GESTIÓN DE FORMACIÓN PROFESIONAL INTEGRAL

PROCEDIMIENTO DESARROLLO CURRICULAR

GUÍA DE APRENDIZAJE

SIMPLE PAST TENSE

The simple past tense, sometimes called the preterit, is used to talk about a completed action in a time before now.
The simple past is the basic form of past tense in English. The time of the action can be in the recent past or the distant
past and action duration is not important.

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

Past Time EXPRESSIONS EXAMPLES

Expressions
FREQUENCY: often, sometimes, always I sometimes walked home at lunchtime.
I often brought my lunch to school.
A DEFINITE last week, when I was a child, yesterday, We saw a good film last week.
POINT IN TIME: six weeks ago Yesterday, I arrived in Geneva.
She finished her work at seven o'clock
I went to the theatre last night
AN INDEFINITE the other day, ages ago, a long time ago People lived in caves a long time ago.
POINT IN TIME: She played the piano when she was a child.

Structures

AFFIRMATIVE

The affirmative of the simple past tense is simple.

 I was in Japan last year
 She had a headache yesterday.
 We did our homework last night.

NEGATIVE AND INTERROGATIVE

For the negative and interrogative simple past form of "to do" as an ordinary verb, use the auxiliary "DID NOT -
DIDN'T "
e.g. We didn't do our homework last night.

GFPI-F-019 V3
 SERVICIO NACIONAL DE APRENDIZAJE SENA
Procedimiento de Desarrollo Curricular
GUÍA DE APRENDIZAJE

The negative of "have" in the simple past is usually formed using the auxiliary "did", but sometimes by simply adding
not or the contraction "".

The interrogative form of "have" in the simple past normally uses the auxiliary "DID".

EXAMPLES

 We didn't have any money.

 We didn't have time to visit the Eiffel Tower.
 We didn't do our exercises this morning.
 Did you have a bicycle when you were young?
 Did you do much climbing in Switzerland?
 We were at home last week
 We weren’t at home last week

Remember:

In affirmative sentences you use the VERB IN PAST SIMPLE

 Erika went to Yondo yesterday.

In negative you use the auxiliary DIDN’T + VERB INFINITIVE

 Cindy didn’t go to the stadium last night.

In questions, there are two different questions, OPEN QUESTIONS whose answers are different and CLOSE
QUESTION whose answers are YES NO

OPEN QUESTIONS
WH + DID + S + VERB (infinitive) + C?
Where did you travel last year?
WHEN - MOMENT WHAT – GENERAL WHY - REASON
WHERE – PLACE WHICH - OPTIONAL
WHO – PERSON – NAME HOW – PROCESS – STATE

CLOSE QUESTIONS
DID + S + VERB (infinitive) + C?
Did you travel last year?

Let’s practice
Complete the sentences with the SIMPLE PAST of the verbs in parentheses:
Download the list of irregular verbs in this link: https://www.e-grammar.org/download/most-common-irregular-verbs.pdf

1. They __________________ (watch) TV last night.

2. Priscila ____________________ (talk) to her friends all day.
3. I ___________________ (have) a terrible headache yesterday.
4. Bob _____________________ (come) home from school late.
5. They ___________________ (arrive) late and _________________ (miss) the bus.
6. She ____________________ (study) hard and ___________________(pass) the exam.
 SERVICIO NACIONAL DE APRENDIZAJE SENA
Procedimiento de Desarrollo Curricular
GUÍA DE APRENDIZAJE

7. He ____________________ (call) the office to tell them he was sick.

8. I ___________________ (speak) to the director as he was leaving the room.
9. Dr. Johnson ______________________ (get up) early this morning.
10. Mary _____________________ (do) her homework and _______ _________ (go) to school.
11. Chris ____________________ (find) a ten-dollar bill.
12. The dog ______________________ (follow) us down the road.
13. Those students _____________________ (work) hard last semester.
14. Lúcio ___________________ (stop) at the corner and __________________ (call) us.
15. I ___________________ (try) to talk to Helen last night.
16. I ___________________ (pay) the phone bill yesterday.
17. My dad ____________________ (catch) a cold when he ________________ (be – was - were) in Canada.
18. She _____________________ (leave) home early yesterday.

ENDING RULE EXAMPLE

LIKED
…E +D LOVED
CHANGED
(VOWEL) + Y + ED PLAYED
STAYED
(CONSONANT) + Y (Y) STUDYIED
IED CRYIED
CLEANED
OTHERS +ED WATCHED
CALLED
MISSED
1 SYLLABLE *STOPPED
CONS + VOWEL + CONSO *BANNED
*SWAPPED