Subject + past tense (-ed except irregular verbs)

Rules

Use simple past for:

1. Telling a story or talking about something that happened to you at a specific time (usually, the time is either said or already known)

- Last Saturday, my new passport finally came in the mail.

- I went to a good university (when I was younger), but my dreams died shortly after.

2. Descriptions of people, things, and situations in the past

- Sammy was the fattest little dog in my neighborhood, and his owner always smelled like garlic and cheese.

- It was a dark alley, but I needed to pee, so I pressed on.

3. Things that don’t happen anymore or facts that are no longer held true

- People often rented movies before the internet became popular.

- The Earth was thought to be flat for many centuries.

4. Habits that you’ve outgrown

- I used to bite my nails a lot, especially while I wrote exams.

- She often picked her nose in class.

5. Feelings

- It was great to go to the game last weekend. I really needed a break from work.

Note: When we use simple past for feelings, we often change to present tense to explain those feelings.

- It was nice to have lunch with you yesterday. I always enjoy spending time with good people.

6. Use ‘did’ plus the base verb to emphasize a point.

- He really did want to see you last night; He was just sick.

- I did like your mother’s cooking; please believe me!

Notice the difference

The main differences between simple past (I went) and present perfect (I have been) are:

1. Simple past allows you to indicate time.

2. Simple past can tell you you used to do something regularly, not just once at some point in the past.

- I played hockey when I was younger (it was something I used to do)

- I have played hockey (it has happened once or twice)

3. The action for simple past has ended and perhaps won’t be done again.

- I went to university (assume I graduated).

- I have been to university (maybe I didn’t graduate or didn’t think it was important)

Subject + have/ has + past participle

Rules

1.  Use present perfect for talking about experiences or accomplishments from an unspecified time.

-  I have visited several major cities in many countries.

-  England has won the World Cup of Soccer, but I can’t remember when.

2.  Talk about an experience or situation that started at a point in past and has continued until now by adding ‘for’ or ‘since.’

-  Young people have become crazier since YouTube launched in 2005.

-  Disco hasn’t been popular for many years.

 3.  You can add a number of times/ occurrences to present perfect sentences, but not a specific point in time.

right:       She has been to the washroom three times in the last hour.

wrong:    She has been to the washroom 5 minutes ago.*

Note: use simple past, NOT present perfect, if you  want to say the time that something happened.

-  She went to the washroom 5 minutes ago.

Subject + base verb

Rules

Use present simple when explaining how something is or usually is. More specifically, present simple is used for:

 1.  Facts

-  Gravity prevents us from floating around.

 2.  General truths and stereotypes

-  Doctors are treated with more respect than educators.

 3.  Common occurrences

-  Students often ignore teachers after a big lunch.

4.  Habits

-  I pull my hair when marking tests.

 5.  Feelings and preferences

-  I enjoy holidays. I don’t really like the stress of work. I prefer holidays to work stress.

6.  Discussing or reviewing literature

-  In Catch 22, Joseph Heller illustrates the illogical chasm that occasionally forms between reality and practicability.

Articles (the, a, and an) help say what kind of noun you are talking about. To make it easier, there are a few rules for you to follow.

Before getting to the rules, you should know some vocabulary:

• Vowels- letters A, E, I, O, U.
• Consonants- any letter that isn’t a vowel. These are letters like B, C, D, F, etc.
• Proper nouns- names of people, places or things such as David, Germany, or Samsung.
• Singular count nouns- can be counted, but are only one unit, as in key, prison, and getaway.
• Plural count nouns- countable nouns that have more than one unit (officers, dogs, and search parties).
• Non-countable nouns- cannot be counted. This is true for things like cheese, milk, and patience.

Rules

Use a or an with singular count nouns. A comes before words that start with consonants; an comes before words the begin with vowels: A little dog can make an awful lot of noise.

Use the when the noun is:

1.  unique (there’s only one)

• The moon shone over the Pacific Ocean.

2.  specific (the listener is familiar with it)

• Go to the supermarket on your way home from the bank.

3.  mentioned a second time

• I bought some ice cream. The ice cream was good.
• I bought a pen. The pen didn’t work.

4.  superlative

• The most ambitious student bothered the greatest number of teachers.

5.  a river, desert, or forest

• I’ve never paddled down the Mississippi, never felt the burning hot sand of the Sahara, and never ventured anywhere like the Amazon.

6.  a region or country that is plural*, united, a kingdom, or a republic

• The Balkans
• The Netherlands
• The Philippines
• The United Arab Emirates
• The United Kingdom
• The United States of America
• The Republic of Ireland

*When a country is officially divided, it is possible to refer to the parts together with the plus -s.

• The Koreas, North and South Korea

Avoid using articles for:

1.  general non-count nouns

• Incorrect: The water is a precious natural resource in every country.
• Correct: Water is a precious natural resource in every country.

2.  a person’s name and other singular proper nouns

• Incorrect: Fifi, the Sally’s favorite cat, was bought in a London.
• Correct: Fifi, Sally’s favorite cat, was bought in London.

*If a person is famous, you may clarify this by stating the before the name.

A: Hello, I’d like to make a reservation for Michael Jordan.
B: Wow, is this the Michael Jordan?
A: No, I’m a plumber.