Grammar to go!

Oxford Living Grammar

Elementary

06 Past simple
I played; he made
1 Two examples of the past simple: 5 We often use expressions for a finished time with the
I went to London with two friends last summer. past simple to talk about when things happened in
We stayed in a hotel near Hyde Park. the past:
I lost my watch last week, but I found it in the
2 To make the positive form of the past simple we bathroom this morning.
add -ed to regular verbs: Josie phoned about ten minutes ago.
POSITIVE 6 We use the past simple to talk about recent actions
I/you in finished time periods, to talk about our past, to tell
he/she/it asked stories and to talk about history.
we/you/they
©
For past simple negatives and questions, see p. 24.
©
For -ed spelling changes (e.g. try/tried), see p. 128.
Grammar in action
3 But many common verbs have irregular past simple
forms. Look at these examples: 1 We use the past simple to talk about recent actions in
break/broke buy/bought catch/caught finished time periods – things we did last week, at the
come/came do/did drink/drank weekend, yesterday or this morning:
eat/ate find/found forget/forgot I went to Brighton last Sunday
go/went have/had know/knew with Katie. We had a picnic on the
leave/left lose/lost make/made beach. It was really nice.
meet/met pay/paid run/ran
2 We use the past simple to tell
read/read see/saw sell/sold
people about our lives in the past:
send/sent speak/spoke spend/spent
I studied music at college, and we started a band.
take/took win/won write/wrote
We played at parties.
The verb be has two past forms: was and were. We often describe holidays and trips:
My brother travelled by bus from Brazil to Chile when
BE: POSITIVE he was a student. He spent a month in Santiago and
Singular I/he/she/it was Plural we/you/they were met a lot of interesting people.
Chris and I were in Scotland at the weekend, and it 3 We use the past simple to tell true stories (lists of past
was very cold! actions) about ourselves, our families and friends:
©
For a full list of irregular past participles, see p. 129. I heard a loud noise, so I went downstairs, and I saw
a big black dog in the kitchen.
4 We use the past simple for finished past actions: We also tell fictional stories
Liz lived in Madrid for two years. She had a fantastic (children’s stories and novels):
time there. (Liz doesn’t live in Madrid now.) A long time ago, an old man lived
When Mike was a child, he spent every summer with his beautiful young daughter
holiday in Cornwall. (Mike isn’t a child now.) in a small house.

A Talking about things we did last week

Tim and Greta meet at the photocopier at work. Make forms of the past simple.
To take it easy
WORD
FOCUS

means ‘to relax’, GRETA Did you have a good weekend, Tim?
e.g. ‘I’m tired. I’m TIM Not bad, thanks. My brother and his wife arrived 0
(My brother and his
taking it easy today.’
wife/arrive) from Scotland on Friday evening, and 1

(they/stay) with us until Sunday lunchtime.

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GRETA Really? What did you do?

TIM Not much. (We/talk) a lot, of course, and
2 3

(we/see) a film on Saturday night. Then 4

(we/eat) at that
French restaurant, ‘Serge’s’. What about you? Did you have a good weekend?
GRETA Yes, 5
(it/be) OK, thanks. 6
(I/go) into
town on Saturday morning and 7
(I/meet) Dave, and
8
(we/do) some shopping. Then 9

(we/watch) United in the afternoon. 10

(They/lose) again, of
course. And on Sunday, 11
(I/take) it easy.
TIM Well, you need a rest now and again.

B Telling people about a holiday

In this email message, choose the right verb, and make forms of the past simple.

Hi Ed,
Thanks for your message. I think you’re working too hard. You need a long holiday. Last year, Barry,
the kids and I spent 0 (spend/live) four weeks in Cornwall. It 1
(have/be)
great! We 2
(find/stay) a really nice little house near the sea. We 3
(go/get)
for walks, and we 4
(buy/make) food from the local farms. We 5
(cook/clean)
dinner at home most nights, we 6
(read/look) books instead of watching TV, and the
kids 7
(run/play) games in the garden. It rained sometimes, of course, but we 8

(spend/enjoy) every day. I 9

(take/watch) a few photos the day before we 10

(leave/miss). I’ll send you them, and give you the address of the house!
Best wishes, Stephanie

C Telling true stories about our family

Graham is writing about his Italian grandfather. Add these verbs in the past simple form:
Before you begin,

FOCUS
WORD
make sure you know
wake stay wear lose tell go marry come the meaning of these
sell spend catch become drink three business words:
to borrow, a profit,
My grandfather, Alfredo, borrowed £70 and went 0 to Egypt when he was twenty. and a factory.
He wanted to make money. He studied Arabic. He 1
Arabic clothes. He spoke
to the old men in the markets. He 2
tea with them. When he was hungry, he
3
fish. Sometimes he washed dishes in restaurants. Then one day an old man
4
him to buy coffee. He travelled about, and bought all the coffee he could find
from farmers. He 5
about £50. Then he waited. The following year, 1947, the
price of coffee increased by 200%. So he 6
his coffee and made his first profit.
After that, he worked hard. He 7
every morning at 6 a.m. He bought things
when they were cheap, and he sold them if they 8
expensive! Sometimes he
9
money, of course, but in the end he became very rich. In 1955, he 10

my grandmother, the daughter of an Egyptian farmer. He 11

in Egypt for
another 15 years. Then he returned to Italy with my grandmother and a baby son, my
father. He built a factory in Naples. But his son, Davide, 12
to England, where I
was born.

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06
7 Look at this dialogue:
Past simple
We didn’t go; did they see?
We must use did/didn’t/Did…? with the verb

TIP
Did you see Stella yesterday? ~ No, she didn’t come
do too:
to college.
Did they do their homework? ~ Yes, but they
8 We make the negative form of the past simple like this: didn’t do the dishes.

subject + did not/didn’t + verb 10 With be, we don’t use did not/didn’t or Did…?:
I didn’t go to the game.
BE: NEGATIVE
NEGATIVE Singular I/you/he/she/it was not/wasn’t in the garden.
I/you Plural You/we/they were not/weren’t at home.
he/she/it did not/didn’t wait
we/you/they
BE: QUESTIONS
9 We normally make the question form of the past Singular Was I/you/he/she/it late?
simple like this: Plural Were you/we/they right?
YES/NO QUESTIONS
Did + subject + verb
Did I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they write to Tim? Grammar in action
4 We use the past simple to talk about
QUESTIONS WITH QUESTION WORDS national and world history:
Question word + did + subject + verb Tony Blair was the British Prime
When did I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they arrive?
Minister from 1997 to 2007. He won
three general elections in 1997,
When did Shakespeare die? (The answer is 1616.) 2001 and 2005.

D Sunday evening
Maggie, Dave and Pete are students. Maggie is returning to their flat on Sunday
evening. Use the words in brackets to make questions or negative forms.
MAGGIE I’m back! Hi Dave. Did you finish your essay 0
? (you/finish your essay)
DAVE No, I’m tired today. 1
(I/not do anything)
this afternoon. 2
? (you see Jenny)
MAGGIE No, 3
. (she/not be at home)
But I met Joanna, the new American student, in town.
PETE Oh. 4
? (she/be OK)
MAGGIE I think so, but 5
(she/not talk very much).
DAVE 6
(you/invite her to our party) next weekend?
MAGGIE Yes. I’m sure she’ll come. 7
(What/you do all afternoon,)
Pete? 8
(you/make a wonderful dinner) for us?
PETE No I didn’t, I’m afraid. But my parents arrived at two o’clock with a fantastic new
TV for the flat.
MAGGIE Well, that’s kind of them. 9
(When/they leave?)
PETE About an hour ago. Do you want a cup of coffee, Maggie?
DAVE Oh. 10
(I/not get any milk this morning,) Pete.
MAGGIE Black coffee is fine. What’s on TV?

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E Going on holiday
John and Liz are driving to the airport for a two-week holiday. Put the words in
Put the correct

FOCUS
WORD
brackets in the right order to make questions and negative forms of the past simple. verb next to
Use capital letters to start your answers. the definitions:
JOHN Did you lock the front door, Liz 0
(lock/you/the front door, Liz/did)? to check to feed
to lock
LIZ Yes, definitely. But I didn’t make any sandwiches 0
(make/I/any
sandwiches/didn’t). A to close with a key

JOHN 1
(forget/you/did)? B to give food to an
LIZ No, 2
(didn’t/I/time/have). We’ll get something animal or a baby
at the airport. 3
(your passport/under the bed/was)?
C to look at something
JOHN Yes. (Later) 4
(you/email Sally/did)?
to see if it’s OK
LIZ Yes, last night. She’s going to feed the cat every day.
5 (a key/did/you/give her)?

JOHN Of course. But I forgot one thing. 6

(didn’t/the windows upstairs/check/I). Oh dear.

7
(open/were/they)?
LIZ No, I closed them. (Later) Are you going to work on holiday this time?
JOHN 8
(my laptop/pack/no,/didn’t/I).
LIZ Good. We both need a break.

F An accident in the mountains of Iran

Julie is telling Brad about her trip to Iran with two friends.
Add these words to the conversation:

broke stayed walk have carried was were

didn’t made arrived what fixed put

BRAD Hi Julie! Did you have 0 a good trip? What’s wrong

with your leg?
JULIE I’ll tell you. We 1
in Esfahan by train, but we
2
want to spend all our time in the city.
BRAD So 3
did you do?
JULIE We took a taxi one afternoon to the village of Hafeshjan
in the Zagros mountains. The local people 4

very friendly. We found a small hotel, and we 5

the night there.

BRAD And 6
hotel comfortable?
JULIE Yes, the hotel wasn’t the problem. Next morning we
started our walk in a forest outside the village. We didn’t
7
fast, because it was already hot. Soon we
saw some rocks and a cave. Then I 8
a big
mistake. I went into the cave. I couldn’t see anything, and
I 9
my foot on a wet rock. I fell and 10

my leg. Jim and Daniel 11

me back to the
village. When we got to the hotel, they phoned for a taxi,
and they 12
my leg in the hospital in Esfahan!

OVER TO YOU Now go to page 123.

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01
C
Unit Head
-ing forms A Head
INFINITIVE -ING FORM
+ -ing
With most verbs, we add -ing: walk walking
eat eating
-e + -ing
With verbs that end with a consonant* + -e, we delete make making
the -e and add -ing: come coming
write writing
-ie -ying
With verbs that end with -ie, we change -ie to -ying: lie lying
die dying
tie tying
-t -tting
With verbs that end with one vowel* + one consonant sit sitting
(e.g. get, hit, stop), we double the consonant: run running
swim swimming
+ -ing
But note that we do not double the consonant, play playing
1) when it is y or w (e.g. play) happen happening
2) when the last syllable* is not stressed listen listening
(e.g. reMEMber, VISit):
remember remembering

D Regular verbs: Past simple and past participle

INFINITIVE PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE
+ -ed
With most verbs we add -ed: cook cooked cooked
finish finished finished
+ -d
With verbs ending with -e, we add -d: live lived lived
close closed closed
-y -ied
With verbs that end with one consonant* + -y, we study studied studied
change the y to -ied: carry carried carried
try tried tried
-p -pped
With verbs that end with one vowel* + one consonant stop stopped stopped
(e.g. stop), we double the consonant: plan planned planned
+ -ed
But note that we do not double the consonant, stay stayed stayed
1) when it is y or w (e.g. play) happen happened happened
2) when the last syllable* is not stressed open opened opened
(e.g. LISten, HAppen, Open):
visit visited visited
Note that in British English l is usually doubled, even if
the syllable in unstressed (e.g. travel) cancel cancelled cancelled
travel travelled travelled

128 | Form tables

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E Irregular verbs: Past simple and past participle

INFINITIVE PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE INFINITIVE PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE
be was / were been lend lent lent
become became become let let let
begin began begun lose lost lost
break broke broken make made made
bring brought brought meet met met
build built built pay paid paid
buy bought bought put put put
catch caught caught read read read
choose chose chosen ring rang rung
come came come run ran run
cost cost cost say said said
cut cut cut see saw seen
do did done sell sold sold
drink drank drunk send sent sent
drive drove driven show showed shown / showed
eat ate eaten shut shut shut
fall fell fallen sing sang sung
feel felt felt sit sat sat
find found found sleep slept slept
fly flew flown speak spoke spoken
forget forgot forgotten spell spelt / spelled spelt / spelled
get got got spend spent spent
give gave given stand stood stood
go went gone steal stole stolen
grow grew grown swim swam swum
have had had take took taken
hear heard heard teach taught taught
hide hid hidden tell told told
hit hit hit think thought thought
hold held held throw threw thrown
hurt hurt hurt understand understood understood
keep kept kept wake woke woken
know knew known wear wore worn
learn learnt/learned learnt/learned win won won
leave left left write wrote written

Form tables | 129

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 3 What sort of food do you like?
h 4 Where do you come from?
3 Your own answers 5 1 lawye
and 5 Do you live near here?
5 1 c 2 h 3 g 4 i 5a 6e 7b 8d 2 archite
6 Do you work near here? 3 compu
9 f 10 j
7 Are you studying anything?
F
Grammar to go!
1 Do you want a ticket? Answers 6 1 start 4 leave, get
4
5
softwa
psycho
bringing
2 uniform 5 state, private 6 busine
2 Does the bus leave soon? 3 pupils, secondary
3 When does it go? Unit 44
7 Answers from a German person
4 Are you waiting for the bus to Mumbai? 1 Usually at the age of six, sometimes five. 1 1 vet
5 Are you staying in New Delhi at the moment? 2 we don’t have school uniforms in 2 shop a
Germany. Answers:
6
Answers:
What sort of work do you do there?
3 At the age of ten.
3 nurse
7 Are you travelling around India? 4 old
8 Oxford Living
Do you want a cold drink? Oxford Word Skills
4 It depends on the kind of school they are 5 hasn’t
attending. The earliest is 15.
9 Grammar
Where are you going? Basic
5 There are state schools and private 2 1 busine
schools. The majority of children go to 2 shop a
06 Past simple state schools. 3 hairdr
4 secret
? A 1 they stayed 5 it was 9 we watched 8 1 no 3 2 5 e 5 police
2 We talked 6 I went 10 They lost 2 5 4 A 6 C 6 retired
3 we saw 7 I met 11 I took 9 1 take 4 results 3 1 a haird
4 we ate 8 we did 2 do 5 badly, failed 2 a pilot
3 well, grade 6 worst 3 unemp
B 1 was 5 cooked 9 took
10 Answers from a Turkish person 4 the bo
2 found 6 read 10 left
1 They were 50 minutes. 4 Answers
3 went 7 played
2 yes. 1 I’m a s
4 bought 8 enjoyed 3 when I was eleven years old. I was in a 2 My fri
C 1 wore 5 spent 9 lost special school and I had to pass an exam Georg
nana split 2 drank 6 sold 10 married to get into it. 3 I don’t
4 I took one exam with many sections 4 My mo
3 caught 7 woke 11 stayed
like Turkish language, maths, science, 5 I don’t
4 told 8 became 12 came geography, history and general 6 My fri
D 1 I didn’t do anything knowledge. 7 My fri
2 Did you see Jenny 5 yes. 8 My fat
3 she wasn’t at home dentis
Unit 43 9 My fat
4 Was she OK
1 1 do 5 A graduate 10 Mr ka
5 she didn’t talk very much
2 term 6 Unfortunately
6 Did you invite her to our party
3 Bsc 7 after Unit 45
7 What did you do all afternoon, 4 library 1 1 hours
8 Did you make a wonderful dinner 2 a facto
2 1 degree 4 fortunately
9 When did they leave 2 do/write 5 again 3 office
10 I didn’t get any milk this morning, 3 do, PhD 6 last 4 work f
WOrd FOcus A lock B feed C check 5 does h
3 Answers from a Greek person
1 Four years. 2 1 part
E 1 Did you forget E 2 1Twowasn’t / was not
or three enjoying 4 were looking for
years. 2 a
2 I didn’t have time 2 was travelling
3 About ten weeks. 5 was doing 3 earn
3 Was your passport under the bed 4 3About
were twelve
getting off
weeks. 6 was helping 4 low
4 Did you email Sally 5 yes, always.
F 1 I ate / was eating 4 sat was sitting 3 Answers
5 Did you give her a key 4 1 2doctor
ran was running5 economist 5 drove was driving 1 I’m a r
6 I didn’t check the windows upstairs 2 3engineer 6 politician 2 I work
walked was walking 6 rained was raining
7 Were they open 3 architect 7 journalist 3 I work
4 psychologist 8 businessman/manager to peo
8 No, I didn’t pack my laptop 08 Present perfect 4 I work
F 1 arrived 5 stayed 9 put A 1 ’s sent 4 ’s travelled 7 ’s been hours
2 didn’t 6 was 10 broke 11/12/08 15:38:18
2 ’ve lived 5 have met 8 ’s made
3 what 7 walk 11 carried 3 ’s spent 6 ’s done
4 were 8 made 12 fixed
WOrd FOcus 1 crocodile 2 monkey 3 elephant
4 giraffe
07 Past continuous
B 1 The kids have seen
A 1 were dancing 4 was working 2 She’s taken
2 was eating 5 was sleeping 3 she’s lost
3 wasn’t / was not playing 26 OSW(B) Answers FP.indd 215
4 He’s just been
B 1 Where were you going? 5 I’ve done
2 We were meeting an old friend. 6 I’ve written
3 Lorna was sleeping. 7 I’ve spoken
4 But she wasn’t / was not ringing from Moscow. 8 vincent’s just paid
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5 University Press 2010
What was Svetlana doing Photocopiable
in London? 9 Josie and Stella have run page 7
6 No, she wasn’t / was not working. C 1 ’s broken 4 ’s travelled 7 ’ve written
7 I think she was joking. 2 ’s left 5 ’s won