Simple Past Tense

Simple Past Tense 

The Simple Past, sometimes called the preterite, is the past tense of Modern English. It is used to describe events in the past. It may combine with either or both of two aspects, the perfect and the progressive. When the simple past is employed in the subjunctive mood, it is called the subjunctive imperfect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_past_tense) The action which is expressed by this one most used tense is started and finishes at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speakers don’t mention the specific time, but they actually have one specific time in mind.

The Patterns
The Simple Past uses the past verbs which, with most verbs (the regular verbs), are created simply by adding -ed. However, with some verbs, you need to add -d or change the ending a little. Meanwhile for the past irregular verb you may see them in the verb list.

And the following is the pattern of Simple Past Tense:

Affirmative
Subject + V2 (past verb) —->> I did ….
Negative
Subject + did + not + V1 (Verb Base) —->> I did not do ….
Interrogative (Yes/No Question)
Did+subject+V1 (Verb Base) —–>> Did you do …?
The Time Signals
The time signals usually used with the simple past are those which are associated with certain past time expressions; among others are:
Showing frequency: always, often,frequently, usually, sometimes, rarely, etc;
Showing a definite point in time: yesterday, 2 minutes ago, six weeks ago, last Friday, last week, in 1990, when I was a child, etc;
Showing an indefinite point in time: the other day, ages ago, a long time ago, etc.
Note:
The word ago is used to express passage of time, how much time has passed since something happened. It is placed after the period of time e.g: five minutes ago, a week ago, two months ago, a year ago.
The Uses
The Simple Past is used to express:
1. the complete action in the past;
The action starts and finishes 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 sent him an email yesterday.
He didn’t pass the test last month.
Did you travel to Seoul last year?
They arranged the book alphabetically last night.
She didn’t study hard last semester.
Did you come to the seminar two days ago?
2. the list of a series of completed actions in the past;
It tells the actions in order, which happen1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
Examples:
  • I finished my work, walked to the book store, and bought some interesting books to read.
  • She prepared her equipments, left the house and arrived at her office at 7.00 a.m.
  • He sat on the sofa, turned on the TV and watched a scientific film, his favorite program.
3. a duration which starts and stops in the past;
Generally the duration is not important in simple past. The most prominent use of the simple past is that the speaker concerns with when an action occurred, not the duration (how long it lasted). Yet, we still have the chance to use the simple past with duration of time (duration of an action which starts and stops in the past). And the expressions such as for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc. are used in this case.
Examples:
  • I lived in Toronto for three years.
  • We studied English for 8 years.
  • They analyzed the script all day.
  • She did not read the book the whole day.
  • Did you wait for him the entire time?
4. a habits in the past;
The habit has stopped in the past. It is actually similar to used to. The expressions like always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was young, etc. are usually added to indicate that we are talking about a habit.
Examples:
  • I often climbed coconut trees when I was a child.
  • She always worked hard when she was young.
  • He never cheated when he was student.
  • Did you play in the rain when you were a kid?
5. the past status;
Examples:
  • I was still single in 1990.
  • Budi was a tour guide.
  • We were pilots.
6. the past fact or generalizations.
Remember that the facts or generalizations are no longer true.
Examples:
  • I didn’t love him before.
  • Were you calm when you were a kid?
  • In the past it was hard to travel fast from one place to another.
  • People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.
Simple Past with be
Use the past form of be (was, were) to make simple past sentences.
  • Use was with the personal pronouns: I, he, she, it or with the singular or the uncountable noun.
  • Use were with the personal pronouns: we, you, they or with the plural noun.
Personal Pronouns
Be
I, he, she, it
was
we, you, they
were
The patterns
Positive——————->>Subject+be(was, were)+Complement
Negative——————->>Subject+be(was, were)+not+Complement
Interrogative ————>>Be(Was/Were)+Subject+Complement?
Examples:
  • I was unhappy with him.
  • He was not diligent.
  • Were they farmers?
  • It was a nice dress previously.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Descriptive Text Istiqlal Mosque

The following is the example of Descriptive Text. For the definition of Descriptive Text and its explanation, just click here ! Istiqlal Mosque Istiqlal Mosque, Largest Mosque in Indonesia and South East Asia. The interior of Istiqlal mosque; the grand domed prayer hall supported by 12 columns. Sukarno actively followed the planning and construction of the mosque, including acting as the chairman of the jury for the mosque design competition held in 1955. The design submitted by Frederich Silaban, a Christian architect, with the theme: “Ketuhanan” (Indonesian: Divinity) was chosen as the winner. The foundation stone was laid by Sukarno on 24 August 196 and the construction took 17 years. Indonesian president Suharto inaugurated the Indonesian national mosque on 22 February 1978. It is still the largest mosque in the region: more than 120,000 people can congregate at the mosque at the same time. The rectangular main prayer hall building is covered by a 45 meter d
Read more

Adverb of Cause and Effect

Adverb of Cause and Effect Adverb of cause and effect explains the cause and effect for which the action of the verb is done or taken place. It indicates the reason and the consequence for what happens.   Adverbs of cause and effect is usually started with conjunctive adverbs such as because, since, as, for, as a result, consequently/as a consequence, therefore, hence and thus. Use in Sentence 1. Because Examples: a. I did it because you asked me to. b. They go on strike because the company doesn’t meet their demands. 2. Since Since is normally used in informal spoken English . Examples: a. I don’t like her since she tends to talk too much. b. Since the meeting starts at 7, he must wake up early. 3. As As is usually used in more formal written English. Examples: a. As you eat too much food, you are now fat. b. I became stressful as the test was hard. 4. For For is actually more frequently used as a preposition but you can use it as conjunc
Read more

Adverbs of Comment

Adverbs of Comment Adverbs of comment state a comment, or opinion about a situation. Adverbs of comment among others are: actually, apparently, certainly, clearly, cleverly, confidentially, definitely, disappointingly, foolishly, fortunately honestly, happily, hopefully, ideally, kindly, luckily, naturally, obviously, possibly, presumably, seriously, simply, surely, surprisingly, thankfully, undoubtedly, unfortunately, wisely, etc. Adverbs of comment are usually placed at the beginning of a sentence and are separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma. Examples: 1. Definitely , I don’t agree with your plan. 2. Obviously , she refused to participate in that program. 3. Clearly , the teacher explained the subject. 4. Cleverly , he fixed my broken tablet. 5. Foolishly , the boy kicked the ball to his own goalpost. Adverbs of comment also can be placed in mid-position, before the main verb but after be. Examples: 1. We certainly enjoyed the concert. 2. He sur
Read more