Simple Past

FORM
Examples:

[VERB+ed] or irregular verbs

You called Debbie. Did you call Debbie? You did ot call Debbie.

!SE " #ompleted $ctio i t%e Past

Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do ha e one specific time in mind. Examples: ! sa& a mo ie yesterday. ! did 't see a play yesterday. "ast year, ! traveled to #apan. "ast year, ! did 't travel to $orea. Did you %ave dinner last ni%ht? She &as%ed her car. &e did 't &as% his car.

!SE ( $ Series o) #ompleted $ctio s

'e use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. (hese actions happen )st, *nd, +rd, ,th, and so on. Examples: ! )i is%ed -ork, &al*ed to the beach, and )ou d a nice place to s-im. &e arrived from the airport at .://, c%ec*ed into the hotel at 0://, and met the others at )/://. Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the e%%s?

!SE + Duratio i Past

(he Simple Past can be used -ith a duration -hich starts and stops in the past. 1 duration is a lon%er action often indicated by expressions such as: for t-o years, for fi e minutes, all day, all year, etc. Examples: ! lived in 2ra3il for t-o years. Shauna studied #apanese for fi e years. (hey sat at the beach all day. (hey did ot sta, at the party the entire time. 'e tal*ed on the phone for thirty minutes. 1: &o- lon% did you &ait for them? 2: 'e &aited for one hour.

!SE - .abits i t%e Past

(he Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit -hich stopped in the past. !t can ha e the same meanin% as 4used to.4 (o make it clear that -e are talkin% about a habit, -e often add expressions such as: al-ays, often, usually, ne er, -hen ! -as a child, -hen ! -as youn%er, etc. Examples: ! studied 5rench -hen ! -as a child. &e pla,ed the iolin. &e did 't pla, the piano. Did you pla, a musical instrument -hen you -ere a kid? She &or*ed at the mo ie theater after school. (hey ne er &e t to school, they al-ays s*ipped class.

!SE / Past Facts or 0e erali1atio s

(he Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or %enerali3ations -hich are no lon%er true. 1s in USE , abo e, this use of the Simple Past is 6uite similar to the expression 4used to.4 Examples: She &as shy as a child, but no- she is ery out%oin%. &e did 't li*e tomatoes before. Did you live in (exas -hen you &ere a kid? People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

2MPOR3$43 5%e -#lauses .appe First

7lauses are %roups of -ords -hich ha e meanin% but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses be%in -ith the -ord 4-hen4 such as 4-hen ! dropped my pen...4 or 4-hen class be%an...4 (hese clauses are called -hen8clauses, and they are ery important. (he examples belo- contain -hen8 clauses. Examples: 5%e 2 paid %er o e dollar, she ans-ered my 6uestion. She ans-ered my 6uestion &%e 2 paid %er o e dollar. 'hen8clauses are important because they al-ays happen first -hen both clauses are in the Simple Past. 2oth of the examples abo e mean the same thin%: first, ! paid her one dollar, and then, she ans-ered my 6uestion. !t is not important -hether 4-hen ! paid her one dollar4 is at the be%innin% of the sentence or at the end of the sentence. &o-e er, the example belo- has a different meanin%. 5irst, she ans-ered my 6uestion, and then, ! paid her one dollar. Example: ! paid her one dollar &%e s%e a s&ered m, 6uestio .

$DVERB P7$#EME43
(he examples belo- sho- the placement for %rammar ad erbs such as: al-ays, only, ne er, e er, still, 9ust, etc. Examples: You 8ust called Debbie. Did you 8ust call Debbie?

$#32VE 9 P$SS2VE
Examples:

(om repaired the car. Active

(he car &as repaired by (om. Passive