Sounds and past perfect tense

The /i:/ sound  is a vowel sound. Its technical name is the called the ‘Close Front Unrounded Vowel’. As you may already know, all vowels are made through the mouth and are voiced so you vibrate your vocal chords to make the sound. It is similar to the /ɪ/ sound, but the two little dots mean that it is a longer sounds.

The /i:/ sound is always spelled ‘ee’ or ‘ea’, but in some other ways also. Say the following:

need     meat     chief      police

meet    please    piece    machine

green   these     believe  deceive

The /I/ sound

The following words contain the /I/ sound , which is usually spelled “i”. Say them

is             did          this          fit

quick     which     with         give

little      bitter      politics     philip

Language Structure: Prefix and Suffix

Prefix: A prefix is a group of letters placed before the root of a word. For example, the word “unhappy” consists of the prefix “un-” [which means “not”] combined with the root (stem) word “happy”; the word “unhappy” means “not happy.”

A Short List of Prefixes:

Suffix
A suffix is a group of letters placed after the root of a word. For example, the word flavorless consists of the root word “flavor” combined with the suffix “-less” [which means “without”]; the word “flavorless” means “having no flavor.”

A Short List of Suffixes:

Grammar- The past perfect tense

Tenses are forms of a verb that show the time, continuance or completion of an action or a state that is expressed in connection with the moment at which a statement is made about it.

The past perfect tense

The past perfect tense is formed with the past tense of the verb to have (had) and the past participle of the verb (e.g. eaten, stolen, taken).

The past perfect tense describes an event that happened in the past before another event  was completed in the past. It tells us which event happened first regardless of which event is mentioned first or second in a sentence or conversation.

Uses of Past Perfect Tense
1. To show an action happened in the past before another event took place.

• Words usually used with the Past Perfect tense are when and after.

Example: They had already finished their lunch when I arrived to join them.
Example: When he had done his homework, he went for a chat with his friend
Example: After I had eaten lots of fruit, I felt ill.
In each of the above examples there are two past actions. The past perfect tense is combined with a past simple tense to show which of the two actions happened earlier.
The event in the past perfect tense occurred before the event in the simple past tense.

•  Words such as already, just and as soon as are also used with the Past Perfect tense.

Example: It had already stopped raining when I left his house
Example: The whole house had just burnt down when the firemen got there.
Example: As soon as she had got married, she regretted it.
2. for an action which happened before a definite time in the past.
Example: They had finished their prayers by ten o’clock.
3. for an action which took place and completed in the past.
Example: He had hurt his back in an accident at work and he had to stay at home for three months.
(The action happened and he suffered the consequences all in the past)

Exercise

1. How would you define the /i:/ sound?
2. Give some examples of words /i:/ sound.
3. Define and explain the differences between prefix and suffix.
4. Practice everything you have learned now in your everyday communication processes.