grammar- the Past Simple
The Definitive Guide to the Past Simple
Bringing the Past to Completion
Language allows us to move back and forth in time. If it didn't difference between what is occurring in the present and what happen before it, our stories and history would be identical and formless. In English, the foundation of the narrative structure is the past simple, or priderite tense. This is the tense of the storyteller, the historian, and the old friend catching up over coffee. Mastering the past simple is essentially mastering the 'finished'. This tense provides the necessary framework to fix an event to the past, whether it occurred five minutes ago or five thousand years ago.
I. When then means then:
II. The How:
1. Regular Verbs:
For most English verbs, forming the past tense is as easy as adding the suffix 'ed' to the end of the verb in its base form. There are a few spelling variations, however, which need to be taken into account:
2. Irregular Verbs:
| Base Form | Past Simple |
| Go | Went |
| Eat | Ate |
| Buy | Bought |
| Think | Thought |
| Sleep | Slept |
| Run | Ran |
III. Sentence Construction
IV. To Be
This verb is highly irregular; it does not take 'did' in questions or negatives and it changes according to the subject.
| Subject | Affirmative | Negative |
| I / He / She / It | Was | Was not (Wasn't) |
| You / We / They | Were | Were not (Weren't) |
Question: Did you enjoy the party?
Negative: It wasn't snowing yesterday.
V. TIME EXPRESSIONS-THE PAST OFSIGNSPOSTS
Since the Past Simple must refer to a finished time, we use 'time markers' to set the scene:
Yesterday: I saw her yesterday.
Last... : We traveled to Spain last summer.
...ago : The bus left ten minutes ago.
In [Year] : The company was founded in 1998.
When... : I lived in London when I was a student.
VI. CLARITY-PAST SIMPLE VS. PRESENT PERFECT
Perhaps the biggest challenge in the English past is telling the difference between 'I did' (Past Simple) and 'I have done' (Present Perfect).
The difference can be measured by the clock.
If you refer to a specific finished time (yesterday, at four o'clock, in 2014, when I was young), you must use the Past Simple.
If the time is unfinished (e.g., "today", "this week"), or if the time is irrelevant, you must use the Present Perfect.
Past Simple: I lost my keys yesterday. (I lost them at a specific, definite point in the past)
Present Perfect: I have lost my keys. (The emphasis is on the fact that I don't have my keys now)
VII. EXAMPLE A DAY IN THE LIFE: PAST SIMPLE STORY
To see the Past Simple 'in action,' let's read the story of someone's day:
Last Sunday I woke up very late. It rained all morning. I listened to the radio and read a book. Around lunchtime I cooked myself a big sandwich. Later I watched a football match on television. Finally, I went to bed quite early. I was not too happy about the weather.
Every single verb is in the Past Simple because the 'Sunday' which is being described is over. The sequence of events provides a timeline that takes the reader clearly through the story.
The Past Simple is the grammatical backbone of much human communication. It's the tool we use to record our past and learn from it. Understanding the differences between regular and irregular verbs, the usage of the auxiliary 'did,' and the uniqueness of 'to be' will provide the solid foundation on which to build clearer and more precise communication.
The past, although long gone, has never been closer thanks to the Past Simple. Tell your friends about your day – what you did, where you went-and practice using the most fundamental tense.
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