Simple Past Tense:

Affirmative Statements

Оh' А|bеr||
You werеa qoad
man bul a
l^ ia\t na?f I

жPOINт
Сhесk thе yеor thеsеsеntеncеs
oppеored in o nеwspoper,
..PoetAlbеrt Rimes ]ivеs in Belяium.''

П rgвg t rggg
..PoetAlbert Rimes livеd in
Belgium most of his life."
ш 1989 ш 1999

сl|ARтсI{/Eсl( тHE sIlUtPLЕPAsт TЕNSE:8Е

Сhесk thе corrесt Suв;пст | Bt
onswеr'
l/Hе/She/|t was
How many forms y o u n gi n 1 9 3 0 .
does the past tense WelYou*/Тhey wеrе
of hehave? *Yorzis both singular and plural
П o''" П t."o
What dо you add to тHE sllt'PLE PAsт ТЕNSЕ:RЕGULAR vЕRBs
the base form of Suвlrст l Vппв l
rеgular vеrbs to fоrm
thе рast tense? movеd
I/He/Shе/It/We/You/Тhеy fiftyyеarsago.
ш -doт.ed ш .t workеd

тHE slпnPlЕ PAsт ТЕNSЕ:IRRЕGULARvЕRвs

Suв;пст l v.," l
wrotе poеtry.

I/Hе/Shе/It/We/You/Тhеy
beсame famous.

built a monument.

24
 Sirnple Рast тense: Affirmative Staternerrts l 25

EхPREssжж
Сompletethе сhort,

Bдsв Foпм oг Vппв Slмprв Pдsт Тrшsв

oe was ano were

сome came
5aVе saved

й r a m тn аr Еx рlaпа t iо пs Е'xаrтзр|es
l. Usе thе simрlе рast tense to ta|kabout things r АIbertRimeslived in the twentiethсentury.
that arе now finished. r Hе was a ooеt.
*?* r Hе wrotе poetry.

Past................х..........'....i.....'....................,..>
Hе wos o poеt. i.

2. You сan u5еthе simplе past tense with I Bу |93o, he was famous.
timе exprеssions that refеrto thе past I Hе diеd more than tеn yеors ogo,
(Iostwееk, bу 1980, in thе twentiethсеntury,
fifty уеors ogo).

3. Тhe simple past tеnsе of rеgu|ar verbs is Bдsв Foпм Slмplв Pдsт
formеd by adding -d or -еd, Iive Iived
join joined
pray played
} Bв сдпвгul! Тhеrеare often spelIingсhanges study studiеd
whеn you add .ed to the vеrb. hop hoppеd
Мany сommon verbsarе irrеgular. bе was/wеrе
Тhеir paSttеnsеis not formеd by adding havе had
.d or -еd. get got
go wеnt

Сheсk
it out!
For spelling rules for the simple past tense of regular verЬs, see Appendix 21 on
page З44.
For pronunсiation rules for the simple past tense ofregulaт vеrbs, see Appendix 28
on page 348.
For a ]ist ofirregтlar verЬs, see Appendix 1 on pagеs 336_337.
26 l Unit о

o Rеаd obout lаponesе poеt Mаtsuo Bosho. Undеrlinеаll the rеgulorpost

iDENтiFY
tеnsеvеrbs,Сirclе oll the irrеgulorpost tensеvеrbs,

Matsuo Basho@БDmore than 1'000 three-line

poems' or..haiku.'' He сhose topiсs fiоm nature, daily

life, and human emotions. He bесame оne of Japan's

most famous poets, and his work established haiku as

an impоrtant art form.

Matsuo Basho was born near Kyоtо in 1644'

His father wantеd him tо beсome а sarnurai (warrior).

Instеad, Matsuo movеd to Edо (presеnt-day Tokyo)

and studied pоetry. By 1681' hе had many studеnts

and admirers.
Basho's home burned down in 1682. Thеn, in

1683, his mothеr diеd. After these events, Basho felt

restless. Starting in 1684, he travеlеd оn foot and on

horsebaсk al] over Japаn. Sometimes his friends joined him, and they wrоtе poеtry

together. Travel was diffiсult in thе seventeеnth сentury, and Basho often got siсk. He

died in 1694, during a journey to Osaka. At that time he had 2,000 students.

o Reod this biogrophу of onothеr poet, Еmilу Dickinson'

сl]00sE& сOff|PLEтЕ
Сomplеtеit using thе simplе post tеnsеform of thе vеrbsin thе boхеs.

bе beсome lead leavе )< write

Еmily Diсkinson, one of thе most pоpular Ameriсan poets,

lived from 1830to 1886.Shе wrote
t.
about love. naturе. and time. These were her

favorite themеs' Diсkinson led an unusual life,

After just one year of сoliege, she became a reсluse-

5.
shе almost never left her hоuse in Amherst,

Massaсhusetts. At hоme, she saw no one eхсept hеr

7.
familу, and she only wore white.
8.
 Simple Past Тeпse: Affirпlаtive Stаtеmeгlts l 27

address appear happen write

In addition to her poetry,Diсkinson wrote many letters.Other

9.
people always addressed the envelopes for her. Durins her lifetime only
10.
seven of hеr 1,700 poems appeared in print-and this happened
11.
'12.

without her knowlеdge or permissiоn.

Now сomplеtеtheselines from o poеm bу Emilу Dickinson,

bite .}"Ф drink eat hop

A bird .l down the walk:

3.
He did nоt knоw I
saw

He bit an angle-worm in halves

15.
And ate the fellow raw.

And then he drank a dew

17.
Frоm a сonvenient gтass'

And then hopped sidewise to the wall

18.
To let a beetle pass.

ЕDlTC Reod port of а studеnt,sjournаl, Find ond сorreсtеight mistokesin the use of thе
simplе post tеnsе.Thе first mistokeis olreody сorrеcted.

enjoуed
Todауin c|a.sswе rеаd a ?oеmby RobertFros|.I reallyeqэу it. lt was aboцtа
chose
______
?еraonwhochoosеdbеIlllееоIworoаdsin а torеst' Bdore hе mаdе his decision,hе
spent
______
s?еntsa lot at tirnetn7ingto decidеwhichroаdto fotlow.Мany peopte IhoughIthе
was took
____ ____
?еrsonwеrcFrost.|nrhе еnd,hе IаkеIhе roаdIhаIwаs |еssIrаvе|еdon. |1edеcidеd
changed
to bе а poеt.Ihаtdеcision ______
cnangеhis titea lot.
decided
______
SomеtimеsI lеe| а tittletikeFrost' тwo\еars ago I decidеto comeIo this
was
coцnIr\.ThаI____
werеIhe biggеstdеcisionot rnytife.