Mesimi # 13

The past simple
E kryera e thjeshte

A   Introduction
A   Prezantimi

It all happened very quickly. The car came straight out of the side road, and the van went into the back off it. The van driver didn’t have a chance. It was the car driver’s fault.

Gjithcka ndodhi shume shpejt.  Makina erdhi  direkt nga rruga ne krah dhe furgoni  hyri ne pjesen e pasme te saj. Shoferi I furgonit nuk kishte asnje gabim. Ishte faji i shoferit te makines.

B   Positive forms
B   Format deftore

 A regular past form ends in ed
E shkuara e nje folje te rregullt mbaron me ed.
It happened very quickly.            The van crashed into the car.
I posted the letter yesterday.     We once owned a caravan.

Some verbs have an irregular past form.

Disa folje kane forme te crregullt te se shkuares.
The car came out of a side road.    Vicky rang earlier.           I won the game.
I had breakfast at six.                        The train left on time.     We took some photos.

The past simple is the same in all persons except in the past tense of be.

E kryera e thjeshte eshte e njejte per te gjitha foljet ne te gjitha vetat e zgjedhimit, pervec  foljes be.
I/he/she/it was                I was ill last week.
you/we/they/were         Those cakes were nice.

C   Negatives and questions
C   Forma negative dhe pyetese

We use did in negatives and questions.
Perdorim did per format negative dhe pyetese.

NEGATIVE                                                                                 QUESTION
I/you/he/she/it/we/they did not stop.                           Did I/you/he/she/it/we/they stop?
                                        OR  didn’t stop

The car did not stop.           The driver didn’t look to his right.
Makina nuk ndaloi.              Shoferi nuk shikoi ne te djathten e tij.
What did you tell the police? –Nothing.       Did you ring home? –Yes, I did.
Cfare I tregove policise? – Asgje.                    Telefonove ne shtepi? – Po, telefonova.

We do not use a a past form such as stopped or rang in negatives and questions.
Nuk perdorim   forma te se shkuares si  stopped ose rang ne pyetjet negative.
NOT   The car didn’t stopped   and  NOT   Did you rang?

We also use was and were in negative questions.
Gjithashtu perdorim was dhe were ne pyetjet negative.

NEGATIVE                                                           QUESTION
I/he/she/it was not or wasn’t                 was I/he/she/it?
you/we/they were or weren’t                        were you/we/they?

I wasn’t very well last week. The gates weren’t open.
Nuk isha shume mire javen e kaluar. Portat nuk ishin te hapura.
Where was your friend last night?  Was your steak nice?
Ku ishte shoku jot te premten e kaluar? Ishte I mire bifteku jot?

D Use
D Perdorimi

We use the past simple for something in the past which is finished.
E perdorim te kryeren e thjeshte per te shprehur nje veprim qe eshte perfunduar ne te shkuaren .
Emma passed her exam last year. We went to the theatre on Friday. Elvis Presley died in 1977.
Ema e kaloi provimin vjet. Ne shkuam ne teater te premten. Elvis Presley vdiq me 1977.
I knew what the problem was. When did you buy this car? –About three years ago.
E dija cili ishte problemi. Kur e bleve kete makine? – Rreth tre vjet me pare.

Exercises on simple past

1   Positive form ( B)

What did Claire do on holiday last month ? Look at her photos and use these words :

Go out dancing , have picnic , lie on the beach ,play volleyball , swim in the sea .

Ex :  She lay on the beach .

2    Positive form ( B) 

Complete the newspaper story about a fire . Put in the past simple forms of the verbs .

Two people died ( die ) in a fire in Ellis Street , Oldport yesterday morning . They  ………….  (be ) Herbert  and Molly Paynter ,a couple in their seventies . The fire ……………………….( start ) at 3:20 am .A neighbor , Mr. Aziz …………………..(see ) the flames and ……………………………(call) the fire brigade .He also …………………..(try) to get into the house and rescue his neighbor , but the heat ………………………………….(be ) too great . The fire brigade …………………….(arrive )in five minutes . Twenty fire –fighter ………………….(fight) the fire and finally …………………… (bring) it under control. Two fire-fighter …………………….(enter) the burning building but …………….(find) the couple dead.

3   Negative and questions ( C)

Complete the conversation . Put in the past simple negatives and questions .

Claire: Did you have (you/have) a nice weekend in Paris ?

Mark :  Yes , thanks . It was good . We looked around and then we saw a show .

……………………….(we /not/ try) to do too much ?

Claire :  What sights ……………………… ( you/ see) ?

Mark :  We had a look around the Louvre . ……………………………..(I/not /know) there was so much in there .

Claire :  And what show …………………………..(you /go/ to) ?

Mark :  Oh ,a musical . I forget the name . ………………………….( I /not/like) it .

Claire :  Oh , dear . And ………………………..( Sarah /enjoy) it ?

Mark :  No ,not really . But we enjoyed the weekend . Sarah did some shopping , too ,but ………………………… ( I/not /want) to go shopping .

Mesimi #  14 

The past continuous

A  Introduction

The past continuous means that at the time in the past we were in the middle of the action .
E shkuara e vazhduar na tregon se ne te shkuaren ishim ne mesin e kryerjes se nje veprimi.

B  Form

The past continuous  is the past tense of be + an ing - form .
E shkuara e vazhduar eshte koha e shkuar e foljes jam + nje forme –ing.

I / he /she/it  was playing                                                               QUESTION

You/ we /they were playing .                                               was I/he /she /it  playing ?

                                       NEGATIVE                                          were you/we /they playing ?

I/ he /she/it wasn’t playing.

You/we /they weren’t playing .

Soft music  was playing .                           People  were walking in the park .

I wasn’t dreaming . I really was in New York City.

Why did you give our secret away ? What were you thinking of ?

Was Matthew already waiting for you when you got there ?

C  Use

Read this conversations .
Lexoni  kete bisede.

Melanie : I rang at about three yesterday afternoon ,but you weren’t in . I didn’t know where you were .

David : Oh , I was helping Mike . We were repairing his car . It took ages . We were working on in all afternoon .

M : It was raining . I hope you weren’t doing it outside .

D: No ,we were in the garage . So I didn’t get wet .But I’m afraid I got oil all over my new trousers .

M : Why  were  you  wearing  your new trousers to repair a car .

D : I don’t know . I forgot I had them on .

It was raining at three o’clock means that at three o’clock we were in the middle of a period of rain . The rain began before three and stopped some time after three . We were working all afternoon  means that the action went on for the whole period . David is stressing the length of time that the work went on .

We use the continuous with actions . we do not normally use it with state verb . For states we use the past simple .
E perdorim te shkuaren e vazhduar per folje kalimtare. Normalisht nuk perdoret me folje jokalimtare. Per foljet jokalimtare perdorim te kryeren e thjeshte.

    I didn’t know where you were .   NOT  I wasn’t knowing  ….   

Exercises

1 Form (B)

Form proms using the phrases below.
Use these verbs: dance, drive, listen, watch, write
Use these phrases:  an essay, his taxi, in the street, television, to a band

 

2 Form (B)

Complete the conversation. Put in the past continuous forms.
Jessica :        I was looking ( I look) for you. Vicky. I’m afraid I’ve broken this dish.
Vicky:            Oh, no! What (1)                                                                (you /do)?
Jessica:         (2)                                                                                          ( I/ take) it into the kitchen.
                       I bumped into Emma. (3)                                                  (she/come) out just as
                       (4)                                                   (I/go) in.
Vicky:            I expect it was your fault. (5)                                                      (you/not/look) where
                       (6)                                                   (you/go)
Jessica:          Sorry. I’ll buy you another one as soon as I have some money.

Use (C)

What can you say in these situations? Add a sentence with the past continuous to say that an action lasted a long time.
You had to work yesterday. The work went on all day.
I was working all day.
1 You had to make phone calls. The calls went on all evening.

2 You had to wait in the rain. The wait lasted for half an hour.

3 You had to make sandwiches. This went on all afternoon.

4 You had to sit in traffic jams. You were there for two hours.

5 Your neighbour played loud music. This went on all night.

The lion king                       

                                       A TALE OF RESPONSIBILITY

All the animals from the Pride Lands gathered . There were and ostriches ,antelope and elephants . they came to get a good look as Rafiki , the wise baboon ,lifted the Lion King’s cub for all to see .His name was Simba and he would somebody be their king .The animals cheered !

But not everyone celebrated Mufasa and Sarabi’s cub . Mufasa’s own brother , was very jealous. Scar wanted to be king .

                                                          

‘’ One day ,Simba ,the sun will set on my time here and will rise with you as the new king, “

Mufasa said. He explained that all the animals had an important place in the Circle of Life .

Simba couldn’t wait to be king ! He even bragged about it to his uncle, Scar .

“ Everywhere the sun shines will ne my kingdom !”  Simba said . “ Everywhere, except the shadowy place . My father said I’m not supposed to go there .”  Scar saw a chance to trick Simba . “ Only brave lions go there , “ Scar said .

Simba knew he shouldn’t go ,but he wanted to be brave. He and his friend Nala set out to explore the mysterious shadowy place.

Three mean hyenas were waiting for them! Simba and Nala were trapped .Just  then they heard a giant roar .Mufasa had come to rescue them ! Mufasa was angry at this young cub .”I just wanted to be brave ,” Simba said .”doing foolish things isn’t  brave ,” Mufasa said .” Being  brave means you  understand  your responsibility to do what is right .”

Father and son looked up at the twinkling stars .Mufasa told Simba that the stars were  the great kings of the past looking down on them .”Remember , Simba ,”Mufasa  said ,”those kings will always be there to guide you . “So will I.”

Meanwhile ,  Scar  was angry that Simba had escaped .He ordered the hyenas  to start a stampede of wildebeests . Simba was in danger again !When Mufasa came to Simba ‘s rescue ,he slipped on the rocks and fell .He was gone forever . It was an accident ,but  Scar blamed Simba .”Run away and never come  back !”shouted Scar .

Simba ran and ran . He didn’t stop until he was deep in the jungle ,where two friendly animals named Timon  and Pumbaa found him and tried to cheer him up . “Our motto is hakuna  matata , ” Timon said . “ No worries “ , Pumbaa explained.

It didn’t take long for Simba to stop thinking of home .” Hakuna matata , “ he said with a shrug . The friends spent their days playing and napping in the sun .

One day , a lioness chased Pumbaa . Simba jumped to his rescue . The lioness was Nala , Simba’s old friend ! After apologizing to Pumbaa , Nala explained how terrible things were in the Pride Lands .

“ There’s on the water or food ,” she said . “ We need you ! . Please come home .“   “ I can’t , “ Simba said sadly. “ You’re our king ,“ she said . Simba was confused . He had forgotten his responsibility to lead and protect the other animals .

But the wise baboon Rafiki hadn’t  forgotten . He helped Simba to see that he had grown into a brave lion , just like his father . Simba remembered what his father had told him .He searched the starts for help . Mufasa’s face glowed in the moonlight . “ Remember who you are ,“  he said .   “I’m king ,” Simba said . He knew that in the Circle of Life , he had an important place and an important responsibility .

Simba and his friends went to the Pride Lands and defeated Scar . The eagles and ostriches , antelope and elephants , and all the other animals cheered. Their king was home !

                 RESPONSIBILITY

Being  responsible means taking care of what is important . The Lion King had a responsibility to the other animals of the Pride Lands . They counted on him , and they trusted him.

When Simba lived with Timon and Pumbaa , he ignored his responsibility to the Pride Lands. But with help ,Simba was able to return and accept his responsibility . He overcame his fears and did the right thing.

The city mouse and the country mouse

There was once a happy little country Mouse, who lived in a big wheat field. In the summer she grew  cold she moved into the farmhouse and picked up bits of cake and bread and cheese which the cook dropped on the kitchen floor. These she stored away in her little mouse hole in the attic until she had a good supply laid for the winter. Now one day during the winter the little Country Mouse’s cousin, a City  Mouse , came to visit her. When they had chatted  for a while, the little Country Mouse  took her visitor to see her attic pantry. Proudly she showed her the mound of cheese bits, the heaps of bread and cake crumbs, and the neat piles of nuts and dried peas. But when the City Mouse had eaten a hearty dinner, she wiped her whiskers daintly and said, You poor thing, So  this is the way you live, on left-overs dried up in the attic. Come with me to the city and I will show  a you real feast. The Country Mouse immediately felt rather ashamed of her simple home, so she  quietly went along with the City Mouse to visit her. The City Mouse  led the way into a huge brick house, up a great staircase, and into a dining room. The rich people who lived in the big house with the City Mouse were just having dinner, so the two little mice hid behind the door. Keep very still, said the City Mouse. When they leave the table we can have all the food that is left. The eyes of the little Country Mouse grew big and round at that, for  she had never seen so much food in her whole busy life. So she sat very still until , with a scuffling of feet and scramping of chairs, the big people left the table. Come on, squeaked the City Mouse. Peeking cautiously to right and left she led the way across the room, up onto a chair and from the  chair onto the table, with the Country Mouse scampering along behind her. The Country Mouse took a long look around her at the table still crowded with good things, and sighed a deep, happy sigh.

                             This is wonderful , she said, taking a big bite out of a beautiful cheese. You live just like a prince. She had scarcely finished squeaking when , with a snarl, a cat pounced up on the table. After her came the cook, shouting and waving a big spoon. And into the room bounded two dogs, barking fiercely. Then there was a terrible row. In the midst of it the two mice skittered down to the floor and dodged into a handy hole. We’ll wait until all is quiet again and go back for some more, whispered the City Mouse. But her country cousin shook her head firmly. We’ll wait until it is quiet again and then I’ll go home as fast as I can. You are welcome to all the fine food you can get, my friend. As for me, I prefer my dry crusts in my peaceful attic.

Little Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time, in a cottage at the edge of a deep woods, lived a little girl and her mother. The little girl always wore a little red cape her grandmother had made for her, with a red hood to cover her curls. So the neighbors called her Little Red Ridinghood.

     One morning Red Ridinghood’s mother put a loaf of crusty brown bread, some spiced meat, and a bottle of red wine into a basket and said to her,”I want you to take these goodies to your grandmother, who is sick. But be sure to go straight along the woods path, and do not stop to play or talk to any strangers.”

    Little Red Ridinghood promised to be careful. She put on her little cape and hood, took the little basket, and off she started. She loved the walk through the shady green woods where all the flowers and birds and little animals lived. But today she did not stop to play with any of her forest friends. She kept right on the path.

     Suddenly from behind a big oak tree a great gray wolf appeared. He was an evil-looking fellow, but he smiled at Little Red Ridinghood, and said politely:

    “Good morning, my dear. And where are you going this fine days?”

   “My grandmother is sick and I am going to her little cottage in the woods, to take her this basket from my mother.  And my mother says I am not to stop to play along the way or speak to strangers.”

    “Always obey your mother, my dear,” said the wolf, eying Little Redhood hungrily. “Now I do not want to delay you,since you have a long way to go, so good day!”

  With a little bow the wolf disappeared among the tress, and Redinghood skipped along toward her grandmother’s house.

   The wicked wolf, meanwhile, had taken a short cut through the woods, and he reached the grandmother’s cottage long before Little Red Ridinghood.

   “Who is there?” called the grandmother, who was still in bed.

“It is I, Little Red Ridinghood,” said the wolf, trying to make his voice sound soft and sweet.

   “Come in, my dear,” said the grandmother. “Just pull the latch-string.”

    So the wolf pulled the latch-string and slipped onto the grandmother’s cottage, and he ate her up in one bite. Then he put on her nightgown and nightcap and climbed into her bed. He was just pulling the sheet up over his nose when Little Red Ridinghood rapped at the door.

     “Who is there?” called the wolf, trying to make his voice sweet and quavery. “It is I, Little Red Ridinghood,said the little girl.

   “Come in, my dear,” said the wolf. “Just pull the latch-string.”

   So Red Ridinghood went in and put her little basket down on the table.

    “Now come closer, my dear,” said the wolf.

  “Why, Granny, what big ears you have!”

Cried Little Red Ridinghood.

 “ The better to see you with, my dear,” said the wolf.

“And Granny, what big teeth you have!”

 “The better to EAT you with!” snapped the wolf, springing at Little Red Ridinghood.

Calling for the help, she ran out of the cottage and straight into the arms of a sturdy woodcutter.

   He stepped into the cottage, and with one blow of his axe killed the wicked wolf.

 He cut him open, and out stepped Little Redhood’s grandmother, none the worse for her fright.

             She kissed Little Red Ridinghood warmly, and thanked the woodcutter for saving their lives. Then, after they all had a nice lunch from the goodies in Little Red Ridinghood’s basket, the woodcutter took the little girl home.

There has never been another wolf seen in that forest, but Little Red Ridinghood takes no chances. She keeps right on the path, does not stop to play along the way, and never speaks to strangers.