4 SIMPLE PAST TENSE

Another form of tenses is past tense. Just like the present tense like we have learned yesterday now we
are going to discuss about past tense. And I hope this notes will help you refresh your memory about this
topic.

SIMPLE PAST TENSE

The simple past is a verb tense that is use to talk about things that happened or existed before now. It
indicates that an action took place before the present moment and that has no real connection with the
present time.

Here are five uses of simple past tense

1. Completed action in the past

Use the simple past to express the idea that an actions are started and finished at a specific time in
the past. Sometimes the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one
specific time in mind.

Examples : I saw a movie yesterday

I went to Japan last year
2. A series of completed actions
We use the simple past to list a series of completed action in the past
Examples : I finished work, walked to the beach an d found a nice place to swim
He arrived from the airport at 08.00, checked into the hotel at 9.00 and the others
at 10.00

3. Duration in the past

The simple past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. Duration is a longer
action and it often indicated by expression such as for two years, for five years, all day, all year,
etc.
 Examples : I lived in Brazil for two years
We talked on the phone for thirty minutes
4. Habits in the past
The simple past can be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can be have the
same meaning as “used to”. To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add
expression such as always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc
Examples : I studied French when I was a child
They never went to school, they always skipped the class.
5. Past facts or generalization
The simple past can be used to describe past fact or generalization which are no longer true. This
use of the simple past is quite similar to the expression of “used to”.
Examples : She was a shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing
Did you live in Bali when you were a child?

The characteristic of simple past tense are :

1. It always use the verb 2 to indicate an activity that happened in the past, or use to be was/were
2. Using past tense time signals such as last night, yesterday, etc
3. Use regular and irregular verbs

SIMPLE PAST TENSE FORMULA

1. Nominal simple past tense

In nominal sentences, the predicate part will be filled by to be “was/were” as the tense to be
equivalent to “am/are” of the simple present tense. The formula of nominal simple past tense is as
follows :
Subject Predicate (non-verb)/”to be” Complement
I
He Noun
She Was
It
Singular subject Adjective
You
They
Were
We Adverb
Plural subject
 The complete formulas are follows :

Positive sentence Subject + to be (was/were) + complement

Negative sentence Subejct + to be (was/were) + not + complement

Interrogative sentence To be (was/were) + subject + complement

Examples :
a. Positive : She was sick
Negative : She was not sick
Interrogative : Was she sick?
b. Positive : He was happy to work here
Negative : He was not happy to work here
Interrogative : Was he happy to work here?

2. Verbal simple past tense

Verb 2 plays a role as a predicate in simple past tense. This verb 2 has changed it form since it is
influenced by (past) time. The good news is that the verb in simple past tense are not influenced by
the subject. So, whatever the subject, the form of the verb will remain the same. The following is a
simple past tense verbal formula

Subject + verb 2+ complement

The formula above only applies to positive sentence. If you want to express negative sentences or
interrogative sentences the formula is as follows :

Negative sentence Subejct + did + not + verb 1

Interrogative sentence Did + subject + verb 1

 Examples :

Positive : The nurse went to the hospital yesterday

Negative : The nurse didn’t go to the hospital yesterday

Interrogative : Did the nurse go to the hospital yesterday?

REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERB

In English, there were two types of verb changes based on time, which are known as regular verb and
irregular verb.

1. Regular Verb
In this verb, each verb is always added with the ending –ed, -d, or –ied after the word root or the
first form of the verb. However, you need to pay attention to the these few rules.
a. If the verb ends in –e, just add –d
Example : move become moved
b. If the verbs ends in aonsonant, just add –ed
Example : dump become dumped
c. If the words ends in –y, it usually changes to –i if it follows a consonant, then add –ed
Example : cry become cried

Some examples of the regular verbs in a sentence are as follow :

- She moved to the other division

- I didn’t dump a banana peel into the trash
- Did the baby cry last night?
2. Irregular Verb
In accordance with its meaning, which is an irregular verb, this verb changes from the first form of
the verb. The irregular verbs are also divided into 3 types.
a. Verb 1, Verb 2 and Verb 3 are not the same form
b. The verbs 2 and verb 3 has the same form of the verb 1 and nothing is added at the end of the
word

c. The verb 2 and verb 3 has the same form but it differ from verb 1

Some examples of irregular verbs in simple past tense

- She fell off the bike yesterday
- They didn’t hurt the cat last night
- Did she keep the money last week?
 EXERCISE

I. WRITE THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERB IN THE SPACE BELOW

1) When I was in school, I ______ (to do) my homework everyday

2) She ______ (to like) chocolate milk when she was a girl
3) It always _________ (to rain) when we lived in Seattle
4) Joey and Mike _________ (to be) friends a long time a go
5) I _________ (to try) to make a snowman last winter
6) Our favourite game when we were little ________(to be) chess
7) It ______ (to be) so sunny yesterday
8) Jeremy ___________ (to want) to go to the beach this summer
9) Shelby _______ to save $100
10) It ________ (to snow) last December
11) I ______ (eat) dinner at six o’clock yesterday
12) A : __________ Helen _________ (drive) to work? B: Yes, she _________
13) My neighbor _______ (buy) a new car last week
14) They ________ ( go) to Italy on their last summer holiday
15) A: _________ they ______(swim) at the beach? B : No, they _______
16) My family and I ______ (see) a comedy movie last night
17) First, we ______ (do)exercise, and the we _____ (drink) some water
18) Suddenly, the animal jumped and _______(bite) my hand
19) What time _______ (do) you_______ (get up) this morning?
20) The Wright brothers ______ (fly) the first airplane in 1903.

II. REWRITE THE SENTENCES IN THE PAST SIMPLE

1. They collect cans. _____________________________________last year

2. You arrive late. _____________________________________ yesterday morning
3. She listen to the music. _____________________________________ last night
4. He plays basketball. _____________________________________ two days ago
5. Does Marry carry an umbrella? ____________________________________last night?
6. Do they live alone? ______________________________________ three years ago
7. Do Peter and Susan walk to school? ______________________________ a week ago
III. REWRITE THE SENTENCES IN THE NEGATIVE FORM

1. The gang robbed the bank last night. ______________________________________________

2. I dance a lot last Saturday ______________________________________________
3. Joan played chess yerterday morning ______________________________________________
4. You studied hard last weekend ______________________________________________

IV. REWRITE THE SENTENCE IN THE NEGATIVE FORM

1. John carried Carol’s bag ____________________________________________________

2. I missed my friends ____________________________________________________
3. You arrived last night ____________________________________________________
4. He watches TV last evening ____________________________________________________