SIMPLE PAST TENSE

FUNCTIONS OF THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE

The simple past is used to talk about a completed action in a time before now. Duration is not
important. The time of the action can be in the recent past or the distant past.

EXAMPLES

John Cabot sailed to America in 1498.

My father died last year.

He lived in Fiji in 1976.

We crossed the Channel yesterday.

You always use the simple past when you say when something happened, so it is associated with
certain past time expressions

frequency: often, sometimes, always

I sometimes walked home at lunchtime.
I often brought my lunch to school.

a definite point in time: last week, when I was a child, yesterday, six weeks ago
We saw a good film last week.
Yesterday, I arrived in Geneva.
She finished her work atseven o'clock
I went to the theatre last night

an indefinite point in time: the other day, ages ago, a long time ago People lived in
caves a long time ago.
She played the piano when she was a child.

Note: the word ago is a useful way of expressing the distance into the past. It is placed after the
period of time: a week ago, three years ago, a minute ago.
Be Careful: The simple past in English may look like a tense in your own language, but the
meaning may be different.

FORMING THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE

PATTERNS OF SIMPLE PAST TENSE FOR REGULAR VERBS
Affirmative

Subject

+ verb + ed

skipped.

Negative

Subject

+ did not

+ infinitive without to

They

didn't

go.

Did

+ subject

+ infinitive without to

Did

she

arrive?

Did not

+ subject

+ infinitive without to

Didn't

you

play?

Interrogative

Interrogative negative

TO WALK

Affirmative

Negative

Interrogative

I walked

I didn't walk

Did I walk?

You walked

You didn't walk

Did you walk?

He walked

He didn't walk

Did he walk?

We walked

We didn't walk

Did we walk?

They walked

They didn't walk

Did they walk?

SIMPLE PAST TENSE OF TO BE, TO HAVE, TO DO

Subject

Verb

Be

Have

was

had

You

were

had

He/She/It

was

had

We

were

had

You

were

had

They

were

had

Subject

Verb

NOTES ON AFFIRMATIVE, NEGATIVE, &

INTERROGATIVE FORMS
AFFIRMATIVE
The affirmative of the simple past tense is simple.

I was in Japan lastyear

She had a headache yesterday.

We did our homework last night.

NEGATIVE AND INTERROGATIVE

For the negative and interrogative simple past form of "do" as an ordinary verb, use the
auxiliary "do", e.g. We didn't do our homework last night.
The negative of "have" in the simple past is usually formed using the auxiliary "do", but
sometimes by simply adding not or the contraction "n't".
The interrogative form of "have" in the simple past normally uses the auxiliary "do".

EXAMPLES

They weren't in Rio last summer.

We didn't have any money.

We didn't have time to visit the Eiffel Tower.

We didn't do our exercises this morning.

Were they in Iceland last January?

Did you have a bicycle when you were young?

Did you do much climbing in Switzerland?

Note: For the negative and interrogative form of all verbs in the simple past, always use the
auxiliary 'did''.

SIMPLE PAST, IRREGULAR VERBS

Some verbs are irregular in the simple past. Here are the most common ones.

TO GO

He went to a club last night.

Did he go to the cinema last night?

He didn't go to bed early last night.

TO GIVE

We gave her a doll for her birthday.

They didn't give John their new address.

Did Barry give you my passport?

TO COME

My parents came to visit me last July.

We didn't come because it was raining.

Did he come to your party last week?

The Simple Past Tense and The Past Progressive (Continuous) Tense
SIMPLE
FORM [
EXAMPLES:

PAST
verb

ed

TENSE
]

or

irregular

verbs

I saw a movie yesterday.

She washed her car.

They sat at the beach all day.

The simple past is used to describe an action, an event, or condition that occurred in the past,
sometime

before

the

moment

of

speaking

or

writing.

Each of the highlighted verbs in the following sentences is in the simple past tense and each
sentence describes an action taking place at some point in past.

A flea jumped from the dog to the cat.

Angelo gripped the hammer tightly and nailed the boards together.

The gem-stones sparkled in a velvet lined display case.

Artemisia Gentilsechi probably died in 1652.

PAST

PROGRESSIVE

(CONTINUOUS)

TENSE

FORM
[

was/were

present

participle

EXAMPLES:

I was watching TV when she called.

While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.

Apple was waiting for us when we got off the plane.

The past progressive tense is used to described actions ongoing in the past. These actions often
take place within a specific time frame. While actions referred to in the present progressive have
some connection to the present, actions referred in the past progressive have no immediate or
obvious connection to the present. The on-going actions took place and were completed at some

point

well

before

the

time

of

speaking

or

writing.

Each of the highlighted verbs in the following sentences is in the past progressive tense.

The cat was walking along the tree branch.

This sentence describes an action that took place over a period of continuous time in the past.
The cat's actions have no immediate relationship to anything occurring now in the present.

Apple was telling a story about the exploits of a red cow when a tree branch broke the
window.

Here the action "was telling" took place in the past and continued for some time in the past.

When the recess bell rang, Jesse was writing a long division problem on the blackboard.

This sentence describes actions ("ran" and "was writing") that took place sometime in the past, and
emphasizes the continuing nature of one of the actions ("was writing").

The archivists were eagerly waiting for the delivery of the former prime minister's private
papers.

Here the ongoing action of "waiting" occurred at some time unconnected to the present.

Between 1942 and 1944, the Frank and Van Damm familieswere hiding in a Amsterdam
office building.

In this sentence, the action of hiding took place over an extended period of time and the
continuing nature of the hiding is emphasized.

The Simple Past Tense and The Past Progressive (Continuous) Tense
SIMPLE
FORM [
EXAMPLES:

PAST
verb

ed

TENSE
]

or

irregular

verbs

I saw a movie yesterday.

She washed her car.

They sat at the beach all day.

The simple past is used to describe an action, an event, or condition that occurred in the past,
sometime

before

the

moment

of

speaking

or

writing.

Each of the highlighted verbs in the following sentences is in the simple past tense and each
sentence describes an action taking place at some point in past.

A flea jumped from the dog to the cat.

Angelo gripped the hammer tightly and nailed the boards together.

The gem-stones sparkled in a velvet lined display case.

Artemisia Gentilsechi probably died in 1652.

Simple past tense

looked [t] after voiceless consonants

moved [d] after voiced consonants and vowels
started [id] after t and d

went

actions completed in the past at a definite time

narrative

Forms

2nd form of irregular verbs

Functions

Curriculum 1. Lehrplan:

Klasse 6

Kontrastierung mit present perfect tense Klasse 7

Wiederholung Klasse 9/10

2. Lehrbuch:
previously done:

present perfect - regular verbs : -ed

1. forms

pronunciation of -ed

irregular verbs

questions and negations with "to do"

2. function

Difficulties

reported speech

interrupting a progressive action in the past progressive

following an action in past perfect tense

3. inter-, intralingual interferences

different usage of the tense in spoken English or German

contrasts to present perfect tense

if-clauses type II

4. other difficulties

often used together with the past perfect or past progressive tense

......ago

before

after

Situations

story-telling

reports

narration of past events

fairy tales

Past progressive

I / He / She / It was

You / We / They were looking

apparently continuous uninterrupted actions in the past

perhaps suddenly interrupted by an action in simple past tense

description (of pictures in picture stories)

looking

Forms

Functions

Curriculum 1. Lehrplan:

Klasse 7

Verbindung mit simple past tense Klasse 7

Wiederholung Klasse 9/10

2. Lehrbuch:
previously done:

present progressive

past tens of to be

1. forms

was vs. were

2. function

Difficulties

to describe action-in-progress in the past (same as present progressive)

3. inter-, intralingual interferences

different usage of the tense in spoken English or German

4. other difficulties

Situations

when

while

curriculum vitae

letters of application

narration of past events going on before they were suddenly interrupted

Present | Simple Future

Present Continuous | Continuous Future | Past Continuous
Present Perfect Simple | Present Perfect Future | Present Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect Simple | Past Perfect Continuous
The Future
The simple past tense is used to talk about finished actions that happened at a specific time
in the past. You state when it happened using a time adverb.

You form the simple past of a verb by adding -ed onto the end of a regular
verb but, irregular verb forms have to be learnt. There are several examples of irregular
verbs in our Picture It section.
To be

To be

Statements

Statements

I was.

I wasn't.

Was I?

He was.

He wasn't.

Was he?

She was.

She wasn't.

Was she?

It was.

It wasn't.

Was it?

You were.

You weren't.

Were you?

We were.

We weren't.

Were we?

They were.

They weren't.

Were they?

Questions ?

Regular Verb (to work)

Regular Verb (to work)

Statements

Statements

I worked.

I didn't work.

Did I work? Yes, I did.

He worked.

He didn't work.

Did he work? Yes, he did.

She worked.

She didn't work.

It worked.

It didn't work.

You worked.

You didn't work.

Questions

Short

Short

answer

answer

No, I didn't.
No, he
didn't.

Did she

Yes, she

No, she

work?

did.

didn't.

Did it work? Yes, it did. No, it didn't.

Did you
work?

Yes you did.

No, you
didn't.

We worked.

We didn't work.

They worked.

They didn't work.

Did we
work?

Yes we did.

No, we
didn't.

Did they

Yes they

No, they

work?

did.

didn't.

Simple Past Timeline

When you mention a time in the past:For example:

"Last year I took my exams."
"I got married in 1992."
It can be used to describe events that happened over a period of time in the past but not
now.
For example:
"I lived in South Africa for two years."
The simple past tense is also used to talk about habitual or repeated actions that took place
in the past.
For example:
"When I was a child we always went to the seaside on bank holidays."

It can sometimes be confusing.

For example:
"She had a baby last year." (She hasn't lost the baby, but here you are talking about the
actual process of giving birth.)
- See more at:
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/tensesimpast.html#sthash.9ttnSfOh.dpuf
Hello,
This assignment was slightly tricky. It is about the past tense questions, and in what context they
were used in. I've tried my best, but there were some hard ones to contemplate.
It would be great if someone could have a look at them and let me know where I've gone wrong.
Thanks for the help
*My answers have been written in 'bold and italic'
Exercise:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Now lets take a look at the past simple tense. Look carefully at the following functions and then
complete the next exercise:
Reported speech
A past state
A hypothetical situation
A present regret / wish
A past habit / routine
A completed action at a specified time in past
Please look at the following sentences, concentrating on the highlighted verbs which use the past
simple, and select the appropriate function from the drop-down list.
1. I wish I lived in Paris. - 4. A present wish
2. If I had a boat, Id sail around the world. - 3. Hypothetical situation
3. When I was a child, I went to bed at 7.00 pm. 5. A past habit/routine
4. He said that he was 42 years old. - 1. Reported speech
5. I visited my uncle last week. 6. A completed action at a specific time in the past
6. France was a monarchy. 2. A past state
7. I saw Shrek at the Odeon cinema last night. - 6. A completed action at a specific time in the
past
8. If I met Julia Roberts again, Id ask her out to dinner. - 4. A present regret
9. I played basketball when I was at school, but I havent played since. - 5. A past routine
10. If only I had more money. - 4. A present wish
11. They asked me if I had a light. - 1. Reported speech

12. Catherine adored Robbie Williams until he became too big headed. - 2. A past state
13. What would you do if you won the lottery? - 3. A hypothetical situation
14. Had Martin one more chance at life, he would do it completely differently. - 3. Hypothetical
situation
15. Last year, a few friends and I drove to the top of Scotland. - 6. A completed action
16. He asked me if I could lend him any money. - 1. Reported speech

Past Simple tense has different uses:

1. We use past simple to refer to events that took place in the
past.
*A pharmacist called Jhon Pemberton invented Coca Cola.
*Did you go to Munich last week? Yes, and I met Mr. Peter
Losher, Siemens CEO.
2. We frequently use a time adverb to situate the event in
finished past time.
* Rolls Royce went bust in 1973.
* A few years ago, the City Plaza hotel was a leader in its
segment of the market.
* Many people lost a lot Money on the Stock
Exchange during the 1990s.
3. We use the past simple in annual reports to describe the
companys performance over the last year.
*Last year was a good year for our group; the company sold 70%
more than the last period.
*Sales rose by more than 11% and we made substantial gains in
market share in a number of countries.

How do we make the Past Simple Tense?

There are two basic structures for the Past Simple tense:
1. Positive sentences

subject

main verb

Past Simple
2. Negative and question sentences

subject

auxiliary do

main verb

conjugated in Past Simple

did

base

Look at these examples with the main verbs go (irregular)

and work (regular):

subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

went

to school.

You

worked

very hard.

subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

She

did

not

go

with me.

We

did

not

work

yesterday.

Did

you

go

to London?

Did

they

work

at home?

From the above table, notice the following points...

For positive sentences:
There is no auxiliary verb.
The main verb is conjugated in the Past Simple, invariable: -ed
(or irregular)
For negative and question sentences:
The auxiliary is conjugated in the Past Simple, invariable: did
The main verb is invariable in base form: base
For negative sentences, we insert not between the auxiliary
verb and main verb.
For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the
auxiliary verb.
Emphatic did
Normally, for positive sentences we do not use the auxiliary did. But

if we want to emphasize (stress) something, or contradict

something, we may use it. For example: "I didn't use a spellchecker
but I did use a dictionary." Here are some more examples:
"Why didn't you go to the party?" / "I did go."
It did seem a bit strange.
After drinking it I did in fact feel better.
Past Simple with main verb be

The structure of the Past Simple with the main verb be is:

subject

main verb be

conjugated in Past Simple

was, were
Look at these examples with the main verb be:

subject

main verb be

I, he/she/it

was

here.

You, we, they

were

in London.

I, he/she/it

was

not

there.

subject

main verb be

You, we, they

were

Was

I, he/she/it

right?

Were

you, we, they

late?

not

happy.

From the above table, notice the following points...

There is no auxiliary verb, even for questions and negatives.
The main verb (be) is conjugated in the Past Simple: was,
were
For negative sentences, we insert not after the main verb.
For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the
main verb.

Past Simple Quiz

1. I
2. My brother

to the mall after school.

a bear an hour ago.

3.

Mike visit his grandmother last night?

4. Alex did not

5.
6. We
7.
8. Sorry, I
9. I
10. What

last weekend.

Judy and Liz at last month's meeting?

not happy after the sad ending.
you see Jody's new dog yesterday?
hear you at the door.
English for two years.
you eat for lunch yesterday?

How do we use the Past Simple

Tense?
We use the Past Simple tense to talk about an action or a situation an event - in the past. The event can be short or long.
Here are some short events with the Past Simple:

The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.

She went to the door.
We did not hear the telephone.
Did you see that car?

past

present

future

The action is in the past.

Here are some long events with the Past Simple tense:

I lived in Bangkok for 10 years.

The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years.
We did not sing at the concert.
Did you watch TV last night?

past

present

future

The action is in the past.

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a
few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past.
Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few
milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period).
We use the Past Simple tense when:
the event is in the past
the event is completely finished
we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

In general, if we say the past time or place of the event, we must

use the Past Simple tense; we cannot use the present perfect.
Here are some more examples:
I lived in that house when I was young.
He didn't like the movie.
What did you eat for dinner?
John drove to London on Monday.
Mary did not go to work yesterday.
Did you play tennis last week?
I was at work yesterday.
We were not late (for the train).
Were you angry?
Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the Past Simple. We
may start with the Past Continuous tense to "set the scene", but we
almost always use the Past Simple tense for the action. Look at this
example of the beginning of a story:
"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring
down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered.
He took off his coat, which was very wet, andordered a drink at
the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and
quietly drankhis..."
This page shows the use of the Past Simple tense to talk about past
events. But note that there are some other uses for the Past Simple,
for example in conditional or if sentences.

Irregular Simple Past and Past Participle Verb

Forms
Click here for a printable version

Simple Present
arise
awake
be
bear
beat
become
begin
bend
bet
bite
bleed
blow
break
bring
build
burn
burst
buy
catch
choose
cling
come
cost
creep
cut
deal
dig
dive
do
draw
dream
drink

Simple Past
arose
awoke
was, were
bore
beat
became
began
bent
bet
bit
bled
blew
broke
brought
built
burned or burnt
burst
bought
caught
chose
clung
came
cost
crept
cut
dealt
dug
dived or dove
did
drew
dreamed or dreamt
drank

Past Participle
arisen
awoken
been
borne
beaten or beat
become
begun
bent
bet
bitten
bled
blown
broken
brought
built
burned or burnt
burst
bought
caught
chosen
clung
come
cost
crept
cut
dealt
dug
dived
done
drawn
dreamed or dreamt
drunk

drive
eat
fall
feed
feel
fight
find
fit
flee
fling
fly
forbid
forget
forgive
forgo
freeze
get
give
go
grind
grow
hang
have
hear
hide
hit
hold
hurt
keep
kneel
knit
know
lay
lead
leap
leave
lend
let
lie (down)
light
lose

drove
ate
fell
fed
felt
fought
found
fit, fitted
fled
flung
flew
forbade or forbad
forgot
forgave
forwent
froze
got
gave
went
ground
grew
hung or hanged
had
heard
hid
hit
held
hurt
kept
knelt or kneeled
knitted or knit
knew
laid
led
leapt or leaped
left
lent
let
lay
lit or lighted
lost

driven
eaten
fallen
fed
felt
fought
found
fit, fitted
fled
flung
flown,
forbidden or forbade
forgotten
forgiven
forgone
frozen
gotten or got
given
gone
ground
grown
hung or hanged
had
heard
hidden
hit
held
hurt
kept
knelt or kneeled
knitted or knit
known
laid
led
leapt or leaped
left
lent
let
lain
lit or lighted
lost

make
mean
meet
pay
prove
put
quit
read
ride
ring
rise
run
saw
say
see
seek
sell
send
set
sew
shake
shave
shear
shine
shoot
show
shrink
shut
sing
sink
sit
slay
sleep
slide
sneak
speak
speed
spend
spill
spin
spit

made
meant
met
paid
proved
put
quit
read
rode
rang
rose
ran
sawed
said
saw
sought
sold
sent
set
sewed
shook
shaved
sheared
shone or shined
shot
showed
shrank or shrunk
shut
sang
sank
sat
slew
slept
slid
sneaked or snuck
spoke
sped
spent
spilled or spilt
spun
spat or spit

made
meant
met
paid
proved or proven
put
quit
read
ridden
rung
risen
run
sawed or sawn
said
seen
sought
sold
sent
set
sewn or sewed
shaken
shaved or shaven
sheared or shorn
shone or shined
shot
shown or showed
shrunk or shrunken
shut
sung
sunk
sat
slain
slept
slid
sneaked or snuck
spoken
sped
spent
spilled or spilt
spun
spat or spit

split
spread
spring
stand
steal
stick
sting
stink
strew
strike
strive
swear
sweep
swim
swing
take
teach
tear
tell
think
thrive
throw
undergo
understand
upset
wake
wear
weave
weep
win
wind
withdraw
wring
write

split
spread
sprang
stood
stole
stuck
stung
stank or stunk
strewed
struck
strove or strived
swore
swept
swam
swung
took
taught
tore
told
thought
thrived or throve
threw
underwent
understood
upset
woke or waked
wore
wove
wept
won
wound
withdrew
wrung
wrote

split
spread
sprung
stood
stolen
stuck
stung
stunk
strewn
struck or stricken
striven or strived
sworn
swept
swum
swung
taken
taught
torn
told
thought
thrived or thriven
thrown
undergone
understood
upset
woken or waked
worn
woven
wept
won
wound
withdrawn
wrung
written

Simple past of regular verbs

The simple past is used to describe an action that occurred and was completed in the past.
The simple past is formed by adding -ed to the base form of the verb
(theinfinitive without to).

Read lesson
* en espaol
* en franais

+ ed =
simple
past

base
form
walk

walked

push

pushed

greet

greeted

watch

watched

In English, the simple past of regular verbs is extremely easy. It is the same for allpersons.
Here are example sentences of the simple past with the verb WORK.

singular

plural

1st per

worked

yesterday.

We worked

yesterday.

2nd per

You

worked

yesterday.

You worked

yesterday.

3rd per

He, She, It

worked

yesterday.

They worked

yesterday.

There are several irregularities regarding orthography (spelling) for the simple past ending
of regular verbs. Similarly, there are different ways to pronounce this ending. See the lesson
on pronunciation of the Simple Past -ed ending to learn more.
For regular verbs ending in the vowel -e, add -d.

base
form

simple
past

hate

hated

seize

seized

hope

hoped

assume

assumed

tie

tied

free

freed

For the very few English verbs that end in a vowel other than -e, add -ed.

base
form

simple
past

ski

skied

echo

echoed

Exceptions: The verbs DO and GO are irregular: See below.

For regular verbs that end in a vowel+y, add -ed.

base
form

simple
past

play

played

decay

decayed

survey

surveyed

enjoy

enjoyed

Exceptions: The verbs SAY and BUY are irregular: See below.
For regular verbs that end in a consonant+y, change the -y to -i and add -ed.

base
form

simple
past

cry

cried

dirty

dirtied

magnify

magnified

Exception: The verb FLY is irregular: See below.

For regular verbs ending in a consonant + vowel + consonant, double the final consonant
before adding -ed.

base
form

simple
past

dam

dammed

beg

begged

plan

planned

strip

stripped

In American English, when the regular verb has more than one syllable and thesyllable
stress is on the final syllable, the final consonant is doubled.

base
form

simple
past

incorrect

defer

deferred

defered

regret

regretted

regreted

reship

reshipped

reshiped

compel

compelled

compeled

In these verbs, the syllable stress is not on the final syllable so the consonant is not
doubled.

base
form

simple
past

incorrect

orbit

orbited

orbitted

listen

listened

listenned

travel

traveled

travelled

consider

considered

considerred

Here are examples with regular verbs in the simple present and the simple past.

simple present

simple past

I walk to school.

I walked to school.

She works downtown.

She worked downtown.

They help on Tuesday.

They helped on Tuesday.

He asks a lot of questions.

He asked a lot of questions.

Irregular verbs form the past tense by a change in orthography (spelling).

base
form

simple
past

buy

bought

do

did

fly

flew

forget

forgot

light

lit

go

went

say

said

Read lesson
* en espaol
* en franais
Related lessons:

Pronunciation of simple past -ed ending

List of irregular verbs

Simple present

Verbs

Transcript

1. What did you do yesterday? Simple Past Tense Regular Verbs Irregular verbs
Wh- and Yes / No questions in Past Tense Be in Past Tense E OD NS S Dpt of
English Language ALO UBIA .S. ARRI.E OV C
2. REGULAR VERBS
3. Talk SpillPinch Want
4. Listen JumpWalk Play
5. Open CloseLaugh Count
6. Play TV games DanceCry Watch TV
7. Wait Use a computerClean Climb
8. Play football Play the piano Call Cook
9. Turn on Turn offShare Study

10. Push FixPull Look at

11. Wash AskColour Look for
12. REGULAR VERBS Spelling rulesTo form the affirmative past tense of most
regular verbs: Add ed to the base form of the verb (wash-washed). If the verb
ends in e, add d (live-lived) If the verb ends in a consonant preceded by a
vowel,double the final consonant (stop-stopped) If the verb ends in y preceded by
a consonant,omit the y and add ied ( copy-copied)
13. Write the past tense form.1. Dance_________ 1. Wash_________2.
Plan_________ 2. Work_________3. Clean_________ 3. Shave_________4.
Type_________ 4. Carry_________5. Study_________ 5. Listen________6.
Shop_________ 6. Turn ________7. Look_________ 7. Ask ________8.
Play_________ 8. Answer ________9. Empty_________ 9. Push ________10.
Stop_________ 10. Wait ________
14. SIMPLE PRESENT POSITIVE STATEMENT NEGATIVE STATEMENTI work in
Mushrooms Company. I dont work in The Coke Company.He lives in that small
house. He doesnt live in the big one.We study in the CETis We dont study in the
CBTisMaria knows how to cook. Maria doesnt know how to make tortillasToday I
have a party. Today I dont have classes.My mom has my wallet My mom doesnt
have her purse
15. SIMPLE PAST POSITIVE STATEMENT NEGATIVE STATEMENTI worked in
Mushrooms Company in I didnt work in The CokeMay. Company.He lived in that
small house 2 years He didnt live in the big one.ago.We studied in the CETis last
year. We didnt study in the CBTisMaria knew how to cook. Maria didnt know how to
make tortillasYesterday I had a party. Today I didnt have classes.My mom had my
wallet last night. My mom didnt have her purse
16. PRONUNCIATION. Practice with a partner and locate the regular verbs
according to their pronunciation. (See the verb list in the appendix). /d/ /t/ / id /Play
played Walk walked Need neededMail mailed Stop stopped Wait waitedTry tried
Look looked Visit visited
17. Expressions for Past Tense last ago yesterdaylast night 10 minutes ago
yesterdaylast Sunday an hour ago yesterday morninglast week three days ago
yesterday afternoonlast weekend a week ago yesterday eveninglast year a month
ago the day before yesterdaylast month a year ago
18. IRREGULAR VERBS
19. Win BreakFind Give
20. Cut ThinkTake a picture Throw away
21. Hold BuyHurt Hit
22. Write ReadSleep Run
23. Take a bath WinFly Put on

24. Catch ThrowDraw

25. Swim SpeakMake a sandcastle Fight
26. Come GoRide Sing
27. Eat Drink
28. Look for the Past Form of the following verbs in your list.1. Drive ________ 7.get ________ 13.- buy ________2. Take ________ 8.- eat ________ 14.- ring
________3.- run ________ 9.- see ________ 15.- sing ________4.- do ________
10.-forget ________ 16.- bring ________5.- leave ________ 11.- make ________
17.- read ________6. -go ________ 12.- write ________ 18.- hear ________
29. Write the correct form of the verb on the lines. Use the Simple Past Tense. John
Lennon (be) _________ born in 1940 in Liverpool, England, where he (grow up)
___________. As a teenager, he (meet) _________Paul McCartney, and they
(begin) _________ to write songs together. After several years, they (form)
_________ a new group called the Beatles, with George Harrison and Pete Best.
However, Best (NO-stay) _______________ in the group. Bingo Starr (join)
_________ the group in place of Best. In 1964 the group (perform) _________ its
first hit son Love Me Do. .. Next Page.
30. Write the correct form of the verb on the lines. Use the Simple Past Tense.
Between the years 1962 and 1968 the Beatles (be) _________ the most famous
group in the world. In 1969, Lennon (decide) _________ to perform alone. He (write)
_________ the song Give Peace a Chance and (make) several albums alone. He
also (act) _________ in films. From that time on, he (have) _________ many
problems. For example, he (leave) _________ his wife, Yoko Ono, for a time. Finally,
in 1983, Mark David Chapman (kill) _________ Lennon. Lennons life (end)
_________, but his music lives on today.
31. WH- AND DID QUESTIONS QUESTION ANSWERWhat did you do last I played
soccer with my friends. Sundays?Where did you play soccer? I played soccer in the
park.How long did you stay there? We stayed there for about 2 hours.Did you enjoy
the match? Yes, I did. I got so exhausted but I liked it.Did you do something else that
No, I didnt. Well, I just called my day? girlfriend and went out with her.
32. Ask the following Questions to your partener and answer back too1. Where did
you go on vacation?2. What did you do?3. Who did you see?4. Which movie did you
watch on vacation?5. Did you like it?6. Did you meet someone special?7. Did you
study anything?8. Did you read a magazine?
33. FIND SOMEONE WHO... Name1. watched the news. ____________________2.
listened to the radio. ____________________3. ate at a restaurant.
____________________ visited grandparents. ____________________ studied
for an exam. ____________________ went to the movies.
____________________ cleaned your room. ____________________ took a

shower. ____________________9. played an instrument.

____________________10. worked in the computer. ____________________
34. Now, Its time forpracticing in class! lmarevalillo@hotmail.com

Presentation Transcript
The simple past tense:
The simple past tense Form (structure) Meaning & Use Pronunciation

How do we form the simple past tense . . .?:

How do we form the simple past tense . . .? English has two types of verbs in the past tense:
taught walked studied gave became cried lived did Look at the following list of past tense verbs
which verbs are regular, and which are irregular? Regular verbs Irregular verbs

Regular verbs are verbs that .:

Regular verbs are verbs that . Simple Form Past Tense Walk Study Cry Live end with ed

Irregular verbs are verbs that . . . .:

Irregular verbs are verbs that . . . . DONT end with ed some irregular verbs Have a vowel
change in the past tense: Simple Form Past Tense become became give gave drive drove forget
forgot

other irregular verbsHave a different kind of change::

other irregular verbs Have a different kind of change: Simple Past teach taught bring brought
Leave left Hear heard Buy bought

And some irregular verbsdont change at all . . .:

And some irregular verbs dont change at all . . . Simple Past hit hit put put set set The children
set the table every Sunday. The children set the table last night.

For regular verbs, simply use the ed form of the verb in a positive sentence.:

For regular verbs, simply use the ed form of the verb in a positive sentence. When I was a child,
I ___________ the piano. Donna ______________ and _______________ in Paris when she was younger.

For irregular verbs, use the correct past tense form in positive sentences.:
For irregular verbs, use the correct past tense form in positive sentences. Last week, I ___________
you a letter. The students _____________ a speech in English. They __________ a great job!

For negative sentences,USE:

For negative sentences,USE I went to work yesterday. Carl didnt go to work because he was sick.

Exception = VERB BE!:

Exception = VERB BE! The verb be is special. Never use DID NOT or DIDNT with the verb BE.
Instead, just use:

Meaning & Use:

Meaning & Use In what situations do English speakers use the simple past tense? Completed
actions in the past What are some common time expressions used with the past tense?

Examples::
Examples: I saw Maria yesterday. Last Friday, the students took their spelling and vocabulary
tests. They got married two years ago.

pronunciation:
pronunciation The ed ending in English has:

Some regular verbs end with a t sound::

Some regular verbs end with a t sound: Walked Laughed Washed Talked jumped

Some regular verbs end with a d sound::

Some regular verbs end with a d sound: planned played learned answered loved

Other regular verbs end with an id sound::

Other regular verbs end with an id sound: These verbs have an extra syllable: Simple Form Past
Tense

There are rules that tell us how to pronounce the ed.:

There are rules that tell us how to pronounce the ed. However, Its a good idea for students to
make a list of which ed verbs have a t sound, which have a d sound, and which have an id
sound. And with practice, you can start to learn and memorize correct pronunciation.

Student Practice::
Student Practice: Go to this website with a classmate to practice what you have learned or
reviewed today: http://www.quia.com/quiz/664418.html