1.9: Simple Past Tense
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Past Tense Meanings of Verbs in English
Simple Past Tense: Used to describe actions or activities that began and ended in the past. Its emphasis is on the action itself and not on the action's relationship to another action in the past. It simply says, "This happened."
Examples:
I went to the store yesterday, bought some milk and eggs, and returned home.
The United States fought in World War Two. Thousands of soldiers died in Asia.
My father drove a cab for many years. He only had one accident in all the years that he drove cabs for a living.
My son got up this morning, ate breakfast, and left for school.
Two Types of Past Tense Verbs: Regular and Irregular
1. Regular verbs are verbs that end in ed in the past tense affirmative.
Examples: open/opened, start/started, wait/waited, memorize/memorized
2. Irregular Verbs are verbs that change form in the past and past participle form.
Examples: go/went, strike/struck, fly/flew, write/wrote, put/put, forget/forgot
The same rules for the negative and question form apply to both types of verbs.
Sample Sentences:
We stayed home last night and ate dinner together.
My father drove a taxi and worked in a factory for many years.
My brother broke the chair and then tried to fix it.
I enjoyed living with my family, but I left home at 22 years old.
We saw a man who needed to buy some medicine.
Forming the Negative: Present and Past Tenses
Present Tense Negative Past Tense Negative
I I
You play. You play.
We don’t go. We didn’t go.
They wash. They wash.
He play. He play.
She doesn’t go. She didn’t go.
It wash. It wash.
After the helping verbs don’t, doesn’t, and didn’t ALWAYS use the base form of the verb in the present tense and in the past tense.
Use the S Form of the Verb only in the present tense for he, she, and it. Never use the S Form in the past tense.
Notice that in the present tense and in the past tense that the verb always goes back to the base form after don’t, doesn’t, and didn’t.
Present Tense Negative Verb To Be Past Tense Negative Verb To Be
I am not I was not
He He
She is not She was not
It It
We We
You are not You were not
They They
When you change the verb to be from the present tense to the past tense, you use the words was and were. When you want to make the past continuous tense, then the main verb always uses ing.
Remember that the words am, is, and are have the same meaning as was and were. The only difference is the time (tense).
I am in class today. I was in class yesterday.
We are living in Seattle. We were living in different places when we were younger.
My son is at work now. He was in his apartment last night.
When you change the verb to be from the present tense to the past tense, you use the words was and were. When you want to make the past continuous tense, then the main verb always uses ing.
Sounds for ED Endings for Regular Verbs
ED sounds like a T, ID, and D depending on the sound that comes before it in a word.
1. ED sounds like T when the last sound in a word is a: P, K, F, S, SH, CH, or X.
walk kiss crunch splash
kick clap fix staff
miss watch stop laugh
Examples:
The audience clapped for twenty minutes for the singer.
The mechanic fixed my transmission.
We watched the movie on television.
2. ED sounds like ID when the last sound in a word is a: T or D.
wait raid hate pretend
invite defend need lift
skate invent start aid
Examples:
We waited for the bus for five minutes.
He pretended to be sick.
The soldiers defended the village.
3. ED sounds like D in all other regular verbs.
arrive open close play
form buzz hang spell
bow save enjoy call
Examples:
We arrived at the meeting five minutes late.
The boy called his mother from his friend's house.
I enjoyed watching the baseball game.
Exercise 49: Change the following sentences to the past tense, please.
1. I sometimes go to the store every day after school to buy groceries.
2. My sister eats some chocolate ice cream with her grandchildren every night.
3. Some people intend to go to the party late.
4. We often have a lot of fun when we play in the snow.
5. Speaking a foreign language always makes me laugh at myself.
6. Going shopping with my mother and sister is not fun for me.
7. Some boys hang out during the summer every year.
8. I like to look out the window and dream.
9. My uncle fixes houses in Rhode Island.
10. My sister comes to Seattle every year.
11. I drive a 1999 Ford to work every day for many years.
12. Careful people bind packages before they send them in the mail.
13. Mothers feed babies.
14. We often creep in the grass when my friends and I play together.
15. Some children seldom help their mother to clean the house.
16. I plant vegetables in my garden every spring.
17. The ground often freezes in Seattle in winter.
18. My son still mows my lawn every two weeks.
19. My alarm clock rings every morning at 6:00 AM.
20. Mothers always think about what is best for their children.
21. I weep when I think about my late father.
22. Most children tear their pants all of the time.
23. My neighbor pulls the weeds out of his garden every Sunday.
24. Relatives write email messages to other relatives whenever they travel to foreign countries.
25. I swim in the Atlantic Ocean every summer.
26. We open the windows in our house every summer.
27. My sister smokes cigarettes all day long.
28. Some people have to spend lots of money every week.
29. Mr. McDonald teaches me history in the eighth grade.
30. My dog and cat sleep all day long.
31. Students usually do their homework in the evening.
Exercise 50: Change the following sentences to the Past Tense Negative, please.
1. We intended to buy a new car last week.
2. He had a sandwich for lunch.
3. My sister let my sons play computer games.
4. He remembered to take his wife to the market.
5. She borrowed $100 from her brother.
6. The police arrested the thief last night.
7. I forgot to pick up the milk on my way home.
8. Friday morning was the last day for class.
9. Tom brought a book to the class.
10. He helped his friend fix the car.
11. The girls made dinner for their father.
12. I wished to see the old man.
13. He invented the first telephone.
14. The teacher corrected the students’ homework assignment.
15. The businessman flew to Chicago on a business trip.
Exercise 51: Change these sentences from the affirmative to the negative, please.
1. The old man fell on the floor.
2. The housewife froze the meat that she bought at the store.
3. I lost my wallet at the meeting.
4. The tire on my car blew out last week.
5. The U. S. Army invaded a peaceful country.
6. The government collected taxes from all American people last April 15th.
7. We saw the bank robber get away in his car.
8. The soldiers fought bravely against their enemy.
9. Some people hated to do their work.
10. The employer interviewed 10 people for the one job.
11. The woman wore a beautiful yellow dress to the party.
12. My sister shopped for a new shower stall for her house.
13. The judge released the prisoner from jail.
14. We heard the birds singing in the trees.
15. The man rejected the job offer.
Exercise 52: Change the following sentences to the negative, please.
1. The government proved its case against the bank robbers.
2. My son swept the floor last night.
3. I shut the door when I entered my house.
4. Some employees quit their jobs.
5. My son sat in the front seat when I drove my car.
6. The boys were sliding on the floor yesterday evening.
7. My mother shrank when she got old.
8. The women split the bill at the restaurant yesterday.
9. The girl sought to marry a rich man.
10. The young sisters ran a high fever for a few days.
11. Some children picked fruit near their house.
12. That store sold furniture and appliances for the home.
13. The cowboys rode their horses every afternoon last summer.
14. Two boats sank in the river during the storm.
15. My son shook his head when I asked him if he wanted to eat vegetables.
Exercise 53: Change the following sentences to the past tense yes/no questions, please.
1. We intended to buy a new lawnmower last week.
2. He had a Vietnamese sandwich for lunch.
3. My brother let my sons sleep late yesterday.
4. He forgot to take his wife to the market.
5. She borrowed $100 from her boyfriend.
6. The police arrested the murderer last night.
7. I forgot to pick up the milk on my way home.
8. Last Thursday was the last day for class that quarter.
9. Tom brought a book to the class.
10. He helped his friend fix the car.
11. The girls made a cake for their father’s birthday.
12. I wished to see my old friends.
13. He invented many things in his life.
14. The teacher corrected the students’ compositions.
15. The businessman took a trip to Boston on business.
Exercise 54: Change the following sentences to WH questions with the word provided, please.
- My girlfriend had long, blond hair.
What color hair
- She spoke to her friends on the train.
Who(m)
- I drank two cups of coffee in the morning.
How many
- My sons were making quite a mess at my house.
What
- John always used his brother’s car in the evening.
Whose
- I enjoyed teaching English as a second language.
What
- The sun shone every day in the summer.
When
- A teacher had a lot of responsibility.
How much
- We were using the new computer lab yesterday morning.
Which
- Good students always tried hard in school.
How
- The postman delivered the mail late yesterday.
What
Exercise 55: Change the following sentences to WH questions with the words given, please.
1. My children wanted to play computer games on their friend’s computer.
Whose
2. Learning to speak English took a lot of time.
How much
3. My son wore his old clothes when he worked in my garden.
Which
4. My sister was buying school clothes for her grandchildren last week.
Whose
5. My dog barked for food every night.
When
6. My cat always got about 15 hours of sleep a day.
How much
7. The job application took a long time to fill out.
How much time
8. Yesterday’s assignment had 21 sentences.
How many
9. Gas for my car cost $1.49 per gallon last night.
How much
10. I spoke to my wife’s brother on the phone earlier this morning.
Whose
11. I rewrote these sentences a little while ago.
When