Riddles

1. What begins with P, ends with E, and has 1,000 letters?

2. A cowboy rode into town on Friday, stayed three days, and left on Friday. How is this possible?

3. What do you call a fish without an eye?

4. What car is spelled the same forwards and backwards?

5. What month has 28 days?

The Past Perfect Tense

AFFIRMATIVE:

I had learned

You had learned

He,she,it had learned

We had learned

You had learned

They had learned

NEGATIVE:

I had not learned (I hadn't learned)

You had not learned

He,she,it,had not learned

We had not learned

You had not learned

They had not learned

INTERROGATIVE:

Had I learned?

Had you learned?

Had he,she,it learned?

Had we learned?

Had you learned?

Had they learned?


To structure the PAST PERFECT TENSE, we must use auxiliary HAD + the PAST PARTICIPLE form of the verb.

For REGULAR VERBS,the Past Participle ends in ED. For IRREGULAR VERBS, consult the list of Irregular verbs.

When we use this tense, the Past Perfect becomes the framework in which we insert a second event which happened after the first event in the past (Past Tense).

The PAST PERFECT TENSE represents the more DISTANT past; The PAST TENSE represents the more RECENT event.

Examples:1. Lorraine HAD REHEARSED her part in the play several times(more distant past) and GAVE a masterful performance.(more recent past).

2. HAD you and Robert CONSULTED an architect (more distant past) before you HIRED a construction crew? ( more recent event)

3. Michelle HAD STUDIED hard for the exam, that's why she GOT an 'A'.

4.The students CAUGHT the last train home because, luckily, the train HADN'T LEFT the station yet.

ENGLISH JOKES

If you took 3 apples from a basket that held 12 apples, how many apples would you have?

3

Why did the bald man paint rabbits on his head?

Because from a distance they looked like hares!

Why was the crab sent to prison?

Because he kept pinching things!

 

The polar bear

POLAR BEAR CUB:  Mum, am I a real polar bear?
POLAR BEAR MOTHER:  Yes, dear, of course you are.
POLAR BEAR CUB:  Really?
POLAR BEAR MOTHER:  Mother: Yes, son. I’m a polar bear. Your dad’s a polar bear. Your grandparents are polar bears. Your sisters are polar bears. Your brothers are polar bears.
POLAR BEAR CUB:  I know that, mum. But am I a real polar bear?
POLAR BEAR MOTHER:  Of course you are. Be quiet and eat your fish.
POLAR BEAR CUB:  But I’m not a polar bear, I’m sure.
POLAR BEAR MOTHER:  Listen to me. You are a real polar bear. Why do you ask the same question again and again?
POLAR BEAR CUB:  Because I’m freezing!

 

Healthy living

 

Lucy Williams worked in an office near the city centre . She usually went for a walk in the park during her lunch hour. Nearly every day she saw a very old man who was always in the park on the same bench. He had white hair and a long white beard and a very contented expression. She sometimes nodded to him or said hello and he always smiled back very happily. One day, she decided to stop and speak to him.
   ‘Excuse me,’ said Lucy, ‘I often see you here. You always seem very cheerful and you’re never sick! What’s your secret for a long and happy life?’
   ‘My secret?’ asked the old man, smiling at her ‘I don’t have a secret.’
    ‘But how often do you take exercise?’ asked Lucy.
    ‘I never take any exercise, young lady.’
    ‘What about your diet? How often do you eat fresh fruit and vegetables?’
    ‘I hardly ever eat vegetables.’ he replied, still smiling,  ‘And I smoke almost all the time.’
   ‘That’s amazing!’ said Lucy. ‘How old are you?’
   ‘Thirty five,’ he replied

Fear of flying

Mr. Harrison needed to fly from London to New York. He was afraid of flying but the journey was important for his job so he bought a plane ticket from a travel agent.
   At the airport, he tried not to be nervous about his first flight.
   ‘I’m not going to worry about it’, he told himself ‘Everything is going to be fine. I’m going to get on the plane, I’m going to go to sleep for a few hours and when I wake up I’m going to be in New York.’
   The plane took off and after an hour in the air, there was a loud noise. Mr. Harrison heard one of the flight attendants say to the other, ‘ Oh no! That sounds really bad.’
   Mr. Harrison called the flight attendant over and asked, ‘Excuse me, but is everything going to be OK?’
   ‘Oh, don’t worry about a thing, sir. Everything is going to be just fine. We’re going to arrive a little later in New York, but that’s all. Just fasten your seatbelt and go back to sleep.’
   Mr. Harrison tried to go back to sleep again but only ten minutes later, there was screaming and shouting from other passengers as they pointed out of the window.
   ‘The engines are on fire! We’re going to crash! We’re all going to die!’
   The pilot opened the door of the cockpit and told the passengers to keep calm. He was smiling and his voice was relaxed so Mr. Harrison felt a little better. The pilot walked to the emergency exit of the plane and took some packages from under a seat. He gave some to the flight attendants and took one for himself.
   Mr. Harrison was now very worried and so he asked an attendant, ‘Excuse me, but are those packages parachutes? You said we had nothing to worry about!’
   ‘No, sir. Don’t worry about a thing. We’re going to get some help.’