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University of California, Irvine

Simple Past Tense

University of California, Irvine via Coursera

Overview

In this course, “Simple Past Tense,” you will learn how to form and use the simple past. You will see that there are a lot of irregular verbs in the simple past, but there are some patterns you can use to help you remember. You will learn about spelling changes when you add an “-ed” ending, as well as how to form negatives and questions in the past. You will also learn about object pronouns and some other forms of adjectives to describe and make comparisons.

Syllabus

  • Simple Past with Regular & Irregular Verbs
    • This week is about the simple past. You will learn how to form BE in the simple past first. Then you will learn about how to add -ed to form the simple past of regular verbs and the spelling changes you need to make. Then you will see a long list of irregular verbs in the simple past. There are many irregular verbs that you just need to remember.
  • Simple Past Negative & Object Pronouns
    • This week, you will learn about how to form the negative of the simple past. It is different for BE and for all other verbs. The good news is that in the negative form there are no irregular forms. You will also learn about object pronouns. You will learn the difference between the pronouns “she” and “her,” and “he” and “him.”
  • Simple Past Question Forms
    • This week is all about how to form questions in the simple past. You will learn how to ask questions with the BE verb and how to use “did” to ask questions with all other verbs. This will include yes/no questions and information questions.
  • More Useful Grammar Forms
    • In this last week, we will look at some other grammar points to help you express yourself in English. You will learn how to use “this,” “that,” “these,” and “those.” We will also look at how to change adjectives to make comparisons. Finally, you will learn about infinitives. Infinitives are an unchanged form of a verb with the word “to.” We use them with verbs like ”need,” “want,” and “like.”

Taught by

Rachel Fernandez and Karen Vallejo

Reviews

4.9 rating at Coursera based on 778 ratings

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