The Simple Past - Use

EXAMPLES
In 1897, Andrée left for the North Pole in a balloon.
EXPLANATION
We use simple past with a single, short past action.

EXAMPLES
The balloon traveled for 65 hours.
EXPLANATION
We use Simple Past with a longer past action.

EXAMPLES
Peter Athans climbed Mt. Everest seven times.
EXPLANATION
We use simple past with a repeated past action.
NOTES

 If the verb ends in /t/ or /d/, the past simple

ending is pronounced /ed/.
For example, wanted and ended.
Decided, landed, visited, invited.
 If the verb ends in a voiceless sound, such as
/p/, /f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /ʧ/ or /k/, the past simple ending is
pronounced /t/.
 p, k, s, ch, sh, f, x, or h,
For example, stopped and washed, watched,
walked, worked, asked, guessed, Bluffed, relaxed,
laughed.

 If the verb ends in another voiced sound, the

simple past ending is pronounced /d/.
 l, v, n, m, r, b, g, w, y, z
For example, played and allowed, called, Loved,
burned, welcomed, scared, stabbed, belonged,
Quizzed
EXERCISE 3 In Exercise 2, identify the regular, irregular
verbs and the form of Be.

EXERCISE 4 Write the base form of the verbs. Write R for

a regular verb, Write I for an irregular verb. Write B for
Be.

Cheered: Cheer ®
Were: BE
Attempted: Attempt ®
Thought: Think (I)
Died: Die®
Waved: Wave®
Froze: Freeze (i)
Lifted Lift ®
Heard Hear (i)
Learned Learn ®
Took Take (i)
Left Leave (i)
Climbed Climb ®
Brought Bring (i)
Helped Help ®
Answered Answer ®
Went Go (i)
Picked Pick ®
Had Have (i)
Shouted Shout ®
Baked Bake ®
Took Take (i)
Listened Listen ®
Asked Ask ®
Hoped Hope ®
Wrote Write (i)
Drove Drive (i)
Painted Paint ®
Drank Drink (i)
Waved Wave ®
Sang Sing (i)
Stayed Stay ®
Closed Close ®
Visited Visit ®
Shouted Shout ®
Swam Swim (i)
Spoke Speak (i)
Conjugate the following verbs in base for to their simple
past form.

Dare Dared (i)

Announce Announced ®

Choose Chose (i)

Travel Traveled ®

Bathe Bathed ®

Push Pushed ®

Mistake Mistook (i)

Spend Spend (i)

Trick Tricked ®

Confess Confessed ®

Undertake Undertook (i)

Win Won (i)

Move Moved ®

Visit Visited ®

Bring Brought (i)

Grab Grabbed ®

Fight Fought (i)

Avoid Avoided ®

Guess Guessed ®

Cough Coughed ®

Offer Offered ®

Fight Fought (i)

Trap Trapped ®
 NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN

George Dawson was a successful man. Was he famous? No, he wasn't. He

was just an ordinary man who did something extraordinary.
George Dawson lived in three centuries-from 1898 to 2001. He was born in
Texas, the grandson of slaves.
At that time, there were fewer opportunities for African Americans. Dawson was
the oldest of five children. His family was very poor, so George had to work to
help his family. He started working for his father when he was only four years
old. As a result, he didn't have a chance to get an education. He didn't learn to
read and write. He signed his name with an X.
When Dawson was 98 years old, he decided to go to school. He wanted to
learn to read and write. He went to adult literacy classes. The teacher asked
him,
"Do you know the alphabet?" When he answered "No," his teacher was
surprised. Over the next few years, his teacher taught Dawson to read and
write. Dawson said.
"Every morning I get up and I wonder what I might learn that day."

Richard Glaubman read an article about Dawson in the newspaper and wanted
to meet him. Glaubman helped Dawson write a book about Dawson's life, called
Life Is So Good. Dawson was 102 when the book was published. Dawson wrote
about what makes a person happy. He learned from his father to see the good
things in life. They had a close family, and George never felt lonely, Dawson
says in the book, "People worry too much. Life is good, just the way it is.”

Was George Dawson a success? He definitely was. He enjoyed life and

accomplished his goal: learning to read and write.
COMPREHENSION Based on the reading, write T for true
or F for false.

__F__ George Dawson was born a slave.

__T__ Richard Glaubman helped Dawson write his book.

__T__ Dawson learned to enjoy life from his father.

THINK ABOUT IT Discuss the questions with a partner or

in a small group.

1. What kind of student do you think Dawson was?

He was a model student. Although of advanced age, he
was proposed to learn a read and write, and he achieved
it around 100 years old. It is really an example to follow,
especially for older students who are studying English, so
They don't get discouraged and keep working hard until
They achieved success.
2. Dawson's philosophy is that "People worry too much.
Life is good, just the way it is." Do you live by this
philosophy? Explain.
Not really, but I would like to have a similar philosophy
that helps me enjoy the small and wonderful things in life,
and that this contributes to the achievement of the goals
set, and once accomplished, to be able to enjoy this
success.

The Past of Be

EXAMPLES
Dawson was from a poor family.
His grandparents were slaves.
EXPLANATION
The past of be has two forms, was and were
I, He, She, It: Was
We, you, they: Were

EXAMPLES
There was an article about Dawson in the newspaper.
There were many changes in his lifetime
EXPLANATION
After there, we use was or were depending on the noun
that follows. We use was with a singular noun.
We use were with a plural noun.

EXAMPLES
Dawson’s life wasn’t easy.
Education and books weren’t available to him as a child.
EXPLANATION
To make a negative statement, we put not after was or
were. The contractions are wasn’t and weren’t.

EXAMPLES
Dawson was born in 1898.
Dawson was able to live a happy life.
EXPLANATION
We use a form of be with born, we use a form of be with
be able to.
Compare statements. Yes/no questions, short answers
and wh-questions.

YES/NO questions.

BE+ subject + complement?

YES/NO, + Subject + complement.
My mother is very talented.
Was my mother very talented?
Yes, she was.
No, she wasn’t.
Mr. Johnson and his friends are impatient.
Were Mr. Johnson and his friends impatient?
No, they weren’t.

WH- QUESTIONS

WH- + BE+ subject + complement?

Where was my mother on Tuesday?

Why were you happy on the carnival on Tuesday night?

HOMEWORK: Write 5 YES/NO questions with answers. And write 5 WH-

Questions with answers. (ALL MUST BE SIMPLE PAST, USED WITH THE
PAST FORM OF BE; NO USE OF PAST CONTINUOUS)

Yes/no Questions:
1. Were you sick yesterday?
Yes, I was sick yesterday.
2. Was their homework finished?
Yes, it was finished.
3. Was she late for her class?
No, she wasn’t late for her class.
4. Was it hot yesterday?
Yes, it was very hot yesterday.
5. Was the book expensive?
No, it wasn’t expensive. It was affordable.
WH Questions:
1. Why was he angry?
He was angry because he missed the train
 2. Where were you yesterday?
I was in the hospital yesterday.

3. When was she sad?

She was sad when she remembered her boyfriend.
4. Who were those people?
Those people were English students.
5. How was the weather?
The weather was very, very, very, very hot.

EXERCISE 5 Fill in the blanks to complete these affirmative

and negative statements and questions.

1. George Dawson was poor.

2. Dawson was born in 1898.
3. At that time there weren’t many opportunities for
him.
4. His parents were poor.
5. He wasn’t unhappy.
6. George Dawson wasn’t able to write his name. Why
wasn’t he able to write his name?
7. Was he happy to go to school? Yes, he was.
8. How old was he when he learned to read? He was 98
years old.
9. Was there slavery in the U.S when Dawson was
born? No, there wasn’t.
10. Were there a lot of opportunities for African
Americans at that time? No, there weren’t.
ABOUT YOU. Discuss your answers to these questions.

1. What do you think makes a person successful?

I think that what makes a person successful is the result of what

they put into practice during the course of life, habits, and customs
that were very important how: They persevered, they had faith,
they learned from mistakes, they were strong-willed, and they
always had a positive attitude.

Also, something important was that most of the people who were
successful had defined goals/objectives. In addition, they
formulated and implemented plans for the achievement of their
goals/objectives.

2. What personal goals do you have? What steps do

you need to take to reach those goals?

One of my personal goals is to write and speak fluent

English for this year. Practice writing, practice vocabulary
to improve my reading, pronunciation and fluency.
speaking. Continue with the English classes and do all of
the homework.
 3. Were your goals different when you were younger?
Do you think your goals changed over time? How did
they change?
What were your goals when you were 5 years old?
What were your goals when you were 15 years old?
What were your goals when you were 35 years old?
5 paragraphs

When I was a child, I was a great football player. I didn´t

have time for practice, because my mother didn’t permit
us leave to the home. Because I was not very good at
football, before each game, I cut leaves of the Ruda plant
for good fortune, and I put them in my socks to score
goals, but it never worked.

When I was young, I wanted to be a medical doctor.

Perhaps I wanted this career because my mother was a
nurse and I saw how she worked and helped people with
their sickness/illness. Perhaps my mother had influence in
me so that I wanted this goal, but I really wanted to help
people to improve their condition of life, because/ due to
the fact that, at the time there was a lot of poverty.
When I was 35 years old my goal was to have an
entrepreneurship of commercialization in fresh seafood.
The purpose was to have extra income and work in the
profession as an agronomist engineer. We were a group
of partners and coworkers who had divided the work,
some bought the product and others sold it. We had
successful sales, but the entrepreneurship failed. Some of
the problems were: not all the partners worked the same,
the product was damaged in a short amount/period of
time, reduced investment funds, and lack of a detailed
plan.

When I was 45 years old my goal was to build an NGO,

with the purpose of working for the sustainable
development in particular, to work for the population of
excluded sectors for the development as: small
agricultural producers, female heads of the household,
young people without educational and economic
opportunities and others. The NGO was formed, however,
no project was executed to date.

I think that my goals changed over time mainly related to

the profession and the sport. However, they maintain
their continuity to work as an Agricultural Engineer in all
related areas, to work in the formation of an
entrepreneurship to generate extra income, and to work
for management projects to improve the life conditions of
the population and to improve the conditions of the
sustainability of the environment.
EXERCISE 6. Fill in the blanks with the simple past form of
one of the verbs from the box. In some cases, more than
one answer is possible.

Fail Ask Live Decide Discover Try Land Attend Want Attempt
Learn Die
Occur Rescue Help Start

1. Dawson lived from 1898 to 2001.

2. He started to work when he was four years old.
3. Many changes occurred during his long life.
4. His teacher asked him. "Do you know the alphabet?"
5. He started/attended school when he was 98.
6. Richard Glaubman helped Dawson write a book.
7. Salomon Andrée wanted/attempted to explore the
North Pole.
8. Many people tried/attempted to reach the North Pole
by land, but they weren't successful.
9. Andrée decided/attempted to use a balloon.
10. The balloon__landed__ far from the North Pole.
11. Andrèe and his men died.
12. In 1914, Ernest Shackleton failed when he tried to
cross Antarctica.
13. He learned from his failure.
14. He___rescued____ his men.
15. Robert Ballard discovered the Titanic on the ocean
floor.

Fail Ask Live Decide Discover Try Land Attend Want Attempt
Learn Die
Occur Rescue Help Start

EXERCISE 7. Fill in the blanks with the simple past form of

one of the verbs given.

1. Andreé___flew____(FLY) to the Arctic in a balloon.

2. Andreé __thought___(think) he could reach the
north Pole in a balloon.
3. He and his men__left__(LEAVE) in July 1897.
4. Fog____made_______ (make) the balloon heavy.
5. Strong winds___lifted___(LIFT) Andreé’s balloon.
6. They________(HAVE) problems with the weather.
7. The Titanic________(SINK) in 1912.
8. Robert Ballard_____________(GROW) up near the
ocean.
 9. He_________(FIND) the titanic on the ocean floor.
10. He___________(BECOME) an oceanographer.
11. Earnest Shackleton____________(LEAD) an
expedition to Antarctica.
12. He______(BRING) all of his men home safely.

EXERCISE 8. Fill in the blanks with the simple past form of

one of the verbs from the box. In some cases, more than
one answer is possible.

TEACH WRITE BEGIN SEE SAY HAVE GO BECOME

1. Dawson_______ a hard life.

2. He___________ to work for his father when he was
four years old.
3. He__________ many changes in his lifetime.
4. He__________ interested in reading when he was
98.
5. He____________ to school when he was 98.
6. His teacher______________ him the alphabet.
7. Dawson______________ “I wonder what I might
learn today”.
8. Dawson_________ a book about his life.
 If At First You Don’t Succeed.

Diana Nyad was a professional swimmer. She was in her

twenties when she decided to swim around Manhattan.
The first time she tried, she didn't succeed.

But she didn't give up. She tried again and swam the 28
miles in less than eight hours. Then she had another goal:
to swim from Cuba to Florida, a distance of 110 miles.

She swam 79 miles in 42 hours. She didn't stop to sleep.

But she didn't finish.

Jellyfish attacked her, and the weather threw her off

course. Did she try again? Yes, but not until 33 years later.

Nyad retired from competitive swimming in her twenties.

For the next 30 years, she didn't swim at all. She became
a sportscaster and a journalist. But she didn't stop all
physical activity. She always kept in shape. Every Friday
she took a 100-mile bike ride.

In 2007, when Nyad was 60 years old, her mother died.

She started to think about her own life. In the 30 years
that she didn't swim, she always thought about the
possibility of trying again.

She didn't want to die without achieving her goal. She

started to train again. By the summer of 2011, she tried
again-and failed again-after 29 hours in the water. She
tried two more times--and failed to reach Florida each
time.

What kinds of problems did she face? There were attacks

by Jellyfish, bad weather, and breathing problems from
asthma. How did she solve the problem of jellyfish? For
her fifth attempt, she wore a bodysuit and mask to
protect against jellyfish stings.

On August 31, 2013, after 53 hours of swimming, she

reached the Florida shore, 35 years after her first
attempt. Nyad achieved what younger and stronger
swimmers could not.

Nyad always tells people, "Never give up.”

COMPREHENSION Based on the reading, write T for true
or F for false

1.__ Nyad made four attempts to swim from Cuba to

Florida before she was finally successful.

2.__ She didn't do any hard physical activity for 30 years

3.__ The death of her mother made her think about her
own life.

THINK ABOUT IT Answer these questions.

1. Think about the details of Diana Nyad's life and the

successes and failures described in the article. Then
write six adjectives to describe her.
2. Diana Nyad had three obstacles to completing her goal:
jellyfish, bad weather, and asthma. Think of a big goal you
have in your life. What obstacles do you have? How can
you overcome them?