DEFINITION
OF THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE
The simple past tense is used to
talk about 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 into the end of a
regular verb but, irregular verb forms have to be learned.
THE
PATTERN
(+) Subject + verb 2 + object
(-) Subject + did + not + verb
1 + object
(?) Did + subject + verb 1 +
object
Example:
(+) I opened the door.
(-) I did not open the door.
(?) Did I open the door?
(+) He work in the bank for four
years.
(-) He did not work in the bank
for four years.
(?) Did he work in the bank for
four years?
THE
USAGE OF SIMPLE PAST TENSE
·
Simple past tense used 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.
·
Simple past tense used 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 8:00,
checked into the hotel at 9:00 and met others at 10:00.
-
Did you add flour, pour in the milk,
and then add the egg?
·
Simple past tense 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
days, etc.
Examples:
-
I lived in Brazil for two
years.
-
Shauna studied Japanese for
five years.
-
We talked on the phone for
thirty minutes.
·
Simple past tense 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 always a child, when I was younger,
etc.
Example:
-
I studied French when I was a
child.
-
She worked at the movie theater
after school.
-
They never went to school,
they always skipped class.
ADVERB USED:
-
Last week -
Last year
-
2 days ago -
In 1945
-
Yesterday morning - Two days ago
-
Yesterday -
An hour ago
-
The other day - A
few minutes ago
-
Last Monday - Last night
Notes:
1.
The are two forms of verbs past, i.e
regular and irregular verbs.
1).
Regular verbs are always ended by –d / -ed.
Example: close-closed
open-opened.
2).
The past forms of irregular verbs are not ended by –e / -ed.
Example: hit- hit
come-came
2. Besides using
a verb, a sentences may use to be. The to be in the simple past tense are was
and were. Was is used for singular subjects, while were is used for plural
subjects.
Examples:
1.) I was very happy yesterday since I could do
the test well.
2.) The boys were not at home when the fire
happened.
3. For
negative sentences and question sentences, used verb 1
4. For
positive sentences, used verb 2.
5. If in the
sentences there’s the word form (was/were), could, might, must, so only word
assistants (modals) are placed in front of the subject.
Examples:
(+) The train was ten minutes late.
(-) The train was not ten minutes late.
(?) Was the train ten minutes late?
Here are examples of text that
uses the simple past tense.
One day I was setting in the local library, I started to
read a medical encyclopedia that was lying on the table in front of me. The
first illness I read about was cholera. As I read the list of symptoms, it
occurred to me that perhaps I had cholera myself. I sat for a while, too
frightened to move.
Then, in a kind of dream, I started to turn the pages of the
book again. I came to malaria. Yes, there was no doubt about it – I had malaria
too. And I certainly had hepatitis. And yellow fever. And so it went on. I read
through the whole book, and by the end I came to the conclusion that I had
every illness. There was only one illness I didn’t have – and that was
housemaid’s knee.
I sat and thought, and I became more and more worried. I
wondered how long I had to live. I examined myself. I felt my pulse. At first,
I couldn’t find it at all; then, suddenly it seems start off. I looked at my
watch to time it – it was beating 147 times a minute. I tried to feel my heart.
I couldn’t feel it. It wasn’t beating. I stuck my tongue out and tried to look
at it. I could only see the end of it, but from that I was even more certain
than before that I had yellow fever.
I went straight to my doctor, who was a good friend of mine.
“What’s the matter with you?” he asked. “I have every illness in the medical
encyclopedia.” I told him how I read the medical encyclopedia. Then he opened
my mouth and looked at my tongue, and he felt mu pulse, and he listened to my
heart. Then he sat down and wrote a prescription. It said:
- 3 good meals every day
- A two-mile walk every day morning
- Be in bed at 11 o’clock every night
- Don’t read medical books!
I followed the doctor’s instructions, and I am happy to say
that I now feel quite well again.
