2.1. Grammar review: past events
Past tense
To describe things that happened before today we have to use the past tenses. In English, there are three main verb forms of the past tense. They are: Simple past, Present perfect and Past perfect. They also have continuous forms.
Past Simple (also called Simple Past) |
Use it to describe events completed in the past. I arrived in England at 5 o'clock. Llegué en Inglaterra a las 5. |
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Present perfect |
Use it to describe events that have started in the past and continue in the present. It connects past and present. I have known Peter since I was 12. Conozco a Peter desde que tenía 12 años. |
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Past perfect |
Use it to describe events that have started and finished in the past. The plane had already taken off when I arrived at the airport. El avión había ya despegado antes de que llegué al aeropuerto. |
Let's review the Simple Past.
The simple past describes an action or a state of being that began and was completed in the past.
- Completed actions: I broke my leg in the accident. He parked his car in the garage.
- Past state of being: She was happy. I felt sad after my birthday party.
These past events are normally described with Time Markers or temporal adverbs like Yesterday, Last night, Last year, Five months ago, …
- For example: I went to the park yesterday She bought her new coat last Saturday
The negative sentences are formed with Did not (or didn't) + the infinitive of the verb.
- For example: They did not go out on Friday. He didn't drive his car after the party.
To form most questions we use Did too. It goes at the beginning of the sentence. (Did + subject + verb?)
- For example: Did he go to the library? Did you feel OK after the boat ride?
The modal verbs and BE don't use the the auxiliary verb do/did.
- For example: Was she at school yesterday? I wasn't happy.
- Were they in France last summer? You were not there on time.
- Could they hear him? No, they couldn't
Watch this video in Spanish
Watch this video in Real English: these people are asked about yesterday.
Try these exercises for extra practice.
As you know, the English language uses both regular and irregular verbs forms.
When forming the past tense or the present/past perfect tense of these verbs, we use different methods.
To form the past tense of a regular verb we add -ed ( plant > planted). But there are some rules.
Unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs do not follow a pattern. You must memorize them or learn them by use.
Here are some spelling rules for regular verbs:
Source: https://edu.glogster.com/glog/_/23bssjaw6mq
* Remember, there are exceptions to these rules.
Do it yourself
Do it yourself
Read the paragraph below and fill in the missing words.
The most difficult aspect about regular verbs in the Past Simple Tense is the correct pronunciation.
There are three possible pronunciations:
Group 1) /t/ - pronounce -ed as “T” |
Group2) /d/ - pronounce -ed as “D” |
Group 3) /id/ -pronounce -ed as “ID” |
After all Voiceless sounds: – p – k – s – ch – sh – f – x – h - example: ask > asked kiss > kissed |
After all Voiced sounds : – l – v – n – m – r – b – v – g – w – y – z – and vowel sounds (diphthongs) example: learn > learned tie > tied |
After T or D : example: need > needed invite > invited
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Hint: As you can hear, the difference between /t/ and /d/ is very small and most native speakers use an intermediate position.
Never pronounce groups 1) and 2) as group 3). /ask Id/ /kis Id/ /ti Id/ /lov Id/
Do it yourself
Write the correct form of these verbs and write the correct pronunciation group.
Example:
Nº | Infinitive | Simple past | Group |
Ex: | need | needed | 3 |