Simple Past- -Diagrams

We use the Simple Past when we talk about

something which started and finished in the past.
 We use the Simple Past to describe a
series of actions in the past.

We use the Simple Past (red) together with the

Past Progressive (grey). The action in the
Simple Past interrupted the action in the Past
Progressive (the one which was in progress).
 USE 1: Completed Action in the Past

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, but they do have one specific time in mind.

Examples:
•I saw a movie yesterday.
•I didn't see a play yesterday.
•Last year, I traveled to Japan.
•Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
•Did you have dinner last night?
•She washed her car.
•He didn't wash his car.
 USE 2: A Series of Completed Actions
We use the Simple Past to list a series of
completed actions in the past. These actions
happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

Examples:
•I finished work, walked to the
beach, and found a nice place to
swim.
•He arrived from the airport at 8:00,
checked into the hotel at 9:00, and
met the others at 10:00.
•Did you add flour, pour in the milk,
and then add the eggs?
 USE 3: Duration in 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.

Examples:
•I lived in Brazil for two years.
•Shauna studied Japanese for five years.
•They sat at the beach all day.
•They did not stay at the party the entire
time.
•We talked on the phone for thirty
minutes.
•A: How long did you wait for them?
B: We waited for one hour.
 USE 4: Habits in the Past
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a
habit which stopped in the past. It can have the
same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that
we are talking about a habit, we often add
expressions such as: always, often, usually, never,
when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

Examples:
•I studied French when I was a child.
•He played the violin.
•He didn't play the piano.
•Did you play a musical instrument when
you were a kid?
•She worked at the movie theater after
school.
•They never went to school, they always
skipped class.
 USE 5: Past Facts or Generalizations
The Simple Past can also be used to describe
past facts or generalizations which are no
longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of
the Simple Past is quite similar to the
expression "used to."

Examples:
•She was shy as a child, but now she is
very outgoing.
•He didn't like tomatoes before.
•Did you live in Texas when you were a
kid?
•People paid much more to make cell
phone calls in the past.
Typical expressions used
with Past Simple Tense:
•yesterday
•the day before
•two days ago
•last week
•last month
•last year
•a year ago
•3 years ago
•then
•once
 We form the Simple Past:
- with regular verbs: infinitive + -ed
- with irregular verbs: 2nd column of the table of
the irregular verbs

I
You
He He arrived late last night.
She (regular verb)
It
We They came back late last night.
You (irregular verb)

They
 We use the the same form of the verb
every time regardless the subject.

regular verbs : irregular verbs :

•I played football. •I went to the supermarket.
•She talked with him. •He wrote this book.
•They travelled to London.
London •We bought a car yesterday.
yesterday
 We use the auxiliary did (Simple Past
of do) every time regardless the subject.

regular verbs: irregular verbs :

•I did not play football. •I did not go to the supermarket
•She did not talk with him. •He did not write this book.

NOTE!: We often use short forms in

negative sentences in the Simple
Past.
regular verbs: irregular verbs :
•I didn't play football. •I didn’t go to the supermarket
•She didn’t talk with him. •He didn’t write this book.
 We use the auxiliary did (Simple Past of do) every
time regardless the subject.

regular verbs : irregular verbs:

•Did you play football? •Did I go to the supermarket?
•Did she talk with him? •Did he write this book?
• Did they travel to London? •Did you broke your leg
yesterday?
 We use the auxiliary did (Simple Past of do) every
time regardless the subject.
Did I eat breakfast? Yes, I did. No, I didn't.
Did he eat breakfast? Yes, he did. No, he didn't.

Did she eat breakfast? Yes, she did. No, she didn't.

Did it eat breakfast? Yes, it did. No, it didn't.

Did we eat breakfast? Yes, we did. No, we didn't.
Did you eat breakfast? Yes, you did. No, you didn't.
Did they eat breakfast? Yes, they did. No, they didn't.
 Add -ed with regular verbs.

regular verbs:
Infinitive + -ed

Sometimes the are exceptions in spelling when adding –ed :

1) consonant after short, stressed vowel at the
end of the word:
Double the consonant.
Ex. stop – stopped
 2) one -e at the end of the word:
Add only -d.
Example: love – loved
save – saved

erbs ending in -y
verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a vowel (a, e, i, o, u): Add -ed.
Example:
play - played

verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a consonant: Change 'y' to 'i' Then add
Example:
hurry - hurried
You have to know all forms of the irregular verbs. For the Simple
Past you need the form of the verb which can be found in the 2nd
column of the table of the irregular verbs.

irregular verbs:
2nd column of the table of the irregular verbs

Examples:
•Be - was/were - been
•Come – came - come
•Give – gave - given
•Know – knew - known
•See – saw - seen
Pronunciation of the ending
-ed in the Simple Past
In the Simple Past we add -ed to regular verbs.
Be careful pronuncing the verbs:

1) verbs ending in -ed preceded by a voiceless consonant [p, k, f, ʃ, ʧ,

s, θ] - speak [t].
The -e is silent. Example: I stop - I stopped [stɒpt]

2) verbs ending in -ed preceded by a voiced consonant [b, g, v, ʒ, ʤ, z,

ð, l, m, n] or a vowel - speak [d].
The -e is silent. Example: I clean - I cleaned [kli:nd]

3) verbs ending in -ed preceded by [t] or [d] - speak [ɪd].

The -e changes to [ɪ]. Example: I visit - I visited [vɪz ɪtɪd]
Thank you for your attention!

Author:
Nina Markowicz