Scene 42GrammarPremium

Rajt, smajt, mort

The past: I, you and we

The past tense tells what happened. You know it already from , I was, and , he was. In the past the person is an ending at the back, not a letter at the front as in the present. The 3rd person singular (he, it) has no ending at all: , he saw · , he went · , he found. That bare verb is the base, and the other persons add their ending to it.

This unit is about the 1st person, and , and the 2nd person, and . I and you share one ending, -t: is I saw, or you saw, and with the voice going up is Did you see? We add -na, and you, to several people, -tu: , we saw · , you saw.

The past tense: I, you, we

Tap a word to hear itTap a word to hear it and see its meaning
	·			Meaning
Most verbs: -t · -na · -tu
				dance
dance
				work
work
				look for
look for
Ending in a vowel: -jt · -jna · -jtu
				see
see
				hear
hear
A long vowel in the middle: it gets short
				be
be
				go
go
				find
find
A double letter at the end: -ejt · -ejna · -ejtu
				play (music)
play (music)

The ending takes the stress, so the vowels in front of it move: , · , · , · , . Learn the past two forms at a time, the base and the 1st person singular, and the rest follows. is play for music, , I played the trumpet; the same verb is used when a phone rings.

Irregular verbs

Tap a word to hear itTap a word to hear it and see its meaning
	·			Meaning
				take
take
				eat
eat
				come
come
				do, make
do, make
				say
say

, he said, takes its other forms from another verb: , I said. and are the past of , so is You looked after him.

No in the past works as in the present: in front and -x at the end. I didn't see it. After -na it is -iex: , we didn't see it. With , or the -x stays away: We saw nothing. I've never heard...

Saying no

Tap a word to hear itTap a word to hear it and see its meaning
Yes	No	Meaning
		I saw · I didn't see
I saw · I didn't see
		we saw · we didn't see
we saw · we didn't see
		you saw · you didn't see
you saw · you didn't see
		we saw nothing
we saw nothing

Smajt? Ir-raħal kollu qed jitkellem dwar il-festa.Have you heard? The whole village is talking about the festa.
Jien kont hemm, fil-bankarell.I was there, at the stall.
Jien kont hemm, fil-bankarell.I was there, at the stall.
Ma rajna xejn. U mbagħad rajt xi ħaġa fuq il-palk.We didn't see anything. And then I saw something on the stage.
Meta d-dawl intefa, fittixt lil Ċikku. Imma ma sibtux.When the lights went out, I looked for Ċikku. But I didn't find him.
Meta d-dawl intefa, fittixt lil Ċikku. Imma ma sibtux.When the lights went out, I looked for Ċikku. But I didn't find him.
Int ħadt ħsiebu, hux?You were looking after him, weren't you?

Practice 1/6 · Finding words

Find the words

Tap the verbs in the past.

, .
I was there, and I heard the trumpet.
, .
I was there, and I heard the trumpet.
. .
We didn't see anything. But then I saw something.
, .
I looked for Ċikku, but I didn't find him.
, .
I looked for Ċikku, but I didn't find him.
, ?
You were looking after him, weren't you?
, .
We worked, and you danced.
, .
We worked, and you danced.
, .
We played in the dark, and you listened.
.
We went in front of the stage and danced.
, .
You were at the stall, and we were on the bench.
, .
You ate the macaroni, and I ate a piece of honey ring.
, , .
Ġorġ, you played beautifully, and we heard all of it.
, , .
Ġorġ, you played beautifully, and we heard all of it.

Practice 2/6 · The right form

I and you: -t

Choose the right word for the gap.

Jien hemm, fil-bankarell.
I was there, at the stall.
Jien hemm, fil-bankarell.
I was there, at the stall.
U mbagħad jien xi ħaġa fuq il-palk.
And then I saw something on the stage.
Jien qatt ma lil Ġorġ idoqq daqshekk sabiħ.
I've never heard Ġorġ play so beautifully.
Meta d-dawl intefa, jien lil Ċikku.
When the lights went out, I looked for Ċikku.
Meta d-dawl intefa, jien lil Ċikku.
When the lights went out, I looked for Ċikku.
Jien lil Ċikku fit-tieqa!
I found Ċikku in the window!
Int ħsiebu, hux?
You were looking after him, weren't you?
Int l-imqarrun il-forn?
Did you eat the baked macaroni?
Ġorġ, int sabiħ ħafna!
Ġorġ, you played really beautifully!
Ġorġ, int sabiħ ħafna!
Ġorġ, you played really beautifully!
Int id-dar wara l-kunċert?
Did you go home after the concert?
U int, x' wara l-festa?
And you, what did you do after the festa?

We: -na

Choose the right word for the gap.

Aħna ma xejn.
We didn't see anything.
Aħna l-għaxija kollha fil-bankarell.
We worked all evening at the stall.
Aħna l-għaxija kollha fil-bankarell.
We worked all evening at the stall.
Aħna t-tfal ħafna!
We children danced a lot!
Aħna t-trumbetta fid-dlam.
We heard the trumpet in the dark.
Aħna t-trumbetta fid-dlam.
We heard the trumpet in the dark.
Aħna ħdejn il-palk.
We were next to the stage.
Wara l-kunċert, aħna d-dar.
After the concert we went home.
Wara l-kunċert, aħna d-dar.
After the concert we went home.
Aħna lil Ċikku kullimkien.
We looked for Ċikku everywhere.
Aħna l-imqarrun kollu!
We ate all the macaroni!
Aħna fid-dlam.
We played in the dark.
Aħna għall-festa fis-sebgħa.
We came to the festa at seven.
Aħna għall-festa fis-sebgħa.
We came to the festa at seven.

You, to several people: -tu

Choose the right word for the gap.

Intom xi ħaġa?
Did you see anything?
Intom lil Ġorġ?
Did you hear Ġorġ?
Intom fil-bankarell l-għaxija kollha?
Were you at the stall all evening?
Nanna, Lina: intom ukoll?
Grandma, Lina: did you dance too?
Intom ħafna!
You worked really hard!
Intom d-dar wara l-kunċert?
Did you go home after the concert?
Intom lil Ċikku?
Did you look for Ċikku?
Intom l-imqarrun?
Did you eat the macaroni?
Ġorġ, Tonio: intom fis-sebgħa?
Ġorġ, Tonio: did you come at seven?
Ġorġ, Tonio: intom fis-sebgħa?
Ġorġ, Tonio: did you come at seven?
Intom ħsieb Ċikku?
Did you look after Ċikku?

Practice 3/6 · Questions

Answer the question

Answer the questions.

Żfint, jew ħdimt biss?
Did you dance, or did you only work?
Fejn kont waqt il-kunċert?
Where were you during the concert?
Aħna rajna l-fantażma?
Did we see the ghost?
Fejn sibtu lil Ċikku?
Where did you find Ċikku?
Intom ħadtu ħsieb Ċikku?
Did you look after Ċikku?
Aħna daqqejna sabiħ?
Did we play well?
Meta ġejt, x'għedt lil Lina?
When you came, what did you say to Lina?
X'għamiltu wara l-festa?
What did you do after the festa?
Nanna, aħna x'għamilna fil-festa?
Grandma, what did we do at the festa?
Intom rajtu l-fantażma?
Did you two see the ghost?

Practice 4/6 · Fill the gaps

After the festa

Fill the gaps with the words from the box.

Jien fil-bankarell, u wara ftit.
I worked at the stall, and afterwards I danced a little.
Jien fil-bankarell, u wara ftit.
I worked at the stall, and afterwards I danced a little.
Intom ħafna. l-kunċert?
You worked really hard. Did you see the concert?
Aħna kullimkien. Intom ukoll?
We looked everywhere. Did you look too?
Aħna kullimkien. Intom ukoll?
We looked everywhere. Did you look too?
Wara l-festa jien id-dar. U intom, meta ?
After the festa I went home. And when did you go?
Aħna lil Ċikku fit-tieqa!
We found Ċikku in the window!
Jien lil Ċikku, u intom l-bokkin!
I found Ċikku, and you found the mouthpiece!
Intom ma il-fantażma? Jien ukoll ma .
You didn't see the ghost? I didn't see it either.
Intom ma il-fantażma? Jien ukoll ma .
You didn't see the ghost? I didn't see it either.
Jien u Marija ħsieb il-bankarell, u intom ħsieb Ċikku.
Marija and I looked after the stall, and you looked after Ċikku.
Aħna fis-sebgħa. Intom meta ?
We came at seven. When did you come?
Aħna fis-sebgħa. Intom meta ?
We came at seven. When did you come?
X' wara l-kunċert? Aħna kafè.
What did you do after the concert? We made coffee.

Practice 5/6 · Building sentences

Put the words in order

Put the words in order.

I was there, at the stall.
I was there, at the stall.
We didn't see anything. It was dark.
When the lights went out, I looked for Ċikku.
When the lights went out, I looked for Ċikku.
But I didn't find him.
But I didn't find him.
And you, did you do anything after the festa?
I said: Ċikku, where are you?
I said: Ċikku, where are you?
Lina, did you say anything to Tonio?
We said: Tonio, come on, let's dance!
We didn't see the ghost.
Ġorġ, you all played really beautifully.

Practice 6/6 · In situations

The right words

Choose the right words for the situation.

Lina asks if you were at the festa. Say you were there.
You say:
Lina asks if you were at the festa. Say you were there.
You say:
Lina tells you she saw something on the stage.
Lina says:
Ask Ella what she saw.
You say:
Ask Ella what she saw.
You say:
Say you looked for Ċikku but didn't find him.
You say:
Say you looked for Ċikku but didn't find him.
You say:
Marija asks you and Lina if you heard Ġorġ. Say yes, you heard the trumpet.
You say:
Marija asks you and Lina if you heard Ġorġ. Say yes, you heard the trumpet.
You say:
Tell Ġorġ he played beautifully.
You say:
Tell Ġorġ he played beautifully.
You say:
Ask Ella and Marija where they were during the concert.
You say:
Ask Ella and Marija where they were during the concert.
You say:
Lina asks what you did after the festa. You went home and ate.
You say:
Lina asks what you did after the festa. You went home and ate.
You say:
Lina asks if you saw the ghost. Say you saw nothing.
You say:
Lina asks if you saw the ghost. Say you saw nothing.
You say:

Unit complete

Rajt, smajt, mort

8exercises

Keep practising

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