The document provides instruction on using the past simple tense in English. It discusses: 1) Using the past simple tense to talk about completed actions or events in the past, regardless of how long ago they occurred. 2) Examples of using the past simple tense to describe both short and long past events. 3) The structure of positive, negative, and interrogative sentences in the past simple tense.

1. =INGLES PRIMER
TETRAMESTRE

2. I. SIMPLE PAST
How to use the Past Simple Tense.
We use the past simple tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in the
past. The event can be short or long.
Here are some short events with the past simple tense:
The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.
She went to the door.
We did not hear the telephone.
Did you see that car?
past present future
-------------------
The action is in the
past.
I lived in Bangkok for 10 years.
The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years.
We did not sing at the concert.
Did you watch TV last night?
past present future
-------------------------
The action is in the past.
Here are some long events with the past simple tense:

3. Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few
minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not
matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or
millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the past simple tense when:
the event is in the past
the event is completely finished
we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event
In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the past
simple tense; we cannot use the present perfect.
Here are some more examples:
I lived in that house when I was young.
He didn't like the movie.
What did you eat for dinner?
John drove to London on Monday.
Mary did not go to work yesterday.
Did you play tennis last week?
:

4. Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the past simple tense. We may use the
past continuous tense to "set the scene", but we almost always use the past simple
tense for the action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story:
"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold.
The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet,
and ordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly
drank his...“
V1
base
V2
past
V3
past participle
regular verb work
explode
like
worked
exploded
liked
worked
exploded
liked
The past form
for all regular
verbs ends in -
ed.
irregular verb go
see
sing
went
saw
sang
gone
seen
sung
The past form
for irregular
verbs is
To make the past simple tense, we use:
past form only
or
auxiliary did + base form
Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and
regular verbs:

5. The structure for positive sentences in the past simple tense is:
subject + main verb
past
The structure for negative sentences in the past simple tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb
did base
The structure for question sentences in the past simple tense is:
auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
did base
The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he
did etc). And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with
the main verbs go and work:
subject auxiliary verb main verb
+ I went to school.
You worked very hard.
- She did not go with me.
We did not work yesterday.
? Did you go to London?
Did they work at home?

6. Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were,
he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and
question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at
these examples:subject main verb
+ I, he/she/it was here.
You, we,
they
were in London.
- I, he/she/it was not there.
You, we,
they
were not happy.
? Was I, he/she/it right?
Were you, we,
they
late?
II. REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERB USAGE
This page shows the basic tenses with the regular verb work. It includes the affirmative
or positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?).
The basic structure is:
positive: + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
negative: - subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb
question: ? auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:
base verb past past participle present participle -ing
work worked worked working
past
SIMPLE
do + base
verb
(except
future:
will + base
verb)
+ I did work
I worked
- I
did not wor
k
? Did I work?

7. English regular verbs change their form very little. The past tense and past participle of
regular verbs end in -ed, for example:
work, worked, worked
But you should note the following points:
1. Some verbs can be both regular and irregular, for example:
learn, learned, learned
learn, learnt, learnt
2. Some verbs change their meaning depending on whether they are regular or irregular,
for example "to hang":
regular hang, hanged, hanged to kill or die, by dropping with a
rope around the neck
irregular hang, hung, hung to fix something (for example, a
picture) at the top so that the lower
part is freeIrregular Verbs
Irregular verbs are an important feature of English. We use irregular verbs a lot when
speaking, less when writing. Of course, the most famous English verb of all, the verb "to
be", is irregular.
What is the difference between regular verbs and irregular verbs?Base
Form
Past
Simple
Past
Participle
With regular verbs, the rule is simple...
The past simple
and past participle
always end in -ed:
finish finished finished
stop stopped stopped
work worked worked
But with irregular verbs, there is no rule...
Sometimes the
verb changes
completely:
sing sang sung
Sometimes there
is "half" a
change:
buy bough
t
bought
Sometimes there cut cut cut

8. III. Used to do
We use used to do to talk about the past. It is not a tense but it is like a tense. It is a
special expression. We use the expression used to do for the past only.
Structure of Used to do
The structure is: subject auxiliar
y
did
not main
verb
use
infinitiv
e
+ I used to do.
- I did not use to do.
? Did you use to do?
Use of Used to do
We use the used to do expression to talk about:
an activity that we did regularly in the past (like a habit)
a situation that was true in the pastI used to smoke.
//////
past present future

9. IV. Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs of Frequency are Adverbs of Time that answer the question "How frequently?"
or "How often?". They tell us how often something happens. Here are some examples:
daily, weekly, yearly
often, sometimes, rarely
You probably see a difference between a) and b) above. With words like daily we know
exactly how often. The words in a) describe definite frequency. On the other hand,
words like often give us an idea about frequency but they don't tell us exactly. The
words in b) describe indefinite frequency.
We separate them into two groups because they normally go in different positions in the
sentence.
Adverbs of definite frequency
Examples:
hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly
every second, once a minute, twice a year
once, twice, once or twice, three times
Adverbs of definite frequency, like all adverbs of definite time, typically go in END
position. Look at these examples:
Most companies pay taxes yearly.
The manager checks the toilets every hour.
The directors meet weekly to review progress.
Sometimes, usually for reasons of emphasis or style, some adverbs of definite
frequency may go at the FRONT, for example:
Every day, more than five thousand people die on our roads.

10. Adverbs of indefinite frequency
Examples:
never, seldom, sometimes, often, always 100% always,
constantly
usually,
normally
frequently,
regularly
often
50% sometimes
occasionally
rarely,
infrequently
seldom
hardly ever
0% never
Adverbs of indefinite frequency mainly go in MID position in the
sentence. They go before the main verb (except the main verb
"to be"):
• We usually go shopping on Saturday.
• I have often done that.
• She is always late.
Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually can also
go at the beginning or end of a sentence:
• Sometimes they come and stay with us.
• I play tennis occasionally.
Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often
with "very"):
• We see them rarely.
• John eats meat very seldom.

11. V. Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For
example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here
are some more countable nouns:
dog, cat, animal, man, person, bottle, box, litre, coin, note, dollar, cup, plate, fork, table,
chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
My dog is playing.
My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:
A dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
I like oranges.
Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
I've got some dollars.
Have you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
I've got a few dollars.
I haven't got many pens.

12. Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate
elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count
"bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more
uncountable nouns:
music, art, love, happiness, advice, information, news, furniture, luggage, rice, sugar,
butter, water
electricity, gas, power, money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
This news is very important.
Your luggage looks heavy.
We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say
"an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:
a piece of news
a bottle of water
a grain of rice
We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:
I've got some money.
Have you got any rice?
We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
I've got a little money.
I haven't got much rice.
Countable Uncountable
dollar money
song music
suitcase luggage
table furniture
battery electricity
bottle wine
report information
tip advice
journey travel
job work

13. VI. Too / Enough
We use too to mean 'more than is needed or wanted; or more than is suitable or enough'
Too comes before the adjective
We use enough to mean 'as much as is necessary; in the amount or to the degree
needed'
+ Enough comes after the adjective
Examples:
- It's too cold to swim.
- It isn't hot enough to swim
Form
too + adjective or adverb
too much/many + noun
too much/many + of + pronoun/determiner
adjective or adverb + enough
enough + noun
enough + of + pronoun/determiner
Meaning
We use too to mean more than sufficient or more/less than necessary.
It's too late to stop him.
Jerry was too young to watch the movie.
There are too many people on this train, there's nowhere to sit.
You have too much money, give some to me.
You've eaten too many of those cakes.

14. We use enough to mean sufficient.
Your clothes are big enough to fit me.
You've done enough work. You can stop now.
Have you got enough money to buy me a drink?
We use enough in negative sentences to mean less than sufficient or less than
necessary.
You're not working fast enough, you won't finish on time.
Sorry, I haven't got enough food for everyone.
Not enough of my friends are coming to the partyVII. SEQUENCE ADVERBS.
FIRST
THEN
NEXT
AFTER THAT
FINALLY
• Sequence adverbs often come at the start of a sentence
or clause and act as a marker as to order.
First, heat the pan.
After that, you press the delete key.
Then you can make your correction.
• However, some sequence adverbs like 'first' and 'next'
can come at the end of a sentence or clause.
You have to boil the water first.
Press the red button next.
•

15. 'Next', 'then' and 'after that' are interchangeable. They mark something between the start
and finish.
First, go down Cane Street.
After that turn left onto Oak.
First, get behind a rock.
Then you can push the detonator.
• We often use sequence markers when giving instructions on how to do
something, make something or go somewhere.
First, get a can opener,
Then, open the can of chili.
Next, put the chili in a bowl.
After that, put it in the microwave.
Once it is warm, you can eat it.
VIII.Present Perfect Tense
The structure of the present perfect tense is:
subject auxiliary verb main verb
+ I have seen ET.
+ You have eaten mine.
- She has not been to Rome.
- We have not played football.
? Have you finished?
? Have they done it?

16. 1. Present perfect tense for experience
We often use the present perfect tense to talk about experience from the past. We are
not interested in when you did something. We only want to know if you did it:
I have seen ET. He has lived in Bangkok. Have you been there? We have never eaten caviar.
past present future
------------------------------------ !!!
The action or state was in the
past.
In my head, I have a memory now.
Connection with past: the event was in the past.
Connection with present: in my head, now, I have a memory of the event;
I know something about the event; I have experience of it.
2. Present perfect tense for change
We also use the present perfect tense to talk about a change or new information:
I have bought a car.
past present future
- +
Last week I didn't have a car. Now I have a car.
John has broken his leg.
past present future
+ -
Yesterday John had a good leg. Now he has a bad leg.

17. 3. Present perfect tense for continuing situation
We often use the present perfect tense to talk about a continuing situation. This is a
state that started in the past and continues in the present (and will probably continue
into the future). This is a state (not an action). We usually use for or since with this
structure.I have worked here since June.
He has been ill for 2 days.
How long have you known Tara?
past present future
--------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ ------ ------
The situation started in the past. It continues up to now. (It will probably continue
into the future.)
Connection with past: the situation started in the past.
Connection with present: the situation continues in the present.