Teacher:
Gonzalo Vargas
Simple past tense
The simple past is a verb tense that is used to talk about things that happened or existed before now.
What is the simple past tense?
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The simple past tense describes an event from the past that does not extend into the present.
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All verbs are changed into the past tense form in positive sentences.
Formula
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The simple past tense works through the auxiliary verb DID which is used for all the pronouns (I, you, we, they, he, she it).
Questions:
Did + pronoun + infinitive verb + predicate + ?
Did she write two letters yesterday?
Affirmative:
Pronoun + conjugated verb + predicate
She wrote two letters yesterday.
Negative:
No + Pronoun + negative auxiliary verb + predicate
No, she didn't write two letters yesterday.
Types of verbs
| Regular verbs | Conjugation | Irregular verbs | Conjugation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live | Lived | Write | Wrote |
| Work | Worked | Understand | Understood |
| Move | Moved | To be | Was / were |
| Paint | Painted | Arise | Arose |
| Call | Called | Sing | Sang |
Formula
I was in Canada
I wasn't in Canada
Were you in Canada?
They were soldiers
They weren't soldiers
Were they soldiers?
Oh, mama!
It's Practice time!
Ellipse
By Gonzalo Vargas J
