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The Tenses of The Verbs -4- The Simple Past Tense
The tenses of the past "simple- continuous- perfect.."are so often confused, that it's a good idea to revise the simple past tense first, then in the next lessons I will connect the simple past with the other tenses but remember: if the past activity closely connected to the present ,we use the Present Perfect tense "as in the previous lesson".
The simple Past Tense:
Usage :
We use the simple past tense to talk about finished actions in the past (they can be short or long actions) ,past habits,repeated activities in the past..:
- Shakespeare wrote many important plays.
- He spent his holiday in the mountain.
-The new company interviewed new employees last Monday.
Form:
1- We add -ed or -ied( for some verbs ending -y) to the infinitive of regular verbs :
- It rained hard last winter.
-He tried his best to pass the exam.
2- We use the past form of irregular verbs:
- I wrote a long blog last night .
- He bought a new black car two weeks ago.
Time Adverbials :
We can use the following time adverbials with the simple past tense:
Yesterday , ago , last " month /week/ Friday ../winter ..." ......etc.
- I finally passed my driving test last week.
- Two days ago, I visited the National Museum in my city .
Common mistakes
Throughout my teaching period I found that most students made mistakes in writing the simple past tense in questions and answers and in negative sentences too ,so I will focus on these mistakes by examples :
In questions : We use did and the infinitive form of the main verb,but when we want to answer no need to put did too ,for example:
- When did they arrive ( arrived) ? -They arrived three hours ago.
- How long did he work ( worked ) there? - He worked there for almost five years .
- Did you watch ( watched) the match last night? -Yes ,I did "Yes, I watched it"
In negatives : we use did not ( didn't) and the infinitive form of the main verb:
- We didn't see ( saw ) the begining of the film because we were late .
- She didn't do ( did ) her homework yesterday.
Important note :
When we have in the sentence an auxiliary verb like ( was -were - had - could - .......) so ,we can make questions and negatives from these verbs and no need to add did . For examples:
-I couldn't attend the party last night ,I was busy.
- The students weren't satisfied by their results.
- Was She online yesterday?
Exercise- A-
Change the infinitives in brackets to the simple past tense:
1- the players ( be ) tired after the match.
2-the meeting ( last ) for two hours.
3-I ( study ) French for three years.
4- The policemen ( catch) the thief last night.
Exercise -B-
1-Give two sentences using the simple past tense in negatives
2- Give two sentences using the simple past tense in questions.
Thank you for reading .
- Hala -
Tags: Grammar, Teacher-Hala, Tense
Replies to This Discussion
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ModPermalink Reply by Anele on -
Good for you Lolo-yaya because you changed the "you" just on time. Else, the sentence is wrong....... It means that you have given a thorough review of your work. GOOD JOB! Your score is PERFECT!
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Permalink Reply by cold moon on -
Hi again :D
Exercise- A-
Change the infinitives in brackets to the simple past tense:
1- the players (were ) tired after the match.
2-the meeting ( lasted) for two hours.
3-I ( studied) French for three years.
4- The policemen ( caught) the thief last night.
Exercise -B-
1-Give two sentences using the simple past tense in negatives
- I did not do anything today !
- I could not work yesterday, I was tired !
2- Give two sentences using the simple past tense in questions.
- Did you watch that interesting show ?
- Where did they go ?
Thanks !! ^^
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ModPermalink Reply by Anele on -
My dear.........there's no question about the correctness of your answers (both A and B). But I have to deduct one point from your score for using the exclamatory point (!). Simple sentences end with a period (.). Yours are simple sentences. Please use the contractions didn't (for did not) and couldn't (for could not) next time.
Good Luck, Cold Moon!
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Permalink Reply by tawfeeq on -
hi my teacher ;
Exercise- A-1- were
2- lasted
3- studied
4 caught
Exercise -B-
1.
They did not pass the exam .
He did not speak English .
2.
Did she play football ?
Did he write a good post? -
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Permalink Reply by Butterfly on -
Exercise- A-
1- the players ( were ) tired after the match.
2-the meeting ( lasted) for two hours.
3-I ( studied ) French for three years.
4- The policemen ( caught) the thief last night.
Exercise -B-
1)
I couldn´t do the proyect yesterday.
Carlos didn´t call to the officce.
2)
What did you say? I said ,take out the trash.
Did you turn off the light? yes, I turned it off when I took the keys.
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ModPermalink Reply by Anele on -
You misspelled some words dear Butterfly. It makes the sentences incorrect!
****I couldn´t do the proyect yesterday. (It should be PROJECT.)
Please take note also that we don't DO the project but we MAKE the project.
correct: I couldn't make the project yesterday.
****Carlos didn´t call to the officce. (It should be OFFICE.)
correct: Carlos didn't call the office. (remove the "to")
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Permalink Reply by Ayushi on -
Exercise A:
1- The players were tired after the match.
2- The meeting lasted for two hours.
3-I studied French for three years.
4- The policemen caught the thief last night.
Exercise B:
*Negative sentences:
1. He didn't go school today.
2. My dad didn't let me go with him.*Interrogative sentences:
1. Did you know him already?
2. Did you attend your class today?
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