ETB Grammar

In this class we studied the Present Perfect with For and Since…. We use For with periods of time….. For a week For ten days For eleven years We use Since with points in time…. Since Tuesday Since 1987 Since 5.00 We use the Present Perfect with For and Since to communicate a state or action beginning in the past and continuing to the present.. I have had my car for four years. (I bought it 4 years ago and I still have it) I have been a teacher since 1998. (I started teaching in this year and I am still a teacher now). We also use the Present Perfect Continuous with For and Since I have been living here for 2 months. Marcus has been studying for three hours and he is tired.

In this class we looked at reported speech.  "I am from Ireland". He said that he was from Ireland.  To report direct speech, we have to .... 1. change pronouns - "I" changed to "he" 2. Put the verb back into the past.... I am - he was "I saw my friend at the weekend." She said that she had seen her friend at the weekend.  Past simple changes to Past Perfect. "We have never been to China". They said that they had never been to China. 

In this class we revised the second conditional and looked at the first and second conditionals together..... First Conditional - possible, likely or probable situations in the future If it rains at the weekend, I will stay at home. If you have a problem, you can call me. If + present simple, will/can + verb Second Conditional - imaginary, hypothetical or impossible situations in the present or future If I was an animal, I would be a horse. If aliens landed in Sligo, I would run.  If we had some good weather, we could sunbathe.  If + past simple, would/could + verb

We looked again at narrative tenses and specifically at the Past Perfect. We also introduced the Past Perfect Continuous - I had been doing..... The Past Perfect is used to talk about something that happened before another point in the past, and is often used with the Past simple.  I went outside and saw that someone had stolen my bike.  The "had stolen" tells us that it happened before I went outside.  My friend rang and invited me for a drink. I had been studying for hours, so I decided to take a break and join him.  "I had been studying" tells us about an activity that had been happening until a point in the past (my friend ran and invited...).

WE looked at the first and second conditionals in this class.... The second conditional is used to talk about unreal, unlikely or imaginary situations... If I were rich, I would buy a big house. We need.... If + past tense, would + verb.

We looked at narrative tenses in general; the Past simple, past continuous and past perfect. The past continuous is used for background information, The Past simple is used to tell what happened, and The Past Perfect is used to tell what had happened before a point in the past.