The Past SimpleTense

Form (regular verbs)

The past simple tense is formed by adding suffixes -ed/d
to the infinitive:
work+ed= worked,
love+ ed= loved

The suffixes may be pronounced as:

{d} lived
{t} worked
{id} visited
*Spelling notes
With some verbs the final letter is doubled before
adding the suffixes:
stop+ ed= stopped
travel+ ed= travelled
admit+ed= admitted

The verbs ending in y change the y into i before the

suffix:
carry+ed= carried
try+ ed= tried
study+ed= studied
The same form is used for all persons:
I worked,you worked, he worked, we worked...

The negative of regular and irregular is formed with

did not (didnt):
I didnt work, you didnt work, he didnt work,we
didnt work...

The questions are also made with did:

Did I work? Did you work? Did he work?
 Irregular verbs

The past simple of the irregular verbs is found in

the second column and it has to be learnt by heart:

be was/were
eat ate
make made
see saw
 Use
The past simple is used for the actions
completed in the past at a definite time. It is
therefore used when the time is given:
I met him yesterday.
Mozart died in 1791.
Other expressions used with past simple are:
yesterday evening,
two days ago,
last week/month/year,
in the sixties,
in July:
We got married six yers ago.
 Subject and object questions
Subject questions ask about the subject of
the sentence. They keep normal word order:
Who told you that?
What happened?
Object sentence ask about other parts of the
sentence. They have question word order:
Who did you tell my secret?
Where did you leave it?
 The Past Continuous Tense
Form
The Past Continuous Tense is formed by the past tense
of the verb be + present participle (verb+ -ing):

I was work+ing= working

you were make+ ing= making
he was play+ ing= playing
she was go+ing= going
It was
we were
you were
they were
*Spelling rules
With verbs ending in e, e is dropped before the
suffix is added:
writewriting
liveliving
makemaking
With verbs ending in consonant + short vowel
+consonant we have to double the last consonant:
getgetting
stopstopping
traveltravelling
 Use
The Past Continuous Tense is used for the actions
which continued for some time i.e to show that
someone was in the middle of doing something at a
certain time:
Yesterday Karen and Jim played tennis. They
began at 10 and finished at 11.30, so at
10.30 they were playing tennis.

I was walking home when I met Jim.

I walked home after the party.
The past continuous may also be used for the two
actions happening at the same time in the past:

Sally was reading to the children while Kevin

was washing up.

Mario was working in a resturant when I was

living in London.

We use the past simple rather than the past

continuous when we are talking about repeated
actions or events in the past.
We visited Spain three times last year.

I went past her house every day.

She slept very badly whenever she stayed with

her grandparents.
We often use the past simple and the past
continuous to show that something happened in
the middle of something else:
While I was working in the garden, I hurt my
back.
The past simple and past continuous are often
joined with when, while or as:
I was having lunch when someone rang the
doorbell.
A woman came up to me when I was walking
home.
They arrived just as I was leaving.
*when can be followed by past simple or past
continuous:
I met her when I was on holiday.
I met her when I was living in London.

during is followed by a noun phrase:

I met her during my holiday.
 Look at these sentences:

1. When his wife walked in, he dropped his

glass.
2. When his wife walked in, he was
dropping his glass.
3. When his wife was walking in, he was
dropping his glass.
4. When his wife was walking in, he
dropped his glass.
Which are correct?
1. When his wife walked in, he dropped his glass.
This one is most likely she walked in and he dropped
the glass two short actions.
2. When his wife walked in, he was dropping his glass.
This is almost impossible. You cant drop a glass slowly.
3. When his wife was walking in, he was dropping his
glass.
The same problem here.
4. When his wife was walking in, he dropped his glass.
This is possible. She walks in more slowly and he drops
the glass. Maybe she just felt tired.
 Past continuous or past simple?
1. While Ben ____(eat) his soup, the cat ___(jump) up on
the table.
2. She ___(unpack) the shopping when I ___(get) home.
3. When Nick ___(arrive) at school, the pupils ___(leave).
4. I ___(watch) TV while Joel ___(tell) her the news.
5. I ___(take) a photo when they ___(feed) the lions.
6. Mary ___(talk) to Ian when I ___(see) them.
7. He ____(live) with his mother when they ____(get)
married.
8. Amy ____(have) a bath while Maggie ____(cook) the
dinner.
9. While Joe ___(work) in London, Kevin ____(travel).
10. While I ____(talk) to the other driver, the police
____(turn up).
I ___(see) Keith in town yesterday but he ___(not/see) me. He
___(look) the other way.

I ___(meet) Joe and Sarah at the airport a few weeks ago. They
___(go) to Madrid. We ___(have) a chat while we ___(wait)
for our flights.

I ___(cycle) home yesterday when suddenly a man ___(step)

out into the road in front of me. I ___(go) quite fast but luckily I
___(manage) to stop in time and ___(not/hit) him.