Tom's party last weekend.
 Question - Where did you go on vacation last summer?

The following time signifiers often indicate a specific point in time:

 last
 ago
 in ... (plus a year or month)
 yesterday
 when ... (plus a phrase)

Examples:

 They had lunch at home last week .

 He left the company many years ago .
 Susan bought a new car in May .
 He telephoned his friend in Rome yesterday .
  I played golf when I was a teenager .

STATEMENT.

Subject + past form of verb + object(s) + time

Examples:

 They flew to Chicago last month.

 Peter completed his course three weeks ago.

Negative Form

Subject + + did not + simple form of verb + object(s) + (time).

Examples:

 They didn't expect to see you at Christmas..

 She didn't understand the question.

Question Form.

( + Wh?) + did + subject + simple form of verb + (object(s))+ (time)?

Examples:

 Where did you study French?
 When did you arrive last week?
PAST SIMPLE SPELLING
In the English language when we talk about something that happened in
the past, or about something that was true in the past, we use a tense
called the Past Simple .

The Past Simple has two past forms of verbs – Regular and Irregular –

with all regular verbs the past is formed by adding “ ed ” or “ d ” to the
simple form of the verb.

Note: It is necessary to memorize the past form of the irregular verbs as

there is no logical spelling rule.

SPELLING RULES: (regular verbs)

For verbs which end in “ e ”: just add “ d ”

- - - - - - Enslave (present) – Enslaved (past)

For verbs which end with a “consonant + y ”: change the “y” to “I” and add
“ ed ”

- - - - - Party (present) – Partied (past)

For verbs which end with a “consonant + vowel + consonant” you have to
double the last consonant and add “ed”

- - - - - - Pop (present) – Popped (past)

Future with "Going To"
Future with "going to"
Basic structure: Subject + "be" + going to + simple verb.

 An action (or intention) in the near future that has already

been planned or prepared.

Example:

o I am going to study harder next year.

 A conclusion regarding the immediate future.

Example:

o The sky is absolutely dark. It is going to rain.

 Affirmative : I am going to speak.

 Negative : I am not going to speak.
 Question : Am I going to speak?
TRANSPORTATION IN THE FUTURE
Transportation in the future.

In the future cars are going to be more efficient. Scientists are developing
“hybrid” cars that run on gasoline and electric power. They say that in 10
years “hybrid” cars will be able to drive over 100 kilometers with just one
liter of gasoline. Another option, scientists say, is the hydrogen fuel cell.
“The use of the hydrogen fuel cell is going to be the most revolutionary
development in transportation in the last 50 years!” claims scientist
Günter Schultz. The advantage of hydrogen fuel cells will be the lack of
pollution. The only exhaust created with a hydrogen fuel cell is water.
Hopefully, sometime soon scientists and automotive manufacturers will
join together to make these cars available to consumers worldwide.
PRESENT PERFECT
Present Perfect / Presente Perfecto
El presente perfecto se utiliza para hablar sobre dos tiempos a la vez: el
presente y el pasado. De hecho se puede decir que muy a menudo se
utiliza una sola frase en presente perfecto en lugar de una en presente
simple y otra en pasado simple.

We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an

unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important.
You CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions
such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I
lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the
Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once,
many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.

FORM
[has/have + past participle]

Examples:

 You have seen that movie many times.

 Have you seen that movie many times?
 You have not seen that movie many times.
PASSIVE VOICE
Active / Passive Verb Forms
Sentences can be either active or passive . Therefore, tenses also have
“active forms” and “passive forms.”

Active Form:

In “active” sentences, the thing or person doing the action is the

subject of the sentence and the thing or person receiving the action of
the verb is the object.

In the English language most sentences are active.

Structure – Active Voice

Subject + verb + complement (whatever receives the action of the verb)

Example:

- - - - - -The professor - - teaches - - the students

- - - - - - - Subject - - - - - - - verb - - - - - object

- - - - doing the action - - - - - - - - - - - receiving action

Passive Form

In passive sentences, the thing or person that received the action of the
verb in an “active” sentence becomes the subject of the sentence.
We use the passive form when we think the thing or person receiving the
action of the verb is more important or should be emphasized.

Example:

The students are taught by the professor.

The dishes were washed by my mother.

Compare: . . . . . . . Active - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Passive

 Margaret cleans the house once a week. - - - - - - - The house is

cleaned once a week by Margaret.
 Sarah is writing a letter. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A letter is being
written by Sarah.
 Johnson repaired the car. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The car was
repaired by Johnson.
 Jimmy was helping the old man. - - - - - - - - - - - - The old
man was being helped by Jimmy.
 Many tourists have visited Oaxaca. - - - - - - - - - - Oaxaca has
been visited by many tourists.
 Michael has been seeing Janet’s sister. - - - - - - - - Janet’s
sister has been seeing Michael
A change of lifestyle.
If you decide to study in the university, it is important to consider making
some changes in your daily life. First you must stop being a child and
start to act mature. It is also a good idea to begin taking responsability for
your actions and learn to manage your time and recourses well. If you
intend to graduate on time, you should plan to study a lot and avoid failing
classes. Another way to make a transition to the "university life" is to
arrange a visit to a university campus before you enroll, so that you can
talk to students and experience classes.

Regardless of where you decide to attend, or what major you decide to

study, it is important not to forget to feel fortunate at having been given
the chance to study. Also, among all of the personal changes that you
might make, don't forget to enjoy being a university student.
GERUNDS AND PRESENT PARTICIPLES
PRESENT PARTICIPLES AND GERUNDS
In English a Gerund is a word that functions as a noun, (a verb is changed
into a noun). It is derived by adding ‘–ing’ to the end of a verb (Walk),

 Example: “Walking is a good way of exercising”.

A Present participle is formed by adding ‘-ing’ to the verb, as in ‘watching’,

 Example: “He may be watching the game now”.

A gerund can be used:

as the subject of the sentence.

 Example: Waiting for a doctor’s appointment can take a

long time.

as the object of a verb.

 Example: “Please stop complaining!”

after a verb.

 Example: The house needs redecorating.

as the object of a preposition.

  Example: We are tired after walking for two hours.

after a phrasal verb (a two-part verb).

 Example: If we carry on working, we can complete it today.

A present participle is used:

Immediately after a subject to which it refers.

 Example: People swimming in the rain have to be really

careful.

after a verb.

 Example: He went fishing with his friends.

after a noun. It tells us what a person or thing is doing.

 Example: She heard them talking about her.

 Example: I saw a rock rolling down the hill.

as an adjective.

 Example: That book is interesting.

to form the continuous tense.

 Example: He is running in the marathon.

PRONOUNS AND DEMONSTRATIVES
"Be" Present Simple = am is are
We can use pronouns instead of nouns as the subject.

I - - am - - a student

pronoun "I" replaces the name of the person.

Examples:

 He is a friend = Bob is my friend.

 She is in the garden = Mary is in the garden.
 It is red = The car is red.
 You are a good doctor.
 They are Mexican = Pedro and Lupe are Mexican.
 They are brothers = Harry and Charles are brothers.
 We are intelligent = Linda and I are intelligent.

Note:

 The subject pronoun "You" can be used

as singular or plural.
 It is used for a thing, an animal or an abstract concept.
  They is used for two or more people, things, animals or
abstract concepts.

I’m an English student.

I'm is a contraction of the pronoun and verb I am

Examples:


o He's an engineer.
o It's very good.
o They're in the museum.
o It's a gym.
o We're Spanish.
o That's my book.
o She's angry.

Demonstrative pronouns

This - - is my book.
The demonstrative pronouns This (singular) / These (plural) show
if something/s or somebody is near the speaker. 

The demonstrative pronouns That (singular)/Those (plural) indicate
if something/s or some people sre far/distant from the speaker. 

Examples:

 That is a modern factory.

 These are my relatives.
 Those are new.
 This is my mother.
 That is an interesting city.
 Those are Italian.
 These are cheap stores.