English Grammar and Writing Guide
Past Tenses
Past Simple vs. Past Continuous
We use the past simple to talk about completed actions in the past. We use the past continuous to talk about actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past.
Past Continuous:
- I/He/She/It was talking
- You/We/They were talking
Past Simple:
- Work/Worked
Interrogative and Negative Forms:
To form questions and negative sentences in the past simple, we use the auxiliary verb “did”. The main verb remains in its base form.
Irregular Verbs
Here are some common irregular verbs in the past simple and past participle forms:
- Be – was/were – been
- Begin – began – begun
- Break – broke – broken
- Bring – brought – brought
- Build – built – built
- Burn – burnt/burned – burnt/burned
- Buy – bought – bought
- Can – could – been able to
- Catch – caught – caught
- Choose – chose – chosen
- Come – came – come
- Cost – cost – cost
- Cut – cut – cut
- Do – did – done
- Dream – dreamt/dreamed – dreamt/dreamed
- Drink – drank – drunk
- Drive – drove – driven
- Eat – ate – eaten
- Fall – fell – fallen
- Feel – felt – felt
- Fight – fought – fought
- Fly – flew – flown
- Forget – forgot – forgotten
- Get – got – got
- Give – gave – given
- Go – went – gone
- Have – had – had
- Hear – heard – heard
- Know – knew – known
- Learn – learnt/learned – learnt/learned
- Leave – left – left
- Lose – lost – lost
- Make – made – made
- Must – had to – had to
- Pay – paid – paid
- Put – put – put
- Read – read – read
- Run – ran – run
- Say – said – said
- See – saw – seen
- Show – showed – shown
- Sing – sang – sung
- Sleep – slept – slept
- Speak – spoke – spoken
- Spend – spent – spent
- Take – took – taken
- Teach – taught – taught
- Think – thought – thought
- Understand – understood – understood
- Win – won – won
Storytelling
Structure
A good story typically has the following structure:
- Title
- Introduction (setting, characters, initial situation)
- Action (rising action, climax)
- Resolution (falling action, conclusion)
Useful Vocabulary and Phrases
Translations:
- First/Firstly: primero/en primer lugar
- Second/Secondly: segundo/en segundo lugar
- Next/Then: seguidamente/luego
- After/Afterwards: después de/más tarde
- In the beginning/In the end: Al principio/Al final
- At first: Al principio
- Finally/Eventually: finalmente/al final
Connectors:
- Introduction: It all began when…
- Action: Then, At that moment, Suddenly, Out of the blue
- Result: When it was all over
Adverbs:
- Quickly, Nervously
Direct Speech:
- Present Simple: I eat, He/She/It eats, I do, He/She/It does
- Reporting Verbs: said, yelled, answered, whispered
Examples
Kate’s Journey
1. It all began when Kate saw a stunning picture of Italy on a website and decided that was the perfect place to get over her divorce.
2. After planning her trip for a week, she packed her suitcase quickly and flew to Rome on her own. When she arrived at the airport, it was bustling and suddenly she saw a familiar face. It was Philip, her ex! And he was walking slowly towards her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Your sister told me about your trip and I need you to forgive me,” he said. Kate was puzzled but she wasn’t devastated anymore. She had just realized she was not in love with him.
3. All of a sudden, she woke up. It had been a dream! Finally, she felt ready to start a new life without Philip.
Sara’s Robbery
1. It all started when Sara saw some earrings in a jewelry store in Madrid and decided to assault the store since she did not have money to buy them.
2. After planning her robbery, she prepared what she was going to need and went to the place where it all began. And suddenly, while she was stealing the jewels, the police appeared. They walked to her, “Lay down your weapons, miss!” they said. She regretted what she did and responded, “I’m so sorry, I just wanted the earrings for a wedding.” That’s when she realized the mistake.
3. Suddenly, she woke up and told me all about her dream. Finally, she felt ready to work and get the money she needed to buy them.