Comprehensive Study Notes on English Grammar and Describing People

Syntactic Structures of the Verb To Be in the Interrogative Past Form

The usage of the verb "to be" in its past tense requires a specific structural arrangement when formulating interrogative sentences. This form is characterized by placing the verb before the subject, following the pattern of either "Was" or "Were" depending on the subject pronoun involved. Specifically, the singular form "Was" is paired with the first-person singular pronoun "I" and the third-person singular pronouns "he," "she," and "it." Conversely, the plural and second-person form "Were" is utilized with "you," "we," and "they." For example, to inquire about a past state, one might ask, "Were you at school yesterday morning?". Standard responses to such inquiries follow a concise pattern such as "Yes, I was" or "No, I wasn't." Similarly, for the third-person singular neuter, an inquiry like "Was it cold yesterday?" would be answered by "Yes, it was" or "No, it wasn't."

Additional examples found in the study material for May $10$ ($2826$) include the question "Was your friend at home $175$ night?", which demonstrates the application of the third-person singular structure, resulting in a negative response such as "No, she wasn't." The fundamental conjugation chart for the interrogative past states that "Was" precedes "I," "he," "she," and "it," while "Were" precedes "you," "we," and "they." These structures are essential for establishing the timing and state of subjects in past contexts accurately.

Temporal Markers and Past Time Expressions

Precise communication in the past tense necessitates the integration of temporal markers that specify when an action or state occurred. General past expressions include "Yesterday," which can be further specified into "Yesterday morning," "Yesterday afternoon," or "Yesterday evening (ayer)." There are also constructions utilizing the word "last" to denote the most recent occurrence of a period or event. These include "last night" (translated as anoche), "last Monday" (lunes pasado), "last week" (semana pasada), "last summer" (verano pasado), "last Christmas" (Navidad pasada), and "last year" (año pasado).

Furthermore, specific dates and decades can be indicated using the preposition "in," such as "in June" (the month/mes), "in $2012$ " (the year/año), and "in the $1960\text{'s}$ " (the decade/decada). Another essential set of temporal markers involves the use of the word "ago" to measure time backward from the present. The notes provide several duration-based examples: "$10$ minutes ago" ($10$ minutos atras), "Two days ago" (dos dias antes), "A week ago" (una semana atras), "A month ago" (mes pasado), and "A year ago" (año pasado). These expressions allow for a wide range of specificity, from precise minutes to broad historical periods.

Methodologies for Describing Physical Appearance and Personal Traits

When describing individuals, English differentiates between physical characteristics and personality traits through distinct question structures. To inquire about physical traits, the standard question is "What does he/she look like?" (¿Como es fisicamente?). A comprehensive physical description combines various attributes such as height, weight, hair, and other distinguishing features. For example, a person might be described as "short and slim," having "brown eyes," and possessing "short, brown, straight hair."

In terms of specific vocabulary for physical appearance, height is categorized into "Tall," "Medium height," and "Short." Weight descriptions vary from "Slim" and "Average weight" (Peso promedio) to "Overweight." Age is generally divided into "Old" (Edad mayor), "Middle-aged" (Mediana edad), and "Young." Distinguishing features (listed as "Others") include "Braces" (aparatos), "Mustache" (bigote), "Glasses" (lentes), "Freckles" (pecas), and "Beard" (barba).

Hair descriptions are particularly detailed, covering aspects of length, color, and texture. Length ranges from "Long" and "Shoulder-length" (Al hombro) to "Short," as well as the condition of being "Bald." Color options listed include "Brown" (marron), "Blue," "Green," "Blond" (rubio), "Red" (rojo/colorado), "Black," and "Gray" (gris). Textures are described as "Straight" (lacio), "Wavy" (ondulado), or "Curly" (rulos). These descriptors allow for a precise visual reconstruction of an individual's appearance.

Personality Adjectives and Internal Characteristics

To inquire about an individual's personality or internal character, the question "What is he/she like?" (¿Como es personalmente?) is employed. The response to this utilizes personality adjectives that define behavioral tendencies. Examples provided in the notes on May $13$ and May $14$, $2026$, include "Nice" (amable), "Funny" (divertido/a), "Friendly," "Shy" (timido), "Cazi" (written as an equivalent to "Perezoso," though traditionally "Lazy"), and "Bossy" (mandón).

Capturing these traits is vital for social interaction and character analysis. For instance, the transcript notes an example where a subject is described as "shy and nice." Proficiency in these adjectives enables students to move beyond surface-level physical descriptions into more subjective and nuanced depictions of human character. The vocabulary also includes terms such as "Whatever," "Anyway," and "By the way" as conversational connectors or transition phrases used during descriptions.

Comparative Conjugation: Present vs. Past Tense of To Be

A critical component of mastering English grammar is understanding the shift from present to past tense conjugations of the verb "to be." In the present tense (Presente), the subject-verb agreement is as follows: "I am," "You are," "We are," "They are," and "he/she/it is." When moving into the past tense (Pasado), these change consistently. "I am" becomes "I was." "You are," "We are," and "They are" transition to "You were," "We were," and "They were," respectively. Finally, the third-person singular forms "he is," "she is," and "it is" are converted to "he was," "she was," and "it was."

In the context of the May $13$ and May $14$ lessons, this transition is applied to identify both current and historical states. The notes emphasize this through a practice exercise involving cultural and historical figures to test the correct application of the singular "was" and the plural "were." For instance, singular subjects like "Diego Maradona," "Michael Jackson," "My old bicycle," and the first-person singular "I" all require the use of "was." Conversely, plural subjects like "My best friends," "Velociraptors," and "My grandparents" require "were."

Questions & Discussion

The following section captures the practical application of the grammar and vocabulary through interrogative sentences and practice exercises provided in the material.

Interrogative Exercise: Cross out what is wrong

• Question: Diego Maradona WAS - WERE a great football player. (Answer: Diego Maradona WAS)
• Question: Michael Jackson WAS - WERE a famous singer. (Answer: Michael Jackson WAS)
• Question: My best friends WAS - WERE in Miami last summer. (Answer: My best friends WERE)
• Question: I WAS - WERE ill three days ago. (Answer: I WAS)
• Question: My old bicycle WAS - WERE white. (Answer: My old bicycle WAS)
• Question: Velociraptors WAS - WERE dinosaurs. (Answer: Velociraptors WERE)
• Question: I WAS - WERE born in Argentina. (Answer: I WAS)
• Question: My grandparents WAS - WERE born in Madrid, Spain. (Answer: My grandparents WERE)
• Question: Yesterday morning we WAS - WERE at school. (Answer: we WERE)
• Question: Last month the weather WAS - WERE nice! (Answer: the weather WAS)

Question words with was/were

The materials also present a table for constructing more complex questions using question words (Who, How old, When, Why, Where, What) combined with the past tense of "to be."

• Question: How was the festival?
• Question: Who were you with?
• Question: How old was she then?
• Question: When were you in Canada?
• Question: Why was he late?
• Question: Where was Ed yesterday?
• Question: What was the name of the store?
• Question: Who were they with?
• Question: Was Harry late for school? (Response: No, he wasn't)

Discussion Prompts and Conversational Fragments

• Question: What was the story about?
• Question: Decisions based on the interview. (Decide TS)
• Question: What was the movie about? (timestamp listed as $1:17$)