Lesson 12 (Twelfth Lesson)

The past tense of be, have, can

Teacher and Mr. A

Was, were

Teacher: Where were you this time last year, Mr. A?

Mr. A: A year ago I was in Turkey. I was at a school there.

Teacher: Were you studying English then?

Mr. A: Yes, I was studying a little but not very much. I was at a school in Ankara .my brother was there too. It was a very good school. All the teachers were good; the teacher for my class was very good indeed. But my brother and I were only at school for a few weeks before we came to England; so our knowledge of the language was, of course, very small.

Teacher and Mr. B

Teacher: You can speak English a little now, Mr. B, can't you?

Mr. B: Yes, I can speak a little; not quite as much as my friend, Mr. A.

Teacher: Could you speak English a year ago?

Mr. B: This time last year I could speak only a few words; I could not speak English well. It was very difficult to learn English.

Teacher: Why was that?

Mr. B: Well, I was not as lucky as Mr. A. He could get a good teacher; I could not. There were no English people in my town, a very small town in Egypt, and it was difficult to find a good teacher. There were one or two teachers, but they were not English. They could not speak English well and couldn't explain the grammar to their students; so I was very glad to come to England to learn English well.

Teacher and Miss D

Had

Teacher: What about you, Miss D? Could you speak English a year ago?

Miss D: No, a year ago I couldn't speak a word. I wasn't thinking about English or England. I had no time; we had a big farm and I had to do a lot of work on it. I had to work hard.

Teacher: Really? That is very interesting.

Miss D: Yes. I am fond of the county, and I was very fond of the work, but I couldn't do all that work and learn English, too. I hadn't a minute for study from morning till night.

Teacher: What animals were there on the farm?

Miss D: Oh, we had horses, cows, sheep and pigs.

Teacher: And were they a lot of work for you?

Miss D: Well, there were fifteen men working on the farm. They were all big eaters and I had to feed all those men. It was nearly a full day's work to cook their food. I couldn't cook enough; they could always eat everything on the table. Oh, yes, it was hard work, and I couldn't find time for study, but I had a happy time on the farm and I was very sorry to come away.