Funciones del "simple past"

El "simple past" se utiliza para hablar de una accin que concluy en un tiempo anterior
al actual. La duracin no es relevante. El tiempo en que se sita la accin puede ser el
pasado reciente o un pasado lejano.

Ejemplos

John Cabot sailed to America in 1498.

My father died last year.
He lived in Fiji in 1976.
We crossed the Channel yesterday.

Siempre se utiliza el "simple past" para referirse a cundo ocurri algo, de modo que va
asociado a ciertas expresiones temporales que indican:

frecuencia: often, sometimes, always

I sometimes walked home at lunchtime.
I often brought my lunch to school.
un tiempo determinado: last week, when I was a child, yesterday, six weeks ago
We saw a good film last week.
Yesterday, I arrived in Geneva.
She finished her work atseven o'clock
I went to the theatre last night
un tiempo indeterminado: the other day, ages ago, a long time ago People lived
in caves a long time ago.
She played the piano when she was a child.

Nota: el trmino ago es til para expresar distancia temporal en el pasado. Se coloca
despus del periodo de tiempo de que se trate: a week ago, three years ago, a minute
ago.

Cuidado: el "simple past" del ingls puede parecerse a un tiempo verbal de tu propio
idioma y, sin embargo, su significado puede ser distinto.

Formacin del "simple past"

Formacin del "simple past" con verbos regulares

Afirmativa
Sujeto + raz + ed
I skipped.
Negativa
Sujeto + did not + infinitivo sin to
They didn't go.
Interrogativa
Did + sujeto + infinitivo sin to
Did she arrive?
Interrogativa negativa
Did not + sujeto + infinitivo sin to
Didn't you play?

To Walk

Afirmativa Negativa Interrogativa

I walked I didn't walk Did I walk?
You walked You didn't walk Did you walk?
He walked He didn't walk Did he walk?
We walked We didn't walk Did we walk?
They walked They didn't walk Did they walk?

"Simple past" de los verbos to be, to have, to do

Sujeto Verbo
Be Have Do
I was had did
You were had did
He/She/It was had did
We were had did
You were had did
They were had did

Notas sobre las construcciones afirmativa, negativa e interrogativa

Afirmativa

La forma afirmativa del "simple past" es sencilla.

I was in Japan last year

She had a headache yesterday.
We did our homework last night.

Negativa e interrogativa

Para las formas negativa e interrogativa del "simple past" del verbo "do" como verbo
ordinario, se emplea como auxiliar "do", e.g. We didn't do our homework last night.
La forma negativa del verbo "have" en "simple past" suele construirse utilizando el
auxiliar "do", aunque en ocasiones solo se aade not o la contraccin "n't".

La forma interrogativa del verbo "have" en "simple past" suele emplear el auxiliar "do".
Ejemplos

They weren't in Rio last summer.

We didn't have any money.
We didn't have time to visit the Eiffel Tower.
We didn't do our exercises this morning.
Were they in Iceland last January?
Did you have a bicycle when you were young?
Did you do much climbing in Switzerland?

Nota: para construir las formas negativa e interrogativa de todos los verbos en "simple
past", se utiliza siempre el auxiliar 'did''.

"Simple past": verbos irregulares

Algunos verbos hacen el "simple past" de forma irregular. Estos son los ms comunes.

to go

He went to a club last night.

Did he go to the cinema last night?
He didn't go to bed early last night.

to give

We gave her a doll for her birthday.

They didn't give John their new address.
Did Barry give you my passport?

to come

My parents came to visit me last July.

We didn't come because it was raining.
Did he come to your party last week?

NEW ORLEANS, A CITY WITH A DIFFERENT FLAVOR

The biggest cultural influence in the U.S is from Great Britain, but one exception to that
is in New Orleans, on the Mississippi River, in the 17th
Century, the rench explorer LaSalle claimed the river for
France, and in 1718, the French founded New Orleans.
The city became a favorite port for pirates!
In 1762, France ceded New Orleans to Spain, but in 1800,
Spain returned the city to France. Finally in 1803, France
sold the territory, including New Orleans, to the U.S.
Many Americans went to live in New Orleans, but French speakers continued to
dominate in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. They did not come only from France, but
also from Haiti (a former French possession) and from Canada. The French-speaking
Canadian immigrants were Acadians (called Cajuns). The French, the Cajun, and the
Haitian joined together to crate the unique architecture, cuisine, and music that are
famous in New Orleans today.

DUBAI FOR BUSINESS

Dubai , on the Arabian Gulf, is an important international center of finace and tourism.
Many people think that Dubais success is only because of its petroleum, but petroleum
is only one factor. In the 19th Century. Dubai became a major port and center of
commerce on shipping routes fom India. It also had enormous international market for
its pearls. Dubai was already a wealthy city, and the Discovery of oil in 1966 made it
much, much wealthier.
Sheikh Rashid, Dubais leader since 1958, used oil money to
modernize the infrastructure of Dubai. He made Dubai a
free port, and it became the major business center for the
regin. Rashid also promoted Dubai as a tourist destination.
In the 1970s, Dubai joined with six other emiratos to form
the United Arabed Emirates. The UAE is now one of the
richest nations in the World.

THE BRITISH IN HONG KONG

Before the 19th Century, the island of Hong Kong had a very small population. The
residents were Chinese fishermen (and a number of pirates!).
In 1842, Britain defeated China in a war took possession of the
island of Hong Kong. The islan gets its name from the
abundance of flowers thet grow there. Hong Kong means
fragrant flower. In a second war , Britain got Kowloon, across
the harbor from Hong Kong. Finally, in 1898, a large rea next
to Kowloon also became British properly. This annexation gave the British more space
to expand the colony.
Britain established a major port in Hong Kong, and the city became famous for shipping,
banking, and insurance. Many people immigrated to Hong Kong from China in the 20th
Century. In 1984, Britain agreed to return Hong Kong to China in 1997. On July 1, 1997,
in a big celebration, it officially became part of Chia. Today Hong Kong is still one of the
worlds financial center.
GREAT LIVES
 SEABISCUIT

The story of the racehorse Seabiscuit is a story

about starting at the bottom and finishing at tha
top. Seabiscuit was born in Ketucky on May 23,
1933, during the Great Depression. He wasnt a
beatiful horse, and he was small for a racehorse.
In his first two years, he wasnt very good, and he
didnt win many races. Then in 1936, his owner
sold him to Charles Howard, an automobile
salesman. Howard moved Seabiscuit to his ranch
in California, and the legend began.
With trainer Tom Smith and jockey Red Pollard,
Seabiscuit began to win races. Seabiscuit and his
owner, Charles Howard, were favorites with the
press and with the American people. Seabiscuit
ha done specially incredible achievement in his
career. In 1938, he beat War Admiral, the
number one racehorse in the country. He retired
in 1940,a nd the die don May 17, 1947. To the
millions of por people during the Depression,
Seabiscuit symbolized hope for the Little guy.