Past perfect is the past of the past. Here is a picture of that: Now let’s study an example: The action in the past is: “they divorced.” Before that, this couple was married three years. That they were married is the earliest action, so you put that in the past perfect: They had been married… Continue reading Learn to Use Past Perfect like a Pro
The following practice is for advanced students. Do this only when you know how to use different tenses. You can use tenses with modals too. Modals are verbs like must, need, have to and ought to. Underneath are some examples for you to study: Each example is in the affirmative (= a statement), a question… Continue reading Can Humans Fly? – Mixed Tenses with Modals
Irregular verbs aren’t nice. They aren’t fun. They’re used way too much and they always surprise you, because they’re always different. Just when you thought that you discovered the rule for one verb, like sing, sang, sung, another common verb goes: sit, sat, sat. Just when you had figured out that forms like bought, thought,… Continue reading Irregular Verbs – Some More Practice
This article is to clear up about “have” and “had.” I’ve had a number of people telling me they don’t understand where to use it. So here is a review of the main tenses with have. Have Present Simple In present simple, “have” means you are the owner of something. Or it is something that… Continue reading Easy Grammar Have and had
I read an interesting question on a teacher’s forum on LinkedIn. A teacher asked the following: The sentence “I’d rather I didn’t have to work next weekend, but I do.” How to explain why it is ‘I didn’t’ and not ‘I do’. Conditional? Several teachers chipped in, and the conclusion was that you need… Continue reading I Wish I Didn’t Have to Work Next Weekend – Hypothetical Situations with Past Simple
First let’s explain what direct and indirect speech is. Direct speech. This is a direct quote of what someone says. For example: “I am hungry.” Indirect speech (also called reported speech). This is telling what someone else said. Example: You said you weren’t hungry. What do you need to know about indirect speech? That in… Continue reading She Told Me She Would Come to the Party – Indirect Speech or Reported Speech
You use past simple when you talk about the past. It can be yesterday, last week, the day before yesterday, last year, last night, or this morning. The Two Ways of Making Past Simple Regular Verbs There are two ways in which you can make past simple. The first one is with regular verbs. Regular… Continue reading The Past is Simple – Regular and Irregular Verbs in Past Simple
When do you use “did?” When you want to talk about something in the past. You only need to use “did” when you ask a question or say something in the negative (with “not”). “Did” is used in the past simple tense. The past simple is the simplest form of the past. You use it… Continue reading Easy Grammar – Did
Here are the more common irregular verbs: If you know a verb that should be on the list, let me know. V1 Base Form V2 Past Simple V3 Past Participle arise arose arisen awake awoke awoken be was/were been bear bore borne beat beat beaten become became become begin began begun bend bent bent bet… Continue reading List of Irregular Verb Forms
English with a Smile 