WELCOME... THIS IS GRAMMAR!!! PAST TENSES, PART 1!!!

Welcome everybody to this new entry of Montcada in English! I’d like to start talking about the Past Tenses and how we can use them.

The past tenses are expressing activity, action state or being in the past. In English, there are two types of past tenses: Simple Past, which includes Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect Simple and Past Perfect Continuous and Present Tenses, which include Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous (both are related to actions that have started in the past but have some consequences in the present). In this moment we will focus on the past simple.

The past simple is the basic form of the past tense in modern English. It is used principally to describe events in the past, although it also has some other uses. Regular English verbs form the simple past in –ed / ied / d; however there are a few hundred irregular verbs with different forms.

Different structures of Past Simple

Affirmative

SUBJECT PRONOUN + VERB (PAST) + COMPLEMENT

I studied English last year (the verb is study)

She went to her mother’s house 2 days ago (the verb is go)

Negative

SP + DID NOT + VERB (INFINITIVE) + COMPLEMENT

I didn’t study French two years ago

She didn’t go to her cousin’s house last week

Yes/No Questions

DID + SP + VERB (INFINITIVE) + COMPLEMENT?

Did you study French?

Did she go to her mother’s house?

Wh. Questions

WH.Q + DID + SP + VERB (INFINITIVE) + COMPLEMENT?

When did you study English?

Where did you go last week?

USES OF PAST SIMPLE TENSES

We use the past simple to talk about completed actions in the past. We 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 have one specific time in mind.

For Example:

I saw a movie yesterday.

I didn't see a play yesterday.

Last year, I traveled to Japan.

Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.

Did you have dinner last night?

She washed her car.

He didn't wash his car.

We also use past simple to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

For Example:

I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.

He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.

Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

It also can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. Duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

For Example:

I lived in Brazil for two years.

Shauna studied Japanese for five years.

They sat at the beach all day.

They did not stay at the party the entire time.

We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.

A: How long did you wait for them?

B: We waited for one hour.

The past simple can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

For Example:

I studied French when I was a child.

He played the violin.

He didn't play the piano.

Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?

She worked at the movie theater after school.

They never went to school, they always skipped class.

Past simple can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. This use is also quite similar to the expression "used to."

For Example:

She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.

He didn't like tomatoes before.

Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?

People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

Next time, we will be focus on Past Continuous tenses. As far as I concerned, We're done! I hope this info can be useful for all of you!

C Ya!!!