2. Paco used to wear a brown mac in England

Icono de iDevice Present Simple vs. Past Simple
By JB Banks. C. Commons

Remember that, in contrast with the Present Simple, the Past Simple is used to express the idea that the action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Although that specific time is not mentioned, the speaker has it in mind.

Let's see an example: Paco used to wear a brown mac in England.

We know that Paco left England some weeks ago, so the action must be expressed in the Past Simple tense. Besides, used to expresses past habits, in contrast to usually, which is used to express present habits.

Go back to the passage in Section 1 and make a list of all the phrases and sentences in the Past Simple tense.

By Ari Moore. C. Commons

As you can see in the examples above, in English there are verbs which

  • add suffix -ed to form the past simple (Regular verbs)
  • have their own past simple (Irregular verbs)

Unfortunately, there is just one way to distinguish them, and it is by learning irregular verbs by heart.

 

Can you distinguish which of the verbs in the picture are irregular?

In the hand, there are four irregular verbs: dream, teach, learn and sing, whose past simples are dreamt (in British English also dreamed), taught, learnt (in British English also learned) and sang, respectively.

Icono IDevice Actividad
Click here to get a first list of irregular verbs in English. You must know most of them because they are very frequently used in English. Later in the unit, you'll be provided with another list and exercises to improve your learning.

To form the interrogative and negative forms of both regular and irregular verbs we use the past simple of the auxiliary verb To do (did), do you remember? Say which of the following options are correct. Pay attention to auxiliary and modal verbs!

 

By rogiro. C. Commons

1. He wanted to visit all continents.

a. He didn't wanted to visit all continents.
b. He didn't want to visit all continents.
c. Did he want to visit all continents?
d. Did he wanted to visit all continents?



2. He didn't like the experience very much.
a. Did he liked the experience very much?
b. He liked the experience very much.
c. Did he like the experience very much?
d. He like the experience very much.




By Sam. C. Commons
3. The plane took off a long time ago.
a. Did the plane take off a long time ago?
b. Took the plane off a long time ago?
c. The plane didn't take off a long time ago.
d. The plane didn't took off a long time ago.



4. He could see he was clean-shaven.
a. Did he can see he was clean-shaven?
b. Could he see he was clean-shaven?
c. He not could see he was clean-shaven.
d. He couldn't see he was clean-shaven.



Icono IDevice Curiosity
First airplanes

 

Apart from the hot air balloon, the first airplane which was flown successfully was a glider. Early gliders were launched from high places such as cliffs. Sir George Cayel is considered to be the first man who made a glider which actually flew in mid-nineteenth century. It was too small and it flew with no pilot or passenger in it.

 


During 1890 Orville and Wilbur Wright, who worked in a bicycle shop, discovered that bicycles that were closer to the ground were faster and became really interested in flying. After reading all the books about airplanes they could find, they began making gliders in North Carolina. The Wright brothers, as they became known, improved the glider and designed one where the pilot controlled both the direction and height of the airplane in the air by means of a rudder (in the tail of the plane) and flaps (in the wings). So, in December of 1903, the Wright Brothers became the first people to successfully fly a plane with a person in it. It flew for 12 seconds!

In the introductory passage about Paco's flight to Africa, there are lots of adjectives. Adjectives are really important to modify nouns. So, this is what we are going to do next: recognize the adjectives in the text and their position in phrases and sentences. Come on, go on to next section!
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