We use the past simple to talk about actions and states which we see as completed in the past.

We can use it to talk about a specific point in time.

• She came back last Friday.
• I saw her in the street.
• They didn't agree to the deal.

It can also be used to talk about a period of time.

• She lived in Tokyo for seven years.
• They were in London from Monday to Thursday of last week.
• When I was living in New York, I went to all the art exhibitions I could.

You will often find the past simple used with time expressions such as these:

• Yesterday
• three weeks ago
• last year
• in 2002
• from March to June
• for a long time
• for 6 weeks
• in the 1980s
• in the last century
• in the past

GRAMMAR NOTES

COLLECTIVE NOUNS

Collective noun for People

• An army of soldiers
• A band of musicians
• A battalion of military force
• A choir of singers
• A class of students
• A crowd of people
• A crew of sailors
• A gang of robbers / thieves
• A group/ flock of visitors/ tourists
• A nursery of children
• An orchestra of musicians
• A patrol of policemen
• A party of friends
• A panel of judges
• A staff of teachers/ servants
• A team of players / workers
• A troop of soldiers
• A troupe of dancers
• A tribe of natives

Collective noun for Objects/fruits

• An album of stamps
• An anthology of poems
• A bale of cotton / wool
• A bar of chocolate/ soap
• A bottle of wine/ milk
• A bunch of keys
• A barrel/mug of beer
• A block of building / ice
• A bundle of sticks / clothes
• A chest of drawers
• A collection of stamps/ coins / postcards/ shells
• A cup of tea / coffee
• A cone / tub of ice-cream
• A cluster of stars
• A fleet of ships / boats / cars / taxis / aircrafts
• A flight of steps / aeroplanes
• A group of islands
• A glass of water/ lemonade
• A heap of rubbish / stones
• A loaf of bread
• A library of books
• A nugget of gold / chicken / information
• A pack of lies / cards
• A pinch of salt
• A piece of paper/ chalk
• A packet of cigarettes/ biscuits/ salt/ sugar
• A reel of thread
• A row of houses/ shops / trees
• A string of beads / necklace / pearls
• A slice of bread/ cake
• A tub of margarine

Collective noun for Animals

• An army of ants
• A coop of chicken
• A flock of birds/ sheep
• A gaggle of geese
• A herd of cattle /cows / elephants
• A litter of kittens / puppies / cubs / rabbits
• A nest of mice
• A pack of wolves
• A swarm of bees
• A school/ shoal of fish / whales dolphins /
• A troop of monkeys / gorillas

Collective noun for Plants / Fruits

• A bunch of grapes / bananas
• A bouquet of flowers
• A crate of fruit
• A clump of trees
• A hedge of bushes
• A tuft of grass

The usage of Who and whom

Are the sentences correct?

1. Whom are they waiting for?
2. Whom do you I saw when I opened the door?
3. Whom are they referring to?
4. Whom do you think you are?


“Who” is the subject pronoun and “whom” is the object pronoun. However, in modern British English, “who” is more frequently used as both subject and object pronouns, except after a preposition, and in formal speech or writing.

1. “Whom are they waiting for?” is correct, but too formal. “Whom” here is the object of the preposition “for”. “Who are they waiting for?” is more commonly used.

2. Your second sentence is ungrammatical. Did you mean “Whom did I see when I opened the door?” Here, “whom” is the object of the verb “see”. It is, however, more common to say “Who did I see when I opened the door?”

3. This question is similar in structure to question 1. Although “Whom are they referring to?” is correct, it is too formal. “Who are they referring to?” is more often used.

4. “Who do you think you are?” is the correct sentence, because “who” is the complement, not the object of the verb “are” (a form of the verb “be”).

There are well-known expressions, however, which use “whom” rather than who, but “whom” in these expressions come after prepositions, e.g. “To Whom It May Concern” written at the top of a reference for a job or scholarship, and “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, originally written by John Donne for a sermon in the 17th century and used by Ernest Hemingway in the 20th century as the title of one of his novels. So, that's all for now! Thank you. :)

TALKING ABOUT THE PAST-PAST SIMPLE TENSE PROBLEM

Many students don’t have any problems with forming the past simple tense.  English has it’s fair share of irregular verbs; was, ate, ran, bought, but in general the ‘ed’ ending can be added to verbs to form the past simple tense.  For example; walked, enjoyed, lived, started, stopped and decided.  The past simple problem begins when students want to communicate a negative statement in the past simple.  Take a look at the sentence structure of positive statements, questions and negative statements in the past simple tense. 

Positive Statement	Past Simple
Subject	Verb – Past Simple
I	decided
She	saw
They	went

Question	Past Simple
Auxiliary Verb – Past Simple	Subject	Verb – Stem form
Did	you	decide?
Did	she	see?
Did	they	go?

Note that once we use the “do” verb as an auxiliary verb to form a question about the past it is changed into the past simple tense and the action verb is maintained in the stem or original form.
“Did you decide to go to the dance?” – We are asking a question related to the past and we must use the past simple tense but only for the auxiliary ‘do’ verb at the beginning of the sentence.  All verbs which follow would be in the stem form of the verb.

Negative Statement	Past Simple
Subject	Auxiliary Past Simple + not	Verb – Stem form
I	didn’t	decide
She	didn’t	see
They	didn’t	go

In a negative statement the sentence structure is subject + the auxiliary ‘do’ verb in the past simple + not + action verb in the stem form.  This is where many EFL students make their mistakes.  It is important to remember that the auxiliary ‘do’ verb is the only verb which requires the past simple tense and, as always, all the verbs which follow will be in the stem or original form (see, go, walk, run, jump). 
“I didn’t decide on the movie.” NOT “I didn’t decided on the movie.”
“She didn’t realise what she was doing.” NOT “She didn’t realised what she was doing.”

If you have any questions or need further clarification please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or email me.

 

We use the present simple to talk about actions we see as long term or permanent. It is a very common and very important tense.

Here, we are talking about regular actions or events.

• They drive to the office every day.
• She doesn't come here very often.
• The news usually starts at 6.00 every evening.
• Do you usually have bacon and eggs for breakfast?

Here, we are talking about facts.

• We have two children.
• Water freezes at 0° C or 32° F.
• What does this expression mean?
• The Thames flows through London.

Here, we are talking about future facts, usually found in a timetable or a chart.

• Christmas Day falls on a Monday this year.
• The plane leaves at 5.00 tomorrow morning.
• Ramadan doesn't start for another 3 weeks.
• Does the class begin at 10 or 11 this week?

Here, we are talking about our thoughts and feelings at the time of speaking. Although these feelings can be short-term, we use the present simple and not the present continuous.

• They don't ever agree with us.
• I think you are right.
• She doesn't want you to do it.
• Do you understand what I am trying to say.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

The present continuous is used to talk about present situations which we see as short-term or temporary. We use the present simple to talk about present situations which we see as long-term or permanent. 

In these examples, the action is taking place at the time of speaking.

• It's raining.
• Who is Kate talking to on the phone?
• Look, somebody is trying to steal that man's wallet. 

In these examples, the action is true at the present time but we don't think it will be true in the long term.

• I'm looking for a new apartment.
• He's thinking about leaving his job.
• They're considering making an appeal against the judgment.
• Are you getting enough sleep? 

In these examples, the action is at a definite point in the future and it has already been arranged.

• I'm meeting her at 6.30.
• They aren't arriving until Tuesday.
• We are having a special dinner at a top restaurant for all the senior managers.
• Isn't he coming to the dinner?