Using the past simple(also called the simple past tense)

Here's when we use it:

1 Finished events in the past with no connection to the present:

Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa.The Vikings invaded Britain.

2 With a finished time word (yesterday, last week, at 2 o'clock, in 2003):

I went to the cinema yesterday.We visited Japan in 2007.

3 For stories / lists of events:

He went to a café, sat down and lit a cigarette.Yesterday I went to the library, met a friend for lunch, and playedtennis.

4 Details of news:

I've hurt my leg. I fell off a ladder when I was painting my bedroom.I've been on holiday. I went to Spain and Portugal.

5 As part of the second conditional:

If I won the lottery, I would buy a house in Chelsea.If she knew his number, she would call him.

Using the Present Perfect

We use this tense for unfinished and finished actions:

Unfinished Actions

We use this tense when we want to talk about unfinished actions that started in the past and continue to the present. Usually we use it to say 'how long' an action or state has continued with 'since' and 'for'. Often, we use stative verbs in this situation:

I've known Karen since 1994. She's lived in London for three years.

'Since' and 'For'

We use 'since' with a fixed time in the past (2004, April 23rd, last year, two hours ago). The fixed time can be another action, indicated with the past simple (since I was at school, since I arrived):

I've known Sam since 1992. I've liked chocolate since I was a child. She's been here since 2pm.

We use 'for' with a period of time (2 hours, three years, six months):

I've known Julie for ten years. I've been hungry for hours. She's had a cold for a week.

Finished Actions

1: Life experience (we don't say when the experience happened, just sometime in the past)

I have been to Tokyo. She has lived in Germany. They have visited Paris three times. We have never seen that film. Have you ever read 'War and Peace'?

2: A finished action with a result in the present (focus on result)

I've lost my keys (so I can't get into my house). She's hurt her leg (so she can't play tennis today). They've missed the bus (so they will be late). I've cooked dinner (so you should come and eat).

3: With an unfinished time word (this month, this week, today, in the last year)

I haven't seen her this month. She's drunk three cups of coffee today. This week they've been shopping four times.

Note: We can't use the present perfect with a finished time word:

I've seen him yesterday.

'Been' and 'Gone'

In this tense, we use both 'been' and 'gone' as the past participle of

'go', but in slightly different circumstances.

Been

We use 'been' (often when we talk about 'life experience') to mean that the person being talked about has visited the place, and come back. Notice the preposition 'to':

I've been to Paris (in my life, but now I'm in London, where I live).

She has been to school today (but now she's back at home). They have never been to California.

Gone

We use 'gone' (often when we are talking about an action with a result in the present) to mean that the person is at the place now:

'Where's John?' 'He's gone to the shops' (he's at the shops now).

Julie has gone to Mexico (now she's in Mexico). They've gone to Japan for three weeks (now they're in Japan).

What's the difference? Present Perfect and Past Simple

Present Perfect Simple Past Simple

Unfinished actions that started in the past and continue to the present:

I've known Julie for ten years (and I still know her).

Finished actions:

I knew Julie for ten years (but then she moved away and we lost touch).

A finished action in someone's life (when the person is still alive: life experience):

My brother has been to Mexico three times.

A finished action in someone's life (when the person is dead):

My great-grandmother went to Mexico three times.

A finished action with a result in the present:

A finished action with no result in the present:

I've lost my keys! (The result is that I can't get into my house now).

I lost my keys yesterday. It was terrible! (Now there is no result. I got new keys yesterday).

With an unfinished time word (this week, this month, today):

I've seen John this week.

With a finished time word (last week, last month, yesterday):

I saw John last week.

Remember:

1. We use the past simple for past events or actions which have no connection to the present.

2. We use the present perfect for actions which started in the past and are still happening now OR for finished actions which have a connection to the present.

3. We CAN'T use the present perfect with a finished time word:o NOT: I've been to the museum yesterday.

Using the present perfect continuous

There are two main times we use this tense. Remember we can't use it withstative verbs.

1: To say how long for unfinished actions which started in the past and continue to the present. We often use this with for and since. (See thepresent perfect for the same use with stative verbs)

I've been living in London for two years. She's been working here since 2004. We've been waiting for the bus for hours.

2: Actions which have just stopped (though the whole action can be unfinished) and have a result, which we can often see, hear, or feel, in the present (focus on action). (See the present perfect for a similar use which focuses on the result of the action)

I'm so tired, I've been studying. I've been running, so I'm really hot. It's been raining, the pavement is wet. I've been reading your book, it's very good.

Relative clauses

We can use relative clauses to join two English sentences, or to give more information about something.

I bought a new car. It is very fast.→ I bought a new car that is very fast.

She lives in New York. She likes living in New York.→ She lives in New York, which she likes.

Defining and Non-definingA defining relative clause tells which noun we are talking about:

I like the woman who lives next door.(If I don't say 'who lives next door', then we don't know which woman I mean).

A non-defining relative clause gives us extra information about something. We don't need this information to understand the sentence.

I live in London, which has some fantastic parks.(Everybody knows where London is, so 'which has some fantastic parks' is extra information).

Defining relative clauses:1: The relative pronoun is the subject:

First, let's consider when the relative pronoun is the subject of a defining relative clause.

We can use 'who', 'which' or 'that'. We use 'who' for people and 'which' for things. We can use 'that' for people or things.

The relative clause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence. We can't drop the relative pronoun.

For example (clause after the object of the sentence):

I'm looking for a secretary who / that can use a computer well. She has a son who / that is a doctor. We bought a house which / that is 200 years old. I sent a letter which / that arrived three weeks later.

More examples (clause after the subject of the sentence):

The people who / that live on the island are very friendly. The man who / that phoned is my brother. The camera which / that costs £100 is over there. The house which / that belongs to Julie is in London.

Try an exercise where the relative pronoun is the subject here.

2: The relative pronoun is the object:

Next, let's talk about when the relative pronoun is the object of the clause. In this case we can drop the relative pronoun if we want to. Again, the clause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence. Here are some examples:

(Clause after the object)

She loves the chocolate (which / that) I bought. We went to the village (which / that) Lucy recommended. John met a woman (who / that) I had been to school with. The police arrested a man (who / that) Jill worked with.

(Clause after the subject)

The bike (which / that) I loved was stolen. The university (which / that) she likes is famous. The woman (who / that) my brother loves is from Mexico. The doctor (who / that) my grandmother liked lives in New York.

Try an exercise where the relative pronoun is the object here Try an exercise about defining relative clauses, both subject

and object here Try another exercise about defining relative clauses, both

subject and object here

Non-defining relative clauses:We don't use 'that' in non-defining relative clauses, so we need to use 'which' if the pronoun refers to a thing, and 'who' if it refers to a person. We can't drop the relative pronoun in this kind of clause, even if the relative pronoun is the subject of the clause.

(Clause comes after the subject)

My boss, who is very nice, lives in Manchester. My sister, who I live with, knows a lot about cars. My bicycle, which I've had for more than ten years, is falling apart. My mother's house, which I grew up in, is very small.

(Clause comes after the object)

Yesterday I called our friend Julie, who lives in New York. The photographer called to the Queen, who looked annoyed. Last week I bought a new computer, which I don't like now. I really love the new Chinese restaurant, which we went to last

night.

Prepositions and relative clausesIf the verb in the relative clause needs a preposition, we put it at the end of the clause:

For example:

listen to

The music is good. Julie listens to the music.→ The music (which / that) Julie listens to is good.

work with

My brother met a woman. I used to work with the woman.→ My brother met a woman (who / that) I used to work with.

go to

The country is very hot. He went to the country.→ The country (which / that) he went to is very hot.

come from

I visited the city. John comes from the city.→ I visited the city (that / which) John comes from.

apply for

The job is well paid. She applied for the job.→ The job (which / that) she applied for is well paid.

Whose'Whose' is always the subject of the relative clause and can't be left out. It replaces a possessive. It can be used for people and things.

The dog is over there. The dog's / its owner lives next door.→ The dog whose owner lives next door is over there.

The little girl is sad. The little girl's / her doll was lost.→ The little girl whose doll was lost is sad.

The woman is coming tonight. Her car is a BMW.→ The woman whose car is a BMW is coming tonight.

The house belongs to me. Its roof is very old.→ The house whose roof is old belongs to me.

Where / when / whyWe can sometimes use these question words instead of relative pronouns and prepositions.

I live in a city. I study in the city.

→ I live in the city where I study.→ I live in the city that / which I study in.→ I live in the city in which I study.

The bar in Barcelona is still there. I met my wife in that bar.

→ The bar in Barcelona where I met my wife is still there.→ The bar in Barcelona that / which I met my wife in is still there.→ The bar in Barcelona in which I met my wife is still there.

The summer was long and hot. I graduated from university in the summer.

→ The summer when I graduated from university was long and hot.→ The summer that / which I graduated from university in was long and hot.→ The summer in which I graduated was long and hot.

How to Use 'A' and 'The'

A and AN are called indefinite articles. "Indefinite" means "not specific". Use A(AN) when you are talking about a thing in general, NOT a specific thing.

Examples:

I need a phone. Not a specific phone, any phone Mark wants a bicycle. Not a particular bicycle, a bicycle in general Do you have a driver's license? In general

Use A(AN) when talking about a thing which is new, unknown, or introduced to a listener for the first time. Also use A(AN) when you are asking about the existence of something.

Examples:

I have a car. The car is being introduced for the first time. Tom is a teacher. This is new information to the listener. Is there a dictionary in your backpack? Asking about the existence of the

dictionary

Similarly, use A(AN) to introduce what type of thing we are talking about.

Examples:

That is an excellent book. Describing the kind of book Do you live in a big house? Asking about the kind of house I ate a thick, juicy steak. Describing the kind of steak

REMEMBER: You cannot use A(AN) with plural nouns because A(AN) means "one" or "a single".

Examples:

I saw a bears in Yellowstone National Park. Not Correct I saw bears in Yellowstone National Park. Correct

THE is called a definite article. "Definite" means "specific". Use THE when talking about something which is already known to the listener or which has been previously mentioned, introduced, or discussed.

Examples:

I have a cat. The cat is black. There is a book in my backpack. The book is very heavy. Do you know where I left the car keys? The listener knows which specific car

keys you are talking about. Do you own a car? Is the car blue? You assume they do have a car after

asking about it in the first sentence. Nobody lives on the Moon. The Moon is known to everyone.

IMPORTANT: You can use THE with both singular nouns and plural nouns.

Examples:

I saw the bear in Yellowstone National Park. Correct I saw the bears in Yellowstone National Park. Correct

Many clauses and phrases make the noun known to the listener by telling the listener which person or thing we are talking about. Let's look at an example sentence:

Can you give me the book on the table.

We use THE in this sentence because the phrase "on the table" tells the listener which book we are referring to. We are not talking about other books, we are talking about a specific book that the listener can see or already knows about. Learning to recognize such identifying clauses and phrases will help you use THE correctly.

Examples:

Did you read the book which I gave you? He didn't like the movie that you suggested. He loved the dessert with chocolate and cherries. The phone on my desk belongs to Ken. Did you know the man who was talking to Leonie?

HOWEVER: Not all clauses and phrases make the noun known to the listener. Some are simply descriptive. They add extra information, but they do not tell the listener which specific thing we are talking about.

Examples:

He bought the house with a big backyard. This combination tells the listener which specific house he bought.

He bought a house with a big backyard. This combination tells the listener what kind of house he bought, but not the specific house he bought.