5.2 - Past Tense

Simple Past Tense

English Grammar

The Simple Past Tense, often just called the Past Tense, is easy to use in English.

If you already know how to use the Present Tense, then the Past Tense will be easy.

In general, the Past Tense is used to talk about something that started and finished at a definite time in the past.

How to form the Past Tense in English

The main rule is that for every verb in English, there is only one form of it in the past tense.
(The exception is the Past tense of To Be, which has two forms: was and were)

This is totally different from other languages such as Spanish, French, Italian etc. where you change the verb ending for every subject.

For example: The past tense of the verb want is wanted.
Wanted is used as the past tense for all subjects/pronouns.

• I wanted
• You wanted
• He wanted
• She wanted
• It wanted
• We wanted
• They wanted

So you just have to learn one word to be able to use it in the past tense. In this case we just needed to learn the one word wanted which can be used for all subjects (or people).

Past Tense Regular Verbs

To change a regular verb into its past tense form, we normally add –ED to the end of the verb.

• play – played
• cook – cooked
• rain – rained
• wait – waited

There are some exceptions with a slight change in spelling which you can see here:
Spelling of words ending in ED.

Examples of sentences using regular verbs in the past tense

• Last night I played my guitar loudly and the neighbors complained.
• She kissed me on the cheek.
• It rained yesterday.
• Angela watched TV all night.
• John wanted to go to the museum.

Note: There are three different ways of pronouncing the –ed at the end of a verb in the past tense.
We recommend reading our guide about the pronunciation of –ED at the end of words.

Negative sentences in the Past Tense

We use didn't (did not) to make a negative sentence in the past tense.
This is for regular AND irregular verbs in English.
(Exception is To Be and Modal Verbs such as Can)

Compare the following:

Present: They don't live in Canada.
Past: They didn't live in Canada.

The main verb (live in the example above) is in its base form (of the infinitive). The auxiliary DIDN'T shows that the sentence is negative AND in the past tense.

NOTICE: The only difference between a negative sentence in the present tense and a negative sentence in the past tense is the change in the auxiliary verb.

Both don't and doesn't in the present tense become didn't in the past tense.

Compare the negative sentences in the examples below:

Present: You don't need a mechanic.
Past: You didn't need a mechanic.

Present: You don't walk to work.
Past: You didn't walk to work.

Present: He doesn't speak Japanese.
Past: He didn't speak Japanese.

Examples of negative sentences in the Past Tense

• I didn't want to go to the dentist.
• She didn't have time.
• You didn't close the door.
• He didn't come to my party.
• They didn't study so they didn't pass the test.
• We didn't sleep well last night.

Questions in the Past Tense

We use did to make a question in the past tense.
This is for regular AND irregular verbs in English.
(Exception is To Be and Modal Verbs such as Can)

Compare the following:

Present: Do they live in France?
Past: Did they live in France?

The main verb (live in the example above) is in its base form (of the infinitive). The auxiliary DID shows that the question is in the past tense.

NOTICE: The only difference between a question in the present tense and a question in the past tense is the change in the auxiliary verb.
Both Do and Does in present tense questions become Didn't in past tense questions.

Compare the questions in the examples below:

Present: Do you need a doctor?
Past: Did you need a doctor?

Present: Do you ride your bike to work?
Past: Did you ride your bike to work?

Present: Does he live in Italy?
Past: Did he live in Italy?

We can also use a question word (Who, What, Why etc.) before DID to ask for more information.

• Did you study? – Yes, I did.
• When did you study? – I studied last night.
• Where did you study? – I studied at the library.

Read more about short answers in the past tense.

Examples of Questions in the Past Tense

• Did you go to work yesterday?
• Did they arrive on time?
• Did she like the surprise?
• Where did she go?
• What did you do yesterday?
• What did you say? - I didn't say anything.
• Why did we have to come?

Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense

Irregular verbs are ONLY irregular in affirmative/positive sentences.
(An exception to this is with the verb TO BE in the Past Tense).

For example: The past tense of GO is WENT.
It does not end in –ED so it is considered irregular.

The word went is used for all subjects – I, you, we, they, he, she, it.

• I went to the beach
• He went to the park.
• She went to the zoo.
• They went to the library.

BUT, as we mentioned before, it is only in its irregular form (went) in sentences that are affirmative/positive.

Compare the following using GO in the past tense.

• They went to the beach
• They didn't go to the beach --- Didn't shows that we are talking in the past tense.
• Did they go to the beach? --- Did shows that we are talking in the past tense.

Another example with an irregular verb.
The past of EAT is ATE.

• You ate my cake.
• You didn't eat my cake.
• Did you eat my cake?

5.1 - Prepositions of Place

The chart demonstrates some of the most common prepositions of place in English.

Prepositions of Place are used to show the position or location of one thing with another.

It answers the question "Where?"

Below we have some more examples of Prepositions of Place:

In front of

• A band plays their music in front of an audience.
• The teacher stands in front of the students.
• The man standing in the line in front of me smells bad.
• Teenagers normally squeeze their zits in front of a mirror.

Behind

Behind is the opposite of In front of. It means at the back (part) of something.

• When the teacher writes on the whiteboard, the students are behind him (or her).
• Who is that person behind the mask?
• I slowly down because there was a police car behind me.

Between

Between normally refers to something in the middle of two objects or things (or places).

• There are mountains between Chile and Argentina.
• The number 5 is between the number 4 and 6.
• There is a sea (The English Channel) between England and France.

Across From / Opposite

Across from and Opposite mean the same thing. It usually refers to something being in front of something else BUT there is normally something between them like a street or table. It is similar to saying that someone (or a place) is on the other side of something.

• I live across from a supermarket (= it is on the other side of the road)
• The chess players sat opposite each other before they began their game.
  (= They are in front of each other and there is a table between them)

Next to / Beside

Next to and Beside mean the same thing. It usually refers to a thing (or person) that is at the side of another thing.

• At a wedding, the bride stands next to the groom.
• Guards stand next to the entrance of the bank.
• He walked beside me as we went down the street.
• In this part of town there isn't a footpath beside the road so you have to be careful.

Near / Close to

Near and Close to mean the same thing. It is similar to next to / beside but there is more of a distance between the two things.

• The receptionist is near the front door.
• This building is near a subway station.
• We couldn't park the car close to the store.
• Our house is close to a supermarket.

On

On means that something is in a position that is physically touching, covering or attached to something.

• The clock on the wall is slow.
• He put the food on the table.
• I can see a spider on the ceiling.
• We were told not to walk on the grass.

Above / Over

Above and Over have a similar meaning. The both mean "at a higher position than X" but above normally refers to being directly (vertically) above you.

• Planes normally fly above the clouds.
• There is a ceiling above you.
• There is a halo over my head. ;)
• We put a sun umbrella over the table so we wouldn't get so hot.
• Our neighbors in the apartment above us are rally noisy.

Over can also mean: physically covering the surface of something and is often used with the word All as in All over.

• There water all over the floor.
• I accidentally spilled red wine all over the new carpet.

Over is often used as a Preposition of Movement too.

Under / Below

Under and Below have a similar meaning. They mean at a lower level. (Something is above it).

• Your legs are under the table.
• Monsters live under your bed.
• A river flows under a bridge.
• How long can you stay under the water?
• Miners work below the surface of the Earth.

Sometimes we use the word underneath instead of under and beneath instead of below. There is no difference in meaning those they are less common nowadays.

Under is often used as a Preposition of Movement too.

The following is a list of prepositions in English:

• About
• Above
• Across
• After
• Against
• Along
• Alongside
• Around
• At
• Before
• Behind
• Below
• Beneath
• Beside
• Besides
• Between
• Beyond
• By
• Despite
• Down
• During
• Except
• For
• From
• In
• Inside
• Into
• Near
• Of
• Off
• On
• Onto
• Opposite
• Out
• Outside
• Past
• Round
• Since
• Through
• Throughout
• To
• Towards
• Under
• Underneath
• Until
• Up
• Upon
• With
• Within
• Without

3.4 - Homework

HOMEWORK

Hello guys, This will be this weeks homework. First one is pretty easy. All I need you to do is to read this short story while you record it, and send me the audio file to my email. It is angel.manzano777@hotmail.com, please type the subject as "Homework 03". Thank you.

3.3 - What date is today?

WHAT DATE IS TODAY?

3.2 - Ordinal Numbers

ORDINAL NUMBERS

3.1 - Cardinal Numbers

NUMBERS

2.6 - Homework

This will be our first homework to evaluate the knowledge you obtained this last week. I am including an Excel file, that you can download to modify it at wish. Please enter your full name on it, and do all the exercizes. Once you are done, please send the the completed file to <angel.manzano777@hotmail.com> with the subject "English Homework 01", so I can review it.

Esta parte la voy a poner en español también para que no haya malentendidos. Esta es la primera tarea de la clase, y les dejo el link para que la descarguen.  Necesito que la llenen, le pongan su nombre, y una vez que hayan terminado de llenar el archivo de Excel, por favor envíenmelo a "angel.manzano777@hotmail.com", para que yo pueda revisarlo y calificarlo. Muy importante que escriban el asunto como "English Homework 01" para que yo pueda filtrar mi correo fácilmente.

Here is the homework download link https://1drv.ms/x/s!AmXdoAU0zwrpvHMqAFwgarJSMrhx

Make sure once you download it, it is not in "Lecture only" Mode. / Asegúrense de que al descargarlo no se encuentre en modo de "solo lectura".

Thank you so much for all your effort, and I hope to hear from you soon.