LÍNGUA INGLESA - ASPECTOS

MORFOSSINTÁTICOS

O PASSADO: ASPECTO E MODO E SUAS

IMPLICAÇÕES SEMÂNTICAS, LEXICAIS E
PRAGMÁTICAS

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Olá!
Ao final desta aula, você será capaz de:

1. Learn how to form and use the past tense verbs: The Simple Past, The Past Progressive, The Past Perfect

Simple and The Past Perfect Progressive, Used to and Going to;

2. learn common time expressions related to the past tense verbs.

1 The Simple Past Tense

The Simple Past states that an action or situation was finished in the absolute past and bears no connection

with the present. The point of time in the past in which the action occurred is well defined.

I visited my uncle in Paris last summer.

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Fique ligado
Watch out!
1 - When we say that the time is definite, it does not mean that it has to be a point in the past.
In English, definite time in the past means any phrase that answer the question: When? I lived
in Paris when I was young. When did you live in Paris? When I was young (Still we don’t know
when he/she was young).
2 - Details of news – when we are telling something, the first verb may be in the present
perfect if the time is not definite. Example: I’ve hurt my leg. From now on whatever is related
to that action is definite: I fell off a ladder when I was painting my bedroom.
3 - If the action occurred in the past, but is still true (I have been teaching grammar for 10 years
.) or happened at an undefined time in the past (I have seen some good French movies recently
.), you need the Present Perfect tenses.

1.1 Common Time Expressions

The Simple Past is used with time expressions informing about when things exactly happened.

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The Past Progressive is used with time expressions informing that the action was taking place over a stretch of

time, which was of temporary nature. It is common for the Past Progressive to appear in a dependent clause that

constitutes the time modifier of the main clause.

2 The Past Progressive Tense

The Past Progressive describes an action which went on during a stretch of time in the past and finished. Other

actions may have happened at the same time (short and immediate or ongoing).

While I was walking down the street yesterday, I suddenly met my boss.

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NB: Remember you can’t use this tense or any continuous tense with stative verbs.

3 The Past Perfect Simple

States that an action was completed in the past before another point in time or action in the past (the latter

expressed in the Simple Past ), or that the action happened in the very distant past. This tense is formed by using

the auxiliary verb have (had) with the past participle form of the verb. By the time Dona had saved enough

money, she bought a new car.

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Fique ligado
Watch out!
We never use the past perfect alone, but always in relation to some other past tense situation
or action, stated or implied.

4 Simple Past Tense X Past Perfect Tense

5 Used To
USAGE – It means that something often happened in the past but does not happen now. There is no present

tense of USED TO. We use the simple present tense of a normal verb to talk about things that often happened

these days.

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Saiba mais
As children, our mother used to read us bedtime stories. I used to eat butter a lot, but now I
don’t touch it. I didn't use to drink coffee, though.
NOTE: BE USED To (+ -ing form) means to have done something so often that it no longer
seems new or strange.
Example: We are used to living in London now, but everything was new and exciting at first.

6 Going To
USAGE – We use the going to past to indicate an action which was planned or intended, but which did not

happen.

Example: I was going to do it yesterday, but I was too busy.

REMEMBER: PRONUNCIATION OF REGULAR PAST PARTICIPLES AND SIMPLE PAST

/d/ When the pronunciation of the infinitive ends in a VOWEL OR VOICED CONSONANT.

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O que vem na próxima aula
Na próxima aula, você vai estudar:
• How to form and use the future: The simple future, The Future Continuous, The Future Perfect, The
Future Perfect Continuous, Be To, Be About To;
• common time expressions related to the future.

CONCLUSÃO
Nesta aula, você:
• Learned how to form and use the past tense verbs: The Simple Past, The Past Progressive, The Past
Perfect Simple and The Past Perfect Progressive, Used to and Going to;
• learned common time expressions related to the past tense verbs.

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