THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE

1
THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE

• By Carolina de Castro Nyerges

2
THE USES

• USE 1 Completed Action in the Past
• Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an
  action started and finished at a specific time in
  the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually
  mention the specific time, but they do have one
  specific time in mind.
• Examples
• I saw a movie yesterday.
• I didn't see a play yesterday.
• Last year, I traveled to Japan.
• Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
• Did you have dinner last night?
• She washed her car.
• He didn't wash his car.

3
THE USES

• USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions
• We use the Simple Past to list a series of
  completed
• actions in the past. These actions happen 1st,
  2nd,
• 3rd, 4th, and so on.
• Examples
• I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a
  nice place to swim.
• He arrived from the airport at 800, checked into
  the hotel at 900, and met the others at 1000.
• Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add
  the eggs?

4
THE USES
USE 3 Duration in Past The Simple Past can be
used with a duration which starts and stops in
the past. A duration is a longer action often
indicated by expressions such as for two years,
for five minutes, all day, all year,
etc. Examples I lived in Brazil for two years.
Shauna studied Japanese for five years. They
sat at the beach all day. They did not stay at
the party the entire time. We talked on the
phone for thirty minutes.
5
THE USES

• USE 4 Habits in the Past
•                                                 
                                 
• The Simple Past can also be used to describe a
  habit which stopped in the past. It can have the
  same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that
  we are talking about a habit, we often add
  expressions such as always, often, usually,
  never, when I was a child, when I was younger,
  etc.
• Examples
• I studied French when I was a child.
• He played the violin.
• He didn't play the piano.
• Did you play a musical instrument when you were a
  kid?
• She worked at the movie theater after school.
• They never went to school, they always skipped
  class

6
THE USES

• USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations
• The Simple Past can also be used to describe past
• facts or generalizations which are no longer
  true. As
• in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is
  quite
• similar to the expression "used to."
• Examples
• She was shy as a child, but now she is very
  outgoing.
• He didn't like tomatoes before.
• Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
• People paid much more to make cell phone calls in
  the past.

7
THE FORMS
Most Verbs Most verbs conjugate by adding -ed
like the verb "wait" below.
Positive Negative Question
I waited. You waited. We waited. They waited. He waited. She waited. It waited. I did not wait. You did not wait. We did not wait. They did not wait. He did not wait. She did not wait. It did not wait. Did I wait? Did you wait? Did we wait? Did they wait? Did he wait? Did she wait? Did it wait?
8
SPELLING RULES

• If a regular verb ends in CVC, and the
• vowel has a strong stress, the final
• consonant is doubled before adding -ed .
• Examples
• Stop - stopped
• Permit - permitted

9
SPELLING RULES

• In the case of verbs that end in -e, we
• only add -d to form the past tense, and we omit
  the -e before adding -ing.
• Examples
• Grate - grated
• hope - hoped

10
SPELLING RULES

• There are two rules for verbs that end in -y
• a. If the verb ends in a vowel plus y , we simply
  add -ed.
• Example
• play - played
• b. If the verb ends in a consonant plus y , we
  change the y to i and add -ed.
• Example
• study - studied

11
SPELLING RULES

• Verbs that end in -c add -ked.
• Examples
• mimic - mimicked
• panic - panicked

12
SPELLING RULES

• Verbs that end in w, x, or y do not double the
  final consonant.
• Examples
• box - boxed
• tow - towed

13
EXERCISE 1- Whats the past of...?

• Date dated
• Copy copied
• Fix fixed
• Listen listened
• Travel traveled
• Arrive arrived
• Change changed
• Carry carried
• Help helped
• Bake - baked
• Cry cried
• Permit permitted
• Worry worried
• Transfer transferred
• Phone - phoned

14
THE FORMS
Irregular Verbs Many verbs, such as "have," take
irregular forms in the Simple Past. Notice that
you only use the irregular verbs in statements.
In negative forms and questions, "did" indicates
Simple Past.
Positive Negative Question
I had. You had. We had. They had. He had. She had. It had. I did not have. You did not have. We did not have. They did not have. He did not have. She did not have. It did not have. Did I have? Did you have? Did we have? Did they have? Did he have? Did she have? Did it have?
15
EXERCISE 2 Whats the past of...?

• Drink
• See
• Do
• Have
• Bring
• Run
• Say
• Tell
• Make
• Put
• Begin
• Forgett

16
EXERCISE 3 Change the sentences to negative
and interrogative forms

• Mary went to school this week.
• N. Mary didnt go to school this week.
• I. Did Mary go to school this week?
• 2. The kids played volleyball during the break.
• N. The kids didnt play volleyball during the
  break.
• I. Did the kids play volleyball during the break?

17

• 3. I liked the show a lot.
• N. I didnt like the show.
• I. Did I like the show?
• 4. Bob received the Oscar for best actor.
• N. Bob didnt receive the Oscar for best actor.
• I. Did Bob receive the Oscar for best actor?
• 5. The students had a good mark on the exam.
• N. The students didnt have a good mark on the
  exam.
• I. Did the students have a good mark on the exam?

18
THE FORMS

• To Be
• The verb "be" is also irregular in the Simple
  Past. Unlike other irregular verbs, there are two
  Simple Past forms "was" and "were." It also has
  different question forms and negative forms.
  Always remember that you DO NOT use "did" with
  the verb "be" in the Simple Past.

Aff Neg Interr
I was You were He was She was It was We were You were They were I wasnt You werent He wasnt She wasnt It wasnt We werent You werent They werent Was I....? Were you...? Was he...? Was she....? Was it....? Were we....? Were you....? Were they....?
19
EXERCISE 4 Complete the sentences using TO BE
in the past. Then, change to negative and
interrogative forms.

• We _______ at the club in the morning.
• N. We werent at the club in the morning.
• I. Were we at the club in the morning?
• 2. Susan _____ a good player when she ____
  younger.
• N. Susan wasnt a good player when she was
  younger.
• I. Was Susan a good player when she was younger?