COURSE MODULE

GENERAL ENGLISH

MODULE 1: UNIT 5
WE GRADUATED FROM
WIDYATAMA
UNIVERSITY!

Understand English structures and use them to talk about

past experiences.

Fakultas Program Studi Tatap Muka Kode MK Disusun Oleh

Bahasa 190001009 Tim Dosen

05
Abstract Competency

This unit explains how to use Simple Student will be able to understand
Past Tense to talk about past how to use simple past tense and
experiences. later apply it to talk about past
experiences in a job interview.
A. GRAMMAR FOCUS: SIMPLE PAST

Getting Started

Read the text bellow and pay attention to the italic words.

Akane's Winter Vacation

Last year, I went to Portugal just after Christmas. And I stayed there until… well, just

after New Year's this year. In Portugal, I met up with one of my friends from Toronto. He had

family that lived in Portugal, because his family was originally from Portugal.

So, they were kind enough to let me stay with them. I didn’t know any Portuguese,

except for some simple words like “hello”, and “thank you”. I learned some simple words

through an audio CD, before I went there. And the people that I stayed with didn’t know very

much English either. However, we got along surprisingly well.

They were surprised that I was able to eat some of their exotic foods. They made

some delicious meals every single day, like octopus, tripe and rabbit. It is quite exotic, but I

thought it was quite good. They also made some excellent desserts, like crème caramel, and a

rich sponge cake that they call Paon d’lo.

Source: https://www.elllo.org/english/beginner/B25-AkaneHoward-Vacation.htm

Mini discussion:

 Can you identify regular and irregular verbs in the text above?
 What are the differences between the two verbs?

The simple past tense, sometimes called the preterite, 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 the action duration is not

important.
 Examples:

Ben had to make a business trip to America three days ago.

We negotiated with new clients to close a deal yesterday.

Robert worked as a teacher in 1995.

I was sick so I took days off.

You always use the simple past to say when something happened, so it is associated

with certain past time expressions:

a. Frequency: often, sometimes, always

Examples:

He dropped me off at the airport.

I often brought my lunch to work.

b. A definite point in time: last week, when I was a child, yesterday, six weeks ago

Examples:

We saw a good film last week.

Yesterday, I arrived in Geneva.

She finished her work at seven o'clock

I went to the theatre last night

c. An indefinite point in time: the other day, ages ago, a long time ago

Examples:

People lived in caves a long time ago.

 She played the piano when she was a child.

Note: the word ago is a useful way of expressing the distance into the past. It is

placed after the period of time: a week ago, three years ago, a minute ago.

Regular and Irregular Verbs

The simple past tense of most verbs ends in -ed. These verbs are called regular verbs.

Base form Simple Past

Aim Aimed

bake Baked

Open Opened

Happen Happened

Pull Pulled

Push Pushed

Scold Scolded

Shout Shouted

Visit Visited

Wait Waited

Walk Walked

Work Worked

Examples:

The secretary opened the door for us.

Sally showed up late for work.

That event happened long ago.

He visited my office last week.

They walked to the cafeteria together yesterday.

They worked until twelve last night.

John tried to fix the copy machine.

William Tell aimed at the apple on his son’s head.

The simple past form of some verbs does not end in -ed. Such verbs are called irregular

verbs.

The simple past tense of some irregular verbs does not change at all.

Base form Simple Past

Beat Beat

Burst Burst

Cost Cost

Cut Cut

Hit Hit

Hurt Hurt

Put Put

Read Read

Split Split

shut shut

Examples:

He hit the ball over the net.

Our attorney read us the contract this morning.

He shut the door.

I put some sugar in my coffee.

Most irregular verbs, however, take a different form in the simple past tense.
 Base Form Simple past

Bend Bent

Break Broke

Bring Brought

Buy Bought

Fall Fell

Fly Flew

Get Got

Hear Heard

Keep Kept

Lose Lost

Sell Sold

Shoot Shot

Sleep slept

Examples:

I lost my pen on the bus.

We sold our car last week.

The baby slept right thought the night.

Peter got a watch for his birthday.

I heard a noise in the night.

He brought the final paperwork home.

My book fell off the desk.

Was and Were

The verbs was and were are also forms of the verb be.
  Was is the simple past tense of am and is. Use was with the pronouns I, he, she and it,

and with singular nouns.

Examples:

Beethoven was a German composer.

Sue was at the library this morning.

It was very wet on Monday.

Ten years ago, she was only a baby.

He was not well yesterday.

Last year she wasn’t tall enough to reach the high shelf.

Samantha was second in the race, wasn’t she?

 Were is the simple past tense of are. Use were with the pronouns you, we and they, and

with plural nouns.

Examples:

The Romans were brave soldiers.

They were third in the wheelbarrow race.

There weren’t any clouds in the sky.

Were you still in bed when I phoned?

We were on the same department.

Those were my best jeans.

Forming The Simple Past

Affirmative

Subject + verb 2

Anne Went

Sam Liked

Lucas + was

They + were

Negative

Subject + did not/didn’t + infinitive without to/verb1

Anne + didn’t go

Sam + didn’t like

Lucas + was not/wasn’t

They + were not/were

Interrogative

Did + subject + infinitive without to/verb 1

Did + Anne go

Did + Sam like

Was + Lucas

Were + They
B. GRAMMAR PRACTICE

I. Write was or were in the blank spaces in the following passage.

My name is Gina. I graduated from Widyatama University. I 1. _______ awarded the best

student with a GPA of 4.00 in Business Management. The subjects I learned there 2.

_________ Entrepreneurship, Management, and Office Administrator. I mainly learned about

economics and management, but I also learned about other topics such as finance, public

relations and marketing. We 3. ________ also trained how to start a business. The learning

environment 4. _________ awesome. I enjoyed having a discussion with my classmates and

lecturers. They 5. _________ all very positive and encouraging. The extracurricular activities

I joined there 6. _______ various. I 7. _____ involved in debate club, choir, and karate. My

mom and dad 8. ________ supportive. They encouraged me to be an active student. Overall, I

9. _______ quite happy studying there. There 10. ________ many benefits and meaningful

experiences I obtained there.

II. Draw a circle around the correct past tense verb in each sentence below.

1. I (was / were) majoring in Business Management.

2. I (graduate/ graduated) in 2018.

3. My lecturer (teached/ taught) English for Business.

4. The subject that (catched/ caught) my attention the most (was/ were) Finance.

5. I (getted / got) the knowledge I need to be a good entrepreneur.

6. We (had/ haved) so much fun studying there.

7. The lecturer (shew / showed) me many interesting videos about those who pursue

their careers in business.

8. They never (failed / failt) to amaze me.

9. We (practist / practiced) how to implement the lessons into a real business plan.

10. All the lessons I (acquire/ acquired) there helps me become who I am today.
C. SPEAKING TOPIC: DESCRIBING PAST EXPERIENCES

"You cannot create experience. You must undergo it."

- Albert Camus

Experiences are something that form a part of your life. They are memories of what

you have been a part of. Think a little deeper and you will realize that an experience

could make or break your life. It could be a good, unforgettable experience or a bad

one that you would probably like to erase off your mind log for good! Well, just

imagine having an experience that you would like to share with your friends, family

and colleagues. For instance: You have been on a trip to Goa lately and you have had

the best time and experience of your life. It's a trip that you want to hold on to forever

and tell your near and dear one's all about it! A few simple steps and you are set to

head on your journey of the description. Make sure you are handy with a set of words,

so that you can narrate your experiences in fluent English.

Pay heed to the minute details:

When describing an experience to someone, always make it a point to not forget the

involved details that many a times go unsaid. Remember, it is these small details that

form your entire experience. In short, in this case don't look at the "bigger picture"

instead dig into the minute details of your experience, making it even more interesting

for the listener. Also, when describing a destination, use loads of adjectives, this will

improve your vocabulary and sound impressive as well.

Personal experiences to be mentioned:

When describing past memories, ensure you also insert in the details of what feeling

you went through when you were at the respective moment you are describing. This
will not only make the description interesting, but also enhance your English-speaking

skills. Do not only describe the place and the people, be more insightful and personal

to add your touch to the narrative as well.

Picture yourself back there:

Run back down the memory lane to help you remember what happened when and

how the whole experience was etched in your mind. A feeling of nostalgia should

pass through your veins as you describe your experience to someone, which in the

true sense would mean that you are now mastering the art of description. Similarly,

mastering English as a language, and being confident and accurate while narrating the

description is one of the best ways to learn English.

It is essential that you understand that when you're narrating an experience to

someone, it is important to have their attention for as long as your description lasts.

You should read some books that are based on descriptive writing which will

certainly improve English and make you a favourite storyteller in your gang of friends

and colleagues.

Some examples of phrases/sentences used in describing past experience:

 How were your school memories?

 What was your favourite subject?

 Why did you like it?

 Who taught you?

 Did you do anything fun/exciting/interesting there?

 D. SPEAKING PRACTICE

Work in a group of two or three. Choose one of the topics bellow and make a

conversation. Remember to use the simple past.

1. Your favourite teacher at the senior high school.

2. Your experience of learning a foreign language.

3. Any achievement you obtained at school and what you did to achieve that.

E. MINI PROJECT

Work individually. Tell about your past achievement, it can be any kind of

experience. The story should be 500 words. Don’t forget to use the expressions you

have learned and the target grammar: Simple Past. Tell the story in front of the class.

REFERENCES
EF. “Simple Past Tense.” https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-
grammar/simple-past-tense/
English Café. “Topik Speaking Bahasa Inggris Untuk Percakapan yang Menarik.” 30 July.
2021, https://www.englishcafe.co.id/topik-speaking-untuk-percakapan-bahasa-inggris-yang-
menarik/
English Learning Tips. “How To Write A Formal Email Regarding A Leave/ Off.” 23
August. 2021, https://english.eagetutor.com/english/1-spoken-english/627-how-to-describe-
an-experience.html
English Listening Lesson Library Online. “English for Beginner.”
https://www.elllo.org/english/beginner/B25-AkaneHoward-Vacation.htm
Seaton, Anne. Basic English Grammar. Saddleback Educational Publishing, 2007
Swick, Ed. English Verbs & Essentials of Grammar for ESL Learners. The Mcgraw-Hill
Companies Companies, Inc., 2010
Sargeant, Howard. Basic English Grammar for English Language Learners. Saddleback
Eduactional Publishing, 2007