Past Simple
The Past Simple tense is sometimes called the "preterite
tense". We can use several tenses and forms to talk about the past, but
the Past Simple tense is the one we use most often.
In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the Past Simple
tense,
How do we make the Past Simple tense?
There are two basic structures for the Past Simple tense:
1. Positive sentences
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subject
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+
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main verb
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|
Past Simple
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2. Negative and question sentences
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subject
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+
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auxiliary do
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+
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main verb
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conjugated in Past Simple
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did
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base
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Look at these examples with the main verbs go (irregular) and work (regular):
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subject
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auxiliary verb
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main verb
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+
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I
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went
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to school.
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You
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|
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worked
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very hard.
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-
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She
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did
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not
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go
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with me.
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We
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did
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not
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work
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yesterday.
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|
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?
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Did
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you
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go
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to London?
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Did
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they
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work
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at home?
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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.
Past Simple with main verb be
The structure of the Past Simple with the
main verb be is:
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subject
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+
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main verb be
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conjugated in Past Simple
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||
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was, were
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Look at these examples with the main
verb be:
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subject
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main verb be
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+
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I, he/she/it
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was
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here.
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You, we, they
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were
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in London.
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|
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-
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I, he/she/it
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was
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not
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there.
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You, we, they
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were
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not
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happy.
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?
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Was
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I, he/she/it
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right?
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Were
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you, we, they
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late?
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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.
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:
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The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.
She went to the door. We did not hear the telephone. Did you see that car? |
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past
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present
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future
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The action is in the past.
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Here are some long events with the Past
Simple tense:
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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? |
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past
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present
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future
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The action is in the past.
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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
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.
Good 👌👌👌👌
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