Category: Esami Lingua Inglese

Past Participle in Question Phrases

In today’s post we will be learning all about the past participle in question phrases! If you use the phrase “Have you ever…” it is essential to put the following verb in the form of a past participle. Here is an example of the difference:

  • Instead of saying:
    • Have you ever went to California before?
  • Say:
    • Have you ever been to California before?

The past participle normally accompanies another verb in this case the word “have”. The past participle is typically referred to as the third form of the verb and can often be made by adding on these endings : ed, d, or t.

For example:

  • Sleep : slept : slept
  • Jump : jumped : jumped
  • Wear: wore : worn
  • Be : was/were : been

As you can see, sometimes the past participle is exactly the same as the regular past tense but other times things can be more difficult if the verb is irregular! For that reason, it will be useful to look specifically at a list of verbs that are irregular in the past participle so that you can begin to memorize them:

Here is a long list of irregular verbs: https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/support-files/50_common_irregular_verbs_list.pdf

However below I have compiled a list of the top 10 most used irregular verbs where in the past participle is different from the regular past tense!

 

  1. Be : was/were : been
  2. Become: became: become
  3. Drink: drank: drunk
  4. Do : did: done
  5. Eat: ate: eaten
  6. Give: gave: given
  7. Write: wrote: written
  8. Wear: wore: worn
  9. Speak: spoke: spoken
  10. Sing: sang: sung

Let’s practice using some of these new irregular verbs!

Past Participle Quiz

Try and conjugate the following verbs into the past participle.

Adjectives that end in ED vs those that end in ING

Today you will learn all about the differences between adjectives that end in ED versus ING in the English language.

Look at the following two examples to understand more clearly what I’m talking about:
– I am really excited to go to the movies this evening!
– This movie is a thriller. It is very exciting.

Can you see the difference? While both sentences use the same base word in the adjective, changing the ending of the adjective from ED to ING also changes the meaning of the adjective slightly.

We typically use adjectives ending in ED to describe feelings or emotions.

Here are some examples:

– My sister is very interested in studying medicine.
– In math class I easily become confused.
– After work, I get so tired.

Contrastingly, we use adjectives ending in ING to describe the characteristics of situations or things. That is to say, the things or people that make you feel a certain way.

For example:

– This book is so boring, I am not interested at all!
– I feel bored when I read this book.
– The ending of the book was very surprising! I did not expect things to conclude like that.
– I was surprised by the ending.
– Horror movies are very frightening, I cannot watch them alone.
– Horror movies make me feel frightened.

ING adjectives can also be used for people but be aware that it changes the meaning of what you are trying to say quite a bit!

Here is an example:
– Laura is very boring. (This sentence means, I do not find Laura interesting)
– Laura is bored. (This sentence means Laura is not interested in something!)

Adjectives that end in ED vs those that end in ING - Quiz

Let’s practice putting the difference into use! Try and choose between ING or ED for the following adjectives based on their context.

 

Present Perfect Continuous

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Present Perfect Continuous
When something starts in the past and continues into the present, we use this verb tense. The present perfect continuous tense is generally used to describe actions or conditions that began in the past but are still going on or have recently stopped. You can use present perfect continuous in positive and negative situations. For example, “I have been watching TV all day”, or “Have we not been resting long enough?”

There are a few different situations when present perfect continuous is often used:

Situation Example
Emphasizing length of time “I have been waiting here for hours”
Conveying unfinished actions “I have been watching the movie you suggested last week”
Explaining the result of an action “We have been baking all day, so the kitchen is a mess”

How to form Present Perfect Continuous Statements:
Subject + have been + gerund (ing)
Example: I have been writing this script since 2018.

Present Perfect Continuous Quiz

Complete the following sentences using present perfect continuous.
Example: He _______ (work) here for ten years.
ANSWER: He has been working here for ten years.