SIMPLE PAST USE

USE

1) action finished in the past

• I visited Berlin last week.

2) series of completed actions in the past

• First I got up, then I had breakfast

3) together with the Past Progressive/Continuous - The Simple Past interrupted an action which was in progress in the past.

• They were playing cards when the telephone rang.

______________________________________
SIGNAL WORDS

• yesterday, last week, a month ago, in 2002

______________________________________
 FORM

• with regular verbs: infinitive + -ed
• with irregular verbs: 2nd column of the table of the irregular verbs

______________________________________
EXAMPLES
 1 - Affirmative:       regular verbs irregular verbs

•  I played football. I went to the cinema.
•  We visited Alaska last year.
•  We were in Rome yesterday.

  2 - Negative:   You must not negate a full verb in English. Always use the auxiliary did (Simple Past of to do) for negations.

•  I played football.
•  I didn't play football.
•  He didn't play football.

   3 - Questions:

 Use the auxiliary did (Simple Past of to do).

• Did you play football?

  _____________________________________________________________________

Practise:

• Exercise 1
• Exercise 2
• Test 

_______________________________________