2A Grammar simple past: regular and irregular verbs

 a Complete the dialogues with the simple past of the verbs in parentheses.

1 A 
Is this your first time in the US, Anna?
No, I 1took a vacation in Maine last year.
B 
Really? I love Maine! Where 2
A  you
(stay)?
We 3
B  (stay) in Portland. We 4 (book) a
hotel online, but unfortunately when we 5 (arrive), we
6
(not like) it. So we 7 (leave) that hotel
and 8 (rent) an apartment. It was great! What about
you? When 9 (be) you in Maine?
Oh, a long time ago. I 10
A  (start) a college course there. I 11
(not finish) the course, but I
12
(love) Maine!

2 A 
What’s the problem, sir?
Somebody 13
B  (take) my clothes and bag when
I 14 (be) in the ocean!
When 15
A  this (happen)?
I
B  16
(go) for a swim at 11 o’clock.
I 17 (not be) in the water for very long – about
15 minutes.
A 
18
you (see) the person take
your things?
No. When I 19
B  (come) out of the water, my bag
20
(not be) there.
What 21
A  you (have) in your
bag? Anything valuable?
Yes! My cell phone, credit cards… Oh, I 22
B 
(know) it was a bad idea to leave my bag on the beach…

3 A 
Ruth! You’re back! 23 you (have)
a good time?
No. It 24
B  (be) awful.
Why? What happened?
A 
We 25
B  (stay) in a really basic apartment, and Tom
26
(think) the city was dangerous at night, so we
27
(not go) out much in the evening.
What 28
A  you (do) during the day?
29
you (go) sightseeing?
Yes, we visited all the famous places. But we 30
B  (spend)
a lot of money on food, and we 31 (argue) a lot about
it. Tom 32 (buy) very expensive souvenirs for his whole
family! I 33
(not buy) anything.

activation

  b Cover the sentences and look at the pictures. Try to remember what happened to Anna, the man
on the beach, and Ruth and Tom.

American English File 2nd edition Teacher’s Book 2 Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2013 165

477574_AEF2e_TB2.indb 165 3/25/13 11:17 AM

 2B Grammar past continuous
 a Look at the pictures and write the sentences. Use the simple past and past continuous.
1 2
1 She saw the spider when she was
buying some fruit. (see, buy)

2 His cell phone when he

. (ring, drive)

3 Neil late when his boss

3 4
a speech.
(arrive, make)

4 They soccer when it

to rain. (play, start)

5 We a party when I
5 this photo. 6
(have, take)

6 We the score when we

in Florida.
(hear, travel)

  b Complete the story with the simple past or past continuous of the verbs in parentheses.

When Alex Jones 1arrived (arrive) at JFK International

Airport, she 2 (look) around, but she
3
(not see) anybody there to meet her. A
lot of people 4 (hold) cards with names on
them, but they 5 (not wait) for her. She
6
(not know) what to do, but it
7
(be) a beautiful, sunny day, so she
8
(decide) to go to the hotel on her own.
She 9
(go) outside and 10
(look) for a taxi. A lot of people 11 (wait),
so she 12 (catch) the airport bus into New
York City. The bus 13 (stop) in Manhattan,
near the hotel, and she 14 (get) off.
She 15
(walk) into the hotel and
16
(give) her name, Alexandra Jones. She
17
(talk) to the receptionist when suddenly a man 18 (run) up to her.
He 19
(carry) a card that 20
(read) “Mr. Jones”.
“Ms. Jones? I’m terribly sorry! I 21
(wait) for you at the airport, but I 22
(think) you 23
(be) a man!”
“That’s OK,” 24
(say) Alex. “It happens to me all the time!”

activation

  c Cover sentences 1–6 in a. Look at the pictures and remember the sentences.

166 American English File 2nd edition Teacher’s Book 2 Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2013

477574_AEF2e_TB2.indb 166 3/25/13 11:17 AM

 2C Grammar time sequencers and connectors
 a Match the sentence halves and circle the correct word: so, but, because, or although.
1 The weather was awful, g a so / but I invited her to dinner.
2 I didn’t give him my phone number b because / although it had a happy ending.
3 She didn’t like the song, c but / so we couldn’t find the house.
4 It was her birthday, d because / although I didn’t want him to call me.
5 He’s an intelligent student, e because / although it was by one of her
6 I ran to the coffee shop favorite bands.
7 They didn’t want to dance, f so / but we had a wonderful evening.
8 We didn’t go anywhere special, g but / so we didn’t go out.
9 It was a sad story h although / because I was in a hurry.
10 We drove along the street i because / but he’s very lazy.
very slowly, j so / because they left the club early.

activation

  b Complete the story with the time sequencers and connectors in the list.

although (x2)  because (x3)  but (x2)  the next day  one evening
so (x3)  suddenly  two minutes later  when

Don’t always listen

to the GPS…
Oscar Perez never wanted a GPS 1because he
didn’t like technology. And 2 his
brother gave him one as a birthday present, it
directed him into a difficult situation.
“My brother Ricardo loves gadgets and
technology. Last year he gave me a GPS
for my birthday, 3 he knew I
didn’t really want one. Ricardo uses his GPS all to the other side of the river. The GPS said
the time 4 he likes listening to ‘Turn left!’
instructions, 5
I prefer using 10
I followed the instructions
a map. and turned left into the water. The GPS said
6
, a friend of a friend called. ‘Go straight!’ but 11 , my car
She needed my help, 7 I agreed was completely stuck in the mud.
to drive to her house. 8
I had a I had my cell phone with me, 12
map in the car, I decided to use the GPS to I called my friend and she came to the river to
find her town. It was dark, and I wanted to get help. I felt terrible 13 she got
there as quickly as possible. very cold and wet in the water.
Everything was going fine. I was almost 14
, a tractor pulled my car out
there, but then 9 I saw there of the river, 15
it was completely
was a small river on the left. I could see that ruined by the water. I can’t believe I made such
there was a road that went through the water a stupid – and expensive – mistake!”

American English File 2nd edition Teacher’s Book 2 Photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2013 167

477574_AEF2e_TB2.indb 167 3/25/13 11:17 AM