The Simple Past Tense: Part One


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In today's lesson we continue our unit on verbs and we begin our discussion of the verb tense, the Simple Past Tense.

What's wrong with this sentence below?

 My cousins's and I went to play in the garden.

Read below to find out the answer and to learn how to correct it.

Before we begin, you might want to reference our lesson, " What Is the Difference between a Verb Tense and a Time Reference?"

When Do We Use the Simple Past Tense?

Use the simple past tense when you want to indicate a situation or an action that began and ended at a particular time in the past.  It is not necessary to indicate exactly when the action began and ended.


  • Many years ago, a ship named The Mayflower anchored at the shores of an unknwon land.

  • The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget revolutionized theories about child development.

How Do We Form the Simple Past Tense?


We shall begin with action verbs.

Regular Action Verbs

Positive:  In a regular action verb, the simple past tense (sometimes called the 2nd part of the verb) is formed by adding -ed to the base form of the verb. (See Spelling Unit.)

Negative: In a regular and irregular action verb, the negative of the simple past tense (sometimes called the 2nd part of the verb) is formed by adding the words "did not" or the contraction "didn't" to the base form of the verb.

Base Form Positive Simple Past Tense Form Negative Simple Past Tense Form
 
change changed didn't change
help helped didn't help
learn learned didn't learn
move moved didn't move
open opened didn't open
save saved didn't save
start started didn't start
try tried didn't try
wait waited didn't wait
work worked didn't work

Irregular Verbs

Here is a chart of some common action verbs that are irregular in the positive simple past tense.

Base Form Positive Simple Past Tense Form Negative Simple Past Tense Form
 
begin began didn't begin
catch caught didn't catch
choose chose didn't choose
drink drank didn't drink
feel felt didn't feel
fight fought didn't fight
get got didn't get
go went didn't go
have had didn't have
know knew didn't know
light lit or lighted didn't light
quit quit didn't quit
see saw didn't see
sleep slept didn't sleep
stand stood didn't stand
take took didn't take
wake woke didn't wake
     

Problem-solving

PROBLEM:   We didn't went any place.
SOLUTION:    We didn't go any place.

PROBLEM:   The bride and groom didn't saw each other  before the ceremony.
SOLUTION:    The bride and groom didn't see each other before the ceremony.

Next...

Please Continue:   Simple Past Tense: be verb

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