Grammar Foundations

Before learning tenses, it is important to understand the basic building blocks of a sentence.

1. What is a Subject?

English
A subject is the person, animal, place or thing that the sentence is about.

Ask yourself:
Who or what is this sentence about?

Examples:
Italiano
Il soggetto è la persona, l'animale, il luogo o la cosa di cui parla la frase.
Per trovarlo chiediti:
Di chi o di che cosa parla questa frase?

2. What is a Verb?

English
A verb tells us what someone does, is, or feels.
Examples: The dog runs. She is happy. They were late.

Italiano
Un verbo dice cosa una persona o una cosa fa, è o sente.
Am, is, are, was e were sono forme del verbo to be.

3. What is a Pronoun?

English
A pronoun replaces a noun.
Maria → She
The dog → It
John and Amy → They

Italiano
Un pronome sostituisce un nome.
Maria → She
Il cane → It
I miei genitori → They

4. What is a Contraction?

English
A contraction is a short form of two words.

I'm = I am
You're = You are
He's = He is / He has
I'd = I had / I would

Important: I'd never means only had. It always includes I.
"The cat I'd escaped" is incorrect because the subject is the cat, not I.
Correct: The cat had escaped.

Italiano
Una contraction è una forma abbreviata di due parole.
I'd significa sempre I had oppure I would. Non significa semplicemente had.

Subject Pronouns, To Be, and Helping Verbs

A practical repair lesson for “I’d / it’d / had / was / were” mistakes
MistakesVerb To BeHad + ContractionsExercises

Part 1: The Student’s Mistakes

Mistake 1

❌ He warned us the gallery I'd closed at five sharp.

✅ Correct: He warned us the gallery closed at five sharp.

Why? I'd means I had or I would. But the subject is the gallery, not I. The gallery = it. Here, we only need the past simple verb closed.

Rule: First find the subject. If the subject is not I, do not use I'd. Use the correct verb for that subject.

Examples:
✅ The museum closed at 6.
✅ The shop opened late.
❌ The museum I'd closed at 6.
Italiano: Prima trova il soggetto. Se il soggetto non è I, non usare I'd. I'd significa I had o I would, quindi si usa solo con I.

Mistake 2

❌ Before that, he thought the cat I'd get outside.

✅ Correct: Before that, he thought the cat had got outside. US: had gotten

Why? The subject is the cat, not I. The cat = it. Also, the cat got outside before he thought about it, so we use had + past participle.

Rule: Use had + past participle when one past action happened before another past action.

Examples:
✅ He thought the cat had escaped.
✅ She realised the bus had left.
✅ They noticed the door had opened.
Italiano: Usa had + participio passato quando un'azione passata è successa prima di un'altra azione passata.

Mistake 3

❌ Everyone knew the call I'd failed without a backup line.

✅ Correct: Everyone knew the call had failed without a backup line.

Why? The subject is the call, not I. The call = it. The call failed before everyone knew, so had failed is correct.

Rule: For past perfect, use subject + had + past participle. Do not use I'd unless the subject is I.

Examples:
✅ The computer had crashed.
✅ The battery had died.
✅ The call had failed.
Italiano: Per il past perfect usa soggetto + had + participio passato. Non usare I'd se il soggetto non è I.

Mistake 4

❌ Yes, she said it'd added about twenty extra minutes.

✅ Correct: Yes, she said it added about twenty extra minutes.

Why? It'd means it had or it would. Here, we are only reporting a simple past fact. We do not need had.

Rule: Use past simple for a normal finished past fact. Use past perfect only when you clearly need “before another past action.”

Examples:
✅ The delay added ten minutes.
✅ The traffic caused a problem.
✅ The rain made the road slippery.
Italiano: Usa il past simple per un fatto passato normale e finito. Usa il past perfect solo quando vuoi dire che un'azione è successa prima di un'altra azione passata.

Part 2: Verb “To Be”

The verb to be teaches an important English habit: the verb changes because the subject changes.

I → am
I am tired.
You → are
You are ready.
He → is
He is late.
She → is
She is kind.
It → is
It is closed.
We → are
We are here.
They → are
They are busy.
Rule: Always ask: Who or what is the subject? Then choose the correct form of be.

Present: I am / you are / he is / she is / it is / we are / they are.
Past: I was / you were / he was / she was / it was / we were / they were.
Italiano: Chiediti sempre: Chi o che cosa è il soggetto? Poi scegli la forma corretta di be. Presente: I am, you are, he/she/it is, we/they are. Passato: I/he/she/it was, you/we/they were.

Part 3: Had, Has, Have, and Contractions

After to be, practise other helping verbs. These are important for tenses.

I haveHe hasShe hasIt hasWe haveThey have

In the past perfect, we use had for every subject:

I hadHe hadShe hadIt hadWe hadThey had

Rule: 'd changes meaning depending on the subject.

I'd = I had / I would
He'd = He had / He would
She'd = She had / She would
It'd = It had / It would
They'd = They had / They would

Important: Do not write the gallery I'd. The gallery is it, so say the gallery closed or the gallery had closed.
Italiano: 'd dipende dal soggetto. I'd significa I had o I would. Non usare I'd con altri soggetti come the gallery, the cat, o the call.

Part 4: Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Choose the Correct Pronoun

Exercise 2: Verb To Be

Exercise 3: Fix the Contraction

Exercise 4: Past Simple or Past Perfect?

Exercise 5: Error Correction

Rewrite the sentence correctly.

Teacher Notes: He Will Not See This

His problem is probably not only “past perfect.” The deeper issue is that he is not consistently connecting the subject to the correct verb or helping verb.

He may know he needs something “past,” so he reaches for 'd, but he forgets that I'd belongs only to I. This is the same kind of weakness that causes problems with I am / he is / they are, was / were, has / have, and had.

How to fix it with him: Do not start with complicated tense names. Start every correction with four questions:

  1. What is the subject?
  2. What pronoun replaces it?
  3. Which verb or helping verb goes with that subject?
  4. Do we need simple past, or did one action happen before another past action?

Repeat this until it becomes automatic. He needs the habit of checking the subject first.

ESL Studio Practice Lesson