VOCABULARY LIST #3

“Last year I went to Canada / I can tell past actions”

S
SIMPLE PAST TENSE

DEFINITION: The simple past is used to show that a completed action took place at a specific time in the
past. The simple past is also frequently used to talk about past habits and generalizations which are no
longer true.
The simple past is formed using the verb + ed (Look - Looked).
However, there are many verbs with irregular past forms (List).

Note: Was & Were are the past tense of the verbs “to be”, we often use them to tell about a past event,
state or condition.

Examples:

 I thought the movie was great.  The interpreter spoke perfect English
(Affirmative)  She was shy as a child, but now she is
 WhatsApp didn't exist in 2007 (Negative) very outgoing.
 Did you have dinner last night?  I was born in Guayaquil
(Question)  Were you busy yesterday?
 My father overcame a lot of difficulties
before succeding as a doctor

DURATION IN THE PAST

The simple past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer
action often indicated by expressions such as for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

 I lived in Brazil for two years.  We talked on the phone for thirty
 They sat at the beach all day. minutes.
 They did not stay at the party the entire  A: How long did you wait for them?
time. B: We waited for one hour.

HABITS IN THE PAST ACTIVE / PASSIVE

 My sister played the piano when she was  Gutenberg invented the printing
a child press. Active
 I was good at dancing when I was a  The printing press was invented by
teenager Gutenberg. Passive

Past time Expressions

 Yesterday morning  Last night  Three days ago
 Last week, month  A year ago

 The day before yesterday  Last summer  In 2001

 VOCABULARY LIST #3
“Last year I went to Canada / I can tell past actions”
S
SIMPLE PAST TENSE

SPEAKING QUESTIONS:

Where were you born? I was born in… When was the first time you used a mobile
Where did you grow up? I grew up in… phone? Who did you call?
Talk about your childhood The first time I used a mobile phone was…

¿Cuándo fue la primera vez que usaste un teléfono

¿Dónde naciste y creciste? Habla sobre tu infancia
celular? ¿A quién llamaste?

When was the last time you regretted doing Think of a relative or a celebrity who passed
something? Do you still regret it? away (died). Talk about them

¿Cuándo fue la última vez que te arrepentiste de haber Piensa en un pariente o celebridad que falleció. Habla
hecho algo? ¿Todavía te arrepientes? sobre ellos.

Think of three things that didn’t exist 20 How is life today different from life 100
years ago. What did people do without years ago? Give examples.
them? Could you live without them?
E.g.: Smartphones, Youtube, Social media ¿Cómo es diferente la vida actual de la vida hace 100
años? De ejemplos.
Piense en tres cosas que no existían hace 20 años. ¿Qué
hacía la gente sin ellos? ¿Podrías vivir sin ellos?