In the English language, Past Indefinite Tense, or simply Past Simple, the rules are not too complicated. The main thing is to thoroughly understand them. In addition, this time is one of the most common in English. So Past Simple is
simple
past tense, used mainly to describe completed actions in the past, as well as to describe events that recurred once.
Past Simple rules state that the main array of past tense verbs is formed by adding the –ed ending to the base of the regular regular verb:
We played different games. - We played various games.
True, there are several special cases of joining this ending. Consider them:
The end of the infinitive | Verb endings in Past Simple | Examples |
–– or –– | only -d | love - loved (love - loved), agree - agreed (agree - agreed), type - typed (print - printed) |
Single vowel preceded by a short drums (excluding w and x) | The consonant at the end of the infinitive doubles | hug - hugged (hug - hugged), stop-stopped (stop - stopped), admit - admitted (recognize - recognized) |
Vowel -y | -y is replaced by -i | worry - worried (copy - copied), copy - copied |
Irregular verbs (irregular) have three forms, each of which will have to be memorized. Soothing one thing - there are not many such exceptions in the English language:
I read "Harry Potter" yesterday. “I read Harry Potter yesterday.”
Interrogative sentences in the considered time are formed with the participation of the auxiliary verb did (the verb do in the second form), which takes place in front of the noun (subject). The main verb remains unchanged:
Did we play? - We played?
When compiling special questions , the assistant verb did is also placed in front of the subject, and the necessary interrogative pronoun is put in front of the auxiliary verb:
When did he come? - When he came?
Why did you cry? - Why did you cry (a)?
Denial has the usual English rule. Past Simple is no exception:
We did not play. - We did not play.
Instead of “did not”, the most commonly used term for reduction was “didn't”.
Here is a table with examples of the use of Past Simple (the rules for creating affirmative, interrogative and negative forms with regular and irregular verbs):
Affirmative offers |
Face | Number |
Unit | Mn. |
1 | I loved / went | We loved / went |
2 | You loved / went | You loved / went |
3 | He, She, It loved / went | They loved / went |
Interrogative sentences |
1 | Did I love / go? (yes, I did) | Did we love / go? (yes, we did) |
2 | Did you love / go? (yes, you did) | Did you love / go? (yes, you did) |
3 | Did he, she, it love / go? (yes, he, she, it did) | Did they love / go? (yes, they did) |
Negative Offers |
1 | I didn't love / go | We didn't love / go |
2 | You didn't love / go | You didn't love / go |
3 | He, She, It didn't love / go | They didn't love / go |
So, we examined the education of Past Simple, the rules for using this time are given below.
1) The expression of a permanent action or attribute of an object, its property or a well-known fact that once took place in the past:
She was so good friend. “She was such a good friend.”
The school replaced here. - The school was located here.
2) Expression of single actions in the past. In this case, auxiliary words and phrases like yesterday (yesterday), last week, year (last week, last year), a month ago (month ago), in 1991 (in 1991), on Monday (on Monday) are used ) And so on:
I saw him a month ago. “I saw him a month ago.”
He visited his granny last week. “He visited his beloved grandmother last week.”
3) Expression of regularly performed actions in the past:
He never came late. - He was never late.
4) Expression of several consecutive actions in the past in the order in which they took place:
He opened the box and saw the mail. - He opened the box and saw the letter.
It remains only to add that the Past Simple rule does not imply such a concept as “verb type”. Therefore, the translation in this case is carried out based on the general context of the proposal or a series of proposals.
That's all we wanted to tell about Past Simple. The rules for its use, we hope, will not cause you any difficulties. Good luck