Past Simple & Perfect
Past Simple & Perfect
&Simple Past
Past Perfect
Form :
Had + Past participle
The Past Perfect expresses the idea that
something occurred before another
action in the past.
It can also show that something
happened before a specific time in the
past
Past Perfect
Functions :
~ Completed Action Before
Something in the Past.
I had never seen I had already
such a beautiful eaten my
sunset before I went breakfast by the
to Hawaii time he picked me
up
Past Perfect
I thought he had
changed to be
better man
(I think he has
turned into a
better man.)
Past Perfect
~ To express the hope / dream that
is not accomplished .
Examples:
•I saw a movie yesterday.
•I didn't see a play yesterday.
•Last year, I traveled to Japan.
•Last year, I didn't travel to
Korea.
•Did you have dinner last night?
•She washed her car.
•He didn't wash his car.
USE 2: A Series of Completed Actions
We use the Simple Past to list a series of
completed actions in the past. These
actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so
on.
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?
USE 3: Duration in
The SimplePast
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.
•We talked on the phone for thirty
minutes.
•A: How long did you wait for them?
B: We waited for one hour.
USE 4: Habits in the
The SimplePast
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.
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?
•She worked at the movie theater
after school.
•They never went to school, they
always skipped class.
USE 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.
Typical expressions used with
Past Simple Tense:
•yesterday
•the day before
•two days ago
•last week
•last month
•last year
•a year ago
•3 years ago
•then
•once
We form the Simple Past:
- with regular verbs: infinitive + -ed
- with irregular verbs: 2nd column of
the table of the irregular verbs
I
You
He He arrived late last night.
She (regular verb)
It
We They came back late
last night.
You (irregular
verb)
We use the the same form of
the verb every time regardless
the subject.
) verbs ending in –y
verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a vowel (a, e, i, o, u): A
xample:
lay - played
verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a consonant:
hange 'y' to 'i' Then add -ed.
Example:
hurry - hurried
You have to know all forms of the irregular verbs.
For the Simple Past you need the form of the verb
which can be found in the 2nd column of the table
of the irregular verbs.
irregular verbs:
2nd column of the table of the irregular verbs
Examples:
•Be - was/were - been
•Come – came - come
•Give – gave - given
•Know – knew - known
•See – saw - seen
Pronunciation of the ending -
ed in the Simple Past
In the Simple Past we add -ed to regular verbs.
Be careful pronuncing the verbs: