Singular and plural noun

Singular and plural noun

Structure Unknown   14:39

Kata benda tunggal (singular noun), dan kata benda jamak (plural noun). Kata benda jamak ciri utamanya terletak pada penambahan akhiran -s atau -es pada kata benda konkret (atau yang bisa dihitung).

1. Kata benda dengan akhiran s, ch, sh dan x, hanya tinggal ditambahkan dengan -es. Contoh:

- Class = Classes (kelas)

- Beach = Beaches (pantai)

- Bush = Bushes (semak-semak)

- Box = Boxes (kotak)

2. Kata benda dengan akhiran y dan sebelumnya didahului oleh huruf mati (konsonan), maka harus diubah huruf y menjadi i dan menambahkan -es. Contoh:

- Baby = Babies (bayi)

- City = Cities (kota)

- Lady = Ladies (wanita)

3. Kata benda dengan akhiran y dan sebelumnya didahului oleh huruf hidup (vokal), maka hanya perlu menambahkan -s. Contoh:

- Boy = Boys (lelaki)

- Day = Days (hari)

- Donkey = Donkeys ( keledai)

4. Kata benda dengan akhiran o yang bukan merupakan benda buatan manusia (alami), maka hanya menambahkan -es. Contoh:

- Potato = Potatoes (kentang)

- Buffalo = Buffaloes (banteng)

- Tomato = Tomatoes (tomat)

Pengecualian; kata benda ini dapat menggunakan akhiran -s atau -es:

- Mosquito = Mosquitos/Mosquitoes (nyamuk)

- Tornado = Tornados/Tornadoes (anging puting beliung)

5. Kata benda dengan akhiran o dan merupakan benda buatan manusia, maka hanya menambahkan -s. Contoh:

- Photo = Photos (foto)

- Piano = Pianos (piano)

- Studio = Studios (studio)

6. Kata benda dengan akhiran f atau fe, maka perlu diubah huruf f menjadi v dan menambahkan -es atau -s. Contoh:

- Calf = Calves (betis)

- Wife = Wives (istri)

- Life = Lives (hidup)

Pengecualian: untuk kata benda berikut, akhiran f tidak diubah dan hanya menambahkan -s.

- Chief = Chiefs (kepala polisi)

- Reef = Reefs (karang)

-  Grief = Griefs

- Dwarf = Dwarfs (orang kedil)

- Roof = Roofs (atap)

- Proof = Proofs (bukti)

- Cliff = Cliffs (jurang)

- Scarf = Scarfs/Scarves (syal)

Namun, kita harus berhati-hati karena ada beberapa kata benda yang bentuk tunggal dan jamaknya adalah sama. Beberapa contohnya, ada dibawah ini:

Kata Benda Yang Bentuk Tunggal dan Jamaknya Sama

- Deer (tunggal) = Deer (jamak) arti rusa

- Dozen (tunggal) = Dozen (jamak) arti lusin

- Fish (tunggal) = Fish (jamak) arti ikan

- Fruit (tunggal) = Fruit (jamak) arti buah-buahan

- Swine (tunggal) = Swine (jamak) arti babi

- Sheep (tunggal) = Sheep (jamak) arti biri-biri

Selain itu, ada pula beberapa kata benda tunggal yang memiliki bentuk kata jamaknya yang tidak beraturan (irregular plural form). Beberapa contohnya, ada dibawah ini:

Kata Benda Yang Bentuk Tunggal dan Jamaknya Tidak Beraturan

- Child (tunggal) = Children (jamak) arti anak-anak

- Foot (tunggal) = Feet (jamak) arti kaki

- Goose (tunggal) = Geese (jamak) arti angsa

- Louse (tunggal) = Lice (jamak) arti kutu

- Man (tunggal) = Men (jamak) arti pria

- Mouse (tunggal) = Mice (jamak) arti tikus

- Ox (tunggal) = Oxen (jamak) arti sapi jantan

- Tooth (tunggal) = Teeth (jamak) arti gigi

- Woman (tunggal) = Women (jamak) arti wanita

Countable & uncountable noun

Countable & uncountable noun

Structure Unknown   13:54

Kata benda yang bisa dihitung (countable noun), dan kata benda yang tidak bisa dihitung (uncountable noun). Kata benda yang bisa dihitung adalah kata benda yang bisa dihitung dengan angka dan bisa diubah menjadi bentuk jamak (dengan menambah akhiran -s atau -es diakhir katanya). Selain itu, bisa pula dirangkai dengan kata sandang a, an atau the. Contohnya:
- a teacher (seorang guru)
- The students (para murid)
- 290 desks and 20 chairs (20 meja tulis dan 20 meja kursi)
- an umberella (sebuah payung)

Sedangkan, kata benda yang tidak bisa dihitung harus ditambahkan huruf -s atau -es sebagai bentuk jamaknya. Kata benda ini tidak bisa dirangkai dengan kata sandang a, an, atau bilangan. Misalnya:
- Water
- Milk
- Paper
- Ink
- Money
- Darkness
- Truth
- etc.
Untuk contoh penggunaannya, bisa dilihat dibawah ini:
- Some water (sejumlah air)
- Some milk (susu)
- The ink (tinta)
- The money (uang)
Akan tetapi, ada kata benda yang tak bisa dihitung ini bisa diubah menjadi kata benda bisa dihitung dengan menambahkan quantifier (kata penunjuk kuantitas atau ukuran). Contohnya:
- A glass of water (segelas air)
- A bottle of milk/ink (sebotol susu/tinta)
- A piece of paper ( selembar kertas)
- A cup of tea/coffee ( secangkir kopi/teh)
- A loaf of bread (sepotong roti)
- A gram of gold (segram emas)
- A plate of rice (sepiring nasi)
- A slice of meat (sepotong daging)
- A tube of toothpaste (satu kemasan pasta gigi)
- A piece of chalk (sepotong kapur tulis)
- A cake of soap ( sepotong sabun)
- A can of margarine (sekaleng mentega)

Kata sandang a, an, the

Kata sandang a, an, the

Structure Unknown   13:30

Kata sandang a, an, dan the digunakan untuk menerangkan kata benda. Kata sandang a digunakan untuk menyatakan sebuah kata benda tunggal yang berawalan huruf konsonan dalam bahasa inggris. 

Contoh:

- a book (sebuah buku)

- a man (seorang pria)

- a letter (sepucuk surat)

- a cat (seekor kucing)

Kata sandang an digunakan untuk menyatakan kata benda tunggal yang ucapannya berawalan dari huruf vokal dalam bahasa inggris.

Contoh:

- an apple (sebuah apel)

- an old car (sebuah mobil tua)

- an egg (sebutir telur)

- an elephant (seekor gajah)

Kata sandang the digunakan untuk merujuk objek atau subjek tertenrtu yang sudah pasti atau khusus. Berbeda dengan kata sandang a dan an yang masih bersifat umum, kata sandang the lebih spesifik. 

Contoh:
- The book (buku itu)
- The man (pria itu)
- The letter (surat itu)
- The cat (kucing itu)
- The apple (apel itu)
- The old car (mobil tua itu)
- The egg is broken (telur itu)
- The elephant is in his cage (gajah itu)

Preposition (in, on, at)

Preposition (in, on, at)

Structure Unknown   09:27

“DI”, dalam Bahasa Inggris diterjemahkan dengan “AT, IN, ON.” Dalam penggunaannya mengikuti beberapa aturan, tetapi aturan-aturan ini tidak mutlak atau tidak terlalu baku. Semua aturan ini adalah berdasarkan kebiasaan. Kita akan terbiasa setelah agak lama belajar atau menggunakan Bahasa Inggris. 

Untuk nama-nama kota, pulau, propinsi, negara, benua, dan tempat-tempat lain 
sejenisnya, kita menggunakan IN : 

IN JAKARTA, IN PAPUA, IN WEST KALIMANTAN, IN INDONESIA, IN ASIA, IN THE WORLD 

Untuk alamat, kita menggunakan ON: 
ON JALAN SURAPATI 17, atau ON 17 SURAPATI STREET 
ON MERUYA STREET NO. 15 JAKARTA 

ON THE 15  AVENUE, ORCHARD ROAD, SINGAPORE 
ON KAV. 15 JALAN SUDIRMAN JAKARTA 

Kita juga bisa mengatakan: IN SURAPATI STREET, IN SUDIRMAN STREET 

Untuk menyatakan jam, kita menggunakan AT: 
AT SIX O’CLOCK, AT SEVEN, AT 05.30 

Untuk menyatakan hari, kita menggunakan ON: 
ON SUNDAY, ON MONDAY, ON THURSDAY, ON WEDNESDAY, ON THURSDAY, ON FRIDAY, ON SATURDAY 

Untuk menyatakan bulan dan tahun, kita menggunakan IN: 
IN JANUARY, IN APRIL, IN 1978, IN 2007 

Tetapi: AT THE END OF JULY, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR 1987 

Untuk pagi, siang, malam kita menggunakan IN: 
IN THE MORNING, IN THE AFTERNOON, IN THE EVENING 

Tetapi: AT NIGHT, AT NOON, AT LUNCH TIME, AT SUNSET 

Untuk menyatakan dalam berapa lama, kita menggunakan IN: 
IN ONE WEEK, IN TWO MONTHS, IN A FEW MINUTES, IN A MOMENT 
  
Untuk menyatakan di dalam (ruangan), kita menggunakan IN: 
IN THE HOUSE, IN HIS HOUSE, IN THE KITCHEN, IN THE ROOM, IN THE BATHROOM, IN THE CUPBOARD, IN THE CLASSROOM, IN THE OFFICE, IN THE SHOP  
  
Tetapi: AT HOME, AT SCHOOL, AT UNIVERSITY, AT WORK  

Untuk menyatakan DI, yang kurang lebih berarti di atas, kita menggunakan ON : 
ON THE FLOOR, ON THE GROUND, ON THE GRASS, ON THE BED, ON 
THE CHAIR, ON THE TABLE 

Untuk tempat-tempat umum, kita kebanyakan menggunakan AT : 
AT THE BUS STATION, AT THE MARKET, AT THE HOSPITAL, AT THE POST OFFICE, AT THE PARK, AT THE MOSQUE, AT THE CHURCH, AT THE LOBBY, AT RECEPTION 

Untuk menyatakan PADA suatu benda atau bidang, kita menggunakan ON : 
ON THE WALL, ON THE DOOR, ON THE CEILING, ON THE BOARD, ON PAGE SEVEN 

Untuk menyatakan arah, kita menggunakan IN : 
IN THE EAST, IN THE WEST, IN THE SOUTH, IN THE NORTH 

Untuk menyatakan DI awal, akhir, dsb. Kita menggunakan AT: 
AT THE BEGINNING, AT FIRST, AT LAST, AT THE END, AT THE TOP, AT THE BOTTOM, AT THE BACK, AT THE FRONT 

Untuk bangunan kita menggunakan AT atau IN. IN digunakan apabila menyatakan di 
dalam ruangannya : AT/IN THE HOTEL, AT/IN THE HALL, AT/IN THE CINEMA 

Untuk kendaraan, kita menggunakan ON: 
ON THE BUS, ON A TRAIN, ON A PLANE, ON A CRUISE SHIP, ON A BICYCLE, ON A MOTORCYCLE, ON A HORSE 


Tetapi: IN A CAR, IN A TAXI   

Untuk menyatakan dimana kita diam, berdiri, dsb. kita menggunakan ON : 
ON THE LEFT, ON THE RIGHT, ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, ON THE SECOND FLOOR 

Tetapi: IN/AT THE CORNER OF THE ROOM 

Untuk sungai, danau, laut, dsb; penggunaannya sebagai berikut: 
IN THE POOL, IN THE SEA, IN THE RIVER, IN THE LAKE, IN THE OCEAN 

Tetapi: ON/AT THE BEACH 

TV, Radio, dsb. Kita menggunakan ON: ON TV, ON THE RADIO, ON THE PHONE  

Ada beberapa pengungkapan lainnya seperti : 
IN YOUR HAND, IN YOUR MOUTH, IN TIME (pada waktunya ..), IN THE PHOTOGRAPH, IN A BOOK, IN A NEWSPAPER, IN A LETTER, IN GENERAL, IN PENCIL, IN PEN, IN INK, IN THE RAIN, IN THE DARK, IN THE SUN, IN THE SHADE, IN BAD WEATHER, IN WORDS, IN FIGURES, IN BLOCK LETTERS, IN CASH, IN LOVE,  

ON THE WAY (dalam perjalanan), ON HOLIDAY, ON A TOUR, ON A TRIP ON TIME (tepat waktu), ON STRIKE, ON A DIET, ON FIRE, ON PURPOSE   

AT THE PARTY, AT THE AGE OF…., AT SIXTEEN (16 tahun), AT THE SPEED OF…..,  

Contoh kalimat present tense

Contoh kalimat present tense

Structure Unknown   07:34

Simple present tense (verb)

1.  (+) I study english everyday

     (-)  I don’t study english everyday

     (?) Do I study english everyday ?

2.  (+) You go to school every morning

     (-)  You don’t go to school every morning

     (?)  Do you go to school every morning ?

3.  (+) He goes to work by bus

     (-)  He doesn’t go to work by bus

     (?) Does he go to work by bus ?

4.  (+) She cooks some rice everyday for that family

     (-)  She doesn’t cook any rice everyday for that family

     (?) Does she cook any rice everyday for that family ?

5.  (+) She watches TV in the evening

     (-)  She doesn’t watch TV in the evening

     (?) Does she watch TV in the evening ?

Simple present tense (Non Verb)

1.  (+) I am a police

     (-)  I am not a police

     (?) Am I a police ?

2.  (+) You are a new student here

     (-)  You are not a new student here

     (?) Are you a new student here ?

3.  (+) I am here every sunday

     (-)  I am not here every sunday

     (?) Am I here every sunday ?

4.  (+) They are at home every morning

     (-)  They are not at home every morning

     (?) Are they at home every morning ?

5.  (+) She is very rich

     (-)  She is not rich

     (?) Is She very rice ?

Capital letters and apostrophes

Capital letters and apostrophes

Structure Unknown   08:49

Capital letters and apostrophes

The rules for the use of capital letters and apostrophes are quite easy to remember.

Capital letters

We use capital letters for the days of the week but not for seasons.

• One Saturday in autumn.

We use capital letters for planets – but not the earth, sun or moon.

• Mercury is closer to the sun than the earth is.

We use capital letters for countries and for ‘nationality’ words.

• David is from Germany but Jana is Slovak.
• I bought the camera in Hong Kong but it’s Japanese.

And we use capital letters when we talk about languages as school subjects – but other subjects don’t have a capital letter.

• She’s got exams in English, French, history and geography this year.

Apostrophes

We use an apostrophe (‘) to show either possession or that there is a letter missing (e.g. the apostrophe in ‘she’s’ shows that there is a letter missing in ‘she is’)

We use apostrophes with people or animals to show possession.

• My sister’s house.
• The dog’s blanket.

For things we use ‘of’ (the front of the car, NOT the car’s front.)

The position of the apostrophe depends on whether the noun is singular or plural. look at these two examples.

• My friend’s house. This is about one friend.
• My friends’ house. This is about two or more friends who share a house.

If a plural noun does not end in ‘s’ (e.g. men, people, children) we use ‘s to show possession.

• The children’s bedroom.
• A pair of women’s sunglasses.

We also use an apostrophe in some time expressions.

• two weeks’ holiday
• ten years’ experience

Enough

Enough

Structure Unknown   08:46

‘Enough’ can qualify an adjective or an adverb or it can go with a noun or even act as a pronoun.

With adjectives and adverbs

• She isn’t tall enough to be a ballet dancer.
• I’m afraid your work just isn’t good enough.

• I couldn’t write quickly enough and I ran out of time.
• I haven’t been to lessons often enough to have really learnt much.

Enough comes after adjectives and adverbs.

With nouns

• There isn’t enough bread to make sandwiches.
• Have you got enough money?
• There aren’t enough nails.

Enough comes before nouns.

Enough of

• There isn’t enough of bread

We don’t use enough of unless there is a determiner (an article, this/that, my/your/his etc).
We use enough of when there is a determiner.

• I’ve had enough of your nonsense! ‘Your’ is a determiner here.
• I haven’t seen enough of the film to really form an opinion.

Enough can also be used without a noun.

• That’s enough! Be quiet!
• Enough is enough.

With adjective and noun

When ‘enough’ is used with an adjective and a noun, two positions are possible but the meaning changes. Look at these two sentences.

• We haven’t got big enough nails. None of the nails are as big as we need.
• We haven’t got enough big nails. We have some big nails but we need more.

When enough comes between the adjective and the noun (big enough nails) it qualifies the adjective – it tells us that the nails aren’t big enough. When enough comes before the adjective it qualifies the noun phrase – it tells us that there aren’t enough nails.

British English and American English

British English and American English

Structure Unknown   08:42

British English and American English

British people and American people can always understand each other – but there are a few notable differences between British English and American English

Grammar

Americans use the present perfect tense less than speakers of British English and a British teacher might mark wrong some things that an American teacher would say are correct.

• US Did you do your homework yet?
• Brit. Have you done your homework yet?

• US I already ate.
• Brit. I’ve already eaten.

In British English, ‘have got’ is often used for the possessive sense of ‘have’ and ‘have got to’ is informally used for ‘have to’. This is much less common in American English.

• Brit. I’ve got two sisters.
• US I have two sisters.

• Brit. I’ve got to go now.
• US I have to go now.

There are a number of other minor grammatical differences.

Vocabulary

There are a lot of examples of different words being used in British and American English. Here are a few of the commonest.

• angry (Brit.) = mad (US)
• autumn = fall
• boot (of a car) = trunk
• chemist’s = drug store
• cupboard = closet
• flat = apartment
• lift = elevator
• nappy = diaper
• pavement = sidewalk
• petrol = gas/gasoline
• rubbish = trash
• tap = faucet
• trousers = pants

There are British words which many Americans will not understand and vice versa. There are also words which exist in both British and American English but have very different meanings.

Spelling

There are also a number of different spelling rules between British English and American English.

1 Some words that end in ‘-tre’ in British English end in ‘-ter’ in American English. 

• US theater, center
• Brit. theatre, centre

2 Some words that end in ‘-our’ in British English end in ‘-or’ in American English.

• US color, labor
• Brit. colour, labour

3 Some words are shorter in American English than in British English.

• US catalog, program
• Brit. catalogue, programme

There are other minor spelling differences between British and American English.

active and passive voice

active and passive voice

Structure Unknown   01:08

Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms:

active		passive
The hunter killed the lion.	>>	The lion was killed by the hunter.
Someone has cleaned the windows	>>	The windows have been cleaned

The passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle:

	be	past participle
English	is	spoken	all over the world
The windows	have been	cleaned
Lunch	was being	served
The work	will be	finished	soon
They	might have been	invited	to the party

We sometimes use the verb get to form the passive:

Be careful with the glass. It might get broken.
Peter got hurt in a crash.

If we want to show the person or thing doing the action we use by:

She was attacked by a dangerous dog.
The money was stolen by her husband.

We can use the indirect object as the subject of a passive verb:

active		passive
I gave him a book for his birthday	>>	He was given a book for his birthday.
Someone sent her a cheque for a thousand euros	>>	She was sent a cheque for a thousand euros.

We can use phrasal verbs in the passive:

active		passive
They called off the meeting.	>>	The meeting was called off.
His grandmother looked after him.	>>	He was looked after by his grandmother.
They will send him away to school.	>>	He will be sent away to school.

Some verbs very frequently used in the passive are followed by the to-infinitive:

be supposed to	be expected to	be asked to
be scheduled to	be allowed to	be told to

John has been asked to make a speech at the meeting.
You are supposed to wear a uniform.
The meeting is scheduled to start at seven. 

continuous tenses

continuous tenses

Structure Unknown   01:07

Both tenses have a continuous form. These continuous tenses are formed with the verb be and the –ing form of the verb:

We use continuous aspect:

• for something happening before and after a given time.

He’s getting on the train. [before and after the moment of speaking]
It was quarter past ten. We were watching the news on television.

• for something continuing before and after another action:

Mother will be cooking the dinner when we get home.
We were waiting for the bus when it started to rain.

• for something continuing for some time:

Everybody will be waiting for us.
They had been working hard all day.

• for something happening again and again:

They’ve been doing that every day this week.
The children were always shouting.
He will be practising the piano every night.

• for something temporary:

We are renting an apartment until our house is ready..
He was working in a garage during the vacation.

• for something new:

We have moved from Birmingham. We’re living in Manchester now.
He had left university and was working in his father’s business.

• to describe something changing or developing:

Everything has been getting more difficult.
He was growing more bad-tempered every day. 

present perfect

present perfect

Structure Unknown   01:06

We use the present perfect to show that something has continued up to the present

They’ve been married for nearly fifty years.
She has lived in Liverpool all her life.

… or is important in the present:

I’ve lost my keys. I can’t get into the house.
Teresa isn’t at home. I think she has gone shopping.

We use the present perfect continuous to show that something has been continuing up to the present:

It’s been raining for hours.
We’ve been waiting here since six o’clock this morning.

We use the past perfect to show that something continued up to a time in the past:

When George died he and Anne had been married for nearly fifty years.

... or was important at that time in the past:

I couldn’t get into the house. I had lost my keys.
Teresa wasn’t at home. She had gone shopping.

We use the past perfect continuous to show that something had been continuing up to a time in the past or was important at that time in the past:

Everything was wet. It had been raining for hours.
He was a wonderful guitarist. He had been playing ever since he was a teenager.

We use will with the perfect to show that something will be complete at some time in the future:

In a few years they will have discovered a cure for the common cold.
I can come out tonight. I'll have finished my homework by then.

We use would with the perfect to refer to something that did not happen in the past but would have happened if the conditions had been right:

If you had asked me I would have helped you.
I would have helped you, but you didn’t ask me.
You didn’t ask me or I would have helped you.

We use other modals with perfective aspect when we are looking back from a point in time when something might have happened, should have happened or would have happened.

The point of time may be in the future:

We’ll meet again next week. We might have finished the work by then.
I will phone at six o’clock. He should have got home by then.

the present:

It’s getting late. They should have arrived by now.
He’s still not here. He must have missed his train.

or the past:

I wasn’t feeling well. I must have eaten something bad.
I checked my cell phone. She could have left a message.

past perfect

past perfect

Structure Unknown   01:04

We use the verb had and the past participle for the past perfect:

I had finished the work.
She had gone .

The past perfect continuous is formed with had been and the -ing form of the verb:

I had been finishing the work
She had been going.

The past perfect is used in the same way as the present perfect, but it refers to a time in the past, not the present.

We use the past perfect tense:

• for something that started in the past and continued up to a given time in the past:

When George died he and Anne had been married for nearly fifty years.
She didn’t want to move. She had lived in Liverpool all her life.

We normally use the past perfect continuous for this:

She didn’t want to move. She had been living in Liverpool all her life.
Everything was wet. It had been raining for hours.

• for something we had done several times up to a point in the past and continued to do after that point:

He was a wonderful guitarist. He had been playing ever since he was a teenager.
He had written three books and he was working on another one.
I had been watching the programme every week, but I missed the last episode.

We often use a clause with since to show when something started in the past:

They had been staying with us since the previous week.
I was sorry when the factory closed. I had worked there since I left school.
I had been watching that programme every week since it started, but I missed the last episode.

• when we are reporting our experience and including up to the (then) present:

My eighteenth birthday was the worst day I had ever had.
I was pleased to meet George. I hadn’t met him before, even though I had met his wife several times.

• for something that happened in the past but is important at the time of reporting:

I couldn’t get into the house. I had lost my keys.
Teresa wasn’t at home. She had gone shopping.

We use the past perfect to talk about the past in conditions, hypotheses and wishes:

I would have helped him if he had asked.
It was very dangerous. What if you had got lost?
I wish I hadn’t spent so much money last month.

past continuous

past continuous

Structure Unknown   01:03

The past continuous is formed from the past tense of be with the -ing form of the verb:

We use the past continuous to talk about the past:

• for something which continued before and after another action:

The children were doing their homework when I got home.

Compare:

I got home. The children did their homework.
and
The children did their homework when I got home.

As I was watching television the telephone rang.

This use of the past continuous is very common at the beginning of a story:

The other day I was waiting for a bus when …
Last week as I was driving to work … 

• for something that happened before and after a particular time:

It was eight o’clock. I was writing a letter.

Compare:

At eight o’clock I wrote some letters.

In July she was working in McDonald’s.

• .to show that something continued for some time:

My head was aching.
Everyone was shouting.

• for something that was happening again and again:

I was practising every day, three times a day.
They were meeting secretly after school.
They were always quarrelling.

• with verbs which show change or growth:

The children were growing up quickly.
Her English was improving.
My hair was going grey.
The town was changing quickly.

past simple

past simple

Structure Unknown   01:01

Forms

With most verbs the past tense is formed by adding -ed:

call >> called; like >> liked; want >> wanted; work >> worked

But there are a lot of irregular past tenses in English. Here are the most common irregular verbs in English, with their past tenses:

infinitive	irregular past
be begin break bring buy build choose come cost cut do draw drive eat feel find get give go have hear hold keep know leave lead let lie lose make mean meet pay put run say sell send set sit speak spend stand take teach tell think understand wear win write	was/were began broke brought bought built chose came cost cut did drew drove ate felt found got gave went had heard held kept knew left led let lay lost made meant met paid put ran said sold sent set sat spoke spent stood took taught told thought understood wore won wrote

Use

We use the past tense to talk about:

• something that happened once in the past:

I met my wife in 1983.
We went to Spain for our holidays.
They got home very late last night.

• something that happened again and again in the past:

When I was a boy I walked a mile to school every day.
We swam a lot while we were on holiday.
They always enjoyed visiting their friends.

• something that was true for some time in the past:

I lived abroad for ten years.
He enjoyed being a student.
She played a lot of tennis when she was younger.

• we often use phrases with ago with the past tense:

I met my wife a long time ago.

Questions and negatives

We use did to make questions with the past tense:

When did you meet your wife?
Where did you go for your holidays?
Did she play tennis when she was younger?
Did you live abroad?

But look at these questions:

Who discovered penicillin?
Who wrote Don Quixote?

For more on these questions see question forms

We use didn’t (did not) to make negatives with the past tense:

They didn’t go to Spain this year.
We didn’t get home until very late last night.
I didn’t see you yesterday.