Kaplan Flashcards
Simple Past Tense (verb+ed or irregular verb past tense)
Use the simple past to express something about your vacation that finished at a specific time.
This tense is for talking about what you did during your vacation, because all the actions ended at a specific time.
Example:
This year, my family and I went to the Seychelles for a week. It was so much fun! We traveled around the islands and ate lots of delicious food.
This tense is for talking about what you did during your vacation, because all the actions ended at a specific time.
Example:
This year, my family and I went to the Seychelles for a week. It was so much fun! We traveled around the islands and ate lots of delicious food.
Simple Past Tense (verb+ed or irregular verb past tense)
Use the simple past to express something about your vacation that finished at a specific time.
Past Continuous Tense (was/were + present participle)
Use the past continuous to talk about a longer action in the past that was interrupted. (Use the simple past to talk about the interruption.)
This tense is good for explaining moments that happened during your vacation. The past continuous tense helps give stories a context, or more meaning.
Example:
Once, when we were sitting on the beach, a crab crawled over my leg!
I was reading my book when I felt something strange. I saw it and freaked out.
Then, when we were having dinner at the best restaurant in Seychelles, my mother saw George Clooney! She was so excited, but I didn’t really care.
This tense is good for explaining moments that happened during your vacation. It helps give stories a context, or more meaning.
Example:
Once, when we were sitting on the beach, a crab crawled over my leg!
I was reading my book when I felt something strange. I saw it and freaked out.
Then, when we were having dinner at the best restaurant in Seychelles, my mother saw George Clooney! She was so excited, but I didn’t really care.
Past Continuous Tense (was/were + present participle)
Use the past continuous to talk about a longer action in the past that was interrupted. (Use the simple past to talk about the interruption.)
Past Perfect Continuous Tense (had been + present participle)
Use the past perfect continuous to show something that started in the past, and continued until a later time, also in the past.
This tense is useful for talking about things that happened before your holiday, but ended when your holiday started.
Examples:
I had been waiting so long for this holiday that when it started, I felt like I was dreaming.
My sister had been studying for her exams before the holiday so she could relax while we were in the Seychelles.
This tense is useful for talking about things that happened before your holiday, but ended when your holiday started.
Examples:
I had been waiting so long for this holiday that when it started, I felt like I was dreaming.
My sister had been studying for her exams before the holiday so she could relax while we were in the Seychelles.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense (had been + present participle)
Use the past perfect continuous to show something that started in the past, and continued until a later time, also in the past.
What tense is each of the italicized verb phrases?
- I had been trying for months to save money for holiday.
- Marco came with me to Brussels for the weekend.
- I was at the beach for hours!
- Eleni was sipping a cocktail by the pool when I arrived.
- We had been climbing Mount Royal for an hour before we took a break.
- past perfect continuous; 2. simple past; 3. simple past; 4. past continuous; 5. past perfect continuous
American Idioms:
- dime a dozen
example: In Rome, museums are a dime a dozen. - New York minute
example: We’ll be there in a New York minute! - to feel like a million dollars
example: After my massage, I felt like a million dollars. - to play ball
example: The landlord agreed to play ball with us about having the kitchen sink fixed. - to run interference
example: Shirin ran interference between the two disagreeing teams. - the big leagues
example: Alana felt like she was in the big leagues when she started her new job.
American Idioms:
– to be very common
– something that happens, or will happen very quickly
– to feel great
– to cooperate with someone
– to go between two different people/groups to share information
– a very successful or important group
American Idioms:
– to be very common
– something that happens, or will happen very quickly
– to feel great
– to cooperate with someone
– to go between two different people/groups to share information
– a very successful or important group
American Idioms:
- dime a dozen
example: In Rome, museums are a dime a dozen. - New York minute
example: We’ll be there in a New York minute! - to feel like a million dollars
example: After my massage, I felt like a million dollars. - to play ball
example: The landlord agreed to play ball with us about having the kitchen sink fixed. - to run interference
example: Shirin ran interference between the two disagreeing teams. - the big leagues
example: Alana felt like she was in the big leagues when she started her new job.
Exercise American idioms:
- I __________ today! I found $5 on the street, I caught the train just on time, and the sun is shining.
- “We’re really in _______ now,” Lucy said as she walked into the Google offices.
- Hiram is not sure if Alex is willing to _______ or if he is completely set on his demands.
- Rita said that good wines are a __________ in Bordeaux.
- Jack had to __________ between his sisters when they were arguing.
- It won’t take more than a _________ to get a taxi
Exercise American idioms:
- feel like a million dollars
- the big leagues
- play ball
- dime a dozen
- to run interference
- New York minute
Exercise American idioms:
- feel like a million dollars
- the big leagues
- play ball
- dime a dozen
- to run interference
- New York minute
Exercise American idioms:
- I __________ today! I found $5 on the street, I caught the train just on time, and the sun is shining.
- “We’re really in _______ now,” Lucy said as she walked into the Google offices.
- Hiram is not sure if Alex is willing to _______ or if he is completely set on his demands.
- Rita said that good wines are a __________ in Bordeaux.
- Jack had to __________ between his sisters when they were arguing.
- It won’t take more than a _________ to get a taxi
- An Alley Cat
- As Poor as a Church Mouse
- A Paper Tiger
- To Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill
- To Be a Guinea Pig
- To Cast Pearls Before Swine
- The Black Sheep of the Family
- To Back the Wrong Horse
- A Cat Gets Your Tongue
- Grab a Tiger by the Tail
- An alley cat is, literally, a cat that hangs out in an alley (the small path between buildings), and usually refers to stray cats. It can also mean a group of people or children who hang around certain places because they know they will be given food.
- Priests and employees of a church are supposed to lead lives of charity, and to not have much money or good food. A mouse that lived in a church would be able to find very little to eat!
- A paper tiger is anyone who pretends to be tougher or more dangerous than they really are.
- Moles are small digging creatures that make mounds of dirt in your garden. To “make a mountain out of a molehill” is to make a small problem or issue into a much bigger one by worrying about it and panicking.
- Guinea pigs are small rodents that were often used for science experiments or to test make-up. To act as a guinea pig means to be the person trying out a new system or product for the first time.
- This simply means to give a gift to someone who does not appreciate it, or has no use for it. For example, giving fancy jewelry to a homeless person who would rather have a hot meal.
- Most types of sheep are white, but occasionally a black sheep will crop up – and look a little bit out of place. If you’re the black sheep of your family, then you haven’t lived the same kind of life as most of your family members. For example, they are all doctors but you want to be a professional surfer.
- This refers to horse racing, where “to back” a horse means to bet that it will win the race. If you “back the wrong horse” you are betting on a horse that doesn’t have a good chance to win. In life, this means teaming up with someone who has no skills, or just that you have made the wrong decision.
- If a cat has your tongue, you can’t speak. To ask someone, “has a cat got your tongue?” means you are asking them why they have nothing to say.
- There is an old myth that a tiger cannot reach you if you hold onto its tail. If you get yourself into the position where you have a tiger’s tail, then, it would be a bad idea to let go of it (but you probably couldn’t do much else!). This myth is not true, unfortunately, but the saying has stuck around. To “grab a tiger by the tail” means you have got yourself involved in a difficult situation, and the only way out of it is to finish the task you have set out to do.
