Lesson 8: Simple Past Tense and Flying

Lesson 8: The Simple Past Tense

• Covers grammar rules for the simple past tense of regular verbs
• Includes examples of simple past tense verbs
• Provides explanations of how to form the simple past tense of regular verbs and irregular verbs
• Includes exercises to practice the simple past tense
• Includes information on the spelling of the past tense of regular verbs
• Includes information on pronunciation of -ed past forms

Context: Flying

• Discusses the Wright brothers, inventors who changed the world.
• The Wright brothers (Wilbur and Orville) were dreamers who changed the world of flying.
• Lived in Dayton, Ohio.
• Were born in 1867, and 1871 respectively
• Started a bicycle business to fund development.
• Explored three aspects of flying: lift, control, and power
• Built their first flying machine in 1899, a kite made of wood, wire, and cloth; this was difficult to control due to wind.
• Constructed a machine with a gasoline engine, which ultimately crashed.
• Successfully flew on December 17, 1903 with Orville, remaining in the air for 12 seconds covering 120 feet.
• Their invention was initially rejected by the U.S. government but later they worked with the U.S. Army to build more airplanes.
• 100th Anniversary celebration of flight in December 17, 2003, held in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
• Their original airplane is currently displayed in the Air and Space Museum.

The Simple Past Tense of Regular Verbs

• To form the simple past tense of regular verbs, add -ed to the base form.
• Examples: start – started, dream – dreamed, design – designed, offer – offered
• Past tense remains consistent for all genders and persons (e.g., I traveled, he traveled, she traveled).
• The verb after to does not have a past form (e.g., to offer is not offered to).
• The frequency of use of word 'ago' in sentences about the past; also it means before now
• Exercises are provided for additional practice.

Spelling of Past Tense of Regular Verbs

• Rules for adding -ed to various verb endings, including those ending in 'e' (add -d), consonant + y (change y to i and add -ed), vowel + y (add -ed, keep y).
• Doubling a final consonant in one-syllable verbs (consonant-vowel-consonant) and two-syllable verbs when the last syllable is stressed.

Pronunciation of -ed Past Forms

• Rules for pronunciation of -ed ending based on preceding sounds (e.g., voiceless sounds like /p, k, f/ followed by /t/; voiced sounds followed by /d/).

Past Tense of "Be"

• Forms of the verb "to be" in past tense (was/were)
• Explanation of when to use "was" and "were" based on subject's singular/plural nature
• How to form negative statements (e.g., I wasn't), and use of contractions (wasn't/weren't)
• Exercises focused on using was/were correctly in a variety of sentences.

Uses of Be

• Verb be to classify a subject; to specify location; origin; time of birth; or age, with 'ago' indicating time in the past

Spelling of Past Tense of Irregular Verbs

• List of common irregular verbs with their past tense forms

Questions with Past Tense Verbs (Was/Were)

• Format of yes/no questions and short answers
• Format of wh- questions and answers to related questions.

Questions with Simple Past Verbs (Did/Didn't)

• Formation of yes/no questions using 'did/didn't' followed by base form of the verb
• Formation of wh- questions about the subject

Additional Exercises and Activities

• Practice exercises using various types of questions (yes/no, wh-) to reinforce simple past tense usage.
• Include practical application via interviews about personal experiences.