Simple Past

Sukrisno Nino    Januari 07, 2019    Grammar , Materi Kelas X , Materi Kelas XI   

Simple Past

It's similar to the present simple because it has different rules for the verb 'be', which becomes 'was' or 'were':

The past simple with 'be'

Here's how to make the positive:

Positive with 'be'

• I was cold
• You were tired
• He was in the garden
• She was late
• It was sunny
• We were on holiday
• They were hungry

To make the negative with 'be', just add 'not':

Negative with 'be'

• I was not sleepy
• You were not on the bus
• He was not at school
• She was not beautiful
• It was not cold
• We were not at work
• They were not tired

Negative short form

• I wasn't sleepy
• You weren't on the bus
• He wasn't at school
• She wasn't beautiful
• It wasn't cold
• We weren't at work
• They weren't tired

To make a question, just like the present simple, we change the position of 'was / were' and the subject.

Here are the past simple 'yes / no' questions with 'be':

'Yes / no' questions with 'be'

• Was i sleepy?
• Were you late?
• Was he at the cinema?
• Was she kind?
• Was it hot?
• Were we hungry?
• Were they at work?

And the 'wh' questions with 'be' (the question word just goes at the beginning, everything else is the same):

• 'Wh' questions with 'be'
• Why was i sleepy?
• Where were you?
• When was he at the cinema?
• How was she?
• How was it?
• Why were we hungry?
• When were they at work?The past simple (simple past) with other verbs

We make the past simple just like the present simple except we use 'did' instead of 'do / does'. It's really easy because 'did' doesn't change, even with 'he / she / it'.

The positive:

We usually make the positive by adding '-ed' to the infinitive. For example, 'play' becomes 'played'. However, there are some irregular verbs, for example 'go' becomes 'went' and 'run' becomes 'ran'.

Positive with other verbs

• I walked (regular)
• You played (regular)
• He cooked (regular)
• She listened (regular)
• It rained (regular)
• We ate (irregular)
• They drank (irregular)

In the negative there aren't any irregular verbs. All verbs use 'did not (didn't) + infinitive':

Negative

• I did not walk
• You did not play
• He did not cook
• She did not listen
• It did not rain
• We did not eat
• They did not drink

Negative short form

• I didn't walk
• You didn't play
• He didn't cook
• She didn't listen
• It didn't rain
• We didn't eat
• They didn't drink

Questions are also very easy. Just put 'did' before the subject, and the infinitive after it.

Here are the 'yes / no' questions:

'Yes / no' questions

• Did i walk?
• Did you play?
• Did he cook?
• Did she listen?
• Did it rain?
• Did we eat?
• Did they drink?

To make a 'wh' question, of course, put the question word at the beginning of the sentence:

'Wh' questions

• Where did i go?
• What did you play?
• What did he cook?
• Why did she listen?
• When did it rain?
• Where did we eat?
• How did they travel?

Using the simple past

Finished actions, states or habits in the past.

1: we use it with finished actions, states or habits in the past when we have a finished time word (yesterday, last week, at 2 o'clock, in 2003).

I went to the cinema yesterday.

We spent a lot of time in japan in 2007.

2: we use it with finished actions, states or habits in the past when we know from general knowledge that the time period has finished. This includes when the person we are talking about is dead.

Leonardo painted the mona lisa.

The vikings invaded britain.

3: we use it with finished actions, states or habits in the past that we have introduced with the present perfect or another tense. This is sometimes called 'details of news'.

I've hurt my leg. I fell off a ladder when i was painting my bedroom.

I've been on holiday. I went to spain and portugal.

4: for stories or lists of events, we often use the past simple for the actions in the story and the past continuous for the background.

He went to a café. People were chatting and music was playing. He sat down and ordered a coffee.

Unreal or imaginary things in the present or future.

5: we use the past simple to talk about things that are not real in the present or future. So we use it with the second conditional and after words like 'wish'.

If i won the lottery, i would buy a house.

I wish i had more time!

How to pronounce 'ed' at the end of a verb

It's difficult to know how to pronounce 'ed' in english, because it's pronounced in three different ways. It depends on the letter before:

The three ways are:

1: 'id' (like in painted 'paint-id')

2: 'd' (like in 'played')

3: 't' (like in 'hoped')

The most important thing to remember is this:

If the verb has a 'd' or a 't' sound before 'ed' you need to pronounce 'id'. If it doesn't, don't pronounce an extra syllable.

Be careful! It's the sound, not the letter: 'decided' is pronounced 'decide-id' even though 'decide' ends in 'e', because we don't say the 'e', so the last sound is 'd'.

So for example:

• Wanted (want-id)
• Ended (end-id)
• Decided (decide-id)
• Admitted (admit-id)
• Suggested (suggest-id)
• Recommended (recommend-id)
• Hated (hate-id)
• Intended (intend-id)
• Started (start-id)

For the other two sounds it doesn't matter so much. Just make sure you don't say '-id'! For example, 'stopped' is pronounced 'stopt' and never 'stop-id'.

If the word before 'ed' ends in the sounds 'p', 'f', 's', 'ch', 'sh', 'k', then 'ed' is pronounced 't': so:

• 'P' stopped
• 'F' laughed
• 'S' promised
• 'Ch' watched
• 'Sh' finished
• 'K' walked

For all other words, 'ed' is pronounced 'd':

• Allowed
• Cried
• Enjoyed
• Cleaned
• Imagined

Sources: 

Https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple.html