Past Simple is called the simple past tense, but for many it is such a dark forest that they do not know how to approach it. We are sure that this is not about you, but still ... Why do we (or rather, the British) need this Past Simple Tense? Past Simple (otherwise, Past Indefinite) is pronounced like a paste simpl. The rules of the Past simple are simple: we will soon find out when the past simple is used, how the past simple is formed, why it is necessary to use the Past Simple, the rules and examples of the functioning of this tense in the text. Imagine the situation: here you are telling a friend what you did last summer. And they went there, and they were there, and they saw it. How to say all this in English? Not to build barricades from perfect forms, right? That's what Past Simple time is for.

Past Simple Tense: rules for using in English

So, let's take a closer look at Past Simple - when is this time used?

• An action that you (or someone else) has done regularly in the past. How often - it doesn't matter. At least every minute, at least once in a millennium. The main thing is that the action was repeated from time to time in the past. Like here: He often visited us (often visited), when we lived there.
• A permanent attribute of an object or characteristic of a person in the past. What was this object or person once? For example: Jane looked much better (looked much better), when I saw her last time.
• A chain of successive actions in the past. Often found in fairy tales like “grandmother for grandfather, grandfather for turnip”, i.e. where the actions of the characters are described step by step. The chain of simple actions is also found in our ordinary life. Take a look: I entered the hall, switched on the light, opened the wardrobe, and then quickly closed it. He entered, turned on the light, opened the closet - these are sequential actions, very little time passed between them. It makes no sense to complicate the sentence and try to convey this chain of actions in some other way than Past Simple.
• A single action in the past. Yes, yes, this is just about how you went to a resort 10 years ago, and now share your memories. What once happened some time ago (it doesn’t matter if it was yesterday or 140 years ago) is transmitted through the Past Simple.

Underwater rock:

How to deal with cultural heritage? For example, Shakespeare wrote such and such a work in such and such a year. After all, we use the results of Shakespeare's work, and we do it now - in this case, Past Simple is often confused with the present perfect, which just describes the result in the present. However, the simple paste rule here is quite strict. Any invention, any once written work is a fact in the past. And the facts, especially indicating exact date, is the sphere of the Simple times group.

Past Simple: education

How is Past Simple formed? And it's very simple. They don't call it simple for nothing. Past Simple, education: V2 (second form of the verb). Do you remember that all English verbs can be divided into regular and irregular?

Past Simple: Rules for Forming the Past Simple of Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs live their own lives: they have three forms, all three need to be known by heart. To get the Past Simple, we use the second form (V2) of the irregular verb.

For instance:

Buy - bought - bought Read - read - read Cut - cut - cut Lie - lay - lain List not regular verbs found at the end of any dictionary or reference book. Ideally, from the reference book, this list should migrate to the head. Fortunately, irregular verbs not so much. Relatively. But all other verbs that are not in the list of irregular ones are called regular. And everything is very easy with them. Past Simple: rules for the formation of the simple past of regular verbs Regular verbs in the Past Simple acquire the ending -ed or -d. We add it to the stem of the infinitive.

For instance:

To kick - he kicked (to kick - he kicked) To look - he looked (to look - he looked)

If the stem of the infinitive already ends in e, then only -d is added:

To dance - he danced (dance - he danced) To invite - he invited (invite - he invited) That's all! Still, it’s not for nothing that Past Simple was called simple, right? But there are also some pitfalls.

Nuance number 1

If the word ends with the letter y, then you need to change it to i and only then add the ending -ed. We do this manipulation only and exclusively when y is preceded by a consonant.

Compare:

To fly - he flied To obey - he obeyed In the case of obey before y - the vowel e. Well, we put the ending -ed and rejoice that nothing needs to be changed!

Nuance number 2

Liked? Then here's the second clue. If the verb ends with the combination: short vowel + consonant, then the consonant is usually doubled. To plan - he planned This is necessary in order to keep the closed syllable. After all, if in the word planned we do not double n, then we get an open syllable, and in an open syllable it is read differently. The result is a completely different word! Therefore, do not forget to double the consonant where necessary. But look at these examples: To fear - he feared To look - he looked There is no need to double anything here, because consonants are not at all short vowels, nothing can affect their pronunciation. In British English it is always doubled and l at the end of a word: To quarrel - we quarrelled But in American English, such a metamorphosis does not occur. To quarrel - we quarreled How to correctly read verbs with the ending -ed If it is relatively easy to put a verb in Past Simple, then sometimes it is not very easy to read. Try not to neglect the correct pronunciation, otherwise it will be very difficult for a foreigner to understand you.

What about questions and negatives?

To form a question or a negative, we need the auxiliary verb do. Without it, alas, no question can be made, no denial can be formed. The auxiliary verb do in the Past Simple will take the form did. In a negative sentence, did is placed after the subject and acquires the negative particle not.

Negation in Past Simple: the rule of education

Subject + did not + predicate (infinitive) Tom did not eat porridge. Did not = didn't. Didn't is an abbreviated form of did not. V oral speech you will most likely hear this form. Tom did not eat porridge = Tom didn't eat porridge. Mark did not come yesterday = Mark didn't come yesterday

Question in Past Simple: education rule

In a question, did will come first. The scheme of a general question in the past simple would be: DID + subject + predicate (infinitive)? Did Tom eat porridge? The answer to this question can be complete, but is usually short: - Yes, he did. / No, he didn't.
< strong>Pitfall: Very common mistake when forming questions and denials in Past Simple: use V2 instead of the infinitive. We have well understood how the paste simpl is formed - with the help of the ending -ed (for regular verbs) and V2 for irregular ones. Having understood this, we begin to put the second form of the verb everywhere, but in a question and a negation this is superfluous! The auxiliary verb do has already taken over the functions of the past simple and turned into did (remember that do is an irregular verb: do-did-done. Accordingly, its V2 is did). Did ALREADY shows past simple tense. It is simply not necessary to do any other additional manipulations with the semantic verb (predicate)! Did already took care of everything!

Special questions

These are questions that begin with a special question word. Question words: What what? Where where? Who who? why why? When when? Whom to whom? How how? Special questions are not as difficult as they seem. If the circuit simple question looks like this: DID + subject + predicate (infinitive)? Then the scheme of the special question looks like this: Interrogative word + DID + subject + predicate (infinitive)? We just put a question word on the zero position - and that's it! The rest of the word order remains unchanged. The English language would not be English if there were not some exception here. It is. With the question words Who (who?) And What? (what?), if we ask a question to the subject, such a scheme does not work. Indeed, it is even simpler. We just put who or what in place of the subject! And that's it! The predicate remains in the past simple. In practice, it looks like this: Mary ate ice-cream yesterday. (Mary ate ice cream yesterday.) Who ate ice-cream yesterday? (Who ate ice cream yesterday?) Important: this scheme with who only works when we ask a question to the subject. If we ask a question to a direct complement, then the scheme will be standard. Compare: Tom saw Mary two days ago. Who saw Mary two days ago? The question is asked to the subject (Tom). Who is in first position, no auxiliary verb required. Let's go further. Let's first set general question(the answer to which will be “yes” or “no”): Did Tom see Mary two days ago? (put did in first place) And now a special question with who, but not to the subject, but to the direct object (Mary): Who did Tom see two days ago? Since we are not asking the question to the subject, it means that, like any question word, who takes the zero position, did remains in the first position and further according to the standard scheme.)

Past Simple Markers

Markers are our helpers, clue words that help us understand when we need Past Simple time. If we notice such a word in a sentence, this is a very eloquent hint that we need to use the simple past tense.
Well, we know the markers, but where should we put them in the sentence? After all, the structure of the English sentence is quite rigid ... Markers that contain the words last, every, ago, as a rule, are placed in the last place in the sentence: I met Helen three months ago. Emma spent three weeks in Paris last year. Markers often, never, usually, seldom, always and similar usually come before the verb: I never saw you working. Tom and I always spent holidays together. Important: If it is not the verb of action that functions as a predicate, but the verb to be, then these markers are placed after it: John was often tired. Marker yesterday can occur both at the beginning of a sentence and at the end: Yesterday I bought a new fur coat. I bought a new fur coat yesterday. But sometimes can actually stand wherever he wants. More precisely, where you want: I went to Paris sometimes, but always felt uncomfortable there. Sometimes I went to Paris, but always felt uncomfortable there. What if there are no markers in the sentence? How do we work with the English sentence? Let's look at markers first. If you have a ago or last marker, then already at the stage of the first acquaintance with the sentence, without even translating it, you understand what time to use: Past Simple. If there are no obvious markers in the sentence, then we move on to the next step: we translate the sentence. And here you can see some clues.

For instance:

Year indication: in 1956, in 2007. My grandpa died in 2007. Month indication: in August, in September. I caught a cold in January. word during- for some time. Attention: during can only be used with nouns denoting a certain time period! During summer, during the weekend, during our meeting. Mary was in London during the winter. marker for. You need to be careful with this marker. This is one of the brightest indicators of present time perfect. However, if the action has already ended and there is no connection with the present, then for clearly indicates the Past Simple. Compare: I have lived here for 13 years. I have lived here for 13 years. (And I still live or am about to leave.) I lived in London for 13 years, but then moved to New York. I lived in London for 13 years and then moved to NY. (There is no connection with the present, he once lived, and then moved). Clarification with when I pierced my tongue when I was 16. This is a biography fact from the past. So, Past Simple. If the emphasis is not on the fact, but on the process, then another time will be used, Past Continuous: I was eating when my mom called me. Emphasis on the process - I was eating when my mother called me. Pay attention to the second part of the sentence: when my mom called me. Here we use the Past Simple again. Why? Because a shorter action or an action that interrupts a process (expressed in this case as the Past Continuous) requires the use of the Past Simple. Translate the sentence correctly and see how semantic accents are placed! Past Simple is primarily a fact in the past. If the action used to happen regularly, but is no longer happening at the present time, the construction used to + infinitive is used. With this expression, we can designate the habits of the past that we do not have now, or the qualities and properties that are now missing. Take a look: I used to be good at drawing, but now I cannot draw even a straight line. I used to be good at drawing, but now I can't even draw a straight line. The translation of sentences of this type can begin with the words “once” or “remembered”. She used to be so pretty! I remember she was so pretty! As a synonym used to we can use would + infinitive- but only to indicate actions in the past, not characteristics! My mom would bake the best cookies when I was a child. Now you know everything about the Past Simple tense and can easily express your thoughts. And to make your English even more beautiful, read our other articles about the rules and nuances of English grammar.

We already know how to express the regular and ordinary actions of the present, now it's time to learn how to make up stories about the past. V English language for simple combinations of the past, the form past indefinite or past is responsible simple examples found in almost every dialogue. Today we will analyze the construction of this time, possible types of sentences and the nuances of exceptions. This category is more complicated than the present simple , but it also has similar grammatical features.

As in other tenses, this aspect is characterized by the formation of several types of expressions.

affirmative

interrogative

But asking questions with the help of one verb in English will not work at all. Let's remember how the present simple behaves in such situations and make up sentences in the past simple. Examples:

• Do you read this magazine? -Youreadingthismagazine?(Present)
• Does your sister watch the cartoons? -yourssisterlookscartoons?(Present)

To give the expression the context of the past, it is necessary to change only one element - the auxiliary verb do. Moreover, if in the present tense it has two options, then for the past it is even easier - the form did is used in all faces.

• Did you read this magazine? -Youreadthismagazine?(Past tense)
• Did your sister watch the cartoons? -yourssisterwatchedcartoons?(Past tense)

As you can see, the construction is very simple, but many people make a common mistake - they put the main verb in the past tense. Remember, past tense questions are always formed with did and simple infinitive !

• Did we buy five or six books? -Webought 5 or 6books?

Once again, we pay attention: used buy but by no means notbought!

In English, special questions are also very popular, that is, phrases with special interrogative words. They move did and take the first place in the sentence.

• Where did they walk yesterday? Where did they walk yesterday?

There are examples of other constructions-questions for the past simple, but we will consider them a little later.

negative

When creating negations, we will also draw an analogy with the present simple.

Examples

• She doesn't paint portraits-Shenotdrawsportraits.(Present)
• I don't drink lemonade-I AMnotdrinklemonade.(Present)

To change the present to the past, we manipulate the do / does + not combination, turning it into did + not, the same for all faces.

• She didn't 't paint portraitsShe didn't paint portraits.(Past tense)
• I didn't 't drink lemonadeI didn't drink lemonade.(Past tense)

Everything ingenious is simple, and there is nothing more to add on the topic of a negative sentence in the past indefinite.

Interrogative-negative

It is time to study the previously mentioned interrogative combinations. In this case, they are represented by a combination of a question and a negative. Such phrases are often used in colloquial speech when we want to clarify something with the interlocutor. Here are examples of such expressions immediately in the past tense.

Examples

• didn't 't you call me? - Didn't you call me?
• Did they not go tothecinema? Didn't they go to the cinema?

Pay attention to how not behaves in abbreviated and full constructions.

There is another concept divisive questions. They are very similar to ordinary statements, only they have a small tail at the end. “ did?” , which can be translated as "yes?", "isn't it?".

• You read thisarticle, didn't 't you ? You have read this article, haven't you?
• They didn't play tennis, did they? They didn't play tennis, did they?

To use such questions, remember the rule: if the sentence is affirmative, then the tail will be negative, and vice versa.

To be and have

We have already noted that irregular verbs behave in a special way when changing the form to the past simple. We will not cover all of them, but we will analyze the two most important types: to be and have (in the British version have got).

Pronouns	Infinitive	past tense past indefinite
		+	?	—
3 person singular + 1 person singular: he, she, it, I		…was….	Was….?	…was not…
Plural: we, you, they		…were…	Were…?	…were not…
All pronouns	have	…had…	Did…have…? Didn't…have…?	…did not have… …didn’t have…

To consolidate, we give a few examples of to be and has in the past simple and their translation.

Examples

As you can see, to be transforms on its own, while have requires an auxiliary did.

This completes the study of grammatical construction and proceeds to the consideration of cases of using pastes simpl.

Situations of use

There are several situations characteristic of the simple past tense. The most popular case is a description of an action performed once in the past.

• We translated those sentences from Russian into English yesterday -YesterdaywetranslatedthosesuggestionsWithRussianon theEnglish.
• 2016 was the year of monkey. 2017 is the year of rooster – 2016wasyearmonkeys. 2017-yearrooster (Current Time).
  

Past indefinite is also used to express regular events that happened in the past.

• My brother often painted cats and dogs in his childhoodMybrotheroftendrewvchildhoodcatsanddogs.
• LastyearI studied Englishtwiceaweek – Last year I studied English twice a week.

When listing past actions that took place simultaneously, the construction of the simple past is also used.

• She bought apen, wrote apost cardand sent ittoherfriends She bought a pen, wrote a postcard and sent it to her friends.
• I took shower, called my girlfriend and went to sleep-I AMacceptedshower,calledhisgirlandlay downsleep.

This concludes the study of theory. To make it easier to remember, below is a small table that includes past simple construction schemes and example sentences. In addition, it contains the circumstances of time - these are peculiar keywords, by which it is easy to determine that the sentence uses paste simpl.

Past simple sentence examples and time indicators

+	?	—
….IIverb form...	Did……infinitive…	…did not (didn't)infinitive…
She signed the agreement. She signed this agreement. I bought a new flat last year. Last year I bought a new apartment. We sang a lot of songs at the karaoke club. We sang a lot of songs in the karaoke club.	Did they watch the movie? Did they watch this movie? Did he catch this bird? Did he catch this bird? Did you invite him to the party? Did you invite him to the party?	We didn't offer you this job. We did not offer you to change the car. You didn't write the report. You didn't write a report. I didn't run at the stadium last weekend. I didn't run at the stadium last weekend.
Unith….was… Mn.h…were…	Was...? Were…?	…was not (wasn’t)… …were not (weren’t)…
I was at the gym. I was in the gym. They were right. They were right.	was he angry? Was he angry? Were we at the cinema last month? We were at the cinema last month?	They weren't happy together. They were not happy together. She wasn't born in London. He was not born in London.
Signal words: ago, long ago, last week (month, year), yesterday, in 1990 year, in those times.

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Past Indefinite Tense

Grammar English > Verb

Past indefinite tense in English (THE PAST INDEFINITE TENSE)

1. Depending on the ways in which the main forms of verbs in English are formed (past indefinite tense and past participle), all verbs are divided into two categories: regular verbs and irregular verbs.

2. Regular verbs in the past indefinite tense and affirmative form are created by adding a suffix -ed to the infinitive, without a particle to:

2.1. After voiceless consonants, this suffix is ​​read [t]:

to talk - talk - talked - spoke
to place - place - placed - placed

2.2. After voiced consonants, as well as vowels - [d]:

to live - live - lived - lived
to stay - stay - stayed - stayed

2.3. After the letters t and d - :

to correct - correct - corrected - corrected
to translate - translate - translated - translated
to decide - decide - decided - decided

2.4. If the last consonant is preceded by a short stressed vowel, then the suffix -ed, such a consonant is doubled. Consonant " L" is doubled before the suffix -ed always:

to stop - stop - stopped - stopped
to control - control -controlled - controlled
to travel - travel - travelled - traveled

2.5. In cases where the last letter is -y and she stands after the consonant, then before the suffix -ed she changes to -i:

to try - try - tried - tried
to supply - supply - supplied - supplied

2.6. If -y stands after a vowel, it does not change before a suffix -ed:

to play play - played - played
to apply -employed - employed

2.7. Final letter -e before suffix -ed omitted:

to recite - recite -recited - recited
to recognize - recognize - recognized - learned

3. Irregular verbs form the affirmative form of the past indefinite tense by changing the entire stem of the verb, or the root vowel:

to run - run - ran - ran
to write - write - wrote - wrote
to be - to be -was, were - was
to have - have -had - had
to go - go -went - walked

In dictionaries and tables of irregular verbs, along with the main form, two more main forms of the verb are usually given - the past indefinite tense and the past participle:

to begin - began - begun - Begin
to choose - chose - chosen - Choose
to draw - drew - drawn - Draw, drag

4. All verbs (regular and irregular) in the past indefinite tense form an interrogative form as follows: auxiliary verb to do in past tense form ( did) is placed before the subject, and the infinitive of the semantic verb without a particle to- after the subject:

Did you play a football yesterday? - Did you play football yesterday?
Did he serve in the national army last year? - Did he serve in the national army last year?

5. To form the negative form of the past indefinite tense for all regular and irregular verbs, an auxiliary verb is also used to do in the past time ( did), and the negative particle not. Both of these components are placed after the subject:

I did not play a football yesterday. - I didn't play football yesterday.
Did not serve in the national army last year. - He did not serve in the national army last year.

In colloquial speech, the phrase did not, usually shortened to didn't:

6. So, let's summarize the word formation of verbs in THE PAST INDEFINITE TENSE.

6.1. Regular verbs (consider the verb to work):
Affirmative form:

I worked - I worked
He worked - He worked
She worked - She worked
It worked - He, she, it, it worked (about inanimate objects)
We worked - We worked
You worked - You worked, you worked
They worked - They worked

Interrogative form:

Did I work? - I worked?
Did he work? - He worked?
Did she work? - She worked?
Did it work? - He, she, it, did it work? (of inanimate objects)
Did we work? - We worked?
Did you work? - Did you work? You worked?
Did they work? - They worked?

Negative form:

I did not work - I did not work
He did not work - He did not work
She did not work - She did not work
It did not work - He, she, it, it didn't work (about inanimate objects)
We did not work - We did not work
You did not work - You didn't work, you didn't work
They did not work - They did not work

6.2. Irregular verbs (consider the verb to speak):
Affirmative form:

I spoke - I spoke
He spoke - He spoke
She spoke - She spoke
It spoke - He, she, it, it was talking (about inanimate objects)
We spoke - We talked
You spoke - You spoke, you spoke
They spoke - They talked

Interrogative form:

Did I speak? - I was talking?
Did he speak? - Did he talk?
Did she speak? - Did she talk?
Did it speak? - He, she, it, it was talking? (of inanimate objects)
Did we speak? - Did we talk?
Did you speak? - Did you talk? Did you talk?
Did they speak? - They were talking?

Negative form:

I did not speak - I did not speak
He did not speak - He did not speak
She did not speak - She did not speak
It did not speak - He, she, it, it did not speak (about inanimate objects)
We did not speak - We did not speak
You did not speak - You didn't talk, you didn't talk
They did not speak - They did not speak

6.3. Verb to be:
Affirmative form:

I was - I was
He was - He was
She was - She was
It was - He, she, it, it was (about inanimate objects)
We were - We were
You were - You were, you were
They were - They were

Interrogative form:

Was I? - I was?
Was he? - He was?
Was she? - She was?
Was it? - He, she, it, was it? (of inanimate objects)
Were we? - We were?
Were you? - You was? You were?
Were they? - They were?

Negative form (+ abbreviated negative form)

I was not - I was not - I wasn "t
He was not - He was not - He wasn "t
She was not - She wasn't - She wasn't
It was not - He, she, it, it was not (about inanimate objects) - It wasn "t
We were not - We were not - We weren "t
You were not - You weren't, You weren't - You weren "t
They were not - They were not - They weren "t

6.4. to have verb:
Affirmative form:

I had - I had
He had - He had
She had - She had
It had - He, she, it, it had (about inanimate objects)
We had
You had - You had, you had
They had- They had

Interrogative form:

Had I? - I had?
Had he? - He had?
Had she? - She had?
Had it? - He, she, it, it had? (of inanimate objects)
Had we? - We had?
Had you? - Did you have, did you have?
Had they? - They had?

Negative form:

I had no (not) - I didn't have
He had no (not) - He didn't have
She had no (not) - She didn't have
It had no (not) - He, she, it, it didn't have (about inanimate objects)
We had no (not) - We didn't have
You had no (not) - You didn't have, you didn't have
They had no (not) - They didn't have

Using THE PAST INDEFINITE TENSE

7. As a rule, the past indefinite tense is used in the following cases:
7.1. When expressing an action that has passed and the time of its action is expressed in words like: "yesterday" (yesterday), "the other day" (the other day), "last week"(month, etc.) last week (month etc.) etc:

Arthur Smith joined the army when World War I broke out. - When did the first World War Arthur Smith enlisted in the army.

7.2. When expressing several successive actions that have already happened in the past:

Didn't take the telephone, dialled the number and waited for an answer. He picked up the phone, dialed a number and waited for an answer.

7.3. When expressing ordinary actions, often repeated in the past:

It was the habit of Arthur Smith to leave nothing untested. - Arthur Smith had a habit of leaving nothing unverified.

7.4. When expressing a common truth (well-known facts) that took place in the past:

The World War I broke out on the August, 1914. - The First World War began in August 1914.

Category: Grammar

This grammatical tense is used:

• when we talk about an action that is fixed in the past. In this meaning, it is usually used with such time indicators as: last year/month/week, two years ago, turnover with when: When I was a child... He met us in the park an hour ago. He met us in the park an hour ago.
• to convey a sequence of actions in the past
  He shut the window, switched off the light and went upstairs. He closed the window, turned off the light and went upstairs.
• to convey repeated actions in the past
  She walked in the park every night. She walked in the park every evening.

Suggestion words:

last week/month/year - last week/last month/year

a week (month, year) ago

yesterday - yesterday

Formation of time Past indefinite

affirmative form Past Indefinite of regular verbs is formed by adding the ending -ed to the infinitive form in all persons: to live - liv ed, to walk - walk ed.

The ending -ed is pronounced as [d] after voiced consonants and vowels, [t] after voiceless consonants, or [ιd] after letters t and d: liv ed, work ed, expect ed[ιks′pektιd].

If the verb is irregular, then the second form is used in Past Indefinite (see the list of irregular verbs): to take - I took, to send - she sent.

Interrogative form both regular and irregular verbs are formed using the auxiliary verb did (to do in the past tense) and the infinitive form of the semantic verb without the to particle, and the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject: Did I work? Did she work?

negative form both regular and irregular verbs are formed using the auxiliary verb did, the particle not and the infinitive form of the semantic verb, with not placed after the auxiliary verb: I didn't (did not) work. She didn't (did not) work.

In the interrogative and negative form, the ending -ed is absent from the verb (it seems to go into did).

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