Past tense in English. The Past Simple Tense

In this article we will look at the second simple time form in English language – The Past Simple(Indefinite) Tense (simple past tense).It is a tense form of a verb, which is used to express single actions that took place in the past and the time for which has expired. In certain contexts where a past tense verb is used, you may notice the following marker words:

• yesterday (yesterday);
• last week/month/year (last week, last month/year);
• two days ago (two days ago);
• in 1917 (in 1917).

For example:

• I watched my favorite film yesterday.– Yesterday I watched my favorite film.
• My parents bought a new car last week. Last week my parents bought a new car.
• The First World War began in 1914.– First World War started in 1914.

Marker words can be used both at the end of a sentence and at the beginning. For example:

• Yesterday I walked with my friends.– Yesterday I went out for a walk with my friends.
• In 988 Christianity was adopted in Russia.– In 988, Christianity was adopted in Rus'.

Please note that in the simple past tense the verbs change their form. According to the method of forming the forms of the simple past tense, all verbs are divided into regular and irregular.

Regular verbs– verbs formed by adding the suffix –ed to the base of the infinitive. The suffix –ed is pronounced [d], after voiceless consonants (except t) it is pronounced [t], after t and d it is pronounced . For example:

• The baby stopped crying. – The baby stopped crying.

For Not regular verbs There is a special table called “Table of Irregular Verbs”. You can view it here (). The table of irregular verbs consists of three forms. Let's look at some Irregular Verbs as an example:

• Our team won the football competition two days ago.– Two days ago our team won the football competition.

We have analyzed the main features affirmative form simple past tense verbs. Negative form of verbs in The Past Simple Tense is formed using the auxiliary verb did and the negation not, which are placed before the semantic verb in the form of an infinitive without the particle to. Same as in the simple present form ( The Present Simple Tense) in speech and writing the abbreviated form didn’t is used. For example:

• We didn't go to the sea last summer.– We didn’t go to the sea last summer.
• They didn't know anything about that story.“They knew nothing about this story.”

The interrogative form of verbs in the simple past tense is formed using the auxiliary verb did, which is placed after the subject, and the subject is followed by a semantic verb in the form of the infinitive without the particle to. At the same time, the tone of voice on the last stressed syllable of the sentence rises. For example:

• Did you see him yesterday? – Did you see him yesterday?
• Did the pupils visit the museum last week?– Did the students visit the museum last week?

The answers to the questions in these examples are identical, as is the case with the interrogative form of the simple past tense. The answers will look like this: Yes, I did or No, I didn’t.

Using The Past Simple Tense

• designation of events, actions, situations that occurred at a certain time in the past and are not related to the present: Last summer we ofte went to the river.— Last summer we often went to the river;
• designation of completed actions in the past: Yasterday I wrote you a letter.- Yesterday I wrote you a letter;
• designation of habits in the past: My sister liked to play with dolls when she was small.— My sister loved to play with dolls as a child;
• denoting a fact that happened once in the past: Mary telephoned an hour ago. — Maria called an hour ago;
• description of life events of people who have already died: Pushkin wrote lots of stories for children.— Pushkin wrote many fairy tales for children;
• formulating polite questions and requests: I wondered if you could give me a lift(a more polite request than I wonder if...). — I wanted to know if you could give me a ride.

Summary table of tense formation The Past Simple Tense

To summarize, I would like to note that the difference between the simple past tense and the simple present is that actions occur once in the past and are not repeated. The time in which these actions were performed has expired, and the actions themselves are in no way connected with the present. In English grammatical meaning verbs in simple past tense coincides with the meaning of verbs in the past tense of both imperfect and perfect forms in the Russian language. Read about the last simple tense form of the verb in English in the following article.

Past Simple is the simple past tense in English. It is indeed very simple in formation, even simpler than the simple present -, but its use is complicated by the presence and some features of the pronunciation of regular verbs in the past tense.

Past Simple sometimes also called preterite.

Watch Anna's explanation from Cambridge University Press:

Past Simple is mainly used to describe events in the past that have been completed. Although it also has other uses.

The past form of regular verbs is usually formed by adding -ed at the end, in addition, there are several hundred irregular verbs that have different shape. Most verbs have one past tense form, regardless of the person or number of the noun. That is, there is no need, as in Present Simple add -s for a third party.

Past Simple formation table for the verb “to be”

Past Simple formation table for all other verbs

Past Simple is used with words that can be remembered using an acronym (on, in, last, when, ago, yesterday)

Examples of Past Simple:

Features of writing and pronunciation of regular verbs in the Past Simple

According to pronunciation, regular verbs in the past tense can be divided into three groups:

1. If a regular verb ends with a dull sound, then in the past tense it will be read with (t) at the end, for example:

2. If the correct verb ends in -t or -d, then in the past it is read with -id at the end:

3. A regular verb ends with a vowel sound or a voiced consonant sound, then in the past it is read with -d at the end:

Exercise - Song Rihanna Diamonds

Listen to the song and find all the verbs in the past tense.

In all the variety of verb tenses in the English language, the Past Simple (simple past) also called Past Indefinite (past indefinite) is one of the easiest to master. But this is also one of the most frequently used tenses in the English language, so we simply cannot do without it.

Past Simple (Past Indefinite) is most often used in the following cases:

• to describe actions that happened in the past
• in indirect speech
• in conditional sentences

The simple past tense refers to actions that happened in the past

Past Simple (Past Indefinite) is most often used when talking about completed events. Pay attention to the so-called simple past tense markers - words or expressions that indicate a completed period of time. For example:

• They moved to Paris several years ago. — They moved to Paris several years ago.
• The Normans invaded Britain in 1066. - The Normans invaded Britain in 1966.
• I ate ice-cream every day in summer. — In the summer I ate ice cream every day.
• Who played football yesterday? — Who played football yesterday?
• I went shopping this afternoon* but didn’t buy anything. — This afternoon I went shopping, but I didn’t buy anything.
• Last week she had an interview for a new job. — She had a job interview last week.

* If a person says this in the evening, for him this afternoon is a complete period of time.

Indirect speech

In indirect speech, time often moves backward. For example, if someone says a phrase in the present tense, in indirect speech it is conveyed in the past tense. In each of the examples below, the first sentence is written in direct speech, and the second in indirect speech. Verbs in the Past Simple are in bold.

• She said: "I am hungry." — She told me she was hungry.
  She said, "I'm hungry." “She told me she was hungry.”
• He said: “I know how to catch a fish.” — He said he knew how to catch a fish.
  He said, “I can fish.” — He said he knows how to fish.
• She said: “My father doesn’t like Chinese food.” — She said her father didn’t like Chinese food.
  She said, "My father doesn't like Chinese food." — She said that her father doesn’t like Chinese food.
• He asked: “Do you know them?” - He asked me if I knew them.
  He asked: “Do you know them?” “He asked me if I knew them.”
• The halfback said: "I can do it." - The halfback said he could do it.
  The midfielder said: “I can handle it.” — The midfielder said he could handle it.

Please note that when translating indirect speech into Russian, the present tense is usually used:
I said: "They live in Moscow." — I said they lived in Moscow. (I said: “They live in Moscow.” - I said that they live in Moscow.)

By the way, in modern colloquial English time often in indirect speech Not changes if the information is current at the moment:
I said they live in Moscow. — I said that they live in Moscow.

Conditional sentences

Past Simple (Past Indefinite) is used in relating to type conditional II. Before reading the explanation of what conditional II is, take a look at the examples. Verbs in the past simple are in bold.

• If I lived on a tropical island, I would be happy. - If I lived on tropical island, I would be happy.
• If I had time, I would go with you to the cinema. - If I had time, I would go to the cinema with you.
• If the weather was fine, we would go to the park. — If the weather was good, we would go to the park.
• If you visited me, you would see my brother. - If you came to me, you would see my brother.
• If I saw her, I would greet her. “If I had seen her, I would have said hello.”
• I would be glad if you helped me. - I would be happy if you helped me.

Past Simple (conditional II) is used in these sentences to describe an event that is unlikely, in the opinion of the speaker, the occurrence of which is prevented by certain circumstances. Thus, the conditions of the first three sentences could be written as follows:

• I don"t live on a tropical island... - I don’t live on a tropical island...
• I don’t have time... - I don’t have time...
• The weather is bad... - The weather is not good...

As you can see, the tense Past Simple (Past Indefinite) is indeed widely used in both written and oral speech.

A story about the simple past tense in English (with English subtitles):

Comparative analysis of the simple past (Past Simple / Indefinite) and the past perfect tense (Past Perfect) in English (with English subtitles):

It’s not that complicated, it’s the simple past. But if you still have questions, ask us in the comments!

The variety of tense forms in the English language makes it possible to describe the action being performed in more detail, but may also be confusing. The “Past Simple” table tells in detail how the English Simple Past tense is formed and when it is used.

Basic Rule

Before moving on to consider the formation of the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms of the English Past Simple, it is necessary to understand how it is translated into Russian and what action it describes. The tense form Past Simple is literally translated as Simple Past. The term Past refers to the past tense in a broad sense. Simple is an aspect that indicates that the action being described is common and occurs regularly. It follows that the Past Simple describes ordinary, repeated actions, facts that happened in the past.

This meaning is also indicated by marker words such as yesterday, the day before yesterday, two weeks ago, last year and others.

Regular verbs

When considering the rule of formation Past Simple (Simple Past), new linguistic concepts appear - regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs form the past simple by adding the -ed ending to the stem of the verb.

Basic rules and Past examples Simple with regular verbs are presented in the following table:

In a negative sentence, the subject is followed by an auxiliary verb with a negative particle - did not. In the question, the word order changes and the auxiliary verb comes first. In both cases, the main verb loses the past tense ending -ed.

Irregular Verbs

There are not many irregular verbs in the English language - 470. Not all of them belong to the daily vocabulary. Many are outdated and not used. But the main thing is different - you need to know them by heart. In order to make a sentence with an irregular verb in the Past Simple, you need to look at the second column of the table of irregular verbs.

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What have we learned?

The basic rules and examples of the Past Simple in the table help to organize the acquired theoretical knowledge on the topic. It presents examples of the formation of affirmative, negative and interrogative forms, which can serve as an excellent “cheat sheet” if necessary.

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Here you can take a lesson on the topic: Simple past tense in English. Regular and irregular verbs. Past Simple. Regular and Irregular verbs.

In this lesson we will get acquainted with regular and irregular verbs in English and how to use them in sentences simple past tense. It is these verbs that in most cases are part of the past tense.

To express thoughts in the past, the English often use the verbs was and were. Well, what if the main action is expressed by another verb, for example, swim, or play? In such cases, knowledge of right and wrong is required English verbs. We will look at each category of verbs separately:

Regular verbs(Regular verbs) - this special group English verbs, which easily forms the past tense by adding the suffix -ed to the infinitive (the usual form of the verb). Here are some examples of such verbs:

talk - talked (talk - spoke)
jump - jumped (jump - jumped)
check - checked (check - checked)
look - looked (look - looked)
stay - remained (stop - stopped)
ask - asked (ask - asked)
show -showed (show - showed)
work - worked (work - worked)

Regular verbs ending in -ed do not change for person or number. Let's look at the example of the verb walk (walk, stroll):

I walked - I walked
you walked - you walked / You walked
he walked - he walked
she walked - she walked
it walked - he/she walked/walked (inanimate)
we walked - we walked
they walked - they walked

I. There are some spelling rules when adding the ending -ed.

1. So, for example, if the verb is already ends with a letter-e , then only -d is added to it. For example:

Change - changed (change - changed)
arrive - arrived (arrive - arrived)
smoke - smoked (smoking - smoked)

2. If the verb ends with the letter -y, then the ending, with rare exceptions, changes to -ied. For example:

study - studied (teach - taught)
tidy - tidied (clean - cleaned)
try - tried (try - tried)

The exceptions are the verbs: play - played (play), stay - remained (stop), enjoy - enjoyed (enjoy).

3. In some short verbs(in 1 syllable) by adding the ending -ed The consonant is doubled. This rule applies to verbs that ends with one vowel and one consonant letters. For example:

stop - stop ped (stop - stopped)
rob - rob bed (rob - robbed)

II. Regarding regular English verbs, there are also several reading rules.

1. So, for example, in verbs, ending in a voiceless consonant(f, k, p, t), the ending -ed is read softly, like /t/. For example:

walk ed /wɔ:kt/
look ed /lukt/
jump ed /dʒʌmpt/
ask ed /a:skt/

2. In verbs, ending in voiced and all other sounds, the ending -ed is pronounced voiced, like /d/. For example:

play ed /pleid/
show ed /ʃəud/
arrived /ə"raivd/
chang ed /tʃeindʒd/

3. The pronunciation of the verb ending -ed changes slightly when the verbs end with the sounds /t/ or /d/. Then the ending is pronounced /id/. For example:

decid ed /di"saidid/
wait ed /"weitid /
land ed /"lændid /
fad ed/"feidid/

Now let's look at the regular verbs in affirmative sentences. Here are some examples:

Miriam waited for Adam for several hours. - Miriam waited for Adam for several hours.
She walked towards the river. - She walked towards the river.
They changed their mind. - They changed their decision.
The woman carried a heavy bag. - The woman was carrying a heavy bag.
When I arrived the party was over. - When I arrived, the party was over.
The plane landed near the village. - The plane landed near the village.
The car stopped next to my house. - The car stopped next to my house.
Children played hide-and-seek. - The children played hide and seek.
We stayed at my grandmother's. - We stayed with my grandmother.
I looked around but there was noone. - I looked around, but there was no one there.
He studied German at school. - He studied German at school.

As can be seen from the examples, the place of subjects and verbs in affirmative sentences is fixed, and the remaining members of the sentences can be used depending on the context. When reading the examples, pay attention to the spelling of regular verbs and their pronunciation.

In contrast to regular verbs, English also has a number of irregular verbs, which do not obey the rule of adding the ending -ed, but are formed completely unexpectedly and in different ways. For example:

find - found (find - found)
take - took (take - took)
sleep - slept (sleep - slept)
fight - fought (fight - fought)
get - got (receive - received)
give - gave (give - gave)
buy - bought (buy - bought)
catch - caught (catch - caught)
lose - lost (lose - lost) and many others.

Here you can find the complete
The simple past tense uses verbs from the second column (Past Simple).

In affirmative sentences, irregular verbs are used in the same way as regular ones. The order of the sentence is fixed: Subject - Predicate - Object - Adverbial modifier. Let's look at examples:

He lost his key a day ago. - He lost his key a day ago.
Simon took my phone number yesterday. - Simon took my phone number yesterday.
I gave her a birthday present. - I gave her a present for her birthday.
They slept for eight hours last night. - They slept eight hours last night.

For the formation of negative and interrogative sentences with regular and irregular verbs (except to be and modal verbs) the auxiliary verb did is required.

So, for example, in interrogative sentences comes first auxiliary verb did, then the subject and verb, but in its original form (infinitive), since the auxiliary verb did takes on the function of the past tense. Let's look at a few examples:

(+) Her watch stopped working. - Her watch stopped working.
(?) Did her watch stop working? - Has her watch stopped working?

(+) He caught a big fish. - He caught big fish.
(?) Did he catch a big fish? - Did he catch a big fish?

(+) They played cards in the evening. - They played cards in the evening.
(?) Did they play cards in the evening? - Did they play cards in the evening?

(+) Mr.Right found a purse with money. - Mr. Wright found a wallet with money.
(?) Did Mr.Right find a purse money? - Did Mr. Wright find a wallet with money?

(+) His father called him yesterday. - His father called him yesterday.
(?) Did his father call him yesterday? - Did his father call him yesterday?

As can be seen from the examples, the auxiliary verb did does not change in persons or numbers, like, for example, the verbs do and does, was and were. Also, these questions belong to the general category, and require short answers, which, unlike Russian “yes” and “no,” depend largely on the question itself and the auxiliary verb. Let's take a closer look:

Did you leave early last night? -Yes, I did. -No, I didn't. -Did you leave early last night? -Yes. -No.
Did they like the cake? -Yes, they did. -No, they didn't. - Did they like the cake? - Yes. - No.
Did their children break the remote control? -Yes, they did. -No, they didn't." -Did their children break the remote control? -Yes. -No.

Special questions with regular and irregular verbs are formed in the same order as common ones, but with the addition question word at the beginning. For example:

Where did you find the map? - Where did you find the map?
Why did they call us last night? - Why did they call us last night?
Who did you invite to the party? -Who did you invite to the party?
What did she cook fro dinner? - What did she cook for dinner?

Negative sentences with regular and irregular verbs are also formed using the auxiliary verb did, and the negative particle "not". The main verbs in such sentences remain in their original form, i.e. in the infinitive. Let's look at examples:

(+) He didn’t want us to go. - He wanted us to leave.
(-) He didn't (did not) want us to go. - He didn't want us to leave.

(+) They enjoyed the concert. - They liked the concert.
(-) They didn’t enjoy the concert. - They didn’t like the concert.

(+) Albert promised me something. - Albert promised me something.
(-) Albert didn’t promise me anything. - Albert didn’t promise me anything.

(+) My friend paid t he fine. - My friend paid the fine.
(-) My friend didn't pay the fine. - My friend did not pay the fine.

(+) It broke after all. - And yet it broke.
(-) It didn’t break after all. - And yet it didn’t break.

As can be seen from the examples, the word did can be combined with the particle not, and then the abbreviated form is obtained - didn't.

Thus, we examined regular and irregular verbs in English, and also became familiar with their use in affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences. The category of regular verbs does not require targeted memorization, but it is recommended to learn irregular verbs several times a day and try to use them in your sentences.