Now that you're studying English at a high level, you need to be able to talk about the language itself.

One of the biggest areas of confusion for students is the difference between the past tense and the present perfect.

The past tense is indicated by use of the past tense marker, represented here byV(d). (Pronunciation:V sub d)

Here are some examples of regular verbs and their past tense forms.

Regular Verbs —— V(d)

So, as you can see, for regular verbs, the past tense form is indicated by the addition of an -ed at the end of the verb.

However, some of the most common verbs in English are irregular, so it is important to learn them.

Here are some examples.

Irregular Verbs —— V(d)

Altogether there are over 200 irregular verbs in normal use.

Exercises:

1. Which of these words is irregular?

A. mislead B. criticize    C. resrict    D. prohibit

2. Which of these words is regular?

A. take   B. begin   C. blow D. ignore

Many people think that the past tense form only indicates past time.

However, that is only one of the possible meanings.

The past tense form is also used to express something that is unlikely or imaginary, from the speaker's point of view.

Here is an example:

He wishes he had a car.

The fact is that he doesn't have a car, so the use of "had" indicates that it isn't real: it's imaginary.

If he had a car, he could drive us to school.

Again, "he doesn't have a car, so he can't drive us to school."

This condition expresses something that isn't a fact.

It's a counter-factual condition, which means it goes against what we know or believe.

Question:

— Which condition is counter-factual or imaginary?

— If the Earth is square instead of round…

         Which condition is counter-factual or imaginary?    If she worked here instead of at another company.

Fill in the blanks:

Many people think that the past tense form only indicates past time. However, that is only one of the possible meanings. The past tense form is also used to express something that is unlikely or imaginary, from the speaker's point of view. Here is an example: "He wishes he had a car." The fact is that he doesn't have a car, so the use of "had" indicates that it isn't real: it's imaginary.

Look at these two sentences:

        If she waits another week, she can save money...

        If she waited another week, she could save money because there's going to be a sale.

Both sentences are correct, but there is a difference in meaning.

In the top sentence, the condition that she waits is more likely from the speaker's point of view.

In the bottom sentence, the speaker thinks it's less likely that she's going to wait.

Fill in the blanks:

Look at these two sentences. If she waits another week, she can save money. If she waited another week, she could save money because there's going to be a sale. Both sentences are correct, but there is a difference in meaning.

Repeat & Read Sentences:

1. If he had a car, he could drive us to school.（跟读）

2. There was a big sale last week, so we all went shopping.

3. If that flight left few minutes later, we could take the next shuttle bus.

4. I wish we didn't have to rush, but if we don't hurry, we'll miss the next bus.（阅读）

5. The past tense form is also used to express something that is unlikely or imaginary, from the speaker's point of view.

6. There is going to be a sale next week, so I hope she doesn't go shopping tomorrow.（跟读）

7. If that flight leaves on time, we're going to miss it, so let's run.（跟读）

         If that flight left an hour later, we wouldn’t have to get to the airport so early tomorrow morning.（阅读）