The United States is a parliamentary republic. It is a democracy. The people rule the country through the representatives they elect. The United States has a federal system. There are fifty states in the USA. Each state has its own government and there is a federal or national government. Each state has its own constitution and can collect taxes. But only the national government can print money. The Constitution which was written in 1787 sets the basic form of national government: it has three branches ― legislative, executive and judiciary.
Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Congress makes all laws, and each house of Congress has the power to support or reject a bill offered by the other. When they both pass a bill on which they agree, it is sent to the president for his signature. Only after that a bill becomes a law. The members of the House of Representatives are elected for two years, and one-third of the Senators are elected every two years for six-year terms of office. Each state, regardless of the population, has two senators, while the House of Representatives has more members from more populated states. There 100 senators and 435 representatives. The number of the representatives from each state depends on the size of the state's population.
The president of the USA is elected every four years to a four-year term of office, with no more than two full terms allowed. The President (and his administration) is the chief of the executive branch and also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The executive branch administers the laws. This branch consists of departaments and agencies. The US President is elected for 4-year term. The US President commands the armed forces, conducts foreign affairs, and recommends laws to the Congress. The first president of the USA was George Washington. At present the USA is headed by the 44th president of the USA, Barack Obama, the leader of the Democratic Party. The next presidential election will be held in 2012.
The judiciary branch is represented by the Supreme Court and federal courts at the national level. The US Supreme Court has nine members. They are Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices. The judiciary branch interests the laws and makes sure that new laws are in keeping with the Constitution.
There is one more very important part of the American political scene ― the political parties. Today the United States has two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Both these parties have supporters among a wide variety of Americans. There are other smaller parties in the US, but none of them has enough popular support to win a presidential election.
Grammar: Past Simple.
| PAST INDEFINITE/SIMPLE ACTIVE | |||||
| ² | |||||
| 1. 䳺:-ED. | |||||
| . \ . | |||||
| I | I planted | WE planted | |||
| II | YOUplanted | YOUplanted | |||
| III | S/HE, ITplanted | THEYplanted | |||
| → -. + Y + -ED → -IED: try tried. | |||||
| → -. + Y + -ED → -YD: played, prayed. | |||||
| → ʳ - + -ED: live lived, continue continued | |||||
| → ʳ :stop stopped,mop mopped, grab grabbed | |||||
| → -L :travel travelled, control controlled NB! Appeal appealed, trouble troubled, giggle giggled, nail nailed, jail jailed, oil- oiled | |||||
| 2. 䳺: . 䳺. | |||||
| . \ . | |||||
| I | I saw, bought | WE saw, bought | |||
| II | YOU(/)saw, bought | YOU() saw, bought | |||
| III | S/HE, IT saw, bought | THEY saw, bought | |||
| 3. ij TO BE (): WAS/WERE. | |||||
| . \ . | |||||
| I | I WAS () a boy | WE WERE() boys | |||
| II | YOU WERE () a boy | YOU WERE () boys | |||
| III | S/ HE (IT) WAS(/-/-) a boy | THEY WERE () boys | |||
| 4. ij TO HAVE (): HAD. | |||||
| I (you, s/he/it, we, they) HAD a ball. | |||||
| 5. 䳺 + 䳺o ( -ED): | |||||
| I could sing/he could sing /she might come in/you had togo... | |||||
| ² | |||||
| 1. 䳺 TO HAVE: DID + NOT + ( -ED / I . 䳺.). | |||||
| I did not/didn't swim/buy, we didn'tswim/buy, you didn't swim/buy, you didn't swim/buy, s/he didn'tswim/buy, they didn'tswim/buy. | I didn't have it, she didn't haveit. | ||||
| 2. ij TO BE (): WAS/WERE + NOT. | |||||
| I WAS NOT/WASN'T a friend, we WEREN'T friends, you WERE NOT/WEREN'T a friend, you WEREN'Tfriends, s/he WAS NOT/WASN'Ta friend, they WEREN'Tfriends. | |||||
| 3. 䳺: COULD, MIGHT + NOT; DID NOT HAVE TO | |||||
| I could not/couldn't swim, he couldn't go, she might not come in, you did not have to/didn't have to do that. | |||||
| 1. 䳺 TO HAVE: DID + + ( -ED / I . 䳺.). | |||||
| Did you/s/he/it/we/they swim? | Did you have it? | ||||
| 2. ij TO BE (): . | |||||
| WAS I/s/he/it a friend? WERE we/we/they friends? | |||||
| 3. 䳺: . | |||||
| Couldyou swim? Might she come in? NB! DidI have to go? | |||||
| NB! : Didyounot swim?/Didn't you swim? Washe notyour friend?/Wasn'the your friend? Had she not a ball?/Hadn'tshe a ball?/Did she not have a ball?/Didn't she have a ball? Mustwe not talk to him?/Mustn'twe talk to him? | |||||
| TIME EXPRESSIONS ( ) ― ʲֲ/ : yesterday, the other day ( ), on Sunday, in 1980, last year, last winter, last time, an hour ago, two days ago, a month ago, long ago (), regularly/frequently in the past. | |||||
IRREGULAR VERBS ( 䳺)
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| Be 46 Bear 43 Beat 24 Become 2 Begin 9 Blow 37 Break 30 Bring 66 Build 60 Buy 67 | Catch 68 Choose 35 Come 1 Cost 72 Cut 73 Do 18 Draw 38 Dream 54 Drink 10 Drive 19 | Eat 25 Fall 36 Feel 55 Fight 69 Find 15 Fly 39 Forget 29 Forgive 22 Freeze 27 Get 4 | Give 23 Go 47 Grow 40 Have 48 Hear 50 Hit 74 Know 41 Lay 53 Learn 56 Leave 57 | Lie 45 Light 7 Lose 65 Make 49 Meet 14 Mistake 31 Pay 51 Put 75 Read 76 Ring 11 | Rise 20 Run 3 Say 52 See 26 Sell 63 Send 61 Shake 32 Shine 16 Show 42 Sing 12 | Sit 8 Sleep 58 Smell 59 Speak 28 Spend 62 Stand 5 Shut 77 Swim 13 Take 33 Teach 70 | Tell 64 Think 71 Understand 6 Wake 34 Wear 44 Win 17 Write 21 |
| INFINITIVE | PAST SIMPLE | PAST PARTICIPLE | |
| 1. : | |||
| 1. come | came | come | |
| 2. become | became | become | |
| 3. run | ran | run | |
| 4. get | got | got | |
| 5. stand | stood | stood | |
| 6. understand | understood | understood | |
| 7. light | lit | lit | |
| 8. sit | sat | sat | |
| 9. begin | began | begun | |
| 10. drink | drank | drunk | |
| 11. ring | rang | rung | |
| 12. sing | sang | sung | |
| 13. swim | swam | swum | |
| 14. meet | met | met | |
| 15. find | found | found | |
| 16. shine | shone | shone | |
| 17. win | won | won | |
| 2. n(e) -en 䳺 : | |||
| 18. do | did | done | |
| 19. drive | drove | driven | () |
| 20. rise | rose | risen | |
| 21. write | wrote | wri tt en | |
| 22. forgive | forgave | forgiven | |
| 23. give | gave | given | |
| 24. beat | beat | beaten | |
| 25. eat | ate | eaten | |
| 26. see | saw | seen | |
| 27. freeze | froze | frozen | |
| 28. speak | spoke | spoken | |
| 29. forget | forgot | forgo tt en | |
| 30. break | broke | broken | |
| 31. mistake | mistook | mistaken | |
| 32. shake | shook | shaken | |
| 33. take | took | taken | |
| 34. wake | woke | waken | , |
| 35. choose | chose | chosen | |
| 36. fall | fell | fallen | |
| 37. blow | blew | blown | |
| 38. draw | drew | drawn | |
| 39. fly | flew | flown | |
| 40. grow | grew | grown | |
| 41. know | knew | known | |
| 42. show | showed | shown | |
| 43. bear | bore | borne | |
| 44. wear | wore | worn | |
| 45. lie | lay | lain | |
| 3. ³ : | |||
| 46. be | was/were | been | |
| 47. go | went | gone | |
| 4. -t -d 䳺 : | |||
| 48. have | had | had | |
| 49. make | made | made | |
| 50. hear | heard | heard | |
| 51. pay | paid | paid | |
| 52. say [seI] | said [sed] | said[sed] | |
| 53. lay | laid | laid | |
| 54. dream | dreamt/-ed | dreamt/-ed | , |
| 55. feel | felt | felt | |
| 56. learn | learnt | learnt | |
| 57. leave | left | left | |
| 58. sleep | slept | slept | |
| 59. smell | smelt | smelt | , |
| 60. build | built | built | |
| 61. send | sent | sent | |
| 62. spend | spent | spent | , |
| 63. sell | sold | sold | |
| 64. tell | told | told | |
| 65. lose | lost | lost | |
| 66. bring | brought | brought | |
| 67. buy | bought | bought | |
| 68. catch | caught | caught | |
| 69. fight | fought | fought | |
| 70. teach | taught | taught | |
| 71. think | thought | thought | |
| 5. - ( 䳺): | |||
| 72. cost | cost | cost | |
| 73. cut | cut | cut | |
| 74. hit | hit | hit | |
| 75. put | put | put | |
| 76. read [ri:d] | read[red] | read[red] | |
| 77. shut | shut | shut |
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