SIMPLE PAST VS PAST PERFECT

DAHIANA LEAL SOTO 1

Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Carretera Transpeninsular, Ensenada-Tijuana,

1

No.3917, Colonia Playitas C.P. 22860

Ensenada, Baja California, México
*dahiana.leal@gmail.edu.mx

Introduction:
In English, there are several verb tenses that are used to talk about past actions. Two of these
verb tenses are the "simple past" and the "past perfect". Although both are used to talk about events
that happened in the past, they are used in different situations and with different meanings.

Simple Past
The simple past is used to talk about actions that happened at a specific time in the past. It is also
used to talk about actions that happened in the distant past or that have already ended.

 Specific actions in the past:

1. I walked to the store yesterday.
2. She ate dinner at the restaurant last night.
3. They played soccer on the weekend.
4. He studied for the exam all night.

 Distant past
1. The dinosaurs went extinct millions of years ago.
2. Columbus sailed to America in 1492.
3. Shakespeare wrote many plays in the 16th century.

 Complete actions in the past.

1. I graduated from college in 2010.
2. He retired last year.
3. The movie ended at midnight.

Regular and Irregular Verbs in the Simple Past

Regular verbs in English are conjugated in the simple past by adding the "-ed" ending to the verb
infinitive. For example:

 Walk – walked
 Talk – talked
 Play – played
However, irregular verbs do not follow this pattern. They have specific forms that must be
learned. Below are some examples of irregular verbs in the simple past:

 Go – went
 Eat – ate
 Drive – drove
  See – saw
 Take – took

Past perfect
The verb tense known as "past perfect" is used in English to describe an action that occurred
in the past before another action that also happened in the past.

Structure and usage

"The past perfect" in English is formed using the verb "to have" in the past tense and the past
participle of the main verb. The structure is as follows: "had + past participle". "The past perfect" is
used to describe an action that happened before another action in the past. In this case, the action that
happened first is described in "the past perfect", while the second action is described in the past
simple.

 She had studied English for two years before she moved to the United States.
 They had already eaten dinner by the time I arrived at the restaurant.
 He had finished his homework before he watched TV.

Conclusion
In summary, the simple past and the past perfect are two verb tenses that are used to talk about
actions that took place in the past. The simple past is used to talk about completed actions in the past,
while the past perfect is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. It
is important to know the difference between these two verb tenses to use them correctly in English
communication.

References
American Psychological Association. (2019). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
Azar, B. S., & Hagen, S. A. (2011). Understanding and using English grammar (4th ed.). Pearson
Longman.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center. (2021). Verb Tenses. Recuperado el 11 de abril de
2023, de https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/grammarpunct/verb-tenses/
Purdue Online Writing Lab. (2021). Verb Tenses. Recuperado el 11 de abril de 2023, de
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/verb_tenses/index.html
Murphy, R. (2019). Essential Grammar in Use with Answers: A Self-Study Reference and Practice
Book for Elementary Learners of English. Cambridge University Press.
Azar, B. S., & Hagen, S. A. (2006). Understanding and using English grammar (Vol. 3). Pearson
Education.