This document provides information about grammar rules for the simple past tense, determiners, time expressions for talking about the past, and expressions used to correct yourself like "wait" and "actually." It gives examples of using the simple past to talk about completed past actions at a specific time or as a habit in the past. It also lists rules for using determiners like placing "all" and "both" before other determiners.

2. grammar
SIMPLE PAST
1.-Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started
and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker
may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one
specific time in mind
EXAMPLES:
I saw a movie yesterday.
I didn't see a play yesterday.
Last year, I traveled to Japan.
Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
Did you have dinner last night?
She washed her car.
He didn't wash his car.

3. 2.-We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed
actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd,
4th, and so on.
EXAMPLES:

I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a
nice place to swim.

He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the
hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.

Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the
eggs?

4. 3.-The Simple Past can also be used to describe a
habit which stopped in the past. It can have the
same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we
are talking about a habit, we often add expressions
such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a
child, when I was younger, etc.
EXAMPLES:
 I studied French when I was a child.
 He played the violin.
 He didn't play the piano.
 Did you play a musical instrument when you were a
kid?
 She worked at the movie theater after school.
 They never went to school, they
always skipped class.

5. TIME EXPRESSIONS TO TALK ABOUT THE PAST
last - used when speaking about the previous week, month or year
Example:
They went on holiday last month.
yesterday - used when speaking about the previous day
Example:
I visited my best friend yesterday.
ago - used when speaking about X days, weeks, months, years before.
NOTE: 'ago' follows the number of days, weeks, etc.
Example:
We flew to Cleveland three weeks ago.
in - used with specific years or months
Example:
She graduated in 1976.
when - used with a past time clause
Example:
I played tennis every day when I was a teenager.

6. DETERMINERS
"Determiners are sometimes called limiting
adjectives in traditional grammar. However, they not only
differ from the class of adjectives by meaning, but also must
normally precede ordinary adjectives in noun phrase structure.
Further, among determiners themselves there are cooccurrence restrictions and fairly strict rules of word order.
EXAMPLE
 When there is more than one determiner, follow these useful
rules:a) Place all and both in front of other determiners.
We ate all the food. Both my sons are at college.
 Place what and such in front of a and an in exclamations.
What an awful day! I've never seen such a crowd!
 Place many, much, more, most, few, little after other
determiners.
His many successes made him famous. They have no
more food. What little money I have is yours.

7. EXPRESSIONS LIKE WAIT, ACTUALLY, AND
I MEAN
Expression to correct yourself
•
•
•
•
No
Wait Well
Actually
I mean
EXAMPLES
 I´m from Sao Paulo. No. Wait, I from Rio
 My father studied Geography, I mean History.
 I watching a video every day. Well, actually, I watching
two videos.

8. SUBJECT AND CATEGORIES
MUSIC
Choir
Band
Orchestra

9. SOCIAL STUDIES
History
Geography
Economics

10. MY FIRST DAY I N MY
SCHOOL
My first day of school was very bad: I came in class late and
the teacher made me sit alown.
Hour after hour we met new teachers and they seemed nice,
at least on that day!!!
I did not know any of the twenty-one kids but the two boys
who were sitting next to me, in the future, would have
become my best friends (and they still are)!
-Rebecca Gini