12. Past tense - Simple past tense

REVIEW OF THE MOST FREQUENT WORDS

11. it = él, lo, la (cosa, animal), eso, esto 12. for = para 13. not = no 14. on = en, sobre 15. with = con 16. he = él 17. as = como (adv.) 18. you = tú, usted, ustedes 19. do = hacer 20. at = a, en

1. the = el, la, los, las 2. be = ser o estar 3. to = a, hacia, hasta, por, para 4. of = de 5. and = y 6. a = un, una 7. in = en, dentro de 8. that = que, eso/e/a, aquello/a, cuaL 9. have = tener, haber 10. I = yo

note.

Simple Past Tense

Past Tense

How to form the Past Tense in English

The main rule is that for every verb in English, there is only one form of it in the past tense. (The exception is the Past tense of To Be, which has two forms: was and were) This is totally different from other languages such as Spanish, French, Italian etc. where you change the verb ending for every subject. For example: The past tense of the verb want is wanted. Wanted is used as the past tense for all subjects/pronouns.

Past Tense Regular Verbs

To change a regular verb into its past tense form, we normally add –ED to the end of the verb. play – played cook – cooked rain – rained wait – waited

VERBS THAT END IN ED.

Examples of sentences using regular verbs in the past tense

• Last night I played my guitar loudly and the neighbors complained.
• She kissed me on the cheek.
• It rained yesterday.
• Angela watched TV all night.
• John wanted to go to the museum.

Negative sentences in the Past Tense

We use didn't (did not) to make a negative sentence in the past tense. This is for regular AND irregular verbs in English. (Exception is To Be and Modal Verbs such as Can) Compare the following: Present: They don't live in Canada. Past: They didn't live in Canada. The main verb (live in the example above) is in its base form (of the infinitive). The auxiliary DIDN'T shows that the sentence is negative AND in the past tense.

Examples of negative sentences in the Past Tense

1. I didn't want to go to the dentist.
2. She didn't have time.
3. You didn't close the door.
4. He didn't come to my party.
5. They didn't study so they didn't pass the test.
6. We didn't sleep well last night.

Play a bit?

Questions in the Past Tense

We use did to make a question in the past tense. This is for regular AND irregular verbs in English. (Exception is To Be and Modal Verbs such as Can) Compare the following: Present: Do they live in France? Past: Did they live in France? The main verb (live in the example above) is in its base form (of the infinitive). The auxiliary DID shows that the question is in the past tense.

Examples of Questions in the Past Tense

1. Did you go to work yesterday?
2. Did they arrive on time?
3. Did she like the surprise?
4. Where did she go?
5. What did you do yesterday?
6. What did you say? - I didn't say anything.
7. Why did we have to come?

Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense

Irregular verbs are ONLY irregular in affirmative/positive sentences. (An exception to this is with the verb TO BE in the Past Tense). For example: The past tense of GO is WENT. It does not end in –ED so it is considered irregular. The word went is used for all subjects – I, you, we, they, he, she, it. I went to the beach He went to the park. She went to the zoo. They went to the library.

Present vs Past Tense Conjugation Summary Chart

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