Grundlagen Englisch

- revision: present tenses

- past simple and continuous
HFW Bern
Philipp Brunner
Repetition: Present simple & continuous

Present simple for facts:

- Regularly repeated actions
- Generalisations

Present continuous for actions:

- Actions at the time of speaking
- Limited periods of time
(processes)
Englisch Grundlagen, Past tenses 2
 Revision:
Present simple & continuous
• present simple: focus on facts & truths
+ The Aare flows through Berne.
- Bobby doesn‘t go out every Friday.
? Do you like cartoons?
• present continuous: focus on actions
+ Don‘t disturb me. I am eating.
- He is writing an important letter just now.
? Are you using the computer at the moment?

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 The past simple
regular verbs + -
irregular verbs
I
you
he/she/it stayed in a hotel. didn‘t stay in a hotel.
we went on holiday. didn‘t go on holiday.
you
they
Did you stay in a hotel? – Yes, I did.
Did you go on holiday? – No, I didn‘t.

We use the past simple to talk about finished actions in the past.

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 The past simple (2)
infinitive past
work worked
stay stayed
like liked (just add d if verb finishes in e)
study studied (y  i after consonant)
stop stopped (double consonant if verb
finishes consonant-vowel-consonant)

Spelling rules: see appendix 3, p152.

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 The past simple (3) – irregular verbs

• Three groups of irregular verbs:

Infinitive Past Past participle
1 hit hit hit
put put put
2 tell told told
sell sold sold
3 wake woke woken
take took taken

Irregular verbs: See appendix 2, p150.

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 your turn!!
Work on
• Work on Appendix 2: cross out all the irregular
verbs you already know. Compile the ones you
have to learn into a new list.
• Grammar Book Unit 4, p16-17
• Murphy copies

20 minutes
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 The past continuous
+ I you
he was working. we were working.
she they
it
- I you
he wasn‘t working. we weren‘t working.
she they
it
? Was he working? Yes, he was. No, he wasn‘t.
Were they working? Yes, they were. No, they weren‘t.

We use the past continuous to describe an action in progress at

a specific moment in the past.
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 Past simple or past continuous?
• Study the following examples. What‘s the
rule?
– When I took the photo, they were writing a song.
– I was sitting at home when I saw the news on TV.
– They were waiting for us when we arrived.
– I was driving when you phoned me.

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 Past simple or past continuous?
• Use the past simple for a completed action:
– I took the photo. / I saw the news.
– We arrived. / You phoned me.

• Use the past continuous for an action in

progress:
– They were writing a song. / I was sitting at home.
– They were waiting. / I was driving.

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 Summary

past future

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 your turn!!
Work on
• Grammar Book Unit 5, p18-19
• Murphy Copies

15 minutes

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