AG1 Unit 2

Ask a partner

 What did you do last weekend?

 Do you think Advanced Pronunciation was easy?

 Did you study a lot when you were younger?

Simple past

 The simple past is used to describe finished actions that

occurred at a general time in the past or a specific time in
the past. When telling a story, this is used to describe the
main events that occurred.

 I played soccer – general time

 I didn’t eat pizza yesterday – specific time
Present Perfect

 The present perfect is used to describe actions that

occurred at an indefinite time in the past. If a time
expression is used, USE THE SIMPLE PAST!!

 I have eaten lasagna – indefinite time

 I ate lasagna yesterday – specific time
 I have visited Mexico – indefinite time
 I visited Mexico when I was a child – specific time
Past Continuous

 The past continuous is used to describe actions that were

in progress in the past. It can also be used when two
actions occur simultaneously.

 My cat was waiting for me to feed him.

 I wasn’t working when he called me.
 I was cooking while you were studying.
Used to

 Used to is used to talk about habitual actions in the past

that no longer occur. It’s also used to describe past
locations, states of being, or possession

 I used to play soccer. – I don’t play soccer anymore

 I didn’t use to be fat. – I’m fat now 
 I used to have friends – I have 0 friends now
 I used to live in San Isidro – I don’t live there now
Would
 Would is used to talk about actions that happened regularly in the
past. It CAN’T used to describe past locations, states of being, or
possession

 I would play video games often before I stared working.

 My sister would watch the Disney Channel when she was 12
 My cat would disconnect my computer when he was a kitten.

 I would live in San Isidro when I was 10.

 I would have a Game Boy Advance when I was in school.
Past Perfect

 The past perfect is combined with the simple past to show which of
two actions or states occurred first.
 Generally, the past perfect isn’t used with before / after. Use ONLY the
simple past in this situation.

 She was angry because I had eaten the pizza.

 The vet told me my cat Pollo had been abused.
 I wasn’t informed that they had increased the price.
 He had already called the police when we arrived.
 Past Perfect Continuous
 The past perfect continuous is combined with the simple past to show
that an action in progress began before another action.
 DON’T USE THIS WITH NON ACTION (STATIVE) VERBS!

 He committed the crime because he hadn’t been working since August.

 I had been reading for 2 hours when my sister came home.
 Future in the past
 You can use would or was / were going to to talk about an action that
was planned or predicted to happen at a past time.

 In the 1960s, scientists thought we would live on the moon by the year
2020
 10 years ago, I thought I was going to be a millionaire.
 In 2015, no one believed that Donald Trump would become president.
 My sister said she was going to wash her dishes before she traveled to
Piura, but she didn’t do it.
Would – future vs repeated

 Would can be used to describe future actions in the past, or repeated actions
in the past. It’s important to be able to differentiate the two.

 I thought I wouldn’t be fat.

 In 2012, my father said he would buy me a new computer.

 I would rarely eat pizza when I was young

 I wouldn’t study at all because I thought school was easy.