Day 1

A. Who are you? Who am I? Who are we?

Let's get to know each other, let's talk. 

Quick introductions: write down the answers to the following questions about you and be ready to share them with the class

• What is your name? First and last name
• How old are you? Age
• Where do you live? City/town
• What do you like to do? Hobbies

B. Present Simple

FORM

[VERB] + s/es in third person

Examples:

• Positive: You speak English.
• Negative: You do not speak English.
• Question: Do you speak English?

USE 1 Repeated Actions

Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do.

Examples:

• I play tennis.
• She does not play tennis.
• Does he play tennis?
• The train leaves every morning at 8 AM.
• The train does not leave at 9 AM.
• When does the train usually leave?
• She always forgets her purse.
• He never forgets his wallet.

USE 2 Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is correct about the fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or things.

Examples:

• Cats like milk
• Birds fly in the wild
• California is in America
• California is not in the United Kingdom
• Zlatan plays football very well
• New York has lots of large buildings 

USE 3 Scheduled Events in the Near Future

Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near future. This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as well.

Examples:

• The train leaves tonight at 6 PM.
• The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM.
• When do we board the plane?
• The party starts at 8 o'clock.
• When does class begin tomorrow?

Now let's test your understanding about the past simple

Do you like cooking ? What about this recipe?

CAT’S TONGUE BISCUITS RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes 

Cooking time: 6-8 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

60 g of butter

100 g of sugar

80g of flour

2 eggs

2 drops of vanilla extract

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl keeping flour for the end (add it slowly). 

Tip: Mix really fast the butter and the eggs first. Use a baking sheet to spread the dough onto the sheet. Space the biscuits from each other (2-3 cm) and bake the biscuits for 8 minutes. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes. Done? Not quite, we still need to do the chocolate dip!

CHOCOLATE DIP:

You can melt 100g of chocolate  in a saucepan or in the microwave. Once it has melted, you can dip the biscuits and dip them into the chocolate. They are DELICIOUS!!!  Enjoy them!

QUESTIONS:

1. What are the ingredients needed for this recipe ?
2. What is the cooking time ? How long do you need to cook the biscuits?
3. Are there any tips given in this recipe ? why ?
4. Do you think this recipe is easy or difficult to make ? Can you do this on your own?
5. If you could change this recipe, what would you change? Would you add or change something?

C. Past Simple

FORM

[VERB+ed] or irregular verbs

Examples:

• You called Debbie.
• Did you call Debbie?
• You did not call Debbie.

USE 1 Completed Action in the Past

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.

USE 2 Duration in Past

The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

Examples:

• I lived in Brazil for two years.
• Shauna studied Japanese for five years.
• They sat at the beach all day.
• They did not stay at the party the entire time.
• We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.
• A: How long did you wait for them?
  B: We waited for one hour.

USE 3 Past Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to."

Examples:

• She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.
• He didn't like tomatoes before.
• Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
• People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

PAST SIMPLE EXERCICES

1) Write past simple or past continuous in the gaps:

1) When the post man   (arrive), my father  (have a shower)

2) While my brother  (study), my grandma  (make) some muffins

3) I  (go) to the doctor 2 days ago because I  (have) a terrible headache  

4) When I  (be) 10, I  (eat) a sandwich every evening

 

5) He  (miss) the train because he  (talk) with some friends

 

6) The thieves  (come)  into the house while the man  (sleep)

 

7) I  (drink) a glass of water at eleven. I'm not thirsty now

 

8)  you  (write) the composition last week?

 

9) My mother  (not/be) at home when she  (fall) down the stairs

 

10) The children   (plant) a tree when their mummy  (call)  them

Let's use your knowledge of the Past Simple

Get to know your neighbor better: ask him/her the following list of questions and write down the answers

1. What did you go on Vacation last year? Did you like it or not and why?
2. What was the last movie you saw? Did you like it or not and why?
3. What did you eat for dinner yesterday? did you like it or not and why?

Share the information about your neighbor: present his/her answers in front of the class. Don't forget to use his/her first name when sharing his/her answers