Here is a short video clip of a Thai-language advertisement that can help English learners decide on which form of the verb “forget” they should use in this situation.

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Past tense quickie

Here is a short video clip of a Thai-language advertisement that can help English learners decide on which form of the verb “forget” they should use in this situation.

Watch the video and make three sentences to describe what the problem is.

(Teachers: The clip has English subtitles, but the first time through it, your students will probably not notice them. They will focus on the Thai. Play the video a second and have them watch for the correct word form.)

For English speakers it is obvious that the past tense is required here, but it is not so obvious to many Thai students. Hopefully, after watching the previous video (Charlie bit me, the musical version http://bit.ly/12zb08E), they will get the idea very quickly. The goal, of course, is to eventually use the past tense automatically in appropriate situations.

For non-Thai speakers, here are the three sentences:

They forgot to pay the phone bill.
They forgot to pay the electricity bill.
They forgot to pay the water bill.

To further understand the past simple, read the chapter in Understanding English verb forms: The past simple

You can find a full description of Understanding English verb forms here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/books/196206/understanding-english-verb-forms

You can buy the book online here:

http://www.se-ed.com/eshop/Products/Detail.aspx?No=9786167061030&CategoryId=482

http://www.chulabook.com/description.asp?barcode=9786167061030