Grammar 3-07 | High Beginner 3

Past Tense - Irregular Verbs

Katie talks about her trip to Italy and the adventure she had while she was there on vacation.

Man: How was your summer vacation?

Woman: Great! I went to Italy with my family. It was so fun there! We met lots of really nice people and ate really delicious food.

Man: Where did you stay?

Woman: We stayed at a hotel on the beach so we woke up every day to the sunrise over the water. Each day we swam in the ocean and took long walks on the beach. At night, we sat and watched the stars. We saw so many stars!

Man: Did anything exciting happen?

Woman: Yes! One day, we found a wallet on the beach. We took it to the police department. We told the police that someone lost their wallet. They took it and we left. The next day they called us, so we went back to the police station.

Man: Ooh! Why did they call you?

Woman: They found the owner of the wallet and he wanted to meet us. He was so happy that he got his wallet back, so he bought us a really nice bottle of wine.

Man: Oh cool! You made a local friend!

Woman: Yes, we became friends and had dinner that night. The man’s name was Yuri. He told us all about the town and gave us tips for our vacation. That night, he paid for the meal because he was happy we found his wallet and got it back to him. We knew we would be friends forever!

Woman: Wow! What a great trip!

Past Tense - Irregular

Point 1: We use irregular verbs for about 100 verbs in English in the affirmative. The verb changes form from the base verb.
  1. I saw a ghost. (see)
  2. I ate a light breakfast. (eat)
  3. I left the car in the garage. (leave)
  4. I bought a new car. (bought)
Point 2: In the negative form, the verb does not change form. Use did not ( or didn't) + the base verb.
  1. I saw a ghost, but I did not see it for very long!
  2. I ate a light breakfast. I did not eat eggs or toast.
  3. I left the car in the garage. I did not leave it locked though.
  4. I bought a new car. I did not buy it for me though.
Point 3: If a question is about the object in the past., the verb does not chage form.
  1. Who did you see? I saw George.
  2. Where did you go? I went home.
  3. Why did he do that? He did it for money.
  4. How did you sleep last night? I slept well.
Point 4: If a question is about the subject in the past, the verb chages to the irregular form.
  1. Who came to the party? Bill came to the part.
  2. Who did this? Susan did this.
  3. What broke? The vase broke.
  4. Who bought this? Jill bought it.
Answer the following questions about the interview.