English Daily Workout

QIPPOW Quotes Idiom Proverb Phrasal Verb of the Week 15-03-15

QIPPOW : Quotes, Idioms, Proverbs & Phrasal Verbs of the Week 15-03-2015
Continue Reading "QIPPOW Quotes Idiom Proverb Phrasal Verb of the Week 15-03-15"

Simple Past: Tag Questions - Exercise



Tag questions are formed using the auxiliary did. In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions.











Affirmative Statement                                          Affirmative Statement with Tag Question
  I worked.  I worked, didn't I?
  You worked.  You worked, didn't you?
  He worked.  He worked, didn't he?
  She worked.  She worked, didn't she?
  It worked.  It worked, didn't it?
  We worked.  We worked, didn't we?
  They worked.  They worked, didn't they?


Paying attention to the correct forms of the negative questions, add the tag question at the end of each sentence.
 For example:
    You walked quickly.
    You walked quickly, didn't you?




      Answers
1.You watched the game, didn't you?
2. I climbed the ladder, didn't I?
3. We pleased the visitors, didn't we?
4. They canned the peaches, didn't they?
5. He received the letter, didn't he?
6. You saw the fireworks, didn't you?
7. It cost five dollars, didn't it?
8. She hit the ball, didn't she?
9. He did his homework, didn't he?
10. They cut the ribbon, didn't they?

Continue Reading "Simple Past: Tag Questions - Exercise"

Simple Past: Negative Questions Exercise

In order to change an affirmative statement into a negative Question, did is placed before the subject, not is placed after the subject, and the form of the verb is changed to the bare infinitive. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the auxiliary did. For example:


Without Contractions   With Contractions
  Did I not work?                                                             Didn't I work?
  Did you not work?  Didn't you work?
  Did he not work?  Didn't he work?
  Did she not work?  Didn't she work?
  Did it not work?  Didn't it work?
  Did we not work?  Didn't we work?
  Did they not work?  Didn't they work?

Exercise
Change the following statements into NEGATIVE QUESTIONS either with or without contractions.

Example:
She went to the party.
Didn't she go to the party?
Did she not go to the party?





Answer Key:

1. Didn't she hurry to school? / Did she not hurry to school?
2. Didn't they carry the parcels? / Did they not carry the parcels?
3. Didn't you close the door? / Did you not close the door?
4. Didn't they plan the party? /  Did they not plan the party?
5. Didn't she tell a story? /  Did she not tell a story?
6. Didn't they shake hands? / Did they not shake hands?
Continue Reading "Simple Past: Negative Questions Exercise"

Simple Past: Negative Statements Exercise


Grammar Lesson and Quiz on How to Change Affirmative into Negative Statements in the Simple Past

In order to change an affirmative statement 

into a negative statement, did not is placed 

after the subject, and the form of the verb is 

changed to the bare infinitive. In the following

example, the irregular verb to speak is used. 

The verb to speak has the bare infinitive speak and the Simple Past spoke.


Affirmative StatementNegative Statement
  I spoke.                                                                                            I did not speak.
  You spoke.  You did not speak.
  He spoke.  He did not speak.
  She spoke.  She did not speak.
  It spoke.  It did not speak.
  We spoke.  We did not speak.
  They spoke.  They did not speak.


In spoken English, the following contraction is often used:

Without ContractionWith Contraction
  did not                                                                           didn't


 EXERCISE

Paying attention to the correct forms of the bare infinitives, change the following affirmative statements into negative statements. For example:
    
  I scanned the newspaper.
  I did not scan the newspaper.

      They flew to Toronto.
      They did not fly to Toronto


Answer Key:
1. We did not enjoy ourselves.
2. She did not pin on the brooch.
3. I did not fan myself.
4. They did not empty their pockets.
5. You did not reply at once.
6. He did not go to work.
7. We did not swim across the river.
8. They did not take the bus.
9. I did not shut the windows.
10. You did not run fast.
Continue Reading "Simple Past: Negative Statements Exercise"

Simple Past: Questions Exercise

In both the Simple Present and the Simple Past of verbs other than the verb to be, questions and negative statements are formed using the auxiliary to do and the bare infinitive.

For questions and negative statements in the Simple Past, the Simple Past of the auxiliary to do is used. The Simple Past of to do is conjugated as follows:

I did
you did
he did
she did
it did
we did
they did

In order to change an affirmative statement into a questiondid is placed before the subject, and the form of the verb is changed from the Simple Past to the bare infinitive. In the following example, the regular verb to work is used. The verb to work has the Simple Past worked, and the bare infinitive work.



Affirmative Statement                                                    Question
  I worked.  Did I work?
  You worked.  Did you work?
  He worked.  Did he work?
  She worked.  Did she work?
  It worked.  Did it work?
  We worked.  Did we work?
  They worked.  Did they work?


Exercise: 
Paying attention to the correct forms of the bare infinitives, change the following affirmative statements into questions. For example:
      He lifted the suitcase.
      Did he lift the suitcase?

      I paid the rent.
      Did I pay the rent?






Answers:
1. Did she hurry to school?  
2. Did they carry the parcels? 
3. Did you close the door? 
4. Did I plug in the lamp? 
5. Did they plan the party? 
6. Did we teach the class? 
7. Did she tell a story? 
8. Did they strike a bargain? 
9. Did he meet his friends? 
10. Did I shake hands?
Continue Reading "Simple Past: Questions Exercise"

Simple Past: Affirmative Statements Exercise

                                                         




English verbs other than the verb to be have the same form in the Simple Past, regardless of the subject.

In the case of regular English verbs, the Simple Past has the same form as the past participle. For example, the Simple Past of the regular verb to work is conjugated as follows:

I worked
you worked
he worked
she worked
it worked
we worked
they worked

Exercise:

Paying attention to the correct spelling, fill in the blanks with the Simple Past of the regular verbs shown in brackets. For example:
      It _______ raining. (to stop)
      It stopped raining.

      I _________ myself. (to disguise)
      I disguised myself.
Answers:
1. flipped 
2. watched 
3. arranged 
4. bragged 
5. enjoyed 
6. supplied 
7. reassured 
8. waited 
9. shipped 
10. worried
Continue Reading "Simple Past: Affirmative Statements Exercise"

The Simple Past: Affirmative Statements with Irregular Verbs

 English Grammar Lesson and Exercise on Simple Past -Irregular Verbs

In the case of irregular English verbs, the form of the Simple Past must be memorized. As illustrated by the examples below, for some irregular verbs, the Simple Past is the same as the past participle; whereas for others, the Simple Past differs from the past participle. A table of 140 common English irregular verbs is provided. 

For example:



Bare Infinitive Simple PastPast Participle
  begin                                                           began                                                               begun
  find  found     found
  go  went  gone
  let  let  let
  take  took  taken

Like the regular verbs, irregular verbs other than the verb to be do not modify in the Simple Past, but have the same form, regardless of the subject. For example, the Simple Past of the irregular verb to take is conjugated as follows:


I took
you took
he took
she took
it took
we took
they took


Exercise

Referring to the table of English irregular verbs if necessary, fill in the blanks with the Simple Past tense of the irregular verbs shown in brackets. For example:
They _____ a song. (to write)
They wrote a song.

We _____ the floor. (to sweep)
We swept the floor.





Answers:
1. did  

2. went 
3. took 
4. made 
5. ran 6. 
got 
7. drank 
8. slept 
9. forgot 
10. left
Continue Reading "The Simple Past: Affirmative Statements with Irregular Verbs"

Simple Past: Questions and Negative Statements with the Verb "to be"

English Grammar Lesson and Exercise on the Simple Past: How to Make Questions and Negative Statements  with verb "TO BE"



Questions and negative statements

The Simple Present and Simple Past of the verb to be do not use auxiliaries to form questions and negative statements. Instead, the verb itself is used.

The verb to be forms questions and negative statements in the same way in the Simple Past as in the Simple Present. In order to form a question, the verb is placed before the subject. For example:



Affirmative StatementQuestion
  I was awake.                                                                 Was I awake?
  They were ready.  Were they ready?

In order to form a negative statement, the word not is placed after the verb. For example:


Affirmative StatementNegative Statement
  I was awake.                                                       I was not awake.
 They were ready.  They were not ready.

In spoken English, the following contractions are often used:


Without ContractionsWith Contractions
  was not                                                                    wasn't
  were not  weren't

In order to form a negative question, the verb is placed before the subject, and the word not is placed after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not immediately follows the verb. For example:


Without ContractionsWith Contractions
  Was I not awake?                                                                 Wasn't I awake?
  Were they not ready?  Weren't they ready?

In order to form tag questions, the verb itself is used. In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions.



Affirmative StatementAffirmative Statement with Tag Question
  I was awake.                                                                I was awake, wasn't I?
  They were ready.  They were ready, weren't they?

Exercise

Rewrite the following affirmative statements as questions, negative statements, negative questions without contractions, negative questions with contractions, and affirmative statements followed by negative tag questions.
For example:
      You were on time.
      Were you on time?
      You were not on time.
      Were you not on time?
      Weren't you on time?
      You were on time, weren't you?

It was warm enough.
      Was it warm enough?
      It was not warm enough.
      Was it not warm enough?
      Wasn't it warm enough?
      It was warm enough, wasn't it?




Answers: 
1. Was I late? I was not late. Was I not late? Wasn't I late? I was late, wasn't I? 

2. Were they in a hurry? They were not in a hurry. Were they not in a hurry? Weren't they In a hurry? They were in a hurry, weren't they? 

3. Was he an artist? He was not an artist. Was he not an artist? Wasn't he an artist? He was an artist, wasn't he? 

4. Were we right? We were not right. Were we not right? Weren't we right? We were right, weren't we? 

5. Was she there? She was not there. Was she not there? Wasn't she there? She was there, wasn't she?
Continue Reading "Simple Past: Questions and Negative Statements with the Verb "to be""

Simple Past of the Verb "TO BE": Form & Uses

English Grammar Lesson and Exercise on: Simple Past of Verb "TO BE"



 
1. Uses of the simple past
 


The uses of the Simple Past are somewhat similar to the uses of the Simple Present, except that past states or actions are expressed. In the examples given below, the verbs in the Simple Past are underlined.

For instance, the Simple Past can be used to express actions which occurred at regular intervals in the past.
e.g. Last year I drove to Yarmouth once a week.

In addition, the Simple Past is used to describe situations which existed for a period of time in the past.
e.g. Millions of years ago, dinosaurs inhabited the earth.
      George Washington was the first president of the United States.

The Simple Past is also used to express non-continuous actions which occurred at a definite time in the past.
e.g. Columbus reached America in 1492.
      I graduated from school last year.










2. Formation of the simple past
 

a. The verb To Be

The Simple Past of the verb to be is conjugated as follows:



I was
you were
he was
she was
it was
we were
they were



Exercise

Using the Simple Past tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verb to be. For example:
I ___ calm.
I was calm.

You ____ right.
You were right.
Answers: 
1. was    2. were    3. were    4. were    5. was    6. was    7. were     8. was     9. were     10. was
Continue Reading "Simple Past of the Verb "TO BE": Form & Uses"