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B1 - 01 Simple Past Tense Grammar

The document discusses the simple past tense in English. It can be used to describe: 1. Completed actions that occurred at a specific time in the past. 2. A series of completed actions that happened in the past. 3. Actions that occurred over a duration of time in the past. It also discusses using the simple past tense to describe past habits, facts, and generalizations. The document provides examples of simple past tense sentence structures and placements of time expressions and adverbs.

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129 views

B1 - 01 Simple Past Tense Grammar

The document discusses the simple past tense in English. It can be used to describe: 1. Completed actions that occurred at a specific time in the past. 2. A series of completed actions that happened in the past. 3. Actions that occurred over a duration of time in the past. It also discusses using the simple past tense to describe past habits, facts, and generalizations. The document provides examples of simple past tense sentence structures and placements of time expressions and adverbs.

Uploaded by

nogara
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Simple past tense (grammar)


1. Completed Action 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 watched a movie yesterday.
 I did not (didn't) see a play yesterday.
 Last year, I traveled to Japan.
 Did you have dinner last night?

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 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met
the others at 10:00.
 Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

3. Duration in Past

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

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.
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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?

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.

TIME EXPRESSIONS

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as:

Once Ago
In those days Last week
On Monday Yesterday

Examples:
 You went to the beach once.
 I worked in Mexico two years ago.
 We ate tamales on Saturday.
 They were in love in those days.

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, never,
ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:
 You just called Debbie.
 I never called Debbie.
 We still paid our tuition.
 They always went to the beach.
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Simple past tense (structure)


1. Affirmative Sentences

Subject + Main Verb + Complement (Predicate)

Examples:
 I talked in class. Yo hablaba en clase.
 He ate every day. Él comió todos los días.
 They learnt English. Ellos aprendieron inglés.

2. Negative Sentences

Subject + Aux. Verb + Not + Main Verb + Complement (Predicate)


Examples:
 I did not [didn't] do that. Yo no hice eso.
 He did not [didn't] eat hamburgers. Él no comió harburguesas.
 They did not [didn't] learn. Ellos no aprendían.

3. Interrogative Sentences

Aux. Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Complement + ?


Wh Word + Aux. Verb + Subject + Main Verb + ?
Examples:
 Did you talk in class? ¿Habló usted en clase?
 Did they learn English? ¿Aprendieron ellos inglés?
 When did he come home? ¿Cuándo vino él a la casa?
 Where did they work? ¿Dónde trabajaban ellos?

4. Interrogatives with Who (who is an interrogative word that might be used in


different forms)

 As subject
Examples:
o Who talked? ¿Quién habló?
o Who ate pizza? ¿Quién comió pizza?

 As object
Examples:
o Who did you meet? ¿A quién encontraste tú?
o Who did he call? ¿A quién llamó él?

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