3 Revision exercise.

a  Look! A helicopter (fly) over the mansion.

b  You (try) to seduce me?

c  I can’t go out now. I (unload) a lorry, and it’s very urgent.

d  —What you (do) at the moment?

   —I (wrap) some parcels for Christmas.

e  A gentle breeze (blow).

f  —Where is my sister?

   —She (sleep) like a log.

g  They always (play) jokes on me.

h  —I think you (bark) up the wrong tree.

   —Why?

   —I don’t know; but I have a hunch that you’ve mistaken

   everything.

i  This telephone booth still (not work). Why don’t you use the

   one round the corner?

j  It’s very hot in here; I (sweat).

k  My pals always (play) bowls. I’m sick and tired of it.

l  That guy (make) a fire! It’s very dangerous to light fires

   in this area.

m  I (go) through a terrible crisis at present.

n  They (argue) all the time.

o  —You (not watch) the football match?

   —No, I’m not. I (watch) a quiz show.

p  The tide (come) in. We’d better go home, and come back when

   it has gone out.

q  She (fix) the fuse. She’s a very good electrician.

r  —They (pollute) the river?

   —Yes, I think so.

   —Then, we’ll have to take legal action.

s  We (save) up to buy a new van.

t  You (not pay) attention to what I (say) in class, and this

     is crucial.

u  Brenda (not handle) things very well at the moment. I reckon

   she needs a rest.

v  They always (read) tabloid newspapers. I think they (waste)

   their time reading that rubbish.

w  —You (take) the kids to the zoo this afternoon?

   —Yes, I am. Do you want to come with us?

   —I’d love to, but I (visit) my aunt this afternoon.

x  —What number you (dial)?

   —My uncle’s. I’ve been told that he (have) an operation next

   week, and I would like to cheer him up, as he’s very afraid

   of operations.

y  A new song (be) sung in the choir these days.

z  —What you (do)?

   —Shut up, please. I (try) to record their conversation.

   PART 3: THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE

1  Examples: (regular verbs→ed; affirmative)

   Somebody robbed (rob + ed) me yesterday.

   I cleaned (clean + ed) the house on Monday.

   They preferred (prefer + ed) walking to staying at home.

   They visited (visit + ed) me yesterday.

   He travelled (travel + ed) a lot when he was young.

   The milk boiled (boil + ed) over.

   She married (marry + ed) a week ago.

   We played (play + ed) the harp.

   He loved (love + d) them.

   They always panicked (panic + ed) about little things.

   When -ed is added, we must take into account the following

   changes:

     —rob: It is a monosyllabic verb, and we have the following

     spelling: consonant + only one vowel + only one consonant,

     that is to say, the verb ends in only one consonant, and

     this consonant is preceded by only one vowel. Then, we

     double the last consonant. Note: the consonants w and x

     are never doubled: glow→glowed, mix→mixed. Observe that

     the k is also doubled when it is preceded by only one

     vowel: trek→ trekked.

     —clean: The consonant is preceded by two vowels.

     Therefore, we do not double the consonant. Notice

     the following: bias→ biased or biassed.

     —prefer: We have a verb of two syllables, the combination

     consonant + only one vowel + only one consonant, and the

     stress falls on the last syllable. Kidnap and worship

     are exceptions9 to this rule: kidnapped, worshipped.

     See also part 2, section 1 in this unit.

     —visit: The stress falls on the first syllable;

     thus, the consonant is not doubled.

     —travel, boil: See the previous part, section 1.

     —marry: consonant + y + ed→i + ed.

     —play: vowel + y + ed.

     —love: When the verb ends in -e, we only add a d.

     —panic: Verbs ending in -ic add an extra k.

a  That lad (turn) out to be the most dangerous murderer in the

   whole country.

b  They (gamble) everything on one throw, and lost all their

   money.

c  Molly (admit) that she had been poking her nose into my

   affairs.

d  ‘They (spy) on us yesterday,’ she said angrily.

e  They (dash) out without saying a word.

2  Examples: (affirmative; irregular verbs; see the list provided

   in unit 8.)

   I overslept three days ago. (infinitive: oversleep; simple

   past: overslept)

   He grew tired of being interrupted. (infinitive: grow; simple

   past: grew)

   The cheese she had bought went mouldy. (infinitive: go; simple

   past: went)

   They lost weight. (infinitive: lose; simple past: lost).

a  He (go) on the dole, as the factory he was working for closed

   down.

b  Luckily, he (take) a photograph of the killer.

c  She (be10) on a diet when she (fall) ill.

d  The way they (be) dressed (strike) me as peculiar. Do you

   know where they were from?

e  Her serious illness (keep) them up all night long.

3  Examples: (negative and interrogative)

   She fell off her bike. (affirmative)

   She did not/didn’t fall (infinitive) off her bike. (negative)

   Did she fall off her bike? (interrogative)

   Did she not/Didn’t she fall off her bike? (negative

   interrogative)

   Our army pushed the enemy forces back. (affirmative)

   Our army did not/didn’t push (infinitive) the enemy forces

   back. (negative)

   Did our army push the enemy forces back? (interrogative)

   Did our army not/Didn’t our army push the enemy forces

   back? (negative interrogative)

   When we use did, the infinitive form is required. If the verb

   is regular, -ed is dropped; if it is irregular, we need to

   learn the infinitive form by heart.

a  To tell you the truth, I (not sleep) a wink last night.

b  He (promise) you the moon?

c  She (not try) on that dress.

d  You (not do) your duty, which is why you were expelled from

   the company.

e  They even (not consider) your application?