TooMeaningIn ExcessorOverly There is sometimes confusion over the words too and to. The word too has two uses. The one covered on this page is the use of too meaning in excess, overly, or more than it should be.
Examples:
My Labrador eats too much and is too chubby.
(eats more than it should and is chubbier than it should be)
Karen cannot reach Southampton in an hour; it is too far.
(in excess of what she can achieve in a hour)
I tried to catch you, but I was too slow.
(overly slow or slower than I should have been)
A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies. Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
(cannot be overly careful)
You can fool too many of the people too much of the time. James Thurber (1894 - 1961)
(more people than you should be able to and more times than you should be able to)
Too comes before adjectives and adverbs:
It's too hot to wear that coat.
I was driving too fast.
4. Too may also come before nouns when it is used with the expressions too much and too many.
We use the Present Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect Continuous.
Examples:
They have been talking for the last hour.
She has been working at that company for three years.
What have you been doing for the last 30 minutes?
James has been teaching at the university since June.
We have been waiting here for over two hours!
Why has Nancy not been taking her medicine for the last three days?
USE 2 Recently, Lately
You can also use the Present Perfect Continuous WITHOUT a duration such as "for two weeks." Without the duration, the tense has a more general meaning of "lately." We often use the words "lately" or "recently" to emphasize this meaning.
Examples:
Recently, I have been feeling really tired.
She has been watching too much television lately.
Have you been exercising lately?
Mary has been feeling a little depressed.
Lisa has not been practicing her English.
What have you been doing?
IMPORTANT
Remember that the Present Perfect Continuous has the meaning of "lately" or "recently." If you use the Present Perfect Continuous in a question such as "Have you been feeling alright?", it can suggest that the person looks sick or unhealthy. A question such as "Have you been smoking?" can suggest that you smell the smoke on the person. Using this tense in a question suggests you can see, smell, hear or feel the results of the action. It is possible to insult someone by using this tense incorrectly.
The present perfect simple expresses an action that is still going on or that stopped recently, but has an influence on the present. It puts emphasis on the result.
Form of Present Perfect
Positive
Negative
Question
I / you / we / they
I have spoken.
I have not spoken.
Have I spoken?
he / she / it
He has spoken.
He has not spoken.
Has he spoken?
For irregular verbs, use the participle form (see list of irregular verbs, 3rd column). For regular verbs, just add “ed”.
Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ‘ed’
Exceptions in spelling when adding ed
Example
after a final e only add d
love – loved
final consonant after a short, stressed vowel or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled
admit – admitted travel – travelled
final y after a consonant becomes i
hurry – hurried
Use of Present Perfect
puts emphasis on the result
Example: She has written five letters.
action that is still going on
Example: School has not started yet.
action that stopped recently
Example: She has cooked dinner.
finished action that has an influence on the present
Example: I have lost my key.
action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking
In English, the simple past tenseis used for finished actions or situations that began and ended before now.There are three ways to make simple past tense. In order to show when an action or situation happened in the past, particular words and phrases (time adverbials) are often used. Here are some of the most common ones:
1.
yesterday This refers to the day before today, but not at anyspecific time.
2.
last _____ This time adverbial is similar to yesterday, but it canbeused with many different time references: last night last week last month last year last Tuesday last summer etc.
3.
a / an / one _____ ago A singular noun phrase showing a period of time follows a, an, or one: a / one minute ago an / one hour ago a / one week ago a / one week ago a / one month ago a / one year ago etc.
4.
(plural number or expression) _____ ago A plural noun phrase showing a period of time is used before ago: two minutes ago three hours ago several days ago a few weeks ago a number of months ago many years ago etc.
5.
the day before yesterday This time adverbial has the same meaning as two days ago.
6.
the _____ before last This common time adverbial is similar to the day before yesterday, but it can be used for many more time references: the night before last the week before last the month before last etc.
7.
past dates Any time expression that refers to a date before now requires a past tense. Examples: in 1998 on June 21st (if this date was before now) on June 21st, 2000 during 1995 in the 19th Century last Christmas etc.
8.
past events Any time that refers to an event that happened before now also requiresa past tense. Examples: on my last birthday at the beginning of my class during my childhood when I got up this morning when my grandfather was a boy etc.
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
Examples:
I saw a movie yesterday.
I didn't see a play yesterday.
Last year, I traveled to Japan.
Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
Did you have dinner last night?
She washed her car.
He didn't wash his car.
USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions
We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
Examples:
I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.
He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?
USE 3 Duration in Past
The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.
Examples:
I lived in Brazil for two years.
Shauna studied Japanese for five years.
They sat at the beach all day.
They did not stay at the party the entire time.
We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.
A: How long did you wait for them? B: We waited for one hour.
USE 4 Habits in the Past
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.
Examples:
I studied French when I was a child.
He played the violin.
He didn't play the piano.
Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
She worked at the movie theater after school.
They never went to school, they always skipped class.
USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations
The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to."
Examples:
She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.
He didn't like tomatoes before.
Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.
IMPORTANT When-Clauses Happen First
Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when I dropped my pen..." or "when class began..." These clauses are called when-clauses, and they are very important. The examples below contain when-clauses.
Examples:
When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.
She answered my question when I paid her one dollar.
When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both clauses are in the Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the same thing: first, I paid her one dollar, and then, she answered my question. It is not important whether "when I paid her one dollar" is at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence. However, the example below has a different meaning. First, she answered my question, and then, I paid her one dollar.
Example:
I paid her one dollar when she answered my question.
The negative of To Be can be made by adding not after the verb (was or were).
Subject
To Be
Examples
I
was not
I was not tired this morning.
You
were not
You were not crazy.
He
was not
He was not married.
She
was not
She was not famous.
It
was not
It was not hot yesterday.
We
were not
We were not invited.
You
were not
You were not at the party.
They
were not
They were not friends.
To Be - Negative Contractions
The can make negative contractions of the verb To Be in the Past tense by joining the verb (was or were) and n't (e.g. were not = weren't). We don't make a contraction of the subject and the verb (e.g. I was).
I was not tired this morning.
OR
I wasn't tired this morning.
You were not crazy.
OR
You weren't crazy.
He was not married.
OR
He wasn't married.
She was not famous.
OR
She wasn't famous.
It was not hot yesterday.
OR
It wasn't hot yesterday.
We were not invited.
OR
We weren't invited.
You were not at the party.
OR
You weren't at the party.
They were not friends.
OR
They weren't friends.
* Notice that we don't have contractions for To Be in Past Tense affirmative sentences.
To Be - Questions
To create questions with To Be, you put the Verb before the Subject.
Affirmative
You
were
happy.
Subject
Verb
Question
Were
you
happy?
Verb
Subject
Affirmative
Question
I was late
Was I late?
You were sick.
Were you sick?
He was surprised.
Was he surprised?
She was from Italy.
Was she from Italy?
It was a big house.
Was it a big house?
We were ready.
Were we ready?
You were early.
Were you early?
They were busy.
Were they busy?
To Be - Short Answers
In spoken English, we usually give short answers in response to questions.
Was he from Japan? - Yes, he was (from Japan). The last part (from Japan) is not necessary. We use shorts answers to avoid repetition, when the meaning is clear.
Question
Short Answers**
Short Answers
Was I late?
Yes, you were.
No, you weren't.
Were you sick?
Yes, I was.
No, I wasn't.
Was he surprised?
Yes, he was.
No, he wasn't.
Was she from Italy?
Yes, she was.
No, she wasn't.
Was it a big house?
Yes, it was.
No, it wasn't.
Were we ready?
Yes, we were.
No, we weren't.
Were you early?
Yes, we were.
No, we weren't.
Were they busy?
Yes, they were.
No, they weren't.
** With To Be, We don't use contractions in affirmative short answers.
The chart demonstrates some of the most common prepositions of place in English.
Prepositions of Place are used to show the position or location of one thing with another.
It answers the question "Where?"
Below we have some more examples of Prepositions of Place:
In front of
A band plays their music in front of an audience.
The teacher stands in front of the students.
The man standing in the line in front of me smells bad.
Teenagers normally squeeze their zits in front of a mirror.
Behind
Behind is the opposite of In front of. It means at the back (part) of something.
When the teacher writes on the whiteboard, the students are behind him (or her).
Who is that person behind the mask?
I slowly down because there was a police car behind me.
Between
Between normally refers to something in the middle of two objects or things (or places).
There are mountains between Chile and Argentina.
The number 5 is between the number 4 and 6.
There is a sea (The English Channel) between England and France.
Across From / Opposite
Across from and Opposite mean the same thing. It usually refers to something being in front of something else BUT there is normally something between them like a street or table. It is similar to saying that someone (or a place) is on the other side of something.
I live across from a supermarket (= it is on the other side of the road)
The chess players sat opposite each other before they began their game. (= They are in front of each other and there is a table between them)
Next to / Beside
Next to and Beside mean the same thing. It usually refers to a thing (or person) that is at the side of another thing.
At a wedding, the bride stands next to the groom.
Guards stand next to the entrance of the bank.
He walked beside me as we went down the street.
In this part of town there isn't a footpath beside the road so you have to be careful.
Near / Close to
Near and Close to mean the same thing. It is similar to next to / beside but there is more of a distance between the two things.
The receptionist is near the front door.
This building is near a subway station.
We couldn't park the car close to the store.
Our house is close to a supermarket.
On
On means that something is in a position that is physically touching, covering or attached to something.
The clock on the wall is slow.
He put the food on the table.
I can see a spider on the ceiling.
We were told not to walk on the grass.
Above / Over
Above and Over have a similar meaning. The both mean "at a higher position than X" but above normally refers to being directly (vertically) above you.
Planes normally fly above the clouds.
There is a ceiling above you.
There is a halo over my head. ;)
We put a sun umbrella over the table so we wouldn't get so hot.
Our neighbors in the apartment above us are rally noisy.
Over can also mean: physically covering the surface of something and is often used with the word All as inAll over.
There water all over the floor.
I accidentally spilled red wine all over the new carpet.
Over is often used as a Preposition of Movement too.
Under / Below
Under and Below have a similar meaning. They mean at a lower level. (Something is above it).
Your legs are under the table.
Monsters live under your bed.
A river flows under a bridge.
How long can you stay under the water?
Miners work below the surface of the Earth.
Sometimes we use the word underneath instead of under and beneath instead of below. There is no difference in meaning those they are less common nowadays.
Under is often used as a Preposition of Movement too.
