Past Simple Tense

Past Simple Tense 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, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:              How do we make the Past Simple Tense? To make the past simple tense, we use: past form only or auxiliary did + base form Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and regular verbs: V1 base V2 past V3 past participle regular verb work explode like worked exploded liked worked exploded liked irregular verb go see sing went saw sang gone seen sung The structure for positive sentences in the past simple tense is: subject + main verb past The structure for negative sentences in the past simple tense is: subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb did base The structure for question sentences in the past simple tense is: auxiliary verb + subject + main verb did base The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he did etc). And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the main verbs go andwork: subject auxiliary verb main verb + I went to school. You worked very hard. - She did not go with me. We did not work yesterday. ? Did you go to London? Did they work at home? Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these examples: subject main verb + I, he/she/it was here. You, we, they were in London. - I, he/she/it was not there. You, we, they were not happy. ? Was I, he/she/it right? Were you, we, they late? Use: how do we use the past simple tense? 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 tense: 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 time or place of the event, we must use t he 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 tense. We may use 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, and ordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank  his..." Past Simple Tense Quiz 1 I  goed went gone  to the mall after school.  Click for answer went  2 My brother  seen saw sees  a bear an hour ago.  Click for answer saw  3  Did Are Does  Mike visit his grandmother last night?  Click for answer Did  4 Alex did not  work worked working  last weekend.  Click for answer work  5  Was Were Are  Judy and Liz at last month's meeting?  Click for answer Were  6 We  were was did  not happy after the sad ending.  Click for answer were  7  Are Did Do  you see Jody's new dog yesterday?  Click for answer Did  8 Sorry, I  wasn't didn't am not  hear you at the door.  Click for answer didn't  9 I  studying study studied  English for two years.  Click for answer studied  10 What  do did were  you eat for lunch yesterday?  Click for answer did