Overview
This lecture introduces the simple past tense, including its structure, usage, regular and irregular verbs, questions, and short answers, with several practical examples.
Simple Past Tense: Definition & Usage
- Simple past tense is used for actions completed at a definite time in the past.
- It indicates events that started and finished before now.
- Example: "He played basketball yesterday."
Sentence Structure
- Structure: Subject + past form of the verb + rest of the sentence.
- The subject can be a pronoun (I, you, we, they, he/she/it) or a proper noun.
Regular and Irregular Verbs
- Regular verbs form the past tense by adding -ed, -d, or -ied (e.g., played, studied).
- Irregular verbs change form in various ways or stay the same (e.g., go → went, put → put).
Negative and Question Forms
- Negative: Subject + did not (didn't) + base form of the verb (e.g., "He didn't play yesterday").
- Yes/No Questions: Did + subject + base form of the verb (e.g., "Did he play basketball yesterday?").
- Short Answers: "Yes, he did." or "No, he didn't."
Examples
- "I helped my mom in the kitchen."
- "My sister studied in her room."
- "Sally washed all the dishes."
- "My granny walked to the shop."
- "My cousin arrived late."
Key Terms & Definitions
- Simple Past Tense — verb tense for completed actions in the past.
- Regular Verb — verbs forming past tense by adding -ed, -d, or -ied.
- Irregular Verb — verbs with unique past tense forms, not following regular patterns.
- Base Form — the original form of a verb (e.g., play, go).
- Subject Pronoun — words like I, you, we, they, he, she, it representing the subject.
- Auxiliary Verb (Did) — helps form questions and negatives in the simple past.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Practice writing sentences in the simple past tense using both regular and irregular verbs.
- Complete extra worksheet exercises on forming questions and negatives in the simple past.
- Review vocabulary and verb forms introduced in this session.