Material de Inglês

·      Expressing actions that were in progress at some moment in the past

I was walking downtown. (PAST CONTINUOS) è The past of to be + verb ing

I was walking downtown at six o’clock yesterday. (TIME EXPRESSION)

I was walking downtown when I saw this in a store window. (SHORT ACTION)

·      Making  affirmative, negative statements and asking questions (past continuous)

QUESTIONS		AFFIRMATIVE	NEGATIVE
Was	I	was	was not / wasn't	eating lunch at noon yesterday.
Were	You	were	were not / weren't
Was	He        She          It	was	was not / wasn't
Were	We        You          They	were	were not / weren't

·      COULD (special verb. It is the past of can)

I could swim fifty laps when I was a kid.

(We use could with all persons / The verb that comes after could does not take to)

He could swim. (AFFIRMATIVE)

He could not / couldn’t swin. (NEGATIVE)

Could he swim? (INTERROGATIVE)

·      WOULD (The special verb is used with like for offering and requesting)

I would like to exchange these rollerblades.

(We use would with all persons / the verb that comes after would does not take to)

Contractions

I would è I’d

Johnny would like. (AFFIRMATIVE)

Johnny would not / wouldn’t like. (NEGATIVE)

Would you care for some beer? (Make an offer)

·      EXPRESSING CONDITIONS

If you fall, you will bruise your knees. (IF + PRESENT = WILL)

If Johnny saw these, he would beg me to buy them for him. (IF + PAST = WOULD)

If I were you, I would wear knee pads when I went skating. (IF + PAST TENSE OF THE VERB TO BE = WERE FOR ALL PERSONS)

·      MAKING COMPARISONS

Johnny is more intelligent than Charlie. è more + (3 or more syllable) adj + than

Your skates are older than Sylvia’s. è one-syllable adj + er than

TWO SYLLABLES

a)      More careful than

b)      Funnier than

c)       More polite or politer than

·      USING THE SUPERLATIVE

Those are the smallest slates we have. è one-syllable + est = SUPERLATIVE

ADJECTIVE	COMPARATIVE	SUPERLATIVE
good	better	(the) best
bad	worse	(the) worst

                                                                                                                                                                            ATTENTION

TWO SYLLABLES

a)       (the) most careful

b)      (the) funniest

c)       (the) most polite or (the) politest

·      ASKING WHO-QUESTIONS

SUBJECTIVE PRONOUNS	POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES	POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
I	my	mine
You	your	yours
He	his	his
She	her	hers
It	its	-
We	our	ours
You	your	yours
They	their	theirs

AUTHOR OF THE ACTION

Who got you these rollerblades? è Grandma did.

Who works in this room? è I do.

Who operates this computer? è Julian does.

RECEIVER OF THE ACTION

Who does Larry call every night? è He calls his girlfriend.

·      BE ABLE TO

I am able to swim fifty laps. (AFFIRMATIVE) = I can swim fifty laps.

They are not able to help us. (NEGATIVE)

How many miles are you able to run? (INTERROGATIVE)

Paul was able to read when he was four. (PAST TENSE) = Paul could read when he was four.

He’ll be able to speak Italian in a year or two. (FUTURE)

SUBJECTIVE PRONOUNS	REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
I	myself
You	yourself
He	himself
She	herself
It	itself
We	ourselves
You	yourselves
They	themselves

·      ASKING NEGATIVE QUESTIONS

Didn’t you see that truck?

Don’t you like oysters?

·      EXPRESSING REFLEXIVE ACTIONS

Donna is looking at her husband.

Donna is looking at herself.

                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                           

·      SOMEONE OR SOMEBODY? = some person (is used in AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES)

There’s someone at the door.

There’s somebody at the door.

·      ANYONE OR ANYBODY? = any person (is used in NEGATIVE SENTENCES)

He didn’t give the tickets to anyone.

He didn’t give the tickets to anybody.

·      SOMEONE / SOMEBODY  OR  ANYONE / ANYBODY?

I can see someone/somebody in that room. (AFFIRMATIVE)

I can’t see anyone/anybody in that room. (NEGATIVE)

Interrogative sentences è (someone/somebody = anyone/anybody in interrogative sentences)

Are you saving these seats for someone/somebody?

Are you saving these seats for anyone/anybody?

Offers and requests

Would you like someone/somebody to help you with my bags ma’am? è OFFER

Would someone/somebody please help me with my bags? è REQUEST

someone/somebody è used in questions to make offers and requests. (Not anyone/anybody)

ANYONE / ANYBODY in affirmative sentences (refer to a single person, whoever it may be)

FRED: Can I take Sue to your party?

HAL: Sure. You can take anyone/anybody you want.

·      ANY  OR  NO? (verb in the negative form + ANY / verb in the affirmative form + NO)

There aren’t any seats available.

There are no seats available.

	SUMMARY
Someone and somebody	Anyone and anybody	No one and nobody
Affirmative sentences	Negative sentences with verb in negative form	Negative sentences with verb in affirmative form
Interrogative sentences	Interrogative sentences
Offers and requests	Affirmative sentences to express the idea of a single person, whoever it may be

·      NO ONE  OR  NOBODY? =  NO PERSON

There is no one/nobody here to help you.

·      ANYONE / ANYBODY OR NO ONE / NOBODY?

There isn’t anyone/anybody here to help you.

There is no one/nobody here to help you.

·      MAY

Making  affirmative, negative statements and asking questions

I	may (not) be sick.
You
He
She
It
We
You
They

AFFIRMATIVE

a)    Don’t add an s to may for he, she and it.

b)   The verb that comes after may does not take to.

NEGATIVE

c)    It does not take do, does or did in the negative form.

d)   We do not contract may and not.

They may let you in.

They may not let you in.

ASKING QUESTIONS

Do you think the storm may be here by tomorrow?

Do you think I may be doing it wrong?

Do you think…

Do you suppose…

INFINITIVE	PAST TENSE	PAST PARTICIPLE	VERBS
to pack	packed	packed	Regular
to close	closed	closed	Regular
to jackknife	jackknifed	jackknifed	Regular
to put	put	put	Irregular
to have	had	had	Irregular
to do	did	done	Irregular
to be	was/were	been	Irregular

·      THE PAST PARTICIPLE

Regular verbs and Irregular verbs.

·      EXPRESSING IDEAS AND ACTIONS WHICH OCCURRED AT AN INDEFINITE TIME IN THE PAST (PRESENTE PERFECT)

Making affirmative sentences (present perfect)

I have packed… (the form the present perfect, we use the verb to have in the present and the past participle of the main verb)

I	have packed the insect repellent.
You
He	has traveled all over the States.
She
It	has overturned.
We	have closed the highway.
You
They

	Contractions
I have	I've	packed
You have	You've	packed
He has	He's	packed
She has	She's	packed
It has	It's	packed
We have	We've	packed
You have	You've	packed
They Have	They've	packed

Making negative statements / contractions

One of the uses of the present perfect, that is,

have/has + past participle

is when we want to express something which happened in the past, without saying exactly when it happened.

In other words, when we use the present perfect, we think that what happened is more important than when it happened.

I have         packed the lantern. (AFFIRMATIVE)

I have not packed the lantern. (NEGATIVE)

I haven’t    packed the lantern. (NEGATIVE CONTRACT)

He has         closed the trunk. (AFFIRMATIVE)

He has not  closed the trunk. (NEGATIVE)

He hasn’t    closed the trunk. (NEGATIVE CONTRACT)

Asking questions

You have closed the trunk. è Have you closed the trunk?

It has overturned. è Has it overturned?

·      ALREADY or YET?

AFFIRMATIVE

ALREADY is used in affirmative sentences.

YET is used in negative sentences.

We can use ALREADY or YET in questions.

I’ve already filled out eleven job applications.

It’s only five o’clock, but it’s already dark outside.

NEGATIVE

I haven’t had a single interview yet.

It’s nine o’clock, and it isn’t dark yet.

We can use NOT YET for a short negative answer.

We usually use already after the verb to be.

We usually use ALREADY before other verbs.

When we use already in a sentence in the present perfect, it usually comes between have/has and other verb.

We usually use YET at the end of the sentence.

INTERROGATIVE

Has Ben already arrived?

Has Ben arrived yet?

·      USING NOT YET IN SHORT ANSWERS

Dialogue:

       MAN: Has Melinda arrived yet?

WOMAN: No, not yet.

·      POSITION OF ALREADY AND YET IN THE SENTENCE

It’s only five o’clock, and it’s already dark outside. (AFTER)

Joe is only twenty-three, and he already has four children. (BEFORE)

I’ve already filled out eleven job applications. (AFTER AND BEFORE)

It’s nine o’clock, and it isn’t dark yet.

Has Ben arrived yet?

WORD ORDER (SIZE + COLOR + MATERIAL)

I am looking for a large white wool scarf. è SIZE + COLOR + MATERIAL

SOMEWHERE OR ANYWHERE?

Sentences	SOMEWHERE		ANYWHERE	Example
Affirmative	X			Your ring is somewhere in that room.
Negative			X	Your ring isn't anywhere in that room.
Interrogative	X		X	Is there a phone somewhere/anywhere around here?
Offers	X			Would you like to go somewhere for dinner?
Request	X			Can I leave my bags somewhere in your office?
Affirmative - single places			X	You can park your car anywhere in the garage.
ANYWHERE OR NOWHERE
There isn't anywhere to put luggage.		è (verb in the negative form)
There is nowhere to put luggage.		è (verb in the affirmative form)

·      FOR OR SINCE?

Ingredients we’ve  used for over ninety years – We use FOR to indicate the duration of an action or situation.

We have  baked the best since 1898. - We use SINCE to when an action that is still in progress began.

·      PRESENT PERFECT OR SIMPLE PAST?

We use the present perfect (have/has + past participle) to express the idea of a repeated action that occurred at an indefinite time in the past.

“I’ve had these splitting headaches for the past several weeks.”

Martin has called twice.

Martin called this morning.

When you don’t specify the time of the action, use the present perfect.

When you specify the time of the action, use the past tense.