Past Tense

Simple Past
FORM
[VERB+ed] or irregular verbs
Examples:
· You called Debbie.
· Did you call Debbie?
· You did not call Debbie.
Complete List of Simple Past Forms
USE 1 Completed Action in the Past
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
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 Past
The Simple 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 Past
The Simple 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


Forming the Simple Past Tense (Regular Verbs)
Introduction
The simple past tense is one of the most common tenses in English. Its form is the same with all subjects. It is usually formed by adding -ED to the verb. This page will explain the rules for forming the tense with regular verbs.
Forming the simple past tense
With most verbs, the simple past is created simply by adding -ED. However, with some verbs, you need to add -ES or change the ending a little. Here are the rules:
Verb ending in...
How to make the simple past
Examples
e
Add -D
live - liveddate - dated
Consonant + y
Change y to i, then add -ED
try - triedcry - cried
One vowel + one consonant (but NOT w or y)
Double the consonant, then add -ED
tap - tappedcommit - committed
[anything else]
Add -ED
boil - boiledfill - filledhand - handed
Forming the Simple Past Tense (Regular Verbs)
Type the correct form of each verb.


My grandfather had a very exciting life. When he was young, he (live) on a farm in the country. His parents (raise) cattle, and he (look) after the cows. When he was eighteen, he went to university, where he (study) Philosophy. He also (play) the trumpet in a jazz band. When the war started, he (try) to join the Air Force, but he (end) up in the Navy. In the Atlantic, a German torpedo (rip) a hole in the side of his ship, and the ship sank. Only five men (escape). They (sail) in a lifeboat back to England. Then he met my grandmother, and they (marry) after only three weeks. He says now that he (want) to marry her very quickly in case he (die) in the war.


Forming the Past Tense (Irregular Verbs)
Introduction
Although many verbs in English form their past tense with -ED, some do not. These are called irregular verbs, and they include some of the most basic verbs in English. This page will explain some of the most important patterns in forming the past tense. However, the only way to know how an irregular verb will change in the past tense is to learn all of the important verbs.
The three most important irregular verbs
The three most important irregular verbs are BE, HAVE, and DO. BE is the most difficult, because its forms are different depending on the subject:
Pronoun
Verb
I
was
You
were
He / she / it
was
We
were
They
were
HAVE and DO are more simple:
Base form
Past Tense
have
had
do
did
Other irregular verbs
Other irregular verbs fall into three main categories:
Category
Examples
Verbs which don't change
cut - cuthit - hitfit - fit
Verbs which change their vowel
get - gotsit - satdrink - drank
Verbs which change completely
catch - caughtbring - broughtteach - taught



Forming the Past Tense (Regular and Irregular Verbs)
Type the correct form of each verb.


Emily Carr, British Columbia's most famous artist, (be) born in 1871. Her parents (die) when she was still a teenager. She (study) art in San Francisco and Paris, but when she (come) back to Victoria, she (keep) a house called "The House of All Sorts", where she (be) the landlady. Many years later, she (begin) painting again. To find subjects for her paintings, she (take) trips into the forests of British Columbia, and she often (meet) with the First Nations people and (paint) them too. Emily Carr also (write) several books, and she (win) the Governor General's Award for one of them.