Search results for 'tag:Conversations tag:Simple past' matching tags 'Conversations' and 'Simple past'

Re: find: in present perfect or simple past?

mbouti — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:28:17 GMT

my opinion is below.

âI found the book.â is right one. The verve âfindâ usually happen in the past when you talk on the phone conversation.

Re: Filipinisms/Filipinoisms? Ring a bell?

Mister Micawber — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:07:37 GMT

.
I would consider this exercise damagingly prescriptive; most are neither uniquely Filipino nor wrong. However (and my comments refer to AmE/BrE):

1. Free subscription of... (Free subscription toâ¦) - prepo issue-- AmE/BrE uses the collocation subscribe to.
2. Can I speak withâ¦? (May I speak withâ¦) - To sound more polite/ask permission?-- Both OK. 'Can' is more casual but just as common.
3. Come again? (I'm sorry I didn't get quite get that / Excuse me? / I'm sorry would you please say that again?) - English trainers discourage agents to use this because they say that it could mean 'cum again')-- The English trainers are nuts. Come again is common and casual. Your examples in parentheses are overly formal for most situations.
4. It's for free! (It's free. / It's free of charge. / We're sending it to you for free.) - Filipinos have been used to saying 'It's for free'. How do I say that it should be avoided? What makes it wrong?-- Nothing makes it wrong; it's fine.
5. Hold your line/For awhileâ¦ (Would you mind if I put you on hold for a second? / Please hold) - hold your line is absurd. any comment? what about for awhile?-- I agree that 'Hold your line' is not natural in AmE/BrE. 'Please hold' or 'Could you hold, please' is the usual.
6. Open/ close the light/computer (Turn on/off the light/TV/computer) - how do I explain this? it sounds like opening/closing the tv for repair.- This seems to be a direct translation from Spanish? Tagalog? At least, it is the same error that Japanese make.
7. Do you mind waiting? Yes, I'll wait. (No, not at all. / No, I don't mind at all.) - YES is the issue. wrong response. any other feedback?-- 'Yes' is logically wrong but common when the tag ( e.g. 'I'll wait') is also present; speakers seldom have the opportunity to stop and think about the 'Do you mind?' form, and this includes native AmE/BrE speakers.
8. Anything? (Is there anything I can do for you? / How may I help you?) - fragmented, seems vague?-- Yes, it seems vague and fragmentary out of context.
9. I'll ask her an apology. (I'll apologize to her. / I should make an apology.) - this sounds illogical?-- Not a natural AmE/BrE formation.
10. We take lunch. (We eat lunch. / We have lunch (every Sunday).)-- 'Take' seems to be an occasional replacement in this context in many Englishes. It is not an egregious variation.
11. We accept repairs. (This shop repairs cars/cellphones, etc.)-- Seems fine to me.
12. We accept painting jobs. (This shop does painting jobs.)- Quite common.
13. Tuck out (Untuck)- Odd.
14. He was salvaged. (He was assassinated.)-- A new meaning for the word for me, and it is not in the dictionary. Perhaps some confusion with 'savaged'?
15. She delivered her baby yesterday. (She had her baby yesterday. / Dr. Smith delivered her baby.)-- This is fine. From the dictionary-- 'to give birth to: She delivered twins at 4 a.m. '
16. Xerox (Photocopy)-- Very common in AmE at least. Among my generation, 'to xerox' is perhaps more usual than 'to photocopy'.
17. Oppositor (Opposition member)-- A new word for me. Not a bad formation, but perhaps difficult to understand by foreigners.
18. Hand carry (Carry - on luggage)-- A new word, but reasonable.
19. It's traffic today. (Traffic is heavy.) -- It seems vague and fragmentary
20. Senatoriable (Senatorial candidate) -- Odder than #17
21. At around 2pm (At about 2pm) - around is Am? about is Brit?- Very common in AmE; it also appears with this meaning in the Cambridge dictionary.
22. I failed in Accent training. (I failed accent training.)-- A common expression, though I prefer your alternative.
23. We were under Mr. Johnson. (Mr. Johnson was our teacher.) - Filipinos are used to saying 'That student is under my class' so this filipinism has started.-- In context, 'We were under Mr. Johnson' sounds fine, while 'That student is under my class' does not.
24. My brother is taking up law. (My brother is taking law. / My brother is studying law.) -- 'Take up' is common, but means the overall intention, not just the matriculation.
25. Where are you studying? (Where do you go to school? / What school do you go to?)- 'Where are you studying' is fine.
26. Pass by my office before you go. (Drop by my office before you go.) - Brit/Am phrasal?-- Not AmE, at least. 'Stop by' or 'Drop by'.
27. We have one participant only. (We only have one participant.) - should they say 'only one participant'?-- The 'only' can go in several places; at the end is one of those places.
28. I talked to her already. (I already talked to her.) - I need help on adverb order. This confuses all Filipinos and me too. Where should adverbs be placed?- Adverbs are relatively variable in their placement. In this case, both are all OK. More interesting is that AmE uses simple past more consistently with 'yet' and 'already' than does BrE, which prefers the perfect aspect.
29. Will you be at the office at 7am? Actually. (Will you be at the office at 7am? Yes.)-- Not AmE/BrE
30. Actually, I like Jennifer Aniston. (I like Jennifer Aniston.) - Actually/basically has become Filipinos expressions.-- I wouldn't say that it is unique to Filipinos; many AmE speakers develop the habit in various contexts. Too much is too much, however.
31. As per Paul, all request forms should be signed by him. (As per Paul's instructions, all request forms should be signed by him.)-- This is common bizspeak throughout the English-speaking world.
32. Wanted: Sewer (Wanted: Tailor or seamstress)-- Yes, it is certainly open to misinterpretation! But 'seamstress' is sexist.
33. Take home (Take it home / To go. / For take out)-- 'Take home food' seems like a regional variant of 'take out food'.
34. I felt kind of tired. (I felt rather tired.)-- 'Kind of' is very common in informal AmE.
35. As to the projectâ¦ (About the projectâ¦)-- A common formality in most Englishes.
36. Thank you for that/this one. (Thank you for the information. / Thank you.) - I need to send this in a few minutes and I still couldn't think of an explanation. Phrasing sounds awkward to me. But besides getting straight to the point, why did 'for that/this one' make it wrong?-- 'One' is wrongly used; 'information' is uncountable.
37. I do love playing basketball/volleyball. (I love playing basketball/volleyball.) - this may sound right depending on the flow of the conversation, right? e.g. you don't love playing... No, I do...-- You are correct. This is called the emphatic 'do'.
38. Currently, I live in Quezon City right now. (Currently, I live in Quezon City. / I live in Quezon City.) - redundant - now and currently.- Yes, redundant.
39. Actually, I like Microsoft, Symantec and Adobe (I like Microsoft Symantec and Adobe)-- The comma is necessary if Microsoft and Symantec are different softwares.
40. As per Mon, all request forms should be signed by him. (As per Paul's instructions, all request forms should be signed by him.)-- This is the same as #31, and OK.
41. I do apologize (I apologize.)-- This is fine indeed. It is the same as #37, and is more polite than your bracketed alternative.
.

Re: find: in present perfect or simple past?

CalifJim — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:32:02 GMT

I don't understand why "I have found a book I like" would be wrong -- not as an isolated sentence, at least.

It must have been something else in the context of your phone conversation that caused your friend's reaction.

paul_h
to be correct after a week?

The amount of time that has passed rarely has an influence on the choice between those tenses.

I saw the strangest thing this morning.

Philosophers of the nineteenth century have contributed much to our understanding of consciousness.

Re: Written english vs spoken english

Yankee — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:14:00 GMT

The conversations have been quite varied and in a wide variety of contexts, about both spoken and written English. As I'm sure you know, there are other things that might be different too. However, in my experience, simple past vs present perfect usage is one of the variations that tends to be picked up on. And, no, my experience is not that Americans usually blurt out "So-and-so said such-and-such incorrectly." Instead I've usually heard more general comments along the lines of "different" or "weird". And whenever possible, I've then tried to get the commenter to elaborate. As I said, people are sometimes able to nail down specifics fairly readily. Sometimes it takes some prying to find out. Sometimes whatever it was that seemed "weird" doesn't get nailed down at all.

Of course, in conversations between British and American ESL teachers, the actual names of the verb forms will be used, and the conversation will tend to get much more specific. Depending on the personalities and experience of the teachers involved, that's probably the most likely time that someone might just blurt out "So-and-so said such-and-such incorrectly", don't you think?

Re: Simple Past Lesson Plan

Mister Micawber — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:22:11 GMT

.
Oh, I can always find something else (but I may have messed up your formatted columns):

Lesson Plan

Preparation

Level : Elementary

Lesson Length: 45 minutes

Objective: To be able to use the Past Simple question forms and short answers.

Target Language: did + subject + base form of verb ( Did your mother call you? )

Question word + did + subject + base form of verb ( What did you do last night? )

Short answers:

Yes + subject + did ( Did it rain? Yes, it did.)

No + subject + didn't ( Did Helen come to the party? No, she didn't. )

Assumed knowledge: Past Simple (regular / irregular verbs, negative form)

Anticipated problems:

Students may use a past form of the main verb to make the question instead of using the base form. E.g. Did you went?

Solutions:

During the presentation stage, draw students' attention to the fact that 'Did' does not change its form. 'Did' is always used to form the question in the Past Simple.(This is not true for the verb 'be' and sometimes the verb 'have'.)
Point out the verb tense in the question form. Did + subject + base form of the verb
Drill individually and chorally.
Practice making questions. Monitoring for errors and having students unscramble sentences

can also help to work on sentence structure problems.

Preparation and Aids: Simple reading text ,dialogue, in the Simple Past, using vocabulary that

students are already familiar with. Handout for homework correcting sentences. Four pictures of people doing things.

Lesson Plan

Stage	Activity	Interaction	Timing
1	Warmer : Timed Scattergories (*spelling? I don't know this word) with pre-chosen* themes (food, things you do on the weekend, etc) Review homework from last class	TS ST	5 mins
2	Introduction : Have two students stand up for a moment to set the scene; elicit their names. Then they can sit down. Write them on the board. Hand out the dialogue between these two friends who are talking about their past weekend. (A dialogue that mostly contains vocabulary the students are familiar with)	TS SS	1 min
3	Have students read the dialogue and answer gist questions about it to check their understanding.	S ST	3 min
4	Ask students to focus on the language used by asking what question Â« A Â» asked Â« B Â». Write this question on the board.	TS ST	1 min
5	Presentation : Show students how it is formed Did + subject + base Did you have a good weekend ? Point out that we don't use the past form of the main verb in questions, but always the base (or dictionary) form	TS	5 min
6	Drill chorally and individually. Focus on pronunciation and correct structure.	TST	2 min
7	Elicit: Draw students' attention to the short answer and explain the positive and the negative structures. Yes + subject + did -- Yes, I did. No + subject + didn't -- No, I didn't.	TS
8	Drill chorally and individually and then conduct a controlled question-and-answer drill around the class : E.g : Â« Sandrine ask Didier...(point to an action on the board : - go to the restaurant / movies / market / bank / etc.) Â» Sandrine: Â« Did you go to the restaurant? Â« Didier: Â« Yes, I did. Â» etc.	ST SS	2 min 5 min
9	Pairwork : Students ask and answer questions from the board and note down their partners' answers. The focus here is on correct pronunciation and structure, so it is important to correct any errors by referring to the structures on the board.	PW	5 min
10	Controlled Oral Practice : Use dialogue text as a basis to talk about what the two characters did on the weekend. Also use visual support such as a picture of a restaurant to prompt questions. For example, show a picture of two friends having a conversation; encourage them to produce the following question : Â« Did they go to a restaurant ? -- Yes, they did / No, they didn't. Â» Give four picture examples as prompts.	TS SS TS	1 min 2 min
11	Monitor closely. Correct errors by using what's already on the board as a point of reference.	TS	1 min
12	If students are performing well, turn focus to what they themselves did on the weekend. They ask each other questions and give short answers.	PW	5 min
13	Follow up with controlled written practice. For example, use questions and answers in which the words are all mixed up ; students put the words back into the correct order.	S	5 min
14	Homework : a transformation exercise (changing affirmative statements into questions and short answers)

Re: Simple Past Lesson Plan

mzl14000 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:57:02 GMT

Hello again,
Here is a cleaned-up version of my lesson plan. I'm an insecure wreck, therefore I dare ask for another look at my work...
Thanks again for the earlier help.
MZL

Lesson Plan
Preparation

Level : Elementary

Lesson Length: 45 minutes

Objective: To be able to use the Past Simple question forms and short answers.

Target Language: did + subject + base form of verb ( Did your mother call you? )

Question word + did + subject + base form of verb

( What did you do last night? )

Short answers:

Yes + subject + did ( Did it rain? Yes, it did.)

No + subject + didn't ( Did Helen come to the party? )

Assumed Knowledge: Past Simple ( regular / irregular verbs ,negative form )

Anticipated Problems:

Students may use a past form of the verb to make the question instead

of using the Simple form. E.g. Did you went?

Solutions:

During the presentation stage, draw students' attention to the fact that 'Did' does not change its form. 'Did' is always used to form the question in the Past Simple.
Point out the verb tense in the question form. Did + subject + base form of the verb
Drill individually and chorally.
Practice making questions. Monitoring for errors and having them put scrambled sentences

in order can also help to work on sentence structure problems.

Preparation and Aids: Simple reading text ,dialogue, in the Simple Past using vocabulary that

students are already familiar with. Handout for homework correcting sentences. Four pictures of people doing things.

Lesson Plan

Stage	Activity	Interaction	Timing
1	Warmer : Timed Scatergories with pre-picked themes (food, things you do on the weekend...) Review homework from last class	TS ST	5 mins
2	Introduction : Have two students stand up for a moment to set the scene; elicit their names. Then they can sit down. Write them on the board. Hand out the dialogue between these two friends who are talking about their past weekend. (A dialogue that mostly contains vocabulary the students are familiar with)	TS SS	1 min
3	Have students read the dialogue and answer gist questions on it to check their understanding.	S ST	3 min
4	Ask students to focus on the language used by asking what question Â« A Â» asked Â« B Â». Write this question on the board.	TS ST	1 min
5	Presentation : Show students how it is formed Did + Subject + base Did you have a good weekend ? Point out that we don't use the past form of the verb in questions, but always the base ( or dictionary ) form	TS	5 min
6	Drill chorally and individually. Focus on pronunciation and correct structure.	TST	2 min
7	Elicit : Draw students attention to the short answer and explain the positive and the negative structures. Yes + Subject + did Yes, I did. No + Subject + didn't No, I didn't.	TS
8	Drill chorally and individually and then conduct a controlled question-and-answer drill around the class : E.g : Â« Sandrine ask Didier...(point to an action on the board : - go to the restaurant - go to the movies ) Â» - go to the market - go to the bank Sandrine: Â« Did you go to the restaurant? Â« Didier: Â« Yes, I did. Â» etc.	ST SS	2 min 5 min
9	Pairwork : Students ask and answer questions from the board and note down their partners' answers. The focus here is on correct pronunciation and structure so it is important to correct any errors by referring to the structures on the board.	PW	5 min
10	Controlled Oral Practice : Use Dialogue text as a basis to talk about what the two characters did on the weekend. Also use visual support such as a picture of a restaurant to prompt questions. For example show a picture of two friends having a conversation ; encourage them to produce the following question : Â« Did they go to a restaurant ? Yes, they did / No, they didn't. Â» Give four picture examples as prompts.	TS SS TS	1 min 2 min
11	Monitor closely. Correct errors by using what's already on the board as a point of reference.	TS	1 min
12	If students are performing well, turn focus to what they did on the weekend. They ask each other questions and give short answers.	PW	5 min
13	Follow up with controlled written practice. I could use questions and answers where the words are all mixed up ; students put the words back in the correct order.	S	5 min
14	Homework : a transformation exercise (changing affirmative statements into questions and short answers)	S	2 min

Re: Simple Past Lesson Plan

Mister Micawber — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:18:55 GMT

.
Overall, it should work fine, MZL. A few corrections and fewer comments:

Objective: To be able to use the Past Simple question forms and short answers.

Target Language: did + subject + base (or 'dictionary') form of verb ( Did your mother call you? ) -- It is best to save the term 'infinitive' for that function.

Question word + did + subject + base form of verb ( What did you do last night? )

Anticipated Problems: Students may use statements without using the auxiliary verb.

E.g. You went out yesterday? -- This is a common question form in current English. It cannot be considered incorrect.

Solutions:

During the presentation stage, draw students' attention to the fact that 'Did' does not change its form. 'Did' is always used to form the question in the Past Simple.
Point out the verb tense in the question form. Did + subject + base form of the verb

Preparation and Aids: Simple reading text ,dialogue, in the Simple Past using vocabulary that

students are already familiar with. Handout for homework correcting sentences

Lesson Plan

Stage	Activity	Interaction	Timing
1	Warm up : Timed Scatergories with pre-picked themes (food, things you do on the weekend...) Review homework from last class	TS ST
2	Introduction : Using a picture of two young women, elicit from students their names. Write them on the board. Hand out the dialogue between these two friends who are talking about their past weekend. (A dialogue that mostly contains vocabulary the students are familiar with) -- *This picture is a useless prop. Visual prompts, if used, should be rich in potential material.* *Have 2 students stand up for a moment to set the scene; then they can sit down.*	TS ST
3	Have students read the dialogue and answer specific gist questions on it to check their understanding.-- *There is no such thing as a 'specific gist' question. The two terms are antonymic. Questions are either for gist (a general impression) or for specific response.*	S ST
4	Ask students to focus on the language used by asking what question Â« A Â» asked Â« B Â». Write this question on the board.	TS ST
5	Presentation : Show students how it is formed Did + Subject + base Did you have a good weekend ? Point out that we don't use the past form of the verb in questions, but always the base (or dictionary) form.	TS
6	Drill chorally and individually. Focus on pronunciation and correct structure.	TST
7	Elicit : Draw students attention to the short answer and explain the positive and the negative structures. Yes + Subject + did Yes I did No + Subject + didn't No I didn't	TS
8	Drill chorally and individually and then conduct a controlled question-and-answer drill around the class : E.g : Â« Sandrine ask Didier...(point to an action the board : - go to the restaurant - go to the movies ) Â»	ST SS
9	Pairwork : Students ask and answer questions from the board and note down their partners' answers. The focus here is on correct pronunciation and structure, so it is important to correct any errors by referring to the structures on the board.	PW
10	Controlled Oral Practice : Use Dialogue text as a basis to talk about what the two characters did on the weekend. Also use visual support such as a picture of a restaurant to prompt questions. For example, show a picture of two friends having a conversation; encourage them to produce the following question : Â« Did they go to a restaurant ? Yes, they did / No, they didn't. Â» Give four picture examples as prompts.	TS SS TS
11	Monitor closely. Correct errors by using what's already on the board as a point of reference.	TS SS
12	If students are performing well, turn focus to what they did on the weekend. They ask each other questions and give short answers.	PW
13	Follow up with controlled written practice. I could use questions and answers where the words are all mixed up ; students put the words back in the correct order.	S
14	Homework : a transformation exercise (changing affirmative statements into questions and short answers)	S

Simple Past Lesson Plan

mzl14000 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:40:33 GMT

Would anybody be kind enough to tell me what they think of this lesson plan I've made for my TEFL module ? Any suggestions ??
Thanks so much .

MZL

Lesson Plan
Preparation

Level : Elementary

Lesson Length: 45 minutes

Objective: To be able to use the Past simple question forms and shot answers.

Target Language: did + subject + infinitive form of verb ( Did your mother call you? )

Question word + subect + did + subject + infinitive form of verb

( What did you do last night? )

Short answers:

Yes + subject + did ( Did it rain? Yes, it did.)

No + subject + didn't ( Did Helen come to the party? )

Assumed Knowledge: Past simple ( regular / irregular verbs ,negative form )

Anticipated Problems: Students may use statements without using the auxiliary verb.

E.g. You went out yesterday? Instead of, ( Did you go out yesterday? )

Students may use a past form of the verb to make the question instead

of using the Simple form. E.g. Did you went?

Solutions:

During the presentation stage, draw students' attention to the fact that 'Did' does not change its form. 'Did' is always used to form the question in the Past simple.
Point out the verb tense in the quuestion form. Did + subject + infinitive of the verb
Drill individually and chorally.
Practice making questions. Monitoring for errors and having them put scrambled sentences

in order can also help to work on sentence structure problems.

Preperation and Aids: Simple reading text ,dialogue, in the Simple Past using vocabulary that

students are already familiar with. Handout for homework correcting sentences

Lesson Plan

Stage	Activity	Interaction	Timing
1	Warmer : Timed Scatergories with pre-picked themes (food, things you do on the weekend...) Review homework from last class	TS ST
2	Introduction : Using a picture of two young women, elicit from students their names. Write them on the board. Hand out the dialogue between these two friends who are talking about their past weekend. (A dialogue that mostly contains vocabulary the students are familiar with)	TS ST
3	Have students read the dialogue and answer specific gist questions on it to check their understanding.	S ST
4	Ask students to focus on the language used by asking what question Â« A Â» asked Â« B Â». Write this question on the board.	TS ST
5	Presentation : Show students how it is formed Did + Subject + Infinitive Did you have a good weekend ? Point out that we don't use the past form of the verb in questions, but always the infinitive.	TS
6	Drill chorally and individually. Focus on pronunciation and correct structure.	TST
7	Elicit : Draw students attention to the short answer and explain the positive and the negative structures. Yes + Subject + did Yes I did No + Subject + didn't No I didn't	TS
8	Drill chorally and individually and then conduct a controlled question and answer drill around the class : E.g : Â« Sandrine ask Didier...(point to an action the board : - go to the resaurant - go to the movies ) Â»	ST SS
9	Pairwork : Students ask and answer questions from the board and note down their partners answers. The focus here is on correct pronunciation and structure so it is important to correct any errors by refering to the structures on the board.	PW
10	Controlled Oral Practice : Use Dialogue text as a basis to talk about what the two characters did on the weekend. Also use visual support such as a picture of a restaurant to prompt questions. For example show a picture of two friends having a conversation ; encourage them to produce the following question : Â« Did they go to a restaurant ? Yes, they did / No, they didn't. Â» Give four picture expamples as prompts.	TS SS TS
11	Monitor closely. Correct errors by using what's already on the board as a point of reference.	TS SS
12	If students are performing well, turn focus to what they did on the weekend. They ask each other questions ans give short answers.	PW
13	Follow up with controlled written practice. I could use questions and answers where the words are all mixed up ; students put the words back in the correct order.	S
14	Homework : a transformation exercise (changing affermative statements into questions and short answers)	S

Re: Optional past perfect uses

CalifJim — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:12:30 GMT

1. I thought about what you said today and I am going to tell you differently than I had told (told -- OK?? OK. ) you at our last meeting.

2. I took the stuff you mailed home yesterday and found it had been damaged en route to here. I would not substitute the simple past here.

3. I was thinking about our conversation at our meeting yesterday and thought the comment you had made (made -- OK too?? OK. ) at the meeting before yesterday's was more palatable to my personal feelings than the one you made yesterday.

There is no "list of words or phrases" that make the past perfect optional.

Re: taking out the windows of the car

Goodman — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:46:40 GMT

Hi Ant222,

My English skill is not in the âgrammarianâ class but I will give it my best attempt to explain it. It may not may not be agreeable with the experts.

In many instances during casual conversations, we can bet by with simple past tense and no one will flag you for errors. However, to be grammatically correct, the right tense should be followed and observed consistently. Besides using present perfect to connect events from the past to present, sometimes, we will see past reference combined into a present perfect structure. i.e.

John seems to have forgotten who helped him 2 years ago when his lost his job. This is perfectly legal.

General simple present statement with timeless reference.

I have never seen movies as bad as this one!

I have tried many times to quit smoking but failed.

With time reference, past to present:

Jane has changed 3 jobs since the beginning of this year.

She hasnât made any car payment for the past 6 months.

If you already understood the above, just disregard my post.