PAST SIMPLE + PAST CONTINUOUS

PAST SIMPLE PAST CONTINUOUS

FORMA AFFERMATIVA

SOGG. + VERBO ALL’INFINITO SENZA IL TO + -ED SOGG. + VERBO TO BE AL PASSATO +

+ FRASE VERBO ALL’INFINITO SENZA IL TO + ING +
FRASE

Yesterday, I went to the gym. At that time, she was playing

A year ago she studied abroad. basketball. At 2am I was sleeping.
Last week they did their homework. We were driving home when you called us.

FORMA NEGATIVA

SOGG. + DIDN’T + VERBO ALL’INFINITO SENZA SOGG. + WASN’T/WEREN’T + VERBO

IL TO + FRASE ALL’INFINITO SENZA IL TO + ING + FRASE

I didn’t like reading, now I do. I wasn’t reading, I was sleeping.

She didn’t wear smart clothes. The cat was wandering around.
They didn’t go to the cinema, they stayed home. We weren’t paying attention.

FORMA INTERROGATIVA

DID + SOGG. + VERBO ALL’INFINITO SENZA IL TO VERBO TO BE + SOGG. + VERBO

+ FRASE + ? ALL’INFINITO SENZA IL TO + ING + FRASE +
?

Did you go to London last year? Were you listening to music?

Did he do his homework? Was she cooking dinner when you saw
Did they study yesterday? her? Were they playing piano together?

USE OF THE PAST SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS

Past simple is used for:

• Things that happened in the past and that are now concluded
o Yesterday I ate at my grandma’s.
o Two years ago it snowed.
o When were you born?

We use the past simple with: yesterday, a(n) second/minute/hour/week/month/year ago, last
morning/ afternoon/ night/ week/ month/ year, on Monday, in Summer, in 2009, in the past, …

Past continuous is used for:

 • Things that were happening at a specific moment in the past
o My aunt was sleeping when she received a call.
o I was working when I had to leave.
o While I was singing, she was watching television.

We use the past continuous with: at … o’clock, yesterday, while, in 2015

PAST SIMPLE + PAST PERFECT

PAST SIMPLE PAST PERFECT
FORMA AFFERMATIVA

SOGG. + VERBO ALL’INFINITO SENZA IL TO + -ED SOGG. + HAD + PAST PARTICIPLE + FRASE
+ FRASE

In 2008, they visited to Disneyland. When my mother arrived, I had already done
One week ago, I was in the mountains. my homework.
Yesterday I took my luggage, caught a taxi and Last year she went to Finland, two years ago
went to the airport. she had been to Denmark.
My sister was looking for me, but I had already
left.

FORMA NEGATIVA

SOGG. + DIDN’T + VERBO ALL’INFINITO SENZA SOGG. + HADN’T/HAD NOT + PAST PARTICIPLE
IL TO + FRASE + FRASE

I didn’t like reading, now I do. She thought I had cheated on her, but I hadn’t
She didn’t wear smart clothes. done that!
They didn’t go to the cinema, they stayed home. Her friends were worried because they hadn’t
seen her in a while.
I kept hugging him, because I hadn’t done that
in ages.

FORMA INTERROGATIVA

DID + SOGG. + VERBO ALL’INFINITO SENZA IL TO HAD + SOGG. + PAST PARTICIPLE + FRASE + ?
+ FRASE + ?

Did you go to London last year? When you arrived at the stadium, had the
Did he do his homework? match already started?
Did they study yesterday? Had she ever spoken to her classmates before
she changed school?
Had they cleaned their rooms before their
 parents arrived?

USE OF THE PAST SIMPLE AND PAST PERFECT

Past simple is used for:

• Things that happened in the past and that are now concluded
o Yesterday I ate at my grandma’s.
o Two years ago it snowed.
o When were you born?

We use the past simple with: yesterday, a(n) second/minute/hour/week/month/year ago, last
morning/ afternoon/ night/ week/ month/ year, on Monday, in Summer, in 2009, in the past, …
Past perfect is used for:

• Things that happened before a certain thing in the past

o When I arrived, she had already gone out.
o Even though I believed so, they had never been to England.
o Before we told him the truth, he hadn’t known she was a spy.
• Express the duration of an event in the past + with “It was the first/second/third time
…” o I had worked as a teacher for 30 years when I decided to retire.
o It was the second time the criminal had robbed a bank, but the police caught

him. We use the past perfect with: already, when, just, before, ever/never, earlier, still, by the

time …

Subject and Object questions

Object question → normal structure

QUESTION WORD + AUXILIARY VERB + SUBJECT + MAIN VERB +

SENTENCE + ? Usually, when we ask a question, we want to know about the object of the
answer:

A. What did you lose?

B. I lost my purse.

My purse is the object of the answer and what is the object of the question. (The subject of the
question is you.)

Here’s another example:

A. Who did John meet?

 B. John met Lucy.

Lucy is the object of the answer and who is the object of the question.

Subject question → change in the structure

QUESTION WORD + MAIN VERB + SENTENCE + ?

However, sometimes we want to ask a question where the thing we want to know is actually the
subject of the answer.

Here’s an answer:

• Lucy kissed John.

We can ask about John, in a normal object question:

• Who did Lucy kiss?

But we can also ask about Lucy:

• Who kissed John?

Who kissed John? is a subject question. We don’t need to use inversion, or add ‘did’. Instead, we just
take out ‘Lucy’ from the answer (which is a normal sentence) and add ‘who’. We generally make
subject questions using ‘who’ or ‘what’.
Let’s have a look at some more examples:

• James dropped the glass.

o Object question: What did James drop?
o Subject question: Who dropped the glass?
• We will read the book.
o Object question: What will you read?
o Subject question: Who will read the book?
• Amanda washed the car.
o Object question: What did Amanda wash?
o Subject question: Who washed the car?
• The students like their new professor.
o Object question: Who do the students like?
o Subject question: Who likes the new
professor? • I’m buying some bread.
o Object question: What are you buying?
o Subject question: Who is buying some bread?
 Relative clauses
We use WHO/WHICH/WHOSE/WHERE/WHEN to connect two sentences
WHO
Replaces a person Che The person who is in the middle of the crowd
Il quale is a singer
La quale
I quali
Le quali

WHICH
Replaces an animal or a Che The flower which is in the vase is a rose
thing Il quale
La quale
I quali
Le quali

WHOSE
Replaces a his/hers/their Il cui Those are the animals whose name is
La cui platypus That is the girl whose book I’ve
I cui found
Le cui

WHERE
Replaces a place Dove The house where I live is huge
In cui
Nel quale
Nella quale
Nei quali
Nelle quali

WHEN
Replaces a period Quando The year when I was born was 2004
Durante il quale
Durante la quale
Durante i quali
Durante le quali

WHO/WHICH can be replaced by THAT

The person who is in the middle of the crowd is a singer → The person that is in the middle of the
crowd is a singer
The flower which is in the vase is a rose → The flower THAT is in the vase is a rose

WHO Amo quell’attore. Lui interpreta James Bond → Amo quell’attore che interpreta
James Bond
I love that actor. He plays James Bond → I love that actor who plays James Bond

Mary ha una figlia. Sua figlia piange sempre → Mary ha una figlia che piange
sempre Mary has a daughter. Her daughter always cries → Mary has a daughter
who always cries

WHICH Quello è l’aereo. Quell’aereo va a Parigi → Quello è l’aereo che va a Parigi That’s the
airplane. That airplane goes to Paris → That’s the airplane which goes to Paris

Il cane sta abbaiando. Quel cane è mio → Il cane che sta abbaiando è
mio The dog is barking. That dog is mine → The dog which is barking is
mine

WHOSE Quella è l’azienda. I suoi dipendenti lavorano molto → Quella è l’azienda i cui
dipendenti lavorano molto
That is the company. Its employees work a lot → That is the company whose
employees work a lot

WHERE Quella è la casa. In quella casa sono cresciuto → Quella è la casa in cui/dove
sono cresciuto
That is the house. I grew up in that house → That is the house where I grew up

WHEN Sono stato via per una settimana. Durante questa settimana ho studiato molto
→ Durante la settimana in cui sono stato via ho studiato molto
I’ve been away for a week. During this week I’ve studied a lot → During the week
when I’ve been away I’ve studied a lot

Relative pronouns can replace the subject or the object of the sentence

• The man was a thief. I saw him yesterday

o The man who I saw yesterday was a thief → object
• The man is my uncle. He is shouting
o The man who is shouting is my uncle → subject
• The film is interesting. I am watching it
o The film which I’m watching is interesting → object
• The film is really good. It has just ended
 o The film which has just ended is really good → subject
• The teacher is sick. I love her subject
o The teacher whose subject I love is sick today → object
• The boy is not in class. His name is John
o The boy whose name is John is not in class → subject
• The country is England. She was born in England
o The country where she was born is England → object
• The century was the 21st. You were born in the 21st century
o The century when you were born was the 21st → object

Literature vocabulary

ceramica pottery

invasore invader

allevare to breed

battaglia battle

soldato soldier

stagno tin

confine border

grano wheat

orzo barley

adorare/pregare per to worship

piombo lead

avena oats

aratro plough

collegabile tramite un ponte bridgeable

fondare to found

arcivescovo archbishop

vescovo bishop
conio/moneta coinage

succedere al trono to succeed to the throne

trono throne

confine border
boundary

Vangelo Gospel

Vangelo miniato illuminated Gospel

riunirsi to gather

studioso scholar

saccheggiare to sack

sconfiggere to defeat

bestiame cattle

sopraffare to overwhelm

scudo shield

freccia arrow

fanteria infantry

esercito army

cavalleria cavalry

arciere archer

dichiarare vittoria to declare victory

guerriero warrior

cavaliere knight

barone baron

popolano peasant

contadino farmer

pescatore fisherman

hunter cacciatore
 Phrasal verbs with OUT

become clear in the end turn out

calculate work out

discover find out

see something with difficulty make out

start a journey set out

FIGURES OF SPEECH
SOUND DEVICES
RHYME

END RHYME = The ending of I wandered lonely as a cloud

two or more lines has the that floats on high o'er vales and hills,
same sound. when all at once I saw a crowd,
a host, of golden daffodils;
beside the lake, beneath the trees,
fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

William Wordsworth - Daffodils

INTERNAL RHYME = is used While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a
within one or more lines. tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my
chamber door.

Edgar Allan Poe – The Raven

RUN-ON LINE - ENJAMBEMENT

When the sentence doesn’t Winter kept us warm, covering

end at the end of the line and Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
continues in the next. A little life with dried tubers

Thomas Stearns Eliot – The Waste Land

CAESURA

A pause in the middle of a line To be, or not to be: that is the question:
expressed through
punctuation. William Shakespeare - Hamlet

ASSONANCE
The repetition of the same Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely
vowel sound
English tongue-twister

ALLITERATION

The repetition of the same Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely
consonant sound in the
beginning of words English tongue-twister

ONOMATOPOEIA

Using words whose sound I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –

express their meaning The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air –
Between the Heaves of Storm

Emily Dickinson - I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –

REPETITION

REPETITION = Repeating Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

words, phrases, lines, or Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
stanzas
William Shakespeare - Macbeth

REFRAIN = A kind of repetition It was many and many a year ago,

where a phrase, line, or group In a kingdom by the sea,
of lines are repeated at That a maiden there lived whom you may know …
intervals throughout a poem,
generally at the end of the I was a child and she was a child,
stanza In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love
— I and my Annabel Lee …

Edgar Allan Poe – Annabel Lee

ANAPHORA = The repetition of In every cry of every man,

the same words at the In every infant’s cry of fear,
beginning of a line, stanza In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forged manacles I hear:

William Blake – London

EPIPHORA/EPISTROPHE = The If you had known the virtue of the ring,

repetition of the same words at Or half her worthiness that gave the ring,
the end of a line, stanza Or your own honour to contain the ring,
You would not then have parted with the ring.
 William Shakespeare – The Merchant of Venice

ANASTROPHE

A change in normal word order. In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.

JRR Tolkien – The Hobbit