El pasado simple

Hay varios maneras que se pueden usar para hablar sobre el pasado en inglés. Aquí vamos a mirar el pasado simple.

Al final hay una lista de verbos irregulares y un ejercicio para practicar el pasado simple. Encontrarán las respuestas correctas al ejercicio gratis aquí.

Utilizar el pasado simple simple para:

• Hablar de acciones concluídos en el pasado
  ejemplo: I went to the cinema yesterday. (Fui al cine ayer)
• Hablar de estados, situaciones o hábitos
  ejemplo:I lived in London for several years. (Vivía en Londres durante unos años)
• Hablar de una secuencia de eventos en el pasado
  ejemplo:First I got up then I had breakfast. After that I had a shower. (Primero me levanté y despues desayuné. Después de eso me duché).

How to form the past simple

If the verb is regular add ‘ed’
ejemplo: finish –> finished
You use the same form for all subjects
ejemplo: I finished, you finished, he finished, she finished, it finished, we finished, they finished

Spelling tips (tips = consejos)

If the verb has one syllable and finishes with one vowel followed by one consonant you need to double the consonant

ejemplo: stop – stopped

If the verb has two syllables and the stress is on the second syllable you also need to double the consonant

ejemplo: admit - admitted

If the verb finishes in consonant + y you need to take away the y and add ied
ejemplo: study – studied

If the verb finishes in vowel + y just add ed as normal

ejemplo:play - played

For all other regular verbs just add ed

Useful expressions to use when talking about the past:

yesterday - ayer
the day before yesterday - el dia antes ayer
last Monday, Tuesday etc... - el lunes pasado...
last week - la semana pasada
last night - ayer por la noche
yesterday morning -ayer por la mañana
yesterday afternoon - ayer por la tarde
last year - el año pasado
last month - el mes pasado
yesterday evening - ayer por la tarde (a partir de las 6)


Pinchar aquí para una lista del pasado simple de verbos irregulares en inglés.

Ejercicio para practicar el pasado. Soluciones aquí.

1. I ..........(see) a black cat yesterday.

2. I ..........(have) breakfast at 8 am.

3. I ...........(watch) tv last night.

4. I ...........(buy) a new dress last week.

5. We ..........(study) maths on Monday.

6. They .......... (swim) in the sea at the weekend.

7. The concert ............ (start) at 6 pm.

8. She ........ (tell) him the answer.

9. They .........(go) to the cinema.

10. I ........(know) all the correct answers in the exam.

El condicional en inglés

El condicional es uno de los tiempos más difícil en inglés, incluso para los estudiantes avanzados. Aquí ofrecemos una sencillas reglas para las tres primeras condicionales:

• condicional cero,
• condicional primero y
• condicional segundo.

Al final hay un ejercicio para practicar las distintas formas del condicional en inglés. Encontrarán las respuestas correctas al ejercicio gratis aquí.

1. Zero Conditional: Para describir rutinas o hechos generales

Example

If I leave the house at 8am, I catch the bus at 8.15am
(this always happens = zero condition)

If + Present simple or continuous + subject + present simple


2. First Conditional: Para describir situaciones probables y resultados posibles

Examples

If I see Peter, I´ll give him your message.
If it´s raining when I leave the office tonight, I´ll get a taxi home.

If + present simple or present continuous + subject + will + infinitive


3. Second Conditional: Para describir situaciones imaginarias o muy poco probables y el resultado.

Examples

If I won the lottery, I would (or I´d) leave my job and travel around the world. (unlikely)

If I were you, I´d apply for a new job. (imaginary)

If + past simple + subject + would + infinitive

Tips:

• Use the infinitive without to after will and would
• We often use the contracted form of will - I´ll, you'll, he'll, she'll, ít'll, we'll and they'll and the contracted form of would - I'd, you'd, he'd, she'd, it'd, we'd and they'd
• Separate the clauses with a comma
• In the second conditional use were instead of was for ALL subjects - If I were you...

Ejercicio (se encuentran las soluciones aquí)

See if you can fill in the gaps using the correct form of the conditional. Answers here.

1 - If it .......... (be) sunny tomorrow, we ..........(go) to the beach.

2 - If the 8 o´clock bus .......... (arrive) late, I .......... (get to) work on time.

3 - If I ..........(be) you, I ........... (learn) how to cook.

4 - If I ............ (win) the lottery, I .......... (leave) my job.

5 - If I ............. (go) to that restaurant, I ............ (tell) you what it´s like.

6 - If I ............ (find) an envelope with a lot of money in it in the street , I ............ (take) it to the nearest police station.

7 - If you ........... (boil) water, it ............... (evaporate)

8 -If you .......... (help) me with my homework, I ........... (help) you clean the kitchen.

9 - If I ............ (arrive) late, .............. you .............. my dinner in the oven please?

10 - If England ............. the match tonight, they .............. (be) in the semi-finals!

Cartas formales en ingles

Cuando se escribe una carta formal en inglés hay que tener en cuenta lo siguiente:

• Layout (Diseño)
• Style of language (Estilo)
• Purpose (Objetivo)
  

Read these instructions and tips then click on the links below to see examples of formal letters
(Leer estas instrucciones y consejos o hacer clic en los enlaces al final de la página para acceder a nuestros ejemplos de cartas formales en inglés):

Layout - this is how the letter is set out on the page

1 Write your address in the top right-hand corner

2 Write the date below your address leaving a gap of one line

3 Write the name and address of the person you are writing to starting below the date and aligned to the left

4 Start your letter with Dear Sir/Madam if you don´t know the person´s name or Dear Mr/Miss/Ms/Mrs and their Surname

5 Then write your letter using a new paragraph for each main point

6 Finish with Yours faithfully if you don´t know the person´s name or Yours sincerely if you know their name,

7 Then write your signature below and also print your name below

Tips :

Use Dear Sir/Madam and Yours faithfully if you don´t know the person´s name

Never write your name before your address

Write the house or flat number first followed by the name of the street (using capitals for both the name and street)

If you are enclosing something with the letter write enc or encs (plural) below your printed name)

In the main contents of the letter always give the reason for writing first. Then use a new paragraph for each separate point.

Style of Language

It is important to get the tone and style of language right in a formal letter. Don´t use contractions for example write do not instead of don´t.

Be polite even if it´s a letter of complaint.

Try to be clear and don´t include extra details unless it is necessary

Purpose

There are different types of formal letters in English. You need to think about what you want to achieve by writing your letter.

Click here to see an example of different types of letters with useful expressions (Hacer clic en los enlaces abajo para ver ejemplos de distintas cartas formales con vocubulario y frases útiles)

• Carta formal en inglés para solicitar información:
  Letter of enquiry - Explain clearly what information you require and why.
  
• Carta formal en inglés para formular una queja formal:
  Letter of complaint - Explain the reason for your complaint in the first paragraph and then give details in further paragraphs.
  
• Carta formal en inglés para solictar un puesto de trabajo:
  Letter of application - Explain which post you want to apply for, where you saw it advertised and include any relevant information about yourself.
  
• Carta formal en inglés para disculparse:
  Letter of apology - Express regret and explain why you are apologising.
  

Como se hacen preguntas en inglés

Questions aren´t always easy to make in English so here are some basic rules to help you followed by some practice exercises…

You use do (you, we and they) or does (he, she or it) for questions in the present and did for questions in the past when there is no auxillary verb

I live in Australia - Do you live in Australia?
She works in a bank - Does she work in a bank?
I finished my home work yesterday - Did you finish your homework yesterday?
It rained yesterday - Did it rain yesterday?

If there is an auxillary verb you put this before the subject
I have visited lots of countries - Have you ever visited England?

With modal verbs or the verb to be you change the word order
I can play the guitar - Can you play the piano?
He´s working - Is he working today?

When you use a question word such as who, what or where you put an auxillary verb before the subject
I work at the University - Where do you work?

When who, what or which are the subject of the sentence you don´t use do or does!
Someone saw me - Who saw you?

Look at this dialogue and see if you can make the questions for Joe´s replies then click on the link below to see how you got on…

Sarah ……………………………………………………?
Joe Yes I live North Bristol
Sarah ……………………………………………………?
Joe I work in a Secondary school
Sarah ……………………………………………………?
Joe I teach Science
Sarah ……………………………………………………?
Joe I´ve been working there for 2 years now
Sarah ……………………………………………………?
Joe Yes I really enjoy teaching and the holidays are good too!


Practice making questions using these sentences…

1) She speaks Spanish, French and Italian.
How many languages……………………………………?
Does…………………………………………………........…?

2) I have been to the beach.
Where………………………………………………………......?
Have………………………………………………….......……?

3) Peter went to the cinema yesterday.
Which film………………………………………..…….……?

4) I´ll learn to drive next year.
When………………………………………………………......?

5) He goes swimming on Saturdays.
When……………………………………………….......………?
To get the answers, click here

Curso gratis de ingles en Internet

Euroresidentes ofrece este nuevo servicio a nuestros usuarios que quieren aprender ingles o mejorar su nivel.

Vuestra profesora es inglesa, licenciada en Inglaterra con una amplia experiencia en la docencia de inglés como lengua extranjera. Es una Euroresidente en España, vive en San Sebastian y imparte cursos de inglés de distintos niveles.

Durante las próximas semanas, publicará lecciones de inglés de distintos niveles. Todos los contenidos son gratis y pueden ser utilizados por alumnos y profesores de inglés. Si se reproducen en otro sitio web, rogamos citen la fuente original.

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