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7.3: Grammar

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    Grammar Focus: Simple Past Tense

    The simple past tense is used to describe actions or activities that began and ended in the past. We often use the simple past tense with time expressions such as ago, yesterday, last week, last month, last year. 

    Examples: 

    1. They went to a movie theater last Saturday.
    2. They moved to a big city two years ago. 
    3. She was born and grew up in San Diego.

    There are two types of past tense verbs: regular and irregular verbs. 

    Affirmative Form

    • For regular verbs of the simple past tense, we add “ed” at the end of the verb. 

    Examples: talk --- talked, work --- worked, stay--- stayed

    1. I enjoyed living with my family for many years.
    2. They stayed home last night and watched a movie together. 

    • For irregular verbs of the simple past tense, we have to memorize the past form of the verb. 

    Example: go --- went, make --- made, run--- ran

    1. They ran for three miles every morning last month.
    2. She made a big birthday cake for her son yesterday.
    • Verb BE - was or were

    Subjects: I/ He/ She/ It + was 

    Subjects: You/ They/ We + were 

    Examples:

    1. I left the city when I was a child. 
    2. Hayden and Shea were at work last weekend. 

    Negative Form

    • Regular and Irregular Verbs:  Subject + did not (didn’t) + base form of the verb

    Examples:

    1. I didn’t go to the movie yesterday because it rained. 
    2. My parents didn’t want to buy a bigger house. 
    3. The children didn’t play in the park last week.  
    • Verb Be:  was not or were not

    Subjects: I/ He/ She/ It + was not (wasn’t)

    Subjects: You/ They/ We + were not (weren’t)

    Examples:

    1. The students weren’t at school yesterday.
    2. She wasn’t in class this morning.  

    Interrogative Form

    • Yes/ No Questions:  Did +  Subject + base form of the verb?

    Examples:

    1. Did your brother go skiing last month?     Yes, he did. He went skiing last month.
    2. Did our teacher give us assignments?      No, she didn’t. She didn’t give us assignments.
    • Verb Be

    Was + I/ he/ she/ it …?

    Were + you/ they/ we …?

    Examples:

    1. Were you at home last weekend?     No, I wasn’t.
    2. Was your mother in Costa Rica two years ago?     Yes, she was. 

    • Wh- questions with Regular and Irregular Verbs:  Wh-word + did + Subject + base form of the verb?

    Examples:

    1. Where did you live when you were a child?     I lived with my parents in Marshall, Minnesota. 
    2. How many classes did they take last semester?     They took four classes last semester.
    • Verb Be:  

    Wh-word + was + Subject (I/ he/ she/ it) …?

    Wh-word + were + Subject (you/ they/ we) …?

    Examples:

    1. Where was she yesterday?     She was at school. 
    2. How many students were in class yesterday?      There were 20 students in class yesterday.

    Grammar Practice

    Practice 1

    Directions:  Change the following sentences to the past tense. Use the correct time word if needed.

    Example:  I eat breakfast with my sister every day.     ---> I ate breakfast with my sister every day last week. 

    1. We have a lot of fun in the snow.

    _______________________________________________

    1. Some people want to go to the party late. 

    _______________________________________________

    1. They sometimes go to the store for groceries.

    _______________________________________________

    1. My parents plant vegetables in the garden in the spring.

    _______________________________________________

    1. It rains in December.

    _______________________________________________

    1. My mom cooks dinner every day.

    _______________________________________________

    1. Many people smoke for many years.

    _______________________________________________

    1. He drives slowly in the rain.

    _______________________________________________

    1. Mr. Smith is my algebra teacher.

    _______________________________________________

    1. Students are on vacation in the summer. 

    _______________________________________________

    Practice 2

    Directions:  Fill in the blanks with the correct simple past tense of the verbs in the parentheses.

    Example:  Mrs. Reddy sang (sing) in a choir last week.

    1. Andy _______________ (read) comic books when he was a kid.

    2. We never _______________ (visit) Seattle before.

    3. The boy _______________ (look) at the animals with excitement when he visited the zoo.

    4. Last semester, the students _______________ (take) many classes.

    5. What _______________ you _______________ (cook) yesterday?

    6. When _______________ she _______________ (graduate) from high school?  

    7. My sister and I _______________ (go) to a new restaurant last Sunday.

    8. He _______________ (travel) to a new city for his business trip last summer.

    9. _______________ you _______________ (play) the piano in college?

    10. His parents _______________ (celebrate) his birthday every year when he was a kid.

    Practice 3

    Directions:  Make Yes/ No questions using the simple past tense.

    Example: She studied English last week.     ---> Did she study English last week?

    1. She collected a lot of stamps for many years.

    _______________________________________________

    1. Nick ate cereal for breakfast this morning.

    _______________________________________________

    1. His father worked at a tech company for 10 years.

    _______________________________________________

    1. He was still a kid when we moved there.

    _______________________________________________

    1. My mother cooked a lot of good food for the party.

    _______________________________________________

    1. Helen thought about the job offer.

    _______________________________________________

    1. My mom told me a story before I went to bed.

    _______________________________________________

    1. They felt hungry after working long hours. 

    _______________________________________________

    1. Pete and Liz went to the beach last summer.

    _______________________________________________

    1. Tom and Andy got the first prize in the contest.   

    _______________________________________________

    Practice 4

    Directions:  Make Wh-questions using the simple past tense with the provided information below. Use one of the following Wh-question words: what, why, when, where, how, etc. There might be more than one correct answer for each number.

    Example:  (Jose) (get to school yesterday)  ---> What time did Jose get to school yesterday?     How did Jose get to school yesterday?

    1. (Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen) (go on their last vacation)     _______________________________________________   
    2. (Mary) (talk to this morning)                                  _______________________________________________
    3. (the baby) (cry)                                                    _______________________________________________
    4. (you) (wake up this morning)                                 _______________________________________________
    5. (Tom) (get on his birthday)                                    _______________________________________________
    6. (Khuong) (drive to work with last weekend)           _______________________________________________
    7. (Ann) (work last summer)                                      _______________________________________________
    8. (the book) (cost)                                                   _______________________________________________
    9. (Megan) (study for the final exam)                          _______________________________________________
    10. (Minh) (eat for dinner last night)                             _______________________________________________

    This page titled 7.3: Grammar is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Maria Antonini de Pino, Erika Bourne Lawson, Huong Pham, Rebecca Kallen Reddy, Kelly N. Nguyễn-Jardin, Pradeep Reddy, Richard Lawson, and Adam Bloom (Open Educational Resource Initiative at Evergreen Valley College) .