Lesson No 19D -Introduction To Simple Past Tense (Regular and Irregular verbs)
Introduction to Simple Past Tense (Regular and Irregular Verbs)
The simple past tense is used to describe actions that happened and were completed at a specific time in the past.
Simple Past Tense: Basic Structure
- Affirmative Sentences: Subject + past form of the verb
- Example: I walked to school.
- Negative Sentences: Subject + did not (didn’t) + base form of the verb
- Example: I did not (didn’t) walk to school.
- Interrogative Sentences: Did + subject + base form of the verb?
- Example: Did you walk to school?
Regular Verbs
Regular verbs form their past tense by adding -ed to the base form of the verb.
Affirmative Sentences
- Structure: Subject + base form + -ed
- Example: She played soccer yesterday.
Negative Sentences
- Structure: Subject + did not (didn’t) + base form of the verb
- Example: We did not (didn’t) watch TV last night.
Interrogative Sentences
- Structure: Did + subject + base form of the verb?
- Example: Did you study English yesterday?
Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs do not follow a specific pattern to form their past tense. The past forms must be memorized as they vary greatly.
Affirmative Sentences
- Structure: Subject + irregular past form of the verb
- Example: She went to the market.
Negative Sentences
- Structure: Subject + did not (didn’t) + base form of the verb
- Example: He did not (didn’t) take the bus.
Interrogative Sentences
- Structure: Did + subject + base form of the verb?
- Example: Did they make dinner at home?
Examples
Regular Verbs
- Affirmative: I walked to the park. / She enjoyed the movie.
- Negative: They did not (didn’t) talk to the manager. / He did not (didn’t) finish his homework.
- Interrogative: Did you invite your friends? / Did she reply to the email?
Irregular Verbs
- Affirmative: We made crafts last weekend. / She took a photograph.
- Negative: You did not (didn’t) go to the office. / He did not (didn’t) buy the house.
- Interrogative: Did they have any pets? / Did she eat breakfast?
Practice
To master the simple past tense with both regular and irregular verbs, practice forming sentences in all three forms: affirmative, negative, and interrogative, paying close attention to the correct past forms of verbs.
Common Irregular Verbs
| Base Form | Past Tense |
|---|---|
| go | went |
| take | took |
| make | made |
| have | had |
| eat | ate |
| come | came |
| see | saw |
| do | did |
| run | ran |
| say | said |
Exercises
- Affirmative: Write sentences using the past tense form.
- I (ride) my bicycle to the lake.
- She (give) me a gift.
- Negative: Convert the sentences to negative form.
- We watched TV last night.
- He traveled to Paris.
- Interrogative: Form questions using the base form.
- You played soccer yesterday.
- She baked a cake.
Answers
- I rode my bicycle to the lake.
- She gave me a gift.
2.
- We did not (didn’t) watch TV last night.
- He did not (didn’t) travel to Paris.
3.
- Did you play soccer yesterday?
- Did she bake a cake?
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- Learn English with BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/
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- English Reading Materials:
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- English Writing Practice:
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- The English Page: https://www.englishpage.com/grammar/
- English Grammar Online: https://www.englishgrammar.org/exercises/
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