The simple past

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The simple past
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When do we use the simple past?
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• We use the simple past to talk about things that
  happened in the past and are now finished.
• We use it to focus on
• what happened, and
• when it happened.

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Note
We often use time words or phrases with the
simple past at the beginning or at the end of a
sentence. Some examples of time words and
phrases are ? yesterday ? on Sunday ? last
week ? in 2002
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How do we form positive and negative statements
in the simple past?
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Verb to be
I He She It
was wasnt
happy.
You We They
were werent
I wasnt I was not You werent You
were not
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Other verbs
I You We They He She It
walked didnt walk
to the park.
I didnt I did not
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How do we form the simple past of regular verbs?
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We usually change the form of the verb when we
make a positive statement in the simple
past. Many simple past verb forms end in -ed or
-d.
visits
Lisa visited her grandmother on Sunday.
like
didnt verb
I liked the first X-men film. I didnt like the
other ones.
What is the simple present form of visited?
How do we form a negative verb in the simple past?
What is the simple present form of liked?
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We form regular verbs in the simple past like
this.
Verbs
We should
Examples
For most verbs
ed
help
? helped
Simon helped his dad.
For verbs ending in -e
use
? used
I used my computer.
d
For verbs ending in a consonant and a -y
y ied
study
? studied
We studied for three hours.
For some verbs ending in a single consonant
double the consonant ed
drop
? dropped
I dropped the ball.
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How do we form the simple past of irregular verbs?
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Some verbs do not have a regular -ed or -d ending
for their simple past forms. We have to remember
the simple past forms of these verbs.
go
see
Last night, we went to Times Square and saw a
film.
buys
doesnt buy
Denny bought a new notebook but he didnt buy any
pens.
What is the simple present form of saw?
What are the simple present forms of bought and
didnt buy?
What is the simple present form of went?
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We form irregular verbs in the simple past like
this.
We should
Examples
keep the word as it is
cost
put
read
? cost
? put
? read
change the vowel
give
win
know
? knew
? gave
? won
change the consonant
build
make
spend
? built
? made
? spent
change the word
? ate
? went
? took
eat
go
take
Note
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Practice
Read the conversation and fill in the blanks.
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Lisa Jane, where were you last night? I
youd miss Jay Chous
concert! Jane My brother
where hed put the tickets. We
for hours but never them. I
you at seven but your phone was
switched off. Did you enjoy it? Lisa Oh, yes! I
it a lot. Jay
all of his biggest hits.
think
didnt think
forgot
forget
find
look
looked
found
called
call
enjoyed
enjoy
sing
sang
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Jane I really wanted to be there. Was Tony
there? Lisa Im not sure because I
him. Jenny was there, though. She
backstage after the concert
and a picture with
Jay. Jane I seriously doubt that. She doesnt
always tell the truth. Lisa Well, I
her until she
me the photo on her phone!
didnt see
see
go
went
take
took
show
showed
believe
didnt believe
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The end