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We’ve looked at the Simple Present of the verb “be.” Now we are going to look at the Simple Past of “be.”

am/is ==> was:

I am cold. ==> Yesterday, I was hot.

John is tired. ==> He was tired the other day, too.

are ==> were:

You are mistaken. ==> You were mistaken last time.

We are hungry. ==> We were late for supper.

We have the following table:

I was
he / she / it was
we / you / they were

For negative statements:

I was not (wasn’t)
he / she it was not (wasn’t)
we / you / they were not (weren’t)

Examples:

I was late for class yesterday.

I’m glad I wasn’t late today!

He was frustrated with all the paperwork.

She wasn’t ready for the test.

They weren’t home when I called last night.

For questions:

was I?
was he / she / it?
were we / you / they?

These questions may be answered with a yes or no.

Examples:

Was the doctor available?

Yes (, he was).

No (, he wasn’t).

Were you finished reading the paper?

Yes (, I was).

No (, I wasn’t).

Was it a big dog?

Yes (, it was).

No (, it wasn’t).

Were they on a skiing trip?

Yes (, they were).

No (, they weren’t).

Note:

It is very common to use a tag question format:

S + was/were V, wasn’t/weren’t S?
S + wasn’t/weren’t V, was/were S?

When we ask these types of questions, we are generally expecting the answer to the positive-framed question. Answer from the point of view of the subject, NOT the viewpoint of the person asking the question.

Examples:

You weren’t sleeping, were you? (think “Were you sleeping?” to answer)

Yes (, I was).

No (, I wasn’t).

The baby sure was hungry, wasn’t he? (think “Was he hungry?” to answer)

Yes (, he sure was).

No (, he wasn’t).

Wasn’t that a boring movie? (think “Was that a boring movie?” to answer)

Yes (, it was).

No (, it wasn’t).

Exercises: Make sentences by using the correct form of was/were.

Example:

skinny / the dog ==> The dog was skinny.

Bob / hungry / not ==> Bob wasn’t hungry.

not / Sally / sleepy ? ==> Wasn’t Sally sleepy?

1. broken / the dishwasher

2. it / last / rainy / week

3. my pencil / red

4. invited / Mary / the party / to

5. expensive / that restaurant

6. off / the lights ?

7. a dog attacked / by Joe

8. for / late / their appointment / they

9. done / the laundry ?

10. donated / the books / the boys’ club / to

11. first / I / in / place / the competition

12. at / not / the library / you ?

13. all / day / from / the waiter / tired / working

14. and / in / not / the swimming pool / Tim / Tom ?

15. a tree / in / stuck / the cat

16. class / in / not / Tom ?

17. the house / sold / last / week

18. not / off / the stove / turned ?

19. out of order / the pop machine

20. clean / not / the windows ?

Grammar Basics: Unit 9 – “I have” and “I’ve got” (Solutions)

Posted on 2012/01/18

Exercises: Use the following words as prompts to write a sentence using “have / have got,” using the correct forms of “have/has”. Also write the corresponding question.

Example:

you / apple ==>

You have an apple. / You’ve got an apple.

Do you have an apple? / Have you got an apple?

1. I have a key. / I’ve got a key.
Do I have a key? / Have I got a key?

2. We have a ball. / We’ve got a ball.
Do we have a ball? / Have we got a ball?

3. Sam has a radio. / Sam’s got a radio.
Does Sam have a radio? / Has Sam got a radio?

4. Lisa has tickets. / Lisa’s got tickets.
Does Lisa have tickets? / Has Lisa got tickets?

5. It has a pool. / It’s got a pool.
Does it have a pool? / Has it got a pool?

6. They have the food. / They’ve got the food.
Do they have the food? / Have they got the food?

7. You have the pictures. / You’ve got the pictures.
Do you have the pictures? / Have you got the pictures?

8. John has a camera. / John’s got a camera.
Does John have a camera? / Has John got a camera?

9. The students have their homework. / The students have got their homework.
Do the students have their homework? / Have the students got their homework?

10. The porter has our suitcases. / The porter has got our suitcases.
Does the porter have our suitcases? / Has the porter got our suitcases?

11. The baby has his bottle. / The baby’s got his bottle.
Does the baby have his bottle? / Has the baby got his bottle?

12. Father has slippers. / Father’s got slippers.
Does Father have slippers? / Has Father got slippers?

13. Mother has the recipe. / Mother’s got the recipe.
Does Mother have the recipe? / Has Mother got the recipe?

14. Jackson has his gym bag. / Jackson’s got his gym bag.
Does Jackson have his gym bag? / Has Jackson got his gym bag?

15. You have your lesson book. You’ve got your lesson book.
Do you have your lesson book? / Have you got your lesson book?

16. It has cable TV. / It’s got cable TV.
Does it have cable TV? / Has it got cable TV?

17. He has a mechanical pencil. / He’s got a mechanical pencil.
Does he have a mechanical pencil? / Has he got a mechanical pencil?

18. Northwestern University has a good football coach. / Northwestern University’s got a good football coach.
Does Northwestern University have a good football coach? / Has Northwestern University got a good football coach?

19. The train has comfortable seats. / The train’s got comfortable seats.
Does the train have comfortable seats? / Has the train got comfortable seats?

20. The building has an elevator. / The building’s got an elevator.
Does the building have an elevator? / Has the building got an elevator?

Grammar Basics: Unit 9 – “I have” and “I’ve got”

Posted on 2012/01/17

“have” / “have got” is used to indicate possession. In the case of third person singular, “has” / “has got” is used instead. So, we have the following table:

I have, I have got ( = I’ve got)
you have, you have got ( = you’ve got)
we have, we have got ( = we’ve got)
they have, they have got ( = they’ve got)
he has, he has got ( = he’s got)
she has, she has got ( = she’s got)
it has, it has got ( = it’s got)

Examples:

I have a pen. / I have got a pen. = I’ve got a pen.

You have a dog. / You have got a dog. = You’ve got a dog.

We have a new car. / We have got a new car. = We’ve got a new car.

They have problems. / They have got problems. = They’ve got problems.

The negation is formed this way:

have ==> do not have ( = don’t have)
have got ==> have not got ( = haven’t got)
has ==> does not have ( = doesn’t have)
has got ==> has not got ( = hasn’t got)

Examples:

I don’t have any money.

We don’t have time.

They don’t have a clue. ( = They don’t understand at all.)

She doesn’t have blue eyes.

He doesn’t have pets.

For “have / has,” questions are formed with “Do/Does” and switching the order of subject and verb:

I have … ==> Do I have …?
you have … ==> Do you have…?
we have … ==> Do we have …?
they have … ==> Do they have …?

Note that in the third person singular, “has” changes to “have” for the question:

he has … ==> Does he have …?
she has … ==> Does she have …?
it has … ==> Does it have …?

Examples:

Do you have a minute? ( = Do you have any time?)

Does he have a backpack?

Do they have a red car?

Does it have a scratch on the driver’s door?

For “have got / has got,” questions are formed by switching the order of “have / has” and subject:

I have got … ==> Have I got …?
you have got … ==> Have you got …?
we have got … ==> Have we got …?
they have got … ==> Have they got …?

Here, third person singular keeps “has” for questions:

he has got … ==> Has he got …?
she has got … ==> Has she got …?
it has got … ==> Has she got …?

Examples:

Have you got a knife I could borrow?

Have they got any milk?

Has she got an idea?

These types of questions are “yes or no” questions, and can be answered as seen in the following table. You can use the question word as a clue or prompt for the answer word:

Do I have …? ==> Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.
Do you have…? ==> Yes, you do. / No, you don’t.
Do we have …? ==> Yes, we do. / No, we don’t.
Do they have …? ==> Yes, they do. / No, they don’t.

Does he have …? ==> Yes, he does. / No, he doesn’t.
Does she have …? ==> Yes, she does. / No, she doesn’t.
Does it have …? ==> Yes, it does. / No, it doesn’t.

Have I got …? ==> Yes, I have. / No, I haven’t.
Have you got …? ==> Yes, you have. / No, you haven’t.
Have we got …? ==> Yes, we have. / No, we haven’t.
Have they got …? ==> Yes, they have. / No, they haven’t.

Has he got …? ==> Yes, he has. / No, he hasn’t.
Has she got …? ==> Yes, she has. / No, she hasn’t.
Has it got …? ==> Yes, it has. / No, it hasn’t.

Exercises: Use the following words as prompts to write a sentence using “have / have got,” using the correct forms of “have/has”. Also write the corresponding question.

Example:

you / apple ==>

You have an apple. / You’ve got an apple.

Do you have an apple? / Have you got an apple?

1. I / a key

2. we / a ball

3. Sam / a radio

4. Lisa / tickets

5. it / a pool

6. they / the food

7. you / the pictures

8. John / a camera

9. the students / their homework

10. the porter / our suitcases

11. the baby / his bottle

12. Father / slippers

13. Mother / the recipe

14. Jackson / his gym bag

15. you / your lesson book

16. it / cable TV

17. he / a mechanical pencil

18. Northwestern University / a good football coach

19. the train / comfortable seats

20. the building / an elevator

Grammar Basics: Unit 8 – “I am doing” vs. “I do” (Solutions)

Posted on 2012/01/13

Exercises: In the following sentences, determine whether you should use Present Continuous or Simple Present form. Remember that the Present Continuous needs the correct form of “be”. If the sentence is a question, remember to include the correct form of “do” for question formation.

Example:
_____ tomatoes? (you / like) ==> Do you like tomatoes?

Please be quiet – _____ now. (the baby / sleep) ==> Please be quiet – the baby is sleeping now.

1. Susan is knitting a sweater for her cousin’s birthday.

2. Mother is cooking broccoli for dinner, but Steve hates that vegetable.

3. It’s snowing so hard I can’t see across the street.

4. Do you remember your first day of school as a child?

5. Tonight the lecturer is speaking about rattlesnakes.

6. He gives lectures about rattlesnakes all over the country.

7. Where are you going?

8. She prefers tea over coffee.

9. Paul speaks three languages.

10. Do you believe in ghosts?

11. I always forget my cousin’s birthday, so I’m writing it down on my calendar.

12. Jim drives fast whenever he’s mad.

13. Tim is playing in a golf tournament this weekend.

14. He plays in tournaments every chance he gets.

15. Karen is reading a book for her literature class.

16. It’s raining so much that the city park by the river is now flooded.

17. Why didn’t Bill study for his test? He knows better than that!

18. After school he goes to the library.

19. We’re going to the movies tonight after dinner.

20. I’m writing a letter to my nephew.

do vs. doing

Grammar Basics: Unit 8 – “I am doing” vs. “I do”

Posted on 2012/01/12

As we have already seen, Present Continuous is generally used to indicate that something is happening at the time of speaking. On the other hand, Simple Present is used for things that are generally true, things that repeat, or for things that happen sometimes/all the time.

We can also look at the difference between Present Continuous and Simple Present by considering “I am doing” (Present Continuous) versus “I do” (Simple Present).

Examples:

I’m doing the laundry. (right now)

I do the laundry every Monday. (repeating event)

Sam is washing the car. (right now)

Sam washes the car every week. (repeating event)

Mary is watching TV. (right now)

Mary watches TV whenever she’s bored. (generally true)

Note:
Certain words do not generally use a Present Continuous form:

believe

depend

forget

hate

know

like

love

mean

need

prefer

remember

understand

want

Example:
_____ tomatoes? (you / like) ==> Do you like tomatoes?

Please be quiet – _____ now. (the baby / sleep) ==> Please be quiet – the baby is sleeping now.

1. _____ a sweater for her cousin’s birthday. (Susan / knit)

2. _____ broccoli for dinner, but _____ that vegetable. (Mother / cook), (Steve / hate)

3. _____ so hard I can’t see across the street. (it / snow)

4. _____ your first day of school as a child? (you / remember)

5. Tonight _____ about rattlesnakes. (the lecturer / speak)

6. _____ lectures about rattlesnakes all over the country. (he / give)

7. Where _____? (you / go)

8. _____ tea over coffee. (she / prefer)

9. _____ three languages. (Paul / speak)

10. _____ in ghosts? (you / believe)

11. _____ always _____ my cousin’s birthday, so _____ it down on my calendar. (I / forget), (I / write)

12. _____ fast whenever he’s mad. (Jim / drive)

13. _____ in a golf tournament this weekend. (Tim / play)

14. _____ in tournaments every chance he gets. (he / play)

15. _____ a book for her literature class. (Karen / read)

16. _____ so much that the city park by the river is now flooded. (it / rain)

17. Why didn’t Bill study for his test? _____ better than that! (he / know)

18. After school _____ to the library. (he / go)

19. _____ to the movies tonight after dinner. (we / go)

20. _____ a letter to my nephew. (I / write)

do vs. doing

Grammar Basics: Unit 7 – Simple Present, Questions (Solutions)

Posted on 2012/01/11

Exercises: Write questions from the following words. Be sure to put the “do” verb in the right form (do/does).

Example: eat / he / seafood / ? ==> Does he eat seafood?

1. Do you like kimchee?

2. Does Donald have an MP3 player?

3. Do I eat pizza for breakfast?

4. Where do your brothers live?

5. Do they like it there?

6. What does he eat for lunch?

7. Why do we celebrate Christmas?

8. When does the mail usually come?

9. What time does the plane come in?

10. How much does this pencil case cost?

11. How does Daniel feel today?

12. Do you often visit your parents?

13. Do we have any ice cream?

14. Whom do you usually watch on TV?

15. Do I have to go to bed now?

16. Why do you have a green sticker on your book?

17. Does she usually look like that?

18. Does it often rain in the summer?

19. Does Mike study a lot for math?

20. What does your father do?

Grammar Basics: Unit 7 – Simple Present, Questions

Posted on 2012/01/10

The pattern for forming simple present questions is as follows:

Do/Does + subject + (adverb of frequency) + V (+….)?

where V is the dictionary form of the verb. “Does” is for third person singular, and all others use “Do.”

Examples:

I eat ==> Do I eat?

You drive ==> Do you drive?

We walk ==> Do we drive?

They talk ==> Do they talk?

He sings ==> Does he sing?

She runs ==> Does she run?

It rains ==> Does it rain?

Note that for third person singular, there is NO “s” after the end of the main verb. Instead, the “s” goes on DO: do ==> does.

Examples:

It always rains at night. ==> Does it always rain at night?

He works at a restaurant. ==> Does he work at a restaurant?

Tom studies after school. ==> Does Tom study after school?

We go on vacation every summer. ==> Do we go on vacation every summer?

She practices the piano three hours every day. ==> Does she practice the piano three hours every day?

They cut their grass on Saturdays. ==> Do they cut their grass on Saturdays?

Dad takes a shower every morning. ==> Does Dad take a shower every morning?

The schoolkids have their yearly picnic at the end of May. ==> Do the schoolkids have their yearly picnic at the end of May?

John likes skiing. ==> Does John like skiing?

He hates bowling. ==> Does he hate bowling?

For wh-questions, the wh- word comes first in the sentence, giving us the pattern:

Wh- do/does + subject + (adverb of frequency) + V (+….)?

Examples:

Whom do you think will win the game?

What does Tim want for Christmas?

Where do we go from here?

When does Jane do her homework?

Why do you take off your shoes when you come in?

How does a magician do his tricks?

Exercises: Write questions from the following words. Be sure to put the “do” verb in the right form (do/does).

Example: eat / he / seafood / ? ==> Does he eat seafood?

1. kimchee / like / you / ?

2. an / Donald / have / MP3 / player / ?

3. breakfast / eat / pizza / for / I / ?

4. brothers / live / where / your / ?

5. it / like / there / they / ?

6. eat / for / he / lunch / what / ?

7. celebrate / Christmas / we / why / ?

8. come / mail / the / usually / when / ?

9. come / in / plane / the / time / what / ?

10. case / cost / how / much / pencil / this / ?

11. Daniel / feel / how / today / ?

12. often / parents / visit / you / your / ?

13. any / cream / have / ice / we / ?

14. whom / you / usually / watch / on / TV / ?

15. bed / go / have / I / now / to / to / ?

16. a / book / green / have / on / sticker / why / you / your / ?

17. like / look / she / that / usually / ?

18. in / it / often / rain / summer / the / ?

19. Mike / study / a / lot / for / math / ?

20. do / father / what / your / ?

Grammar Basics: Unit 6 – Simple Present, Negative (Solution)

Posted on 2012/01/06

Exercises: Write negative sentences from the following words. Be sure to put the verb “do” in the right form (do // does).

Example: have / horses / wings ==> Horses don’t have wings.

1. Steve doesn’t play the piano any more.

2. The bird doesn’t sing at night.

3. The children don’t like broccoli.

4. I don’t watch TV on weekdays.

5. We don’t mow our grass in the fall.

6. The Nelson sisters don’t drive after dark.

7. He doesn’t study enough.

8. Cats don’t eat vegetables.

9. The phone doesn’t work.

10. The car doesn’t start.

11. Mother doesn’t cook on Sundays.

12. Father doesn’t get up early on weekends.

13. Jim doesn’t drink coffee.

14. He doesn’t like tea, either.

15. We don’t sell magazines at our store.

16. Turtles don’t walk fast.

17. You don’t eat very much.

18. Mary doesn’t sing in the choir.

19. They don’t have any more tickets.

20. They don’t like bad weather.

Grammar Basics: Unit 6 – Simple Present, Negative

Posted on 2012/01/05

To make the negative of a simple present sentence, use the appropriate form of the verb DO together with NOT, followed by the dictionary form of the main verb of the sentence.

Examples:

I/you/we/they + do not (don’t) + V

Examples:

I eat ==> I do not (don’t) eat

You drive ==> You do not (don’t) drive

We walk ==> We do not (don’t) drive

They talk ==> They do not (don’t) talk

he/she/it + does not (doesn’t) + V

Examples:

He sings ==> He does not (doesn’t) sing

She runs ==> She does not (doesn’t) run

It rains ==> It does not (doesn’t) rain

Note that for third person singular, there is NO “s” after the end of the main verb. Instead, the “s” goes on DO: do ==> does.

Examples:

John doesn’t like pizza.

They don’t eat out at all. (“eat out” = eat at a restaurant)

I don’t do my homework when I feel sick.

You don’t have your key with you, do you?

He doesn’t have a chance of winning the election.

Exercises: Write negative sentences from the following words. Be sure to put the verb “do” in the right form (do // does).

Example:
have / horses / wings ==> Horses don’t have wings.

1. any / more / piano / play / Steve / the

2. at / bird / night / sing / the

3. broccoli / children / like / the

4. I / on / TV / watch / weekdays

5. fall / grass / in / mow / our / the /we

6. after / dark / drive / Nelson / sisters / the

7. enough / he / study

8. cats / eat / vegetables

9. phone / the / work

10. car / start / the

11. cook / Mother / on / Sundays

12. early / Father / get / on / up / weekends

13. coffee / drink / Jim

14. either / he / like / tea

15. at / magazines / our / sell / store / we

16. fast / turtles / walk

17. eat / much / very / you

18. choir / in / Mary / sing / the

19. any / have / more / they / tickets

20. bad / like / they / weather

Grammar Basics: Unit 5 – Simple Present (Solution)

Posted on 2012/01/04

Exercises: Write sentences from the following words. Be sure to put the verb in the right form (sing, sings, etc.)

1. It always rains at night.

2. He works at a restaurant.

3. Tom studies after school.

4. We go on vacation every summer.

5. She practices the piano three hours every day.

6. They cut their grass on Saturdays.

7. Dad takes a shower every morning.

8. The schoolkids have their yearly picnic at the end of May.

9. John likes skiing.

10. He hates bowling.

11. They live in Hawaii.

12. Sam never listens to music when he reads a book.
(Or, Sam never reads a book when he listens to music.)

13. The moon rises later each day.

14. The piano needs tuning.

15. Apples taste good.

16. Mother bakes cookies for Christmas.

17. Cats have soft fur.

18. Babies sleep all the time.

19. This vacuum cleaner has good suction.

20. I usually read a book before I go to bed.

simple present