Search results for 'tag:Verbs tag:Past simple' matching tags 'Verbs' and 'Past simple'

Re: school delegated/substitute teacher

turnerlang — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:04:11 GMT

Angliholic
The school delegated teacher and former student, Anne Sullivan, herself visually impaired and then only 20 years old, to become Helen's teacher.

Hi,
Does "delegated" in the above equal "substitute?" Thanks.

Here "delegated" is a verb in past simple.
The school appointed Anne Sullivan to become Helen's teacher

review

somer — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:49:02 GMT

3a) A cat ate the small animal.

3b) A cat is a small animal.

The syntactic analyses of the two sentences are differents. In the sentence 3a) we have (s, v, do) while, in the second sentence 3b) we have (s, v (copular), sP).

In 3a) âa cat âis noun phrase (a is determiner indefinite article, cat is head noun of noun phrase âa catâ), âateâ is verb in past simple tense,â the small animal â is noun phrase consist of determiner âtheâ, âsmallâ is adjective , âanimalâ is the head noun of the noun phrase, all the noun phrase functions as direct object.

In 3b) âa catâ is noun phrase (a is determiner indefinite article, cat is head noun of noun phrase âa catâ) function as subject, âisâ copular verb in simple present tense,â a small animalâ noun phrase consist of the indefinite determiner âaâ , the adjective small , and the head noun of the noun phrase âanimalâ, the noun phrase function as subject predicative.

Differences in the meaning: the first sentence means that there was a cat and it ate the small animal "the small animal" should be mentioned before, or known to the reader, while the second sentence means that a cat is a kind of animal and it is small. We are talking generally here.

review

somer — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:46:10 GMT

1a) We painted the red door.

1b) We painted the door red.

1a) We painted the red door. "We" is NP consists of the head noun "we" which is pronoun functioning as subject. Painted is VP consisted of the head verb "painted" and it is past simple tense. "The red doorâ consists of NP and adj P, "the" is determiner, âred" is adj p consists of the head adjective "red" ,"door" is the head noun. âThe red door" functioning as direct object.

1b) we painted the door red. âwe" is NP consists of the head noun "we" functioning as subject. "Painted" is VP consists of the head verb "painted" and it is in the past simple tense. âThe door" is NP p consists of determiner "the" and the head noun âdoor" "the door" functioning as direct object. "Red" is adj p consists of head adjective "red" and functioning as postmodifeir.

In sentence 1a) we are talking about the door, which should be known to the reader, that its colour is red ,and we say that we painted it, but it is not known what colour we used to paint it.

In sentence 1b) we are talking about the door, which should be known to the reader too, this door is painted previously in the red colour, but it is not known what is its new colour.

2a) she does not like change.

2b) she does not like the changes.

Both sentences have the same syntactic analyse (s, v, do) and both of them are negated sentences, the differences lie in the objects "changeâ in the first sentence is undefined while "the object "change" in the second sentence is defined with the definite article "theâ, the object in sentence 2a is singular while the object in the sentence 2b is plural marks with "s".

The first sentence 2a) means that she doesn't like the coin (small money), while in the second sentence we are talking about "the changes" that should be known to the reader which mean the actions of changing something making it different.

is there any comment on the answers?

another grammar check!

Ellisa — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:15:27 GMT

Hello teachers!
I have more here to be grammar checked.
Even I was sure about the grammar, there used to be the wrong grammar.
Thanks in advance!

B. Discovering grammar

Example 5 and 6 shows that students are encouraged to work out for themselves how language forms are constructed and used. The language should be familiar to them, however, not being properly taught them yet.

Ex5) First, play a dialogue in which people have been comparing things. Then teacher show the way that we make adjectives comparatives. Giving rules, ignoring technical information and showing the grammar rules on the board is all possible. Showing the comparative adjectives examples and its variations, make questions which can confirm what they are taught. Then practice the grammar doing comparison exercise.

Ex6) Start with asking students what signs they would see in many different places. Show them a number of different signs and ask where they would be and what they mean. After warming up, get the students to do a fill-in exercise where they have to distinguish between have to, don't have to, should, shouldn't and are/aren't allowed. Make them guess where the signs should be. Also the students can exercise crossing out the wrong usage or dividing sentences in the correct categories.

C. Practising grammar

Ex7) This activity is teaching students present continuous and past simple. The teacher tells the student think of a place where you want to be without talking where it is. Tell them again that imagine you are there. Then make students create sentences using the present continuous. Let each of the students present their sentences in front of the class. The others try to guess. One of the advantages of doing this activity is that students can have time to think what grammar they are studying, specially here, present continuous.

Ex8) First, make students read the text. The text should contains what the teacher is going to teach, here the past tenses. Then tell them underline all the past tenses in the text and classify them into three categories. Before checking the answers with the teacher, let the students have partners and check themselves first. Then ask students tell the story about the text without looking the text. Make them doing this repeatedly which helps in increasing students' fluency.

Ex9) Matching sentence halves is one of the best ways of making students think of sentence construction and sentence meaning. It can be done by giving the students two lists but much more enjoyable and interactive way is giving the cards written half of the sentence. Without showing their cards, students read out their own sentences and discuss which pair is possible or not.

Ex10) It's 'find someone who.....' activity. By going around the class, students ask questions and find someone who answers "yes". This activity can be adapted to suit any structure and structures. Also it's an excellent way to students to get to know each other. Mini-surveys are useful for grammar practice in any grammar constructs.

Ex11) This activity is forcing students to make sentences using a particular verb tense. Divide students in small groups. They need to create a sentence as an answer of what teacher mentioned. Questions might be requiring imaginations or sense of humour such as 'Can you explain why you bit my dog?' Award a point it their answers are correct or appropriate. Adding the element of humour, it can provoke great enjoyment.

grammar check!

Ellisa — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:12:49 GMT

Hello teachers!
I'm summarising a book which is about teaching methods.
I guess there are millions of errors.
Please check those to right one!
Thanks in advance!

13. Teaching grammar

There are two main ways teaching grammar. One way is both planning grammar teaching in advance and relying on the coursebooks which can help us teach grammar. The other way is teaching grammar as a result of other work. In other words, it has done as a peripheral activity. In this chapter, we will look at the various different ways to teach grammar. We will look at the range of activities which satisfy not merely efficiency but also appropriacy. Lastly, we will discuss grammar books and their usages.

A. Introducing grammar

The following 1 to 4 examples are activities which represent a range of possibilities for introducing new grammar.

Ex1) It's making sentences using the present simple in the third singular. First, the teacher holds up a number of flashcards which are about a specific job. Then make sentences contained present simple for the each pictures. It consist of three affirmative and three negative sentences. Then make students guess what kind of job is. Once students are confident with these sentences, the teacher asks them to think of one profession and make 6 sentences. Now, they can do activities guessing what profession is being described.

Ex2) It's using texts which contained what the students are being taught (past simple irregular verbs). While the students read the text, they come across the past tense form of certain verbs. Then, make them write these past tense verb forms down in the blanks which are shown their phonemic symbols.

Ex3) This is aimed to show the differences between reporting speech and reporting things that were said in the past. Draw two people on the board. One is holding a phone and smiling whose name is Jack. The other is just standing. Give student information that Jack is talking to a girl who met in the school canteen. Then, ask the students what Jack tells his friend while taking on the phone. The answers might be in the present form such as ' She says I'm really nice'. In this process, make sure that the student understand how 'you' changes to 'I'. The teacher now tell the students that Jack is back home and he was spurned by the girl. He is telling to his mother that 'She said I was really nice' which is past form. The teacher can write both past and present forms on the board to help students.

Ex4) Here, the language which the students were going to study was embedded in the texts which they read. Make student read the story first. After confirming that they are fully understood the story asking comprehension questions, ask them make bad or insensible statements using the story. Then, get students to come up to the board and write the sentences so that the sentences including 'Should have p.p.' or' Shouldn't have p.p'.(especially here.)

A myriad of grammar problems :(

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:10:23 GMT

A Myriad of Grammar Problems... :(

I have absolutely no idea how to do these, can someone tell me what's going on here, Ive looked up many pages on the web but still am stumped on these:

Exercise 9
Rewrite the following in the PASSIVE voice.

E.g. 1. My wife wrote the letter. --> The letter was written by my wife.

2. My father painted the house. --> The house was painted by my father.

3. The storm will destroy the harvest. --> The harvest will be destroyed by the storm.

4. He has knocked the fence over. --> The fence was knocked over by him.

5. The man in the black hat found the child. --> The child was found by the man in the black hat.

Exercise 10
Rewrite the following in the ACTIVE voice.

E.g. 1. This task can be done by small children. --> Small children can do this task.

2. The supermarket will be opened by the mayor. --> The mayor will open the supermarket.

3. The charge was made by the police. --> The police made the charge.

4. The drawings were done by a famous artist. --> A famous artist did the drawings.

5. The company has been taken over by the Government. --> The government was taken over the company.

Are these right, I have to get them 100% word correct...but I'm really not sure if their right.

For example, we can use the present continuous (also used to refer to the future when we make arrangements) to talk about what is happening now. The simple present is commonly used to refer to routines or habits and it can also be used to refer past and future events.

Exercise 1
Look at this example taken from a newspaper: 'Prime Minister unveils new policies'. Although it is written in the present tense, it refers to past time.

Look at the following sentences using present simple tense verbs and decide what time reference they have - PRESENT, PAST, or FUTURE.

E.g. 1. When you see her, will you say hello from me.	Future
2. Cantona passes to Giggs, who passes to Sharp.
3. She walks in, comes right up to me and says...
4. The train leaves at 10.30.
5. We'll phone as soon as we get there.

Number 2,3 I said was Present, and Number,4,5 I said was Future.
Exercise 2
Look through the following sentences and select the TENSE and the time reference used.

E.g. 1. If I won a lot of money, I'd travel the world.	Past Simple	Future
2. I wish I had more time to finish this exercise.
3. When you have finished, you can go home.
4. 'Major calls for peace summit' (headline).
5. I'm meeting some friends at the pub tonight.
6. We've got the next lesson in the language library.
7. I am to give a speech at the conference next week.

I have NO IDEA how to do the above 2 exercises, I can't even attempt them very well...can anyone relieve me of the stress I'm having with these?

Verbs

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:56:34 GMT

I'm doing an exercise on verbs, I've attempted most of them, but some of them completely baffle me but I've tried at attempt them otherwise, , does anyone know these and are my ones correct or wrong? Thanks in advance.

Basic form	Past simple	Past participle	Present participle
Walk	Walked	Walked	Walking
Eat	Ate	Eaten	Eating
Sing	Sang	Sung	Singing
Look	Looked	Looked	Looking
Go	Went	Gone	Going
Become	Became	Become	Becoming
Speak	Spoke	Spoken	Speaking
Do	Did	Done	Doing
Bring	Brought	Brought	Bringing
Hide	Hid	Hidden	Hiding
Write	Wrote	Written	Writing
Be	Am	Was	Being
Have	Had	Had	Having
Sleep	Slept	Slept	Sleeping
Know	Knew	Known	Knowing
Steal	Stole	Stolen	Stealing

Re: passive voice

Ant_222 — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:33:19 GMT

Newguest
My question is why "have you heard" and "last night"? Can I use the present perfect and say: last night, yesterday, two days ago, as far as I know when I use them, then I should use the past simple tense instead of the present perfect tense?

You missed one thing. It is the time of the murder (and not the moment of "hearing") that "last night" refers to. So, yes, the Present Perfect is OK.

Newguest
I would write: Did you hear about the murder last night? Yes, I heard two men were arrested

Â AFAIK, only in American English it would be possible.

Newguest
s it also OK to respond: Don't worry. It has already been packed.

Sure, and the difference is not only in the tense. In the original sentence "packed" is an adjective, and in yours it is a verb!Â Â

Re: past simple/continuous

CalifJim — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:49:09 GMT

Did it snow this time last year? seems a little too specific. I would take it almost as Did it snow on this date last year? Hardly anyone would remember such a thing. I think, therefore, that unless I were consulting a meteorologist regarding real weather data, I would use Was it snowing this time last year? because it suggests an entire, but approximate, time period during which some snowing activity may have happened.

_____

G was playing football at 6 suggests that G was playing football between, maybe, 5 and 7. The football playing activity was in progress when the clock struck 6.

G played football at 6 suggest that G had, maybe, an appointment to play football at 6. The game started at 6.

_____

We were living there at the time sounds like a set-up for something more. It's descriptive. It's setting the scene for something that happened, most likely during that year, 1998. That was lucky, because the big cities had food shortages that year.

We lived there at the time sounds like a final statement. There's nothing more to be said. We lived there. Period. We've finished talking about 1998. Let's move on now to what we did the next year. In 1999, we moved to a big city.

In the specific cases you have here, I think the place "we were living" is emphasized more, and the year "we lived there" is emphasized more.

That said, with a stative verb like live, the difference between simple and progressive tenses is minimal.

_____

Ten minutes later I was still waiting for the tram is the only one of the two that is possible. That's because of still, which seems to beg for the progressive tense. We were still [living, waiting, staying, working, resting] there. still implies a continuity of activity which is contradicted by the use of the simple tense.

Ten minutes later I was waiting for the tram suggests that finally, after ten minutes of various other events or activities, I arrived where I began the waiting process, which lasted for some unspecified amount of time.

Ten minutes later I waited for the tram is a little anomalous because waiting is by nature continuous and couldn't have happened all at once at the point in time indicated by ten minutes later.

I waited for the tram for ten minutes is normal. It conceptualizes the full ten minutes as "closed" and entirely "filled" with the ten-minute waiting event.

I was waiting for the tram for ten minutes is a little anomalous. The period of ten minutes is "closed" or "bounded", so it doesn't mix well with an "open", "unbounded" tense.

_____

Unfortunately, what you learn about the subtleties of one verb does not necessarily apply to the use of any other verb. Each verb has its own grammar, and sometimes a verb does not act the same as any other verb when it comes to the nuances of the tenses it appears in.

Re: simple past tense vs present perfect

Fandorin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:14:06 GMT

Hi there. Welcome to EF.

guzhao67

Hello, everyone: I don't understand the following paragraph, cited from a grammar book, could you help me please?
"there is an idiomatic exception to the rule that the simple past tense indicates definite meaning: this is the construction with "always" illustrated by
"I always said he would end up in jail; Timothy always was a man of peace".
it is simply a colloquial variant of the present perfect with 'state verbs', and can always be replaced by the equivalent present perfect form. there are equivalent question and negative forms with "ever" and "never": "Did you ever see such a mess? I never met such an important person before."
what's the point here? And what would be the equivalent present perfect form of
"I always said he would end up in jail; (he's in jail now)
I've always said he ends up in jail. (I keep on repeating this because it's likely for him to be jailed and I'm sure of that)
Timothy always was a man of peace"? (Now he isn't. He might be die change his mind)
thank you.

The differense between them happens to be interchangeable in some informal way or in narratives. We use Past Simple along with Present Perfect when we're talking about events happened in the past, but Present Perfect points that event may occur in the present again.

He has written three novels (He perhaps will write another one)
He wrote three novels. (He won't write, because he is gone).

If the situation has changed we use Past Simple.

I have owned three restaraunts. ( I own now )
I owned three restaraunts now (Now I don't, because I've sold them).

Sometimes in papers and news we can see Past Simple is used along with Perfect Tense without changing the gist. The event is introduced by Present Perfect and another background is described by Past Simple.

The famous artist John Cramp has died of cancer. He was 50 and had two children. (the children are alive)