Past Continuous Tense

What were you doing at 10 o'clock yesterday morning? Pick a card, show us and let us guess.

e.g. I was having breakfast.

I was swimming in the pool.

What was he doing at 7 o'clock yesterday evening?

He was sitting in the park.

What was she doing at 9 o'clock last night?

She was playing computer games. 

What were they doing at 11 o'clock last night?

They were eating a pizza.

In all these sentences we want to show the action in progress in the past. That is why we need the past continuous tense (past forms of TO BE + -ing). You should take care of the spelling (have --> having, swim --> swimming).

Past Simple Tense

What did you do yesterday? Finish the sentence.

Yesterday I ... (e.g. played computer games, watched TV and went shopping).

As you remember, there are 2 types of verbs in English, regular (with -ED ending in the past) and irregular (2nd column of the list). What you should try to practise more is the pronunciation of the -ED ending: /d/ (played, listened, lived), /t/ (watched, liked, brushed) and /id/ (acted, needed, visited).

In questions, you need DID with the infinitive of the main verb:

Did you go to school yesterday?

Did you make a cake at the weekend?

For negative answers, you need DIDN'T (=did not) and the infinitive of the main verb:

I didn't make a cake.

Present Tenses

Take a look at the examples. What do they show?

I go to school. (repeated action)

I'm going to school. (temporary, action happening at the moment)

The sun sets in the west. (fact)

The sun's setting. (now)

I eat a toast for breakfast, but today I'm having cereal. (This person has the same breakfast every day, but today it's different. That's why in the first part of the sentence we need the present simple while in the second part we need the present continuous) 

As you remember, we use the present simple for things that are always true, everyday actions, something that we repeat always, usually, often, sometimes... The verb is always the same, except with he, she, it. Then, we add the -s ending.

We use the present continuous for actions happening now, at the moment, today. The verb always has the -ing ending, but we also need the present forms of the verb TO BE (am, is, are).

Now, complete these sentences with the correct present form of the verbs in brackets:

Mary ..... (go) to the seaside every summer.

They ..... (not make) their beds in the morning.

Look! Grandpa ..... (have) a rest.

I ..... (sit) by the pool now.

Auxiliaries

Auxiliaries are helping verbs. An auxiliary verb helps another verb (full, main verb) to form a tense.

Auxiliaries are very important in conversation, when we want to give a short answer, add to some remarks or (dis)agree with something.

For more practice, go here.

Infinitive

An infinitive is the base form of a verb. It can be used with or without TO (also called the 'bare infinitive').

Infinitives can be:

• subject (To have a party is a great idea.)
• direct object (I like to read.)
• subject complement (Your mistake was to tell her my secret.)
• adjective (This is the best time to leave.)
• adverb (You must study to get excellent marks.) 

There are a lot of verbs followed by infinitives. See a list of these verbs here.

For more visual explanation, watch this video:

Verbs

To sum up, a verb (= глагол) is a word or a phrase which expresses an action (play, jump, run, say, sit, race, write, see, just to name a few), event (eat, break, fly, fall, begin, watch, boil, drink, explode, kick, just to name a few) or state (work, be, live, know, believe, contain, belong, matter, last, depend, deserve, just to name a few).

Now, try to sing along this verb song:

Past Continuous Tense

When we want to describe an action happening at a particular time in the past, we use the past continuous tense (= прошло трајно време):

• We were watching TV at six o'clock.

The past continuous form is also used for two longer actions happening at the same time:

• Mum was washing the dishes while dad was reading the newspapers.

Finally, when we want to say that an action, usually a longer one, was interrupted by a new, shorter action, we use the past continuous form for the longer action and the past simple form for the shorter one:

• I was having a bath when the phone rang.

To make the past continuous tense we need the past form of TO BE (was/were) and the present participle (main verb with the -ing ending).

I/He/She/It was reading.

We/You/They were swimming.

 

In negative sentences add NOT between the past form of TO BE and present participle (I was not singing), and in questions put TO BE in front of the subject (Were you singing?).

For more practice, click on the pictures below:

 

Irregular Verbs

There are numerous sites you can practise irregular forms. You can start from these:

1 or 2-player game

crossword

Helping Verbs

There are 23 helping verbs in English. Try to learn them with this song, sung to the tune of Jingle Bells:

Helping Verbs! Helping Verbs! There are 23... 

Am, is, are, 

was and were, 

being, been and be! 

Have, has, had, 

do, does, did, 

shall, should, will and would! 

 There are 5 more helping verbs: 

may, might, must, can, could!

The Past Simple Tense

Put the verbs into the past simple tense and then make questions and negative sentences:

1 They _____ (go) shopping two days ago.

2 He _____ (wait) for her last Saturday.

3 They _____ (be) at the bus station last week.

4 The Browns _____ (buy) a car last month.

5 Her brother _____ (see) her at 11 o'clock.

Write the past tense of the verbs:

can, come, do, find, get, give, go, have, leave, run, see, take, throw

Did you do any of these things yesterday?

- stay at home

- go to the airport

- take some photographs

- see a famous person

- buy a car

- miss a bus

- run ten kilometres

- find a bag of money

Make the questions to complete the dialogue:

A: (have a good holiday) e.g. Did you have a good holiday?

B: Oh, yes, it was great!

A: (Where / go)?

B: We went to France.

A: (Who / go with)?

B: I went with my parents.

A: (fly)?

B: No, we went by car.

A: (stay in a hotel)?

B: No, we didn't. We took our caravan.

A: (visit Paris)?

B: Oh, yes, we did.

A: (What / see)?

B: We saw lots of things. You know, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum...

A: (buy / souvenirs)?

B: Oh, yes. I bought lots of things.

A: (get back yesterday)?
B: No, we came back on Saturday.

A: (like Paris)?

B: Oh, yes. It was wonderful.

Complete the story. Use the past form of: be, come, invent and play.

The Romans _____ football. When they _____ to England, football _____ too. All the people in one village _____ against all the people in another village. There _____ sometimes 200 players in a village football team!

The Past Simple Tense (irregular verbs)

In English, there are some verbs with irregular past form. We must learn them by heart. 

I saw her last night. (an activity which took place in a definite past time)

She bought that dress in Paris.

During the summer, they went swimming every day. (a habitual action)

To make questions we need DID and the infinitive of the main verb:

Did you take your dog for a walk last night?

Did John go to the library this morning?

For negative forms, we need DIDN'T and the infinitive of the main verb:

They didn't come at seven o'clock.

He didn't do his homework.

*****

U engleskom jeziku neki glagoli imaju nepravilni oblik u prošlosti. Moramo da ih učimo napamet.

I saw her last night. (Video-la sam je sinoć. - aktivnost koja se desila u tačno određenom trenutku u prošlosti)

She bought that dress in Paris. (Kupila je tu haljinu u Parizu.)

During the summer, they went swimming every day. (Tokom leta, išli su na plivanje svakoga dana. - navika)

Za upitne rečenice treba nam pomoćni glagol DID i infinitiv glavnog glagola:

Did you take your dog for a walk last night? (Da li ste sinoć izveli psa u šetnju?)

Did John go to the library this morning? (Da li je Džon jutros išao u biblioteku?)

Za odrične rečenice treba nam DIDN'T i infinitiv glavnog glagola:

They didn't come at seven o'clock. (Nisu došli u sedam sati.)

He didn't do his homework. (Nije uradio svoj domaći.)

Put the verbs in brackets into the past tense:

1 I _____ (buy) some books last week.

2 Her mother _____ (make) some very delicious cakes last Sunday. 

3 She _____ (bring) the good news a moment ago.

4 She _____ (know) when he was at school.

5  I _____ (read) a lot last year.

Make the sentences interrogative and negative:

1  John left at 3 o'clock. (5 o'clock)

2  He forgot her name. (phone number)

3 They went to the seaside last month. (the mountains)

4 The child ate some sweets before lunch. (breakfast)

5  She took these books from the library on Monday. (Friday)

Translate into English:

1. Smitovi su proveli mesec dana u Škotskoj prošle godine.

2. Pre nekoliko minuta sam ostavila novine na ovom stolu.

3. Kupili su ovu kuću pre 2 godine.

4. Naš čas je počeo u 9.55.

5. Juče je napisala 2 pisma.

The Past Simple Tense (regular verbs)

We use the past simple tense for actions that finished in the past:

I watched TV last night.

She visited Italy last summer.

He tried to finish his homework before going to school.

We missed our football practice yesterday.

They arrived here two days ago.

In affirmative sentences most regular verbs get the -ed ending. This ending can be pronounced as /t/ (looked), /d/ (played) or /id/ (wanted).

To make questions or negative forms, we need DID and the infinitive of the main verb:

Did she travel alone?

Did you play football yesterday?

Why did you help him?

We didn't discuss the matter before dinner.

I hope you didn't wait for me yesterday.

*****

Prošlo prosto vreme se upotrebljava za radnju koja se završila u prošlosti:

I watched TV last night. (Sinoć sam gledala TV.)

She visited Italy last summer. (Posetila je Italiju prošlog leta.)

He tried to finish his homework before going to school. (Pokušao je da završi domaći pre polaska u školu.)

We missed our football practice yesterday. (Propustili smo trening fudbala juče.)

They arrived here two days ago. (Stigli su ovde pre dva dana.)

U potvrdnim rečenicama većina pravilnih glagola dobija -ed nastavak. Ovaj nastavak se izgovara kao /t/ (looked), /d/ (played) ili /id/ (wanted).

Za upitne i odrične rečenice, treba nam pomoćni glagol DID i infinitiv glavnog glagola:

Did she travel alone? (Da li je putovala sama?)

Did you play football yesterday? (Da li ste igrali fudbal juče?)

Why did you help him? (Zašto ste mu pomogli?)

We didn't discuss the matter before dinner. (Nismo o tome raspravljali pre večere.)

I hope you didn't wait for me yesterday. (Nadam se da me niste čekali juče.)

Complete the sentences:

1 He _____ (miss) the train.

2 A taxi _____ (arrive) at 11 o'clock.

3 Mrs Smith _____ (carry) two large bags.

4 John _____ (stay) at home yesterday.

5 Mary _____ (walk) a lot.

6 David _____ (travel) by plane. 

7 Steven _____ (help) his grandpa.

8 Don _____ (like) his holiday very much.

9 I _____ (play) basketball yesterday.

10 Mr Johnson _____ (work) hard last year.

Write the verbs in the correct column (/d/, /t/, /id/):
watched, wanted, locked, jumped, needed, shouted, cried, loved, learned, stopped, looked, owned, accepted, talked, liked, helped, visited, started.

Correct the mistakes:

1 Did you watched television yesterday?

2 Yesterday I visit a friend's house.

3 What did you studied?

4 I didn't travelled by train.

5 He didn't skied in the mountains.

TO HAVE Past Simple

TO HAVE can be both a main verb and an auxiliary in some tenses. Its past form is HAD:
I have English on Friday. --> I had English yesterday.
She usually has eggs for breakfast. --> She had eggs for dinner last night.

In questions and negative forms use the infinitive, not the past form of TO HAVE: 

How many lessons do you have on Wednesday? --> How many lessons did you have yesterday?
He doesn't have dinner. --> He didn't have dinner yesterday.

Translate into English:
1. Lepo su se proveli na Lusinom rođendanu.
2. Večerali su kobasice sinoć.
3. Pre odlaska u krevet, istuširala se.
4. Nije imala vremena da gleda televiziju sinoć.
5. Doručkovala sam u 8 sati juče.

Play a chain game about what you had after breakfast yesterday. Each person has to repeat everything said before him/her and add something new.
A: I had a banana after breakfast.
B: She had a banana after breakfast, but I had a cup of milk.
C: They had a banana and a cup of milk, but I had an apple...

TO BE Past Simple

Complete the list:

I was - I _____

you _____ - you weren't

he/she/it _____ - he/she/it wasn't

we/they were - we/they _____ 

Make the sentences interrogative and negative:

1 He was tired. (hungry)

2 The children were in the car. (at the beach)

3 They were at the airport. (station)

4 The cottage was near the beach. (far from)

5 The plane was late. (on time)

Fill in the blanks with the  correct past form of TO BE:

1 Where _____ your friend last night?

2 Jimmy _____ ill yesterday.

3 Those cakes _____ nice.

4 It _____ a very exciting trip.

5 The boys _____ in the middle of a game of cards.

6 Emma _____ very well yesterday.

7 The gates _____ open.

8 _____ your steak nice?

9 It _____ a very clear night.

10 The streets _____  crowded with people.

TO BE Past Simple

TO BE can be both an auxiliary (in some tenses) and a main verb. It has 2 past forms - WAS (with I, he, she, it) and WERE (with we, you, they).

She was born in 1993.

When they were young they were good friends. 

For negative forms, add NOT after TO BE:

There weren't many cars in the street yesterday.

She wasn't at school two days ago.

For questions, change the order of the subject and TO BE:

Where were you last night?

Were you at home?

Was he late for his first lesson today?

Why was he late?

*****

Glagol TO BE može da bude modalni i glavni glagol. ima 2 oblika u prošlosti - WAS (uz I, he, she, it) i WERE (uz we, you, they).

She was born in 1993. (Rođena je 1993.)

When they were young they were good friends. (Kada su bili mladi bili su dobri drugari.)

Za odrične oblike, dodaj NOT posle TO BE:

There weren't many cars in the street yesterday. (Juče nije bilo mnogo kola na ulici.)

She wasn't at school two days ago. (Nije bila u školi pre dva dana.)

Kod pitanja, zameni mesto subjekta i glagola TO BE:

Where were you last night? (Gde ste bili sinoć?)

Were you at home? (Da li ste bili kod kuće?)

Was he late for his first lesson today? (Da li je zakasnio danas na prvi čas?)

Why was he late? (Zašto je zakasnio?)

Translate into English:

1. Ove nedelje je bio veoma zauzet.

2. Bilo je mnogo ljudi na žurci.

3. Juče je bio četvrtak.

4. Prošle godine su bili u petom razredu.

5. Dani su bili hladni prošlog januara.

Put the sentences into the past simple:

1 We are at school. (yesterday)

2 Ed's dog is in the garden. (in the street five minutes ago)

3 The bird is not in the cage now. (yesterday evening)

4 The girls are at the playground. (yesterday)

5 The horses are in the field. (in the barn 15 minutes ago)

WAS or WERE:

1 Where _____ Jack yesterday?

2 What day _____ it yesterday?

3 Where _____ they last week?

4 I _____ at home yesterday afternoon.

5 We _____ at school yesterday.

Ask each other round the class:

1 Was it cold last August?

2 Were you at school last Sunday?

3 Were you ill yesterday?

4 Who was absent last week?

5 What day was the day before yesterday?

Complete the  conversation with the past forms of TO BE:
Jim: _____ you at the match last night?
Joe: Yes, I _____.
Jim: _____ it a good match?
Joe: It _____ all right. 
Jim: What about Owen? _____ he good?
Joe: Oh, yes. He _____ brilliant. But the others _____ very good too. Where _____ you? 

Jim:  I _____ at the U2 concert.
Joe: Oh, _____ they good?  

Jim:  They _____ great.
Joe: Where _____ the concert? 

Jim: It _____ at the Hyde Park.

'Going to' Future

GOING TO is used for plans or decisions in the near future.

affirmative form (+): subject + TO BE + GOING TO + infinitive

I am going to work after lunch.

He is going to sell his car.

She is going to be a doctor.

It's going to rain. (possibility)

interrogative form (?): TO BE + subject + GOING TO + infinitive

Are you going to wait here all day?

Is she going to come soon?

negative form (-): subject + TO BE + NOT + GOING TO + infinitive

I am not  going to answer all these questions.

She isn't going to sell her car. 

Fill in the blanks:

1 I _____ (take) a rest.

2 We _____ (try) it again.

3 He _____ (not buy) a new car this year.

4 Do you think it _____ (be) a cold day?

5 When _____ Tom (see) her?

The Present Simple Tense

We use the present simple tense for everyday actions, facts or permanent states.

affirmative form (+): subject + infinitive (+ -s in the 3rd person singular)

I come to school on foot.

They drink a lot of milk.

He lives in a flat.

negative form (-): subject + don't (doesn't in the 3rd person singular) + infinitive

I don't live in a house.

They don't eat meat.

She doesn't swim in the sea.

interrogative form (?): Do (Does in the 3rd person singular) + subject + infinitive

Do you go to bed before 9 o'clock?

Do they sleep much?

Does he have blue eyes?

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs:

1 Tom often _____ (help) his mother.
2 Mrs Smith usually _____ (kiss) her children good night.
3 Jason never _____ (try) to help Emma.
4 Alice often _____ (dress) in blue.
5 That boy usually _____ (hurry) home after school.
6 John never _____ (play) with his friends.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns can function as subjects (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) or objects (me, you, him, her, it, us, them) in a sentence.

Complete the sentences:

1 David is on a train. _____ is going to his aunt.

2 I need help with this task. Can you help _____?

3 That's Ed. Do you know _____?

4 _____ am a pupil.

5 We need some vitamins. Can you buy _____?

6 His mother needs help. Will he help _____?

Translate into English:

1. Donesi mi džem. - Nije ovde.

2. Gde je moja jabuka? - Eno je na tanjiru.

3. Gde on živi? - Mislim da živi u Njujorku.

4. Knjiga je za njih, a ne za vas.

5. Zar to nije ljubazno od njih?

Replace the underlined nouns with the required personal pronouns:
1 Put the cheese on the dish.
2 The children are in the garden.
3 Give the boy a piece of cake.
4 Be kind to animals!
5 Ask Jenny to come.

The Present Continuous Tense

The present continuous tense is used for actions happening now.

affirmative form (+): subject + TO BE + present participle (infinitive + -ing)

I am sitting now.

He is reading.

They are writing.

 

negative form (-): subject + TO BE + NOT + present participle

I am not making a cake.

He is not running.

They are not singing.  

interrogative form (?): TO BE + subject + present participle

Are you having breakfast?

Is she swimming?

Complete the sentences. Use the appropriate verbs:

1 A woman is _____ a car.

2 Some children are _____ computer games.

3 A child is _____ chocolate.

4 A man is _____ tea.

5 A boy is _____ homework.

Spelling

Underline the correct word:

1 I leeve / lieve / leave home at 9 a.m.

2 I go there at the weakend / weekend / wiekend.

3 Can you give me a piece / peece / peace of paper?

4 The peeple / people / peaple are in the bus.

5 There are lots of trees / tries / treas in the park.

6 There is aheeted / hieted / heated swimming pool.

7 Can I have a drink, pleese / please / pliese?

8 I really hate cheese / chease / chiese.