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The Past Simple Tense With Lexical Verbs

The document discusses the past simple tense and various verb forms in English. It provides examples and explanations of: 1) Using the past simple tense with regular and irregular verbs to express completed actions in the past. 2) Combining the past simple with other tenses like the past continuous and past perfect to sequence and describe multiple past actions. 3) Forming affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences with the past simple of lexical verbs and the verb "to be".

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Shahad Shakir
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
59 views

The Past Simple Tense With Lexical Verbs

The document discusses the past simple tense and various verb forms in English. It provides examples and explanations of: 1) Using the past simple tense with regular and irregular verbs to express completed actions in the past. 2) Combining the past simple with other tenses like the past continuous and past perfect to sequence and describe multiple past actions. 3) Forming affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences with the past simple of lexical verbs and the verb "to be".

Uploaded by

Shahad Shakir
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Past Simple Tense with Lexical Verbs

I saw Maria yesterday.


Last Friday, the students took their spelling and vocabulary tests.
They got married two years ago.

- Used to express the idea that an action started and finished at a


specific time in the past.
Uses of the Simple Past
He visited his parents every weekend.
- Action in the past taking place once, never or several times.

He came in, took off his coat and sat down.


- Actions in the past taking place one after the other.

When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.


- Action in the past taking place in the middle of another action.

If I had a lot of money, I would share it with you.


- if sentences type II (If I talked, …).
Regular Verbs
When I was a child, I ___________ the piano. (play)
Donna ______________ Paris last summer. (visit)

- Played - Visited
- For regular verbs, simply use the –ed form of the verb in a positive
sentence.
Irregular Verbs
Last week, I ___________ you a letter. (send)
The students __________an English exam. (have)
They _______ a great job! (do).

- Sent – Had – Did


- Irregular forms must be memorized.
Negative
Jack watched TV in the afternoon.
Jack didn’t watch TV in the afternoon.

I went to work yesterday.


I didn’t go to work yesterday.

My parents had lunch in the kitchen.


My parents didn’t have lunch in the kitchen.

Subject + did not/didn’t + base + … + .


Interrogative
The children played in the yard. (where)
Where did the children play?

My car broke down last month. (When)


When did your car break down?

Jane left work around 11 o’clock. (What time)


What time did Jane leave work?

Wh-word + did + Subject + base + … + ?


The Past Simple Tense with “be”
I ______ at home last night. (be)
My sister ______ really tired after work. (be)
The doctors ______ very helpful. (be)

Was – Was – Were.


Negative
I ______ happy last year. (be: negative)
It _____ a beautiful city. (be: negative)
We _____ in Australia. (be: negative)
These _____ your pens and pencils. (be: negative)

- Wasn’t – Wasn’t – Weren’t – Weren’t


Interrogative: Yes & No Questions
I was extremely hungry.
Were you extremely hungry?

Donna was at the park.


Was Donna at the park?

The roads were empty.


Were the roads empty?

Was / Were + Subject + … + ?


Interrogative: Wh-Questions
The couch was in the living room. (where)
Where was the couch?

I was late to the meeting because I had a flat tire. (Why)


Why were you late to the meeting?

Wh-word + was / were + subject + … + ?


Past Continuous: Affirmative
I was watching T.V.
You were working hard.
My parents were helping our neighbors.

- S + was/were + v + ing
- Use the past continuous to describe an action that was in progress at
some point in the past.
Past Continuous: Negative
He was writing a letter.
He was not writing a letter.

They were playing football.


They weren’t playing football.

- was not = wasn’t


- were not = weren’t
Past Continuous: Interrogative
They were chopping some wood in the garden. (Where)
Where were they chopping wood?

Liam was taking English classes so that he could get a job. (Why)
Why was Liam taking English Classes?

Wh-word + was/were + s + v + ing + ?


Past Continuous
While I was doing my homework, my brother was listening to music.
Sam was driving around the neighborhood while Jina was watching T.V.

- We can use “while” to describe to actions happening at the same


time.
- When “while” is used in the middle of the sesntence, a comma is not
required.
Past Continuous: Narration
It was a nice Spring morning. The sun was shining and the birds were
singing.
On one January night in 1992, the sky was raining and Cassandra was
sleeping in her bedroom.

- We can use the past continuous to set the scene when telling a story.
Past Continuous + Simple Past
We were watching T.V., when the door bell rang.
While the teacher was explaining the grammar, the lights went out.
They were drinking coffee when I arrived.

- Sentence has two actions.


- Second action interrupts the first one.
- First action is described with the past continuous, and the second one
with the simple past.
Past Perfect
She had come late to school.
He had lived in California for 5 years.
They’d gone out.

- S + had + past participle verb


- ‘d = had
Past Perfect + Simple Past
When I woke up, I opened the bedroom window and realized that it
had rained during the night.
I went out after I had done my homework.
Mike had finished dinner by the time his wife arrived home.

- Use the past perfect to express an earlier past action.


Past Tenses: All Together – Telling a Story
One day, I was doing the dishes in the kitchen and looking at the
children who were playing outside when the ski suddenly rained and all
the children became disappointed. My sister Janet ran home and was
crying. When I asked her why she was crying, she said that her friend
Timmy had pulled her hair.

- Use the past continuous to set the scene.


- Use the past simple to say what happened.
- Use the past perfect to express an earlier action.

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