What is simple past tense?
Simple past tense is a verb tense that indicates a completed action that happened in the past. The past is all the past, it can happen in yesterday, one hour ago, one minute ago, one second ago, or even one millisecond ago, all of them are in the past.
When should we use simple past tense?
Use simple past tense for:
- An action started in the past and ended in the past.
- Habitual or repeated actions in the past.
- General truths of the past.
What is the main indicator of simple past tense?
- Simple past tense generally uses the past time expressions, such as just now, a few minutes ago, three hours ago, yesterday, two weeks ago, last month, ten years ago, and so on.
- Unlike simple present tense which has the special form for the 3rd singular person, the verb which is used in simple past tense is the same for all subject.
How to form a simple past tense sentence?
Positive Sentences
Structure: Subject + Verb 2
Negaitive Sentences
Structure: Subject + Did + Not + Verb 1
Questions
Structure: Did + Subject + Verb 1 + ?
Note:
Verb 1 or infinitive form is a verb that uses the root form of the verb.
Verb 2 or past tense form is a verb. Regular verbs are ended with -ed or -d.
What is the general rule for the verbs?
Almost Every Regular Verbs
Add –ed at the end of the base form.
| Simple Present Tense | Simple Past Tense |
| Add | Added |
| Join | Joined |
| Need | Needed |
Regular Verbs Ended in E
Add –d at the end of the base form.
| Simple Present Tense | Simple Past Tense |
| Care | Cared |
| Relate | Related |
| Smile | Smiled |
Irregular Verbs
In fact, there are hundreds of irregular verbs in English. Here are a few examples of them:
| Simple Present Tense | Simple Past Tense |
| Buy | Bought |
| Come | Came |
| Feel | Felt |
| Go | Went |
| Make | Made |
| Put | Put |
Examples:
Regular Verbs
| Positive Sentences | Negative Sentences | Questions |
| I watched the Korean drama last night. | I did not watch the Korean drama last night. | Did you watch the Korean drama last night? |
| They lived in New Zealand ten years ago. | They did not live in New Zealand ten years ago. | Did they live in New Zealand ten years ago? |
| She called me this morning. | She did not call me this morning. | Did she call you this morning? |
Irregular Verbs
| Positive Sentences | Negative Sentences | Questions |
| I bought a camera yesterday. | I did not buy a camera yesterday. | Did you buy a camera yesterday? |
| We went to Europe two years ago. | We did not go to Europe two years ago. | Did we go to Europe two years ago? |
| They made their own bags last month. | They did not make their own bags last month. | Did they make their own bags last month? |
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