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026 - SAY WHAT YOU DID IN THE PAST.

(Compulsory Supplementary Material for Beta 7.
Suggested Supplementary Material for Gamma Elementary Module)

We use the Simple Past tense to talk about an event that took place at a definite point
of time in the past. We recognize this verbal tense by the use of adverbs of time such as:
yesterday or last year.

See how we form the Simple Past tense:

Statements:
I/You/He/She/We/They missed the train yesterday.

Negatives:
I/You/He/She/We/They did not miss the train yesterday.

Questions:
Did I/you/he/she/we/they miss the train yesterday?

Notice that in English we have regular verbs which add -ed to form the Simple Past, but
there are also irregular verbs which are spelled differently.

EXERCISE 1. Read the following conversation between Sally and her landlady Mrs.
Simpson, and then ask the questions that correspond to the requests in numbers
1 through 6.
It is breakfast time at Mrs. Simpson’s home, where Sally is staying.

Sally : Oh dear. I got home very late last night. I hope I didn’t disturb you.
Mrs. Simpson : No, I didn’t hear a thing.
Sally : George and I went to the movies and we missed the last train.
Mrs. Simpson : What did you do?
Sally : Well, we went to the bus stop, but the buses were not running, so we took a
taxi.
Mrs. Simpson : My goodness, was it expensive?
Sally : Yes, he charged us US$ 20,00.

Example: Ask if Sally got home late last night

Did Sally get home late last night?

1. Ask if Mrs. Simpson heard Sally coming in.

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2. Ask if Sally came home late.

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3. Ask who Sally went to the movies with.

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4. Ask how they came home.

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5. Ask why they didn’t come home by bus.

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6. Ask how much the taxi driver charged them.

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EXERCISE 2. Write sentences telling three things you did, and three things you didn’t do
last summer vacation.

1. ____________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________

4. ____________________________________________________________________

5. ____________________________________________________________________

6. ____________________________________________________________________

EXERCISE 3. Write appropriate interrogative , affirmative or negative sentences

according to the following given ideas. Use the past tense.
Example: Who/you see/at the meeting?
Who did you see at the meeting?

1. I see/Jack/but/not Amy.

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2. What plays/they see/at Stratford?

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3. He buy/some chocolates/but/not any books.

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4. Where/Angelo go/in Europe?

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5. They see/Hamlet/but/not Julius Caesar.

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6. You enjoy/your vacation?

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7. My nephew/not/go to/the university/this year.

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8. You come to/English class/three times a week?

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9. What time/the plane/from Hamburg/arrive?

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10. National Express’s employees/go on strike/last month.

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Say what you did in the past

KEY CHECK

EXERCISE 1. Ask the questions that correspond to the requests in numbers

1 through 6.

1. Did Mrs. Simpson hear Sally coming in?

2. Did Sally come home late?

3. Who did Sally go to the movies with?

4. How did they come home?

5. Why didn’t they come home by bus?

Why didn’t Sally and George come home by bus?

6. How much did the taxi driver charge them?

EXERCISE 2. Write sentences telling three things you did, and three things you
didn’t do last summer vacation. These are possible answers.
Check word order, verb tense , use of «to be», and pronouns.

I went to the beach.

I got sunburned.
I traveled to the south of Chile. I traveled to southern Chile.

I didn’t go to the beach.

I didn’t travel.
I didn’t do anything.

EXERCISE 3. Write appropriate interrogative, affirmative or negative sentences.

Use the past tense.

1. I saw Jack but not Amy. I saw Jack but I didn’t see Amy.

2. What plays did they see at Stratford? What did they see at Stratford?

3. He bought some chocolates but not any books.

He bought some chocolates but he didn’t buy any books.

4. Where did Angelo go in Europe? Where in Europe did Angelo go?

5. They saw Hamlet but they did not see Julius Caesar.

6. Did you enjoy your vacation?

7. My nephew did not (didn’t) go to the university this year.

8. Did you come to English class three times a week?

9. What time did the plane from Hamburg arrive?

What time did the plane arrive from Hamburg?

10. The National Express’s employees went on strike last month.