Lesson 2
Past Indefinite Tense
The second tense – the Past Indefinite Tense. It always says: “I am used with the words: last year, last summer, yesterday, a week ago and so on in order to express an action in the past”.
Past Indefinite Tense
(for regular verbs)
… verb + ed ..
christen + ed = christened
marry + ed = married
die + ed = died
Past Indefinite Tense
(for irregular verbs)
… Past Indefinite ..
take – took
get – got
give – gave
Solomon Grundy,
Born on Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Got worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday.
Buried on Sunday.
This is the end
Of Solomon Grundy.
- Did curiosity kill that cat?
- Yes, it did.
- Why did curiosity kill that cat?
- I don’t know.
- When did curiosity kill that cat?
- Yesterday curiosity kill that cat.
awake – awoke – awoke
There was an Old Man of Peru,
Who dreamt he was eating his shoe.
He awoke in the night
In a terrible fright
And found it was perfectly true!
hear – heard – heard
speak – spoke – spoken
There was an Old Owl lived in an oak.
The more he heard, the less he spoke.
The less he spoke, more he heard.
Follow the example of that wise old bird.
be – was/were – been
sit – sat – sat
There was an Old Man of Pekin,
Who sat on the point of a pin,
He jumped up in pain,
Then sat down again.
That silly old man of Pekin.
say – said – said
read – read – read
Said a Booklover fellow from Siam:
“I frequently read Omar Khayyam.
His morals depress.
Butt nevertheless
He is almost as clever as I am”.
Proverbs
- Curiosity killed a cat.
- Care killed the cat.
- You made your bed, now lie in it.
Lesson 3
Present Perfect Tense
The third tense – the Present Perfect Tense. It always says: “I am usually used to express a completed action connected with the present”.
Present Perfect Tense
(for regular verbs)
… have(has) verb + ed …
Present Perfect Tense
(for irregular verbs)
… have(has) Past Participle …
Infinitive: lose, forget, feel, find, get, drink, catch.
Past Indefinite: lost, forgot, felt, found, got, drank, caught.
Past Participle: lost, forgotten, felt, found, gotten, drunk, caught.
- Don’t sell the bear’s skin before you have caught it.
- If you’ve given your word, keep it.
- Never cast dirt into fountain of which you have sometime drunk.
- I sell my goods at the price I’ve paid for them.
What price have you paid?
Some words about the Passive voice.
When the subject of the sentence is the doer of the action, we say the verb is in the Active Voice.
When the subject of the sentence is the receiver of the action, we say the verb is in the Passive Voice.
The formation of the Passive Voice:
… to be + Past Participle …
The Present Indefinite of “to be”
I am We are
You are You are
He is They are
The Past Indefinite of “to be”
I was We were
You were You were
He was They were
Proverbs
· The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-field of lton.
· The tree is known by its fruit.
· Liar is not believed when he speaks the truth.
· Beautiful flowers are soon picked.
And what kind of flowers aren’t soon picked?
· Speak when you are spoken to; come when you are called.
My explanation of this proverb: “This is said to children to teach them not to speak till they are asked, and not to come till they are wanted”.
And what is your explanation, my dear reader?
Read the following text which help you to discuss what real friendship is:
Do you remember the English proverbs about friendship which you have heard already? Here they are: “A friend is easier lost then found”, “A friend is not so soon gotten as lost”, “A man is known by his friends”, “A friend to everybody is a friend to nobody”. Friendship between two people grow when they do something useful together and when they have same interests. Their friendship is still better if they understand each other well.
Do you know the English proverb “A friend in need is a friend indeed”? Do you agree with this statement? Let us agree that the real friendship is possible only when people help each other.
You can see that friendship between two people is a very great thing. As English people say: “A good friend is as the sun in winter”. A good proverb, isn’t it? A real friend makes your life happier and more interesting.
Friendship is a very nice thing and that’s why people of all countries have so many proverbs about it. As you do not know all English proverbs about friends, here are some more.
Take, for example, this one: “A friend is never known till a man has need”. What does it mean? It means that the best friend is the one who helps you when really in need’ of help. You know your real friends when you are in a difficult situation.
Another English proverb is “Before you make a friend, eat a bushel of salt with him”. Of course, you need not eat much salt to become good friends but you must know your friend very well.
You always seek friends. But remember: if you want to have a friend, you have to be good friends yourselves.
Proverbs
- A friend is never known till a man has need.
- A friend is easier lost then found.
- A man is known by his friends.
- A friend is not so soon gotten as lost.
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