ENGLISH GRAMMAR
PAST SIMPLE TENSE: formation and use
(example : to play)
- The past simple tense of
regular* verbs is formed by adding -
ed to the infinitive
(for example: - infinitive : to play, Past Simple : I played)
*See irregular verbs
- The auxiliary did is used to form the negative and interrogative forms
| PAST SIMPLE TENSE | |||
| AFFIRMATIVE | NEGATIVE | INTERROGATIVE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Form | Contracted Form | ||
| I played | I did not play | I didn't play | Did I play? |
| You played | You did not play | You didn't play | Did you play? |
| He/she/it played | He/she/it did not play | He/she/it didn't play | Did he/she/it play? |
| We played | We did not play | We didn't play | Did we play? |
| You played | You did not play | You didn't play | Did you play? |
| They played | They did not play | They didn't play | Did they play? |
The past simple tense is used to talk
about
finished actions in a finished
period of time.
Examples :
Examples :
- Yesterday evening I played tennis with a friend.
- After the match we went to the cinema.
- You were late on Monday. (Today is Friday.)
- Last year I started taking tennis lessons.
- When I was at school I hated history.
- Five minutes ago I finished the report for my boss.
- He attended a meeting in Tokyo last week.
- Two years ago the family moved to New York.
- We bought our house in 2020.
- John worked in London from 2018 to 2021.
- We lived in the country when we were children.
- I heard the announcement about an hour ago.