Tense - The Past Simple

Derek: “I went to the cinema last week.”

Clive: “I didn’t know people still went to the cinema.”

Statement of Form

Sbj + past tense verb (for regular verbs, add –ed, -d or –ied, depending on the spelling of the base form; for irregular verbs students must memorize the form)

Negatives and questions formed with the auxiliary verb, ‘did’.

Where the main verb is ‘be’, use ‘was’ or ‘were’.

Students need to know

The Past Simple is used to describe a range of situations in the past, from the single event (going to the cinema) above, to states that pertained for a long time…

Bill: “I worked as a lift attendant until I was 30.”

Ben: “How was that?

Bill: “It was a bit up and down, to be honest.”

Modal verbs - ability

Interviewer: What makes you think you’d be a good football pundit?

Candidate: Well, I can read the game, I can understand strategy, I can get into the heads of the players.

Interviewer: I see. Can you spell your own name?

Candidate: Of course.

Interviewer: When can you start?

Statement of Form

Subject + can + base form

Subject + could + base form

Subject + (be) + able to + base form

What students need to know

At lower levels: We use "can" to talk about general abilities: "I can drive a tank." "She can sing the blues." It also works for  specific situations: "I can make the 10 o'clock meeting, but not the nine o'clock."

Tense - Present Continuous

Talking about "now"...

He's having a heart attack!

Well don't just stand there, call an ambulance.

I am calling an ambulance!

... or "around now"

Are you reading anything good at the moment?

No. I'm reading Joseph Conrad.

Statement of Form

subject + am/is/are + verb_ing

What students need to know

This is the tense to use if you're talking about something in progress at the time of speaking. It can be literally now, or "at this current time of my life." Verbs that we usually think of as "states of mind" such as "like", "love", "hate", "know", "want", cannot be used in this form.

Tense - Past Continuous

A: We were looking for my sister’s hair clip when the alien craft materialised in the front garden.

B: My God! So, what did you do?

A: Well, in the end, we found it down the back of the sofa.
B: Oh.



Statement of Form

subject + was/were + verb_ing

Students need to know

This describes a longer or repeated action in progress at or during a time in the past. It is commonly found in combination with the Past Simple:

“I was having a bath when the phone rang.”

“Did you get out and answer it?”

“I tried, but I was so startled, I slipped and shattered my tibia.”