MODULE 1 GRAMMAR- SECTION A

 Past simple

 Structure:

 Regular verbs spelling rules:

  Uses:

-Actions that have finished and happened in the past. Ex: I broke my leg.
-To talk about consecutive past actions. Ex: I had dinner and went to bed.
-Say something that happened in a specific time in the past. Ex: You arrived home at 3pm.
-Express or tell how things were in the past. Ex: In the past, women didn´t vote.

 Time expressions:
When using past simple it is possible to use the following expressions. Ago (at the end of the
sentence), last night/week/year, at + an hour, on + a day or a date, in + a year, in the past,
yesterday, etc. They can be located at the beginning or at the end of the sentence, but they are
usually found at the end. Ex: Her parents visited Rome last year.

 THE PAST FOR HAVE GOT STAYS WITH HAD ONLY. Ex: We had an exam yesterday.
NOT We had got an exam yesterday.

 Past continuous

 Structure:
  Uses:
-Actions that were happening in the past. Ex: I was studying last night.
-Describe two or more actions that were happening one after the other. Ex: She was reading
while we were sleeping.

 Time expressions: yesterday morning, last night, ago (at the end of the sentence), at + an hour,
etc. Ex: He was making dinner at seven o´clock yesterday.

 Contrast between past simple and past continuous:

-Meanwhile past simple indicates an action that has already finished, past continuous talks about
actions that lasted and were happening in a specific time in the past. Ex: They painted the house
last month. They were painting the house yesterday afternoon.
-When both tenses appear in the same sentence, it means that an action in progress is interrupted
by one that begins with the expression “when” and a verb in the past tense, while the interrupted
action uses “while or as” and the verb in past continuous. Ex: I was eating when my mum
called me. /I was making dinner when the phone rang. / While we were watching TV, the bell
rang.

 Used to:

 Structure:
 Uses:

Used to expresses a fact or state that was once customary and then ceased to be so. It only has
the past form and is followed by another verb in the base form (infinitive). It is translated as the
pretérito imperfecto of the verb "soler" or of the verb that follows it.
-Affirmative: subject + used to + verb in the base form (infinitive). Ex: We used to go to the
swimming pool every Tuesday.
-Negative: subject + did not + use to + verb in the base form (infinitive). Ex: She didn´t use to
like history lessons.
-Interrogative: Did + subject + use to (NO “d”) + verb in the base form (infinitive). Ex: Did
you use to play tennis on Saturdays?
-Short answers: The subject personal pronoun is used + did or didn´t. Ex: Did she use to
study at night? Yes, she did. /No, she didn´t.