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Past Simple

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18 views

Past Simple

English

Uploaded by

ddylybynd
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Past Simple Tense

(also called the simple past tense)

It's similar to the present simple because it has different rules for the verb 'be', which becomes
'was' or 'were':

The Past Simple with 'be'

Here's how to make the positive:

• I was cold
• You were tired
• He was in the garden
• She was late
• It was sunny
• We were on holiday
• They were hungry

To make the negative with 'be', just add 'not':

Negative with 'be' Negative Short Form

• I was not sleepy • I wasn't sleepy


• You were not on the bus • You weren't on the bus

• He was not at school • He wasn't at school

• She was not beautiful • She wasn't beautiful

• It was not cold • It wasn't cold

• We were not at work • We weren't at work

• They were not tired • They weren't tired

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To make a question, just like the present simple, we change the position of 'was / were' and the
subject.

Here are the past simple 'yes / no' questions with 'be':

• Was I sleepy?
• Were you late?
• Was he at the cinema?
• Was she kind?
• Was it hot?
• Were we hungry?
• Were they at work?

And the 'wh' questions with 'be' (the question word just goes at the beginning, everything else is
the same):

• Why was I sleepy?


• Where were you?
• When was he at the cinema?
• How was she?
• How was it?
• Why were we hungry?
• When were they at work?

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The Past Simple (Simple Past) with Other Verbs

We make the past simple just like the present simple except we use 'did' instead of 'do / does'.
It's really easy because 'did' doesn't change, even with 'he / she / it'.

The positive

We usually make the positive by adding '-ed' to the infinitive. For example, 'play' becomes
'played'. However, there are some irregular verbs, for example 'go' becomes 'went' and 'run'
becomes 'ran'.

• I walked (regular)
• You played (regular)
• He cooked (regular)
• She listened (regular)
• It rained (regular)
• We ate (irregular)
• They drank (irregular)

The negative

In the negative there aren't any irregular verbs. All verbs use 'did not (didn't) + infinitive':

Negative Negative Short Form

• I did not walk • I didn't walk


• You did not play • You didn't play
• He did not cook • He didn't cook
• She did not listen • She didn't listen
• It did not rain • It didn't rain
• We did not eat • We didn't eat
• They did not drink • They didn't drink

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Questions

Questions are also very easy. Just put 'did' before the subject, and the infinitive after it.
Here are the 'yes / no' questions:

• Did I walk?
• Did you play?
• Did he cook?
• Did she listen?
• Did it rain?
• Did we eat?
• Did they drink?

To make a 'wh' question, of course, put the question word at the beginning of the sentence:

• Where did I go?


• What did you play?
• What did he cook?
• Why did she listen?
• When did it rain?
• Where did we eat?
• How did they travel?

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May be freely copied for personal or classroom use.

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