Lesson 4

Lingua e
Cultura inglese
Prof.ssa Fabiana Loparco
Michael Vince - Grazia Cerulli
New Inside Grammar
Oxford, Macmillan, 2009
Università degli Studi di Macerata
Dipartimento di Scienze della Formazione, dei Beni Culturali e del Turismo
Classe: L-19
Anno Accademico 2014/2015
Lesson number: 4
1. Il trapassato (The past perfect simple)
2. Il trapassato progressivo (the past perfect
progressive)
3. It takes… I take
1. Il trapassato/the past perfect simple
Il trapassato si forma con l’ausiliare had + il participio passato del verbo
Forma affermativa
Forma interrogativa
Forma negativa
I had worked
Had I worked?
I hadn’t worked
You had worked
Had you worked?
You hadn’t worked
He/she/it had worked
Had he/she/it worked?
He/she/it hadn’t worked
We had worked
Had we worked?
We hadn’t worked
You had worked
Had you worked?
You hadn’t worked
They had worked
Had they worked?
They hadn’t worked
Utilizziamo il Past Perfect Simple per esprimere un' azione che si è svolta prima di una
determinata azione nel passato (espressa al Simple Past).
Variazioni ortografiche verbi regolari
(Per le forme irregolari del verbo vedere la tabella a pp. 496-498 di New
Inside Grammar o il sito: http://www.corsi-di-inglese.eu/verbi-irregolari/elenco-verbi-irregolari-inglesi.php)
- Si aggiunge solo –d se il verbo termina in –e:
live – lived; die - died; free - freed
– La –y preceduta da consonante diventa –i:
study – studied; carry – carried; cry – cried
- La –y non muta, però, se pr: eceduta da vocale:
stay – stayed; play – played
- Monosillabi e bisillabi con accento sull’ultima sillaba raddoppiano la consonate finale quando è preceduta
da una sola vocale:
stop – stopped; plan – planned; prefer – preferred
- Vocali terminanti in –l preceduta da una sola vocale raddoppiano la –l in inglese britannico:
travel – travelled; rebel – rebelled; in inglese americano raddoppiano la –l solo se l’accento
cade sull’ultima sillaba: rebelled, traveled
- Verbi in –ic aggiungono una –k:
picnic - picnicked
Il trapassato è usato:
1. Per parlare di eventi avvenuti prima di un momento e fatto del passato cui si fa riferimento
(sottolinea il fatto che un azione si è svolta prima di un' altra azione nel passato)
After he had seen the results of the test, he felt deeply disappointed
Until then we hadn’t noticed a man sitting in a corner
James was excited. He had applied for a scholarship a month before and had just heard he
had won it
2. Per parlare di azioni o situazioni che perduravano nel momento passato cui si fa riferimento (forma
di durata). Notate che in italiano lo stesso concetto è espresso con un imperfetto.
Kevin had had his driving license for only 2 months when he had the accident
How long had she been ill before she decided to consult a doctor?
3. Dopo le espressioni it was the first, second time…
It was the third time they had met
Note: In genere l’uso del trapassato descritto nel punto 1 corrisponde all’italiano. A volte però in italiano,
soprattutto colloquiale, si usa il trapassato anche se rapportato ad una situazione presente. Questo non è
possibile in inglese.
Have you cut yourself? I warned you that that knife was very sharp.
non I had warned
(= Ti sei tagliata? Ti avevo avvisata che quel coltello era molto affilato)
I repaired the toaster last week and now it’s broken again
non I had repaired
(=Ho/avevo riparato il tostapane la scorsa settimana e ora è di nuovo rotto)
In alcuni casi si possono usare sia il simple past sia il past perfect senza che il significato della frase cambi.
Questo avviene in genere quando l’azione antecedente è di breve durata
After she had hung up/hung up the receiver, she heard the phone ring again
Ricordate che after e before sono anche preposizioni, perciò possono essere seguiti dalla forma in –ing
quando il soggetto delle due frasi collegate è lo stesso:
After he had seen the results/After seeing the results he…
Before he saw the results/Before seeing the results he…
Exercises
Completa le frasi con il Past Perfect Simple.
• We ate cherries from the tree that my grandfather (plant) _____________________________
many years before.
• When we arrived, the show (start/already) _____________________________.
• We went to a place where I (be/never) _____________________________ before.
• The teacher wanted to know whether we (read) _____________________________ the book.
• Yesterday I met a friend that I (see/not) _____________________________ for ages.
Exercises
Completa le frasi con il Past Perfect Simple.
• We ate cherries from the tree that my grandfather had planted many years before.
• When we arrived, the show had already started.
• We went to a place where I had never been before.
• The teacher wanted to know whether we had read the book.
• Yesterday I met a friend that I hadn’t seen for ages.
Exercises
Completa le domande con il Past Perfect Simple.
• (your husband/make/dinner) _____________________________________ when you got
home?
• (Lisa/finish/her homework) _____________________________________ when she went
out with her friends?
• (you/have/breakfast) _____________________________________ when you started to
work?
• (What/he/do) _____________________________________ that made you so upset with
him the other day?
• (she/move/to London/already)
met her boyfriend?
_____________________________________ when she
Exercises
Completa le domande con il Past Perfect Simple.
• Had your husband made dinner when you got home?|verbo irregolare → 3. forma del verbo
(make-made-made)
• Had Lisa finished her homework when she went out with her friends?
• Had you had breakfast when you started to work?|verbo irregolare → 3. forma del verbo (havehad-had)
• What had he done that made you so upset with him the other day?|verbo irregolare → 3. forma
del verbo (do-did-done)
• Had she already moved to London when she met her boyfriend?
Simple past o past perfect?
Utilizziamo il Simple Past quando raccontiamo (per ordine) una serie di eventi che si sono svolti
nel passato. Se da questo punto nel passato dal quale stiamo raccontando rivolgiamo lo sguardo
verso azioni che si sono svolte ancora prima, impieghiamo il Past Perfect.
Monica flew to London yesterday. As she had never travelled by plane before, she was a
little nervous.
She had already fastened her seatbelt when the flight attendants gave the safety
demonstration.
Exercises
Completa le frasi. Decidi se utilizzare il Simple Past o il Past Perfect.
• Yesterday, Mandy (go) ___________________________ to a café after work.
• She (sit) ___________________________ down at a table outside the café and (look)
___________________________ at the menu.
• When the waiter (come) ___________________________ to take her order, she (be)
______________ surprised.
• It (be) ___________________________ James, an old friend from school.
• They (see/not) ___________________________ each other for at least five years.
• So
they
(tell)
___________________________
each
___________________________ in the past five years.
other
what
(happen)
Exercises
Completa le frasi. Decidi se utilizzare il Simple Past o il Past Perfec.
• Yesterday, Mandy went to a café after work.
• She sat down at a table outside the café and looked at the menu.
• When the waiter came to take her order, she was surprised.
• It was James, an old friend from school.
• They had not seen each other for at least five years.
• So they told each other what had happened in the past five years.
2. Il trapassato progressivo/The past perfect progressive
Si forma con had been + la forma in –ing del verbo
Forma affermativa
Forma interrogativa
Forma negativa
I had been working
Had I been working?
I hadn’t been working
You had been working
Had you been working?
You hadn’t been working
He/she/it had been working
Had he/she/it been working?
He/she/it hadn’t been working
We had been working
Had we been working?
We hadn’t been working
You had been working
Had you been working?
You hadn’t been working
They had been working
Had they been working?
They hadn’t been working
Con il Past Perfect Progressive sottolineiamo la durata di un'azione che si svolse prima di un
determinato momento nel passato.
Forma in –ing: variazioni ortografiche
- La –e muta finale cade (ma la -ee rimane):
write – writing; come – coming (ma agree – agreeing)
- La –y finale è sempre mantenuta:
study – studying; carry – carrying
- Monosillabi e bisillabi con accento sulla ultima sillaba raddoppiano la consonante finale quando è
preceduta da una sola vocale:
swim – swimming; sit – sitting; refer – referring
- Verbi terminanti in –l preceduta da una sola vocale raddoppiano la –l in inglese britannico:
travel – travelling; rebel – rebelling; in inglese americano raddoppiano la –l solo se l’accento
cade sull’ultima sillaba: rebelling, traveling
- Verbi in –ie trasformano la –ie in –y:
lie – lying; die – dying
- Verbi in –ic aggiungono una –k:
picnic - picnicking
Exercises
Completa con il Past Perfect Progressive.
• Laura needed a break because she (study) ___________________________ all morning.
• When Lorraine moved to England, she (learn) ___________________________ English for 12
years.
• I did not go out last night because I (work) ___________________________ all day.
• Orla felt fit for the marathon because she (train) ___________________________ a lot.
• When
I
went
to
see
Miss
Winter,
her
secretary
(speak) ___________________________ on the phone for two hours.
told
me
that
she
Exercises
Completa con il Past Perfect Progressive.
• Laura needed a break because she had been studying all morning.
• When Lorraine moved to England, she had been learning English for 12 years.
• I did not go out last night because I had been working all day.
• Orla felt fit for the marathon because she had been training a lot.
• When I went to see Miss Winter, her secretary told me that she had been speaking on
the phone for two hours.
Exercises
Completa con il Past Perfect Progressive.
• You got sick because you (eat) _______________________________ the whole time.
• When
the
musician
became
director
of
the
opera
house,
he
(live)
_______________________________ in this town for ten years.
• We (go) _______________________________ out with each other for two years
before I met his family.
• The passengers (wait) _______________________________ for four hours before the
ground staff could finally give them information on the delay of their flight.
• When I noticed my mistake, I (drive) _______________________________ in the
wrong direction for an hour.
Exercises
Completa con il Past Perfect Progressive.
• You got sick because you had been eating the whole time.
• When the musician became director of the opera house, he had been living in this
town for ten years.
• We had been going out with each other for two years before I met his family.
• The passengers had been waiting for four hours before the ground staff could finally
give them information on the delay of their flight.
• When I noticed my mistake, I had been driving in the wrong direction for an hour.
Il trapassato semplice o progressivo?
La differenza d’uso fra trapassato semplice e progressivo è la stessa già vista per passato prossimo
semplice e progressivo (lesson numer 3). Si usa cioè la forma progressiva quando si vuole mettere
in evidenza un’attività nel corso del suo svolgimento.
How long had they been hiding in that house when the police found them?
It had been snowing all night and the roads were impassable
Patrick had been cutting wood and his back ached. He had cut enough for the next
month, he thought
3. It takes…/I take
Il verbo to take nel significato di “impiegarci, volerci” può essere costruito sia impersonalmente
sia personalmente. La costruzione impersonale è la più comune.
How long does it take to get to the station from here?
It took me all afternoon to clean the flat
I took all afternoon to clean the flat
Per approfondire ed esercitarsi:
New Inside Grammar
Lesson & excercises
pp. 147-159
English Children’s
Literature
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Author: Roald Dahl
Publication date: 1964