Past Simple:
Warm up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1y_v2wev20
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 practice to check your understanding.
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
+ 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?
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.
You, we, they were not happy.
subject main verb be
? Was I, he/she/it right?
Were you, we, they late?
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:
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
• Past habits
• 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.
• She always went to work on foot when she was there.
• 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, and ordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the
corner of the lounge and quietly drank his..."
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.
Practice: A) Make the past simple, positive, negative or question:
1. I _________________ (not / drink) any water last night.
2. She _________________ (get on) the bus in the centre of the city.
3. What time _________________ (he / get up) yesterday?
4. Where _________________ (you / get off) the train?
5. I _________________ (not / change) trains at Victoria.
6. We _________________ (wake up) very late.
7. What _________________ (he / give) his mother for Christmas?
8. I _________________ (receive) £300 when my uncle _________________ (die).
9. We _________________ (not / use) the computer last night.
10. _________________ (she / make) good coffee?
11. They _________________ (live) in Paris.
12. She _________________ (read) the newspaper yesterday.
13. I _________________ (not / watch) TV.
14. He _________________ (not / study) for the exam.
15. _________________ (he / call) you?
b) Write a short paragraph about the most important things you did
during the lockdown.
