MEETING IV

SIMPLE PAST TENSE

The use of simple past tense

Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an

action started and finished at a specific time in
the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually
mention the specific time.
Examples:

1. I saw a movie yesterday.

2. Last year, I traveled to Japan.
3. She washed her car.
4. The police stopped me on my way home last night.
5. She passed the examination because she studied very hard.
The Simple Past also use to list a series of completed actions in the
past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

Examples:

1. I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place

to swim.

2. He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at

9:00, and met the others at 10:00.

3. Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a stopped in the
past. It can have the same meaning habit which as "used to."
To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add
expressions such as: often, usually, never, when I was a child,
when I was younger, etc.
Examples:
1. I studied French when I was a child.
2. He played the violin.
3. He didn't play the piano.
4. Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
5. She worked at the movie theater after school.
6. They never went to school, they always skipped class
 Forming Simple past tense
Verb ending in e How to make Examples
Forming the simple past the simple
past
tense live - lived
Add -D date - dated

With most verbs, the Consonant + y Change y to try - tried

i, then add cry - cried
simple past is created -ED
simply by adding -ED. One vowel + one Double the tap - tapped
Here are the rules: consonant (but consonant, commit -
NOT w or y) then add -ED committed

[anything else] Add -ED boil - boiled

fill - filled
hand -
handed
Forming a negative

Simple past Formal negative

Negatives in the simple statement
present are formed by I had a car. I did not have a car.
adding
didn't (informal) or did not You ate my toast. You did not eat my
toast.
(formal) before the simple
form He was not here
He was here
of the verb. yesterday.
yesterday

They were in They were not in the

park
the park.
Forming a yes/no question
Yes/no questions are also created using the auxiliary did. This
time, the auxiliary is placed before the subject.

1. He brought his friend = Did he bring his friend?

2. They had a party = Did they have a party?
3. You were here = Were you here?
4. She was sick = Was she sick?
 Forming a WH- question
WH- questions (using words such as "what", "when", "where"
etc.) are also created by putting the auxiliary did before the
subject.

1. The building fell down = Where did the building fall down?
2. They lived in Vancouver = Where did they live?
3. The store was closed = Why was the store close?
4. They were wolves = What were they?
Irregular verbs
Irregular verbs fall into three main categories:
1. Verbs which don't change.
For examples: cut - cut
hit - hit
fit – fit

2. Verbs which change their vowel.

For examples: get - got
sit - sat
drink – drank

3. Verbs which change completely

For examples: catch - caught
bring - brought
teach - taught
Exercise!
Fill in the missing words

Hello everybody! My name is Past Simple Boy because I

am very nostalgic and I always talk about the past. This is an
old picture of me. I …..eighteen in this picture. It …… thirteen
years ago.
I ……. (study) at University at that time. I …..(meet) with
my friends Paco and Javi in a big and old flat. Every weekend
we …… (go) to the disco and ….. (met) new girls. I
remember I ……. (have) a girlfriend called Margarita.
I ……..(finish) my studies in 1995. A year later I ……
(start) to work as a Language teacher  in a Secondary school.
Life is not too bad, but those days ……(are) fantastic!
Do you know about your parents' life when they …….
(are) young?
 Match the sentences bellow!
1. Mozart …. More than 600 pieces of
music. a. Buy
2. How did you learn to drive? My father
b. Catch
…. Me.
3. We couldn’t afford to keep our car, so c. Drink
we …. It. d. Fall
4. I was very thirsty. I ….. the water very e. Hurt
quickly.
f. Sell
5. Paul and I played tennis yesterday.
He’s much better than me, so he …. g. Spend
Easily. h. Teach
6. Don …. down the stairs this morning i. Throw
and ….. his leg.
j. Win
7. Jim ….. the ball to Sue, who …. It
k. write
8. Ann …. A lot of many yesterday.
Use the correct simple past questions!

1)…… you …… the door? (close)

2) …..Claire …….the housework? (finish)

3) …..he …….a bath yesterday? (have)

4) …..the boy……… into the lake? (jump)

5) …… Lismi ……. the Tower of London? (visit)

Choose the correct answers!
1. Peggy and Olivia ….. the baby.
A. looked up C. looked after
B. looked down D. hooked up

2. She …….. the invitation cards herself.

A. doesn’t make C. didn’t made
B. isn’t making D. didn’t make

3. The girl ….. the ketchup bottle.

A. dropped C. is dropping
B. drops D. drop
Choose the correct answers!
4. ……. Tim …….. the green T-shirt last Monday?
A. Did, bought C. Did, buying
B. Did, buy D. Did, buys

5. ……they ………karate this morning?

A. Do, practice C. Are, practicing
B. Does, practices D. Did, practice