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. :)