p

Simple Past
POETS

STEP 1 GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT

Before You Read

Look at the picture arid the text above it. Discuss the questions.
1. What did Matsuo Basho do?
2. How long did he live?

Read
Read the short biography o[Basho.

7jajsw asbo
Matsuo Basho wrote more than 1,000 haiku }Is [or )ha) flower
(three-line poems). He chose topics from
nature, daily life, and human emotions. He 1 )he road
3
l —

became one of Japan’s most famous poets, horse ale i!

and his work established haiku as an —7fa)suo l3asho
important art form.
Basho was born Matsuo Munefusa near Kyoto
in 1644. (“Basho” is the name he later used as
a poet.) He did not want to become a
1 like his father. Instead, he moved to
samurai
Edo (present-day Tokyo) and studied poetry.
Then he became a teacher, and by 1681 he
had many students and admirers.
Basho, however, was restless. Starting in
1684, he traveled on foot and on horseback
all over Japan. Sometimes his friends joined
him, and they wrote poetry together. Travel
was difficult in the 17th century, and Basho
often got sick. He died in 1694 during a
journey to Osaka. At that time, he had 2,000
students. • I-.

1 samurai: in past tim’es, a member of the soldier class in

Japan

16 UNIT2
— AfterYou Read
A I Vocabulary: Complete the sentences with the words from the box.

admirers emotions journey restless topic

1. Basho wrote about everyday things. A frog is the of one of his most

famous poems.

2. Basho’s students and loved him and called him a great poet.

3. On his first Basho traveled a long way and visited his native village.

4. Basho became and did not want to stay in one place for very long.

5. Basho felt all kinds of strong in his travels, such as fear, loneliness,

and happiness.

B I Comprehension: Check (V) the boxes to complete the sentences. Check all the true
information about Basho.

1. Basho wrote about

D flowers
animals
samurai

2. Before Basho, haiku

D was an important kind of poetry
did not exist
D was not an important kind of poetry

3. In Edo, Basho

1J studied poetry
became a teacher
D became a samurai

4. On his journeys, he
0 traveled in boats
0 walked
0 rode horses

5. At the end of his life, Basho

O had only a few students
0 traveled to Osaka
O was famous

Simple Past 17
STEP 2GRAMMAR PRESENTATION

SIMPLE PAST: BE

Affirmative Statements Negative Statements

Subject Be Subject Be + Not

I was I wasn’t
You were You weren’t
He He
She was She wasn’t
famous. famous.
It It
We We
You were You weren’t
They They

Yes/No Questions Short Answers

Be Subject Affirmative Negative

Was I you were. you weren’t.
Were you I was. I ‘[wasn’t.
he he he
Was she she was. she wasn’t.
famous? Yes, No,
it it it

we you you
Were you we were. we weren’t.
they they they

Wh- Questions

Wh-Word Be Subject
was I
were (you
he
Where
was she
When famous?
it
Why
we
were you
they

18 UNIT2
SIMPLE PAST: REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS

Affirmative Statements Negative Statements

Base Form
Subject Verb Subject Didnot
of Verb
I
You moved You move
to Japan. to Japan.
He traveled He travel
She .A She
didn’t
It
We came We come
in 1684. in 1684.
You left You leave
They They

Yes/No Questions Short Answers

Base Form
Did Subject Affirmative Negative
of Verb
you you
you move
he travel J he he
she she she
Did Yes, did. No, didn’t.
It It it
we com. you
1684?
you leave we
they they

Wh- Questions
Base Form
Wh-Word Did Subject
of Verb

you move
to Japan?
he travel
When she
did
Why it
we come?
you leave?
they

Simple Past 19
GRAMMAR NOTES

Use the simple past to talk about actions, states, • Basho lived in the 17th century.
or situations that are finished. • He was a poet.
• Hewrotehaiku.
Now
• He didn’t stay in one place.
• Where did he travel?
Past —X
He was a poet.

We often use the simple past with past time • Yesterday, I wrote my first poem.
expressions. Some examples of past time • Last week, I read a poem by Basho.
expressions are yesterday, last week, 300 years ago, • He died more than 300 years ago.
in the 17th century, by 1681. • He lived in the 17th century.
• By 1681 he had many students.

The simple past of regular verbs is formed by BASE FORM SIMPLE PAST
adding -d or -ed to the base form of the verb. live -,
lived
join -,
joined
BE CAREFUL! There are often spelling study -, studied
changes when you add -ed to the verb. plan planned
prefer -,
preferred

Many common verbs are irregular. Their simple BASE FORM SIMPLE PAST
past is NOT formed by adding -d or -ed. be -,
waslwere
get -,
got
go - went
have -,
had

REFERENCE NOTES
For spelling rules for the simple past of regular verbs, see Appendix 22 on page A-i 0.
For pronunciation rules for the simple past of regular verbs, see Appendix 30 on page A-i 5.
For a list of irregular verbs, see Appendix i on page A-i.

20 UNIT2
STEP 3 FOCUSED PRACTICE

EXERCISE 1: Discover the Grammar

Read more about Basho. Underline all the verbs in the simple past. Then complete the
timeline on the left.

As the son of a samurai, Basho grew up

in the household of Todo Yoshitada, a young
lord. After his father’s death in 1656, Basho
stayed in the Yoshitada household. He and
Todo wrote poetry together, and in 1664,
1644 asho was borii. they published some poems. Two years later,
15 Todo died suddenly. Basho left the area.
asho’s father died.
Basho was a restless young man, and
1664 he moved around for several years. In the
1670s, he went to Edo and stayed there. He
1666 found friendship and success once again.
Basho judged poetry contests, published
his own poetry, and taught students. His
Studeits built the students built him a home outside the city
asho Hut. in 1681. They planted a banana tree (basho
1 68 in Japanese) in front and called his home
“Basho Hut.” That is how the poet got his
1684 name: Basho.
In spite of this success, Basho became
asho traveled to
iiortherii Hoishu. unhappy. He often wrote about loneliness.
His mother died in 1683, and he began his
asho locked his qate travels a year later. His trip to the northern
to visitors. part of Honshu in 1689 was difficult, but his
travel diary about this journey, Narrow Road
to the Deep North, became one of Japan’s
greatest works of literature.
As a famous poet, Basho had many
visitors—too many, in fact. In 1693 he
locked his gate for a month, stayed alone,
and wrote. The following yearhe took his
final journey, to Osaka. He died there among
his friends and admirers.

Simple Past 21
EXERCISE 2: Affirmative Statements (Grammar Notes 1—4)

Complete the biography ofAmerican poet Emily Dickinson. Use the simple past form of the
verbs in parentheses. Go to Appendix 1 on page A-I for help with the irregular verbs.

Emily Dickinson, one of the most famous American poets,

lived from 1830 to 1886. Her favorite topics

1. (live)
nature, time, and human emotions.
2.(be)
Dickinson an unusual life. During the 1860s, she
3. (lead)
—she almost never
a recluse
1
4. (become) 5. (leave)
her house in Amherst, Massachusetts, and she only
6. (wear)
white. Dickinson very few people to visit her, but she
7. (allow)
a lot of friends, and she them
8. (have) 9. (write)
many letters.

EXERCISE 3: Affirmative and Negative Statements (Grammar Notes 1-4)

Complete the list offacts about Emily Dickinson. Use the simple past form of the verbs in
parentheses. Go to Appendix 1 on page A-I for help with the irregular verbs.

1. Dickinson wasn’t only interested in poetry.

(not be)
2. She also science.
(like)
3. She topics from science in many of her poems.
(use)
4. She never far from home, but she many people.
(go) (know)
5. Dickinson only poetry.
(not write)
6. She her friends and admirers hundreds of letters.
(send)
7. Her letters full of jokes, recipes, cartoons, and poems.
(be)
8. But she the envelopes—other people that for her.
(not address) (do)
9. Dickinson a typewriter.
(not own)
10. She the first drafts
2 of her poems on the back of old grocery lists.
(write)
11. During her lifetime, 7 of her 1,700 poems in print.
(appear)
12. She about this, and no one her permission.
(not know) (ask)

‘recluse: someone who stays away from other people

f2irst draft: first copy of a piece of writing, with no corrections

22 UNIT2
EXERCISE 4: Regular and Irregular Verbs (Grammar Notes 1—4)

Complete the lines from a poem by Emily Dickinson. Use the simple past form of the verbs
from the box. Go to Appendix 1 on page A-i for help with the irregular verbs.

bite drink eat hop not know

A bwd arne 4otrt -t1t€

He

2.
o.n, ojtql€
11
- t,t
3.
A44 -1kg F€J10k rol&.
4.
And

FroM 0. eAUe4-1 rtt$S,

And -tt stdew -to -ttt€ ta11
6.
1O Iert o be€-U€ poSS.

EXERCISE 5: Questions and Answers (Grammar Notes 1—4)

Read the statements about Basho. Then write questions about Emily Dickinson. Write a
yes/no question if a verb is underlined or a wh- question if other words are underlined.
Then answer your questions using the information from Exercises 2 and 3.

1. Basho a poet.

Q: Was Dickinson a poet?

A: Yes, she was.

2. He was born in 1644.

Q: When was Dickinsor, born?

A: She was born in 1830.

3. He lived in Japan.

Q:
A:

4. He became famous during his lifetime.

Q:
A:
(continued on next page)

Simple Past 23
 5. Basho’s admirers often visited him.

Q:
A:

6. He traveled a lot.

Q:
A:
r

7. Basho wrote more than 1.000 poems.

0:

A:

8. He wrote about nature.

Q:
A:

9. He died in 1694.

Q:
A:

EXERCISE 6: Affirmative and Negative Statements (Grammar Notes 2—4)

A I Read the article about a modern writer.

ANA CASTILLO is a modern poet, novelist, short

story writer, and teacher. She was born in Chicago
in 1953, and she lived there for 32 years. Otro Canto,
her first book of poetry, appeared in 1977.
In her work, Castillo uses humor and a lively
mixture of Spanish and English (Spanglish).
She got her special writer’s “voice” by living in a
neighborhood with many different ethnic groups.
She also thanks her father for her writing style.
“He had an outgoing and easy personality, and
this . sense of humor. I got a lot from him
. . ...“

Castillo attended high school, college, and graduate school in Chicago. In the 1970s, she
taught English and Mexican history. She received a Ph.D. in American Studies from Bremen
University in Germany in 1992.

24 UNIT2
B I Read the statements. Write That’s right or That’s wrong. Correct the incorrect
statements.

1. Ana Castillo was born in Mexico City.

That’s wrcnq. She wasn’t horn in Mexico City. She was born in Chicago.

2. She lived in Chicago until 1977.

3. Her father was ve’ shy. ,

nc
•.

“ ,r7r (,fl j , 3I,fi iU

4. She grew up among people of different cultures.

3(1I ar in w

“ii d’JI rn

5. Castillo got most of her education in Chicago.

6. She taught Spanish in the 1970s.

7. She went to France for her Ph.D.

EXERCISE 7: Editing
Read the student’s journal. There are ten mistakes in the use of the simple past. The first
mistake is already corrected. Find and correct nine more.

Today n class we read a poem by the Amencan poet Robert Frost.

enjoyed
I really it. It was about a person who choosed between two roads

in a forest, Many people believed the person were Frost, He thinked

about his choice for a long time. The two roads didn ‘t looked very
different. Finally, he didn ‘t took the road most people take. He took
the one less traveled on. At that time, he didn ‘t thought it was an
important decision, but his choice change his life.
Sometimes I feel a little like Frost. Two years ago I decide to
move to a new country. It was a long journey and a big change. Did I
made the right decision?
.--.

Simple Past 25
STEP 4 COMMUNICATION PRACTICE

EXERCISE 8: Listening
A I Read the statements. Then listen to the interview with a poet. Listen again and circle the
correct information.

1. Murat came to the United States before /his parents.

2. He had a wonderful life with his grandparents in Baltimore! Turkey.

3. In Baltimore, he had no friends, so he wrote poems / read books.

4. He wrote his first poem in English / Turkish.

5. In college, Murat studied farming / poetry.

B I Read the information in the timeline. Then listen again to the interview and write the
year for each event.
was parents moved began to graduated won a poetry became
born left Turkey to the U.S. write poetry from college award a teacher

1970

EXERCISE 9: Pronunciation
A I Read and listen to the Pronunciation Note.

Pronunciation Note

In wh- questions, we often pronounce did “d” after the wh- word.
EXAMPLES: Why did she write the poem? - “Why’d she write the poem?”
Who did they show it to? -,
“Who’d they show it to?”
How did he like it? -,
“How’d%e like it?”
Notice that How’dhe sounds like “Howdy.”

B I Listen to the short conversations. Then listen again and complete the conversations with
the words that you hear. Use full forms.

1. A: live?

B: In Japan.

2. A: talk to?

B: A famous p
et.
9

3. A: move?

B: To be near school.

26 UNIT2
 4.A: feel about their new home?

B: Not great at first.

5. A: study poetry?

B: He loves it.

6. A: go to school?

B: In Mexico.

C Listen again to the conversations and repeat the questions. Use short forms. Then
practice the conversations with a partner.

EXERCISE 10: Compare and Contrast

Work in small groups. Reread the information about Matsuo Basho (see pages i6 and 21)
and Emily Dickinson (see page 22). In what ways were the two poets similar? How were they
different? With your group, write as many ideas as you can. Compare your ideas with those
ofyour classmates.
EXAMPLE: A: Both Basho and Dickinson were poets.
B: Basho lived in the 17th century. Dickinson lived in the 19th century.
C: Dickinson stayed at home, but Basho was restless and traveled a lot.

EXERCISE 11: Writing

A I Write a paragraph about some important events in your life. Do not put your name on
your paper. Your teacher will collect all the papers, mix them up, and redistribute them
to the class. -

B I Check your work. Use the Editing Checklist.

Editing Checklist

Did you...?
D use the simple past
D spell regular past verbs correctly
C use the correct form of irregular past verbs

C I Read the paragraph your teacher gives you. Then ask your classmates questions to try to
find its writer.
EXAMPLE: Did you come here in 1990? OR When did you

Simple Past 27
EXERCISE 12: Information Gap: Celebrity Profile
Work in pairs (A and B). Student A, follow the instructions on this page. Student B, turn to
page 30 and follow the instructions there.

1. Read the profile of an actor who is also a poet, painter, and musician. Ask your partner
questions to complete the missing information.
EXAMPLE: A: When was Viggo born?
B: He was born on October 25, 1958.

2. Answer your partner’s questions.

EXAMPLE: B: Where was Viggo born?
A: He was born in New York.

3. If you don’t know how to spell something, ask your partner.

EXAMPLE: A: How do you spell Argentina?
B: Capital A, R, G, E, N, T, I, N, A.

SCREEN-TIME PROFILE
Date of Birth: October 25. 1958

Place of Birth: New York

Mini Bio:
* lived in Argentina, Venezuela,
and as a child
* attended school in Argentina
* spoke Spanish, and English
* returned to the United States in 19
* became a movie actor in 1985
Viggo Mortensen: actor, poet, pmrle!; musician
* first movie was Witness
* played the part of in Lord ofthe Rings (This movie made him famous.)
* finished his first in 1993 (The title was Ten Last Night.)
* created the paintings for the movie A Perfect Murder (He played the part of the artist.)
* wrote music for Lord ofthe Rings

When you are finished, compare the profiles. Are they the same?

28 LJNIT2
 Review
j Check your answers on page UR-1.
Do you need to review anything?

Ai Circle the letter of the correct answer to complete each sentence.

1. Last night I a poem for my English class.
a. write b. wrote c. written ‘

2 It about my childhood
a be b were c was 1,

3. At first, I didn’t what to write about.

a. know b. knowing c. knew

4. My roommate a good suggestion.

a. makes b. did make c. made

5. Did you a poem for your class?

a. write b. writing c. wrote

6. I really the experience.

a. enjoy b. enjoys c. enjoyed

BI Complete the conversation with the simple past form of the verbs in parentheses and a
short answer.

A: you out last night? I you, but

1.(go) 2. (call)
you
3. (not answer)
B: ‘I .1 to the movies.
4. 5.(go)
A: What you 2
6. (see)
B:I Dead Poets Society. I it very much, though.
7. (see) 8. (not like)

CI Find and correct six mistakes.

The poet Elizabeth Alexander was born in New York City, but she didn’t grew up there. Her

father taked a job with the government, and her family moved to Washington, D.C. As a child,

she have a loving family. Her parents were active in the civil rights movement, and Elizabeth

gots interested in African-American history. In her first book, she wrote about important African

leaders. She met Barack Obama at the University of Chicago. They both teached there in the

1990s. On January 20, 2009, she reads a poem at President Obama’s inauguration.

Unit 2 Review: Simple Past 29