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    E0a3c 15. Simple Past Tense

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    Jamie Tan Ling San
    The document discusses the simple past tense in English. It is used to describe actions that are completed in the past or habitual past actions. There are five main uses: 1) to express a completed action in a specific past time, 2) to list a series of completed past actions, 3) to describe durations that started and stopped in the past, 4) to describe past habits, and 5) to describe past facts or generalizations. It also notes that "when" clauses must occur before the main clause when both are in the simple past tense.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    E0a3c 15. Simple Past Tense

    Uploaded by

    Jamie Tan Ling San
    42 views4 pages
    The document discusses the simple past tense in English. It is used to describe actions that are completed in the past or habitual past actions. There are five main uses: 1) to express a completed action in a specific past time, 2) to list a series of completed past actions, 3) to describe durations that started and stopped in the past, 4) to describe past habits, and 5) to describe past facts or generalizations. It also notes that "when" clauses must occur before the main clause when both are in the simple past tense.

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    e0a3c-15.-simple-past-tense

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    The document discusses the simple past tense in English. It is used to describe actions that are completed in the past or habitual past actions. There are five main uses: 1) to express a completed action in a specific past time, 2) to list a series of completed past actions, 3) to describe durations that started and stopped in the past, 4) to describe past habits, and 5) to describe past facts or generalizations. It also notes that "when" clauses must occur before the main clause when both are in the simple past tense.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    42 views4 pages

    E0a3c 15. Simple Past Tense

    Uploaded by

    Jamie Tan Ling San
    The document discusses the simple past tense in English. It is used to describe actions that are completed in the past or habitual past actions. There are five main uses: 1) to express a completed action in a specific past time, 2) to list a series of completed past actions, 3) to describe durations that started and stopped in the past, 4) to describe past habits, and 5) to describe past facts or generalizations. It also notes that "when" clauses must occur before the main clause when both are in the simple past tense.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    SIMPLE PAST TENSE

    Examples:
     You called Debbie. VERB + ed or
     Did you call Debbie? irregular verbs

     You did not call Debbie.

    Complete List of Simple Past Forms

    USE

    1. Action Completed 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 travelled to Japan.
     Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
     Did you have dinner last night?
     She washed her car.
    2. A Series of Completed Actions

    We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past.

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

    3. Duration in Past

    The Simple Past can be used when a duration starts and stops in the past.
    A duration is a longer action which 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.
    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 classes.

    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.
    IMPORTANT: When-Clauses Happen First

    Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not in
    complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as
    "when I dropped my pen..." or "when class began...". These clauses are
    called when-clauses and they are very important. The examples below
    contain when-clauses.

    Examples:
     When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.
     She answered my question when I paid her one dollar.

    When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both
    clauses are in the Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the
    same thing: first, I paid her one dollar, and then, she answered my question.
    It is not important whether "when I paid her one dollar" is at the beginning
    of the sentence or at the end of the sentence. However, the example
    below has a different meaning. First, she answered my question, and then,
    I paid her one dollar.

    Example:
     I paid her one dollar when she answered my question.

    ADVERB PLACEMENT

    The examples below show the placement for grammar


    adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

    Examples:
     You just called Debbie.
     Did you just call Debbie?

    ACTIVE / PASSIVE

    Examples:
     Tom repaired the car. ACTIVE
     The car was repaired by Tom. PASSIVE

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