Subject Verb Agreement (SVA) Singular Noun (He,She,It,Maria,Ali,English) + Singular Verb (is, loves) If the noun is in singular, the

, the verb should be in singular form. IS used for singular noun , present tense WAS used for singular noun, past tense Singular verb is usually added with es or s. For example: loves, washes, watches, catches, walks. For example: 1. Ali walks to school every day. 2. English is an interesting subject. 3. She washes her clothes in the weekends. 4. It was my birthday yesterday.

Can you see how the verb agrees with the subject (subject are things or people that we talk about)? I highlighted them in blue in the examples above. The words in blue are the subjects. REMEMBER! If the subject is singular (ONE), the verb has to be in singular form as well (we add s or -es to the verb like loves, eats, drives, brushes) . OK? Now, lets look at the PLURAL FORM. If the subject is in plural form (more than 1 things, animals, places or people), the verb should be in base form (NO s, no es) For example: They go to school by bus. (Plural form) She goes to school by bus. (Singular form)

Can you see the different? If the subject (is more than one) then, the verb should be in base form (no s or es). But if the subject is singular (only one) then, the verb should be with -s or es. More examples: We are best friends. My brother and I always play together. Eric and Edward like fishing.

Summary of subject verb agreement

He She It

is cooks talks washes am wash cook are wash catch work

You

We They My friend and I John and his friends Beauty and the Beast

are walk cook wash watch

Present Tense
the form is the same like SVA notes above. If its 1-the verb will have s/-es, if more than 1, no s/-es. USE 1 Repeated Actions

Use the Simple Present to show an action is repeated or usual (do it everyday). The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do. Examples:

I play tennis. (I is special, thats why the verb after I and You, no need to put s or es) She does not play tennis. Does he play tennis? The train leaves every morning at 8 AM. (subject is:1 train, so the verb is added with s. leave leaves) The train does not leave at 9 AM. When does the train usually leave? She always forgets her purse. He never forgets his wallet. (subject is: He, so verb forget forgets) Every twelve months, the Earth circles the Sun. Does the Sun circle the Earth? (does is used for singular as well)

USE 2 Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Present can also indicate a fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or things. Examples:

Cats like milk. Birds do not like milk. Do pigs like milk? California is in America.

California is not in the United Kingdom. Windows are not made of wood. New York is a small city.

Simple Past
FORM
[VERB+ed] eg: called,walked or irregular verbs eg: wrote,ate,swam,bought Examples:

You called Debbie. Did you call Debbie? You did not call Debbie.

USE 1 Completed Action in the Past

Use the Simple Past to show an action had started and finished at a specific time in the past. How do we know its past tense? Your clue is when you see there are words like yesterday,just now,last week, last night,this morning,last year ,etc the verb must be in past tense. Examples:

I saw a movie yesterday. I didn't see a play yesterday. Last year, I traveled to Japan. Last year, I didn't travel to Korea. Did you have dinner last night? She washed her car. He didn't wash his car.

USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions

We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happened 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on. Examples:

I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim. He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00. Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

USE 3 Duration in Past

The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often shown by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc. Examples:

I lived in Brazil for two years. Shauna studied Japanese for five years. They sat at the beach all day. They did not stay at the party the entire time. We talked on the phone for thirty minutes. A: How long did you wait for them? B: We waited for one hour.

All of the above examples are talking about thing that happened in the past, not now.

USE 4 Habits in the Past

The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc. Examples:

I studied French when I was a child. He played the violin. He didn't play the piano. Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid? She worked at the movie theater after school. They never went to school, they always skipped class.

USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true now. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is similar to the expression "used to." Examples:

She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing. He didn't like tomatoes before. Did you live in Texas when you were a kid? People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

In conclusion, simple past tense is used when we talk about things or events or actions that happened in the past. REMEMBER!! If you see there is (be) as the answer option, it means BE VERB. BE VERB can be ----- is, are, am, was, were. Is Am Are Was Were

Present Tense

Past Tense

Exercises: Choose the word from below and change them into the correct form to be filled in the blanks. go dance be walk love be help

Example: Cat __________ eating fish. Cat loves eating fish. (there is only 1 cat, so, he verb must be added with s) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. He ________ to school every day. They always _________ out together when they were in high school. Sally _________ very well. She is a good dancer. I always _________ my mother in the weekends. English _________ a fun and interesting subject. The boys _______ playing football in the field when it rained cats and dogs.

Answer is on the next page.

Answer: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. walks went dances help is were