Past Perfect
&Simple Past
Past Perfect
Form :
Had + Past participle
The Past Perfect expresses the idea that
something occurred before another
action in the past.
It can also show that something
happened before a specific time in the
past
Past Perfect
Functions :
~ Completed Action Before
Something in the Past.
I had never seen I had already
such a beautiful eaten my
sunset before I went breakfast by the
to Hawaii time he picked me
up
Past Perfect
~ Duration Before Something in
the Past.
We can also use the Past Perfect to show
that something started in the past and
continued up until another action in the
past
We had owned our car for
10 years before it finally
died
Past Perfect
~ To indicate how often something
happened in the past.
She had read the
book three times
( She read it three
times.)
They had met twice
before married.
(They met twice before getting married
Past Perfect
~ Is used in reported speech after
verbs: said, of toll, asked, thought,
wondered.
He said that he had
listened carefully the
instruction.
(He said that he had
listened attentively to
instructions.)
Past Perfect
I thought he had
changed to be
better man
(I think he has
turned into a
better man.)
Past Perfect
~ To express the hope / dream that
is not accomplished .
If he had taken a bath fast, he would
have missed the train.
(If he had a quick shower, he will not miss the
train.)
Past Perfect
Rina would've been the same level
with me if she had studied harder
(Rina will taste the same level with me if he
studied harder.)
Simple Past- -Diagrams
We use the Simple Past when we talk about
something which started and finished in the
past.
We use the Simple Past to
describe a series of actions in the
past.
We use the Simple Past (red) together
with the Past Progressive (grey). The
action in the Simple Past interrupted the
action in the Past Progressive (the one
which was in progress).
USE 1: Completed Action in the Past
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an
action started and finished at a specific time in the
past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually
mention the specific time, but they do have one
specific time in mind.
Examples:
•I saw a movie yesterday.
•I didn't see a play yesterday.
•Last year, I traveled to Japan.
•Last year, I didn't travel to
Korea.
•Did you have dinner last night?
•She washed her car.
•He didn't wash his car.
USE 2: A Series of Completed Actions
We use the Simple Past to list a series of
completed actions in the past. These
actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so
on.
Examples:
•I finished work, walked to the
beach, and found a nice place to
swim.
•He arrived from the airport at
8:00, checked into the hotel at
9:00, and met the others at
10:00.
•Did you add flour, pour in the
milk, and then add the eggs?
USE 3: Duration in
The SimplePast
Past can be used with a duration
which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a
longer action often indicated by expressions such
as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all
year, etc.
Examples:
•I lived in Brazil for two years.
•Shauna studied Japanese for five
years.
•They sat at the beach all day.
•They did not stay at the party the
entire time.
•We talked on the phone for thirty
minutes.
•A: How long did you wait for them?
B: We waited for one hour.
USE 4: Habits in the
The SimplePast
Past can also be used to describe
a habit which stopped in the past. It can have
the same meaning as "used to." To make it
clear that we are talking about a habit, we
often add expressions such as: always, often,
usually, never, when I was a child, when I was
younger, etc.
Examples:
•I studied French when I was a child.
•He played the violin.
•He didn't play the piano.
•Did you play a musical instrument
when you were a kid?
•She worked at the movie theater
after school.
•They never went to school, they
always skipped class.
USE 5: Past Facts or
Generalizations
The Simple Past can also be used to
describe past facts or generalizations
which are no longer true. As in USE 4
above, this use of the Simple Past is
quite similar to the expression "used
to."
Examples:
•She was shy as a child, but now she
is very outgoing.
•He didn't like tomatoes before.
•Did you live in Texas when you were
a kid?
•People paid much more to make cell
phone calls in the past.
Typical expressions used with
Past Simple Tense:
•yesterday
•the day before
•two days ago
•last week
•last month
•last year
•a year ago
•3 years ago
•then
•once
We form the Simple Past:
- with regular verbs: infinitive + -ed
- with irregular verbs: 2nd column of
the table of the irregular verbs
I
You
He He arrived late last night.
She (regular verb)
It
We They came back late
last night.
You (irregular
verb)
We use the the same form of
the verb every time regardless
the subject.
regular verbs : irregular verbs :
•I played football. •I went to the supermarket.
•She talked with him. •He wrote this book.
•They travelled to London.
•We bought a car yesterday.
We use the auxiliary did (Simple
Past
of do) every time regardless the
regular verbs: irregular verbs :
subject.
•I did not play •I did not go to the
football. supermarket
•She did not talk •He did not write this
with him. NOTE!: We often
book.use short
forms in negative
sentences in the Simple
regular verbs: irregular verbs :
Past.
•I didn't play •I didn’t go to the
football. supermarket
We use the auxiliary did (Simple Past
of do) every time regardless the
subject.
egular verbs : irregular verbs:
Did you play football? •Did I go to the
Did she talk with him? supermarket?
Did they travel to London? •Did he write this book?
•Did you broke your leg
yesterday?
We use the auxiliary did (Simple Past
of do) every time regardless the
subject.
Did I eat
Yes, I did. No, I didn't.
breakfast?
Did he eat
Yes, he did. No, he didn't.
breakfast?
Did she eat
Yes, she did. No, she didn't.
breakfast?
Did it eat
Yes, it did. No, it didn't.
breakfast?
Did we eat
Yes, we did. No, we didn't.
breakfast?
Did you eat
Yes, you did. No, you didn't.
breakfast?
Add -ed with regular
verbs.
regular verbs:
Infinitive + -ed
Sometimes the are exceptions in
spelling when adding –ed :
1) consonant after short, stressed vowel at
the end of the word Double the
consonant.
Ex. stop – stopped
2) one -e at the end of the word:
Add only -d.
Example: love – loved
save – saved
) verbs ending in –y
verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a vowel (a, e, i, o, u): A
xample:
lay - played
verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a consonant:
hange 'y' to 'i' Then add -ed.
Example:
hurry - hurried
You have to know all forms of the irregular verbs.
For the Simple Past you need the form of the verb
which can be found in the 2nd column of the table
of the irregular verbs.
irregular verbs:
2nd column of the table of the irregular verbs
Examples:
•Be - was/were - been
•Come – came - come
•Give – gave - given
•Know – knew - known
•See – saw - seen
Pronunciation of the ending -
ed in the Simple Past
In the Simple Past we add -ed to regular verbs.
Be careful pronuncing the verbs:
1) verbs ending in -ed preceded by a voiceless consonant [p,
k, f, ʃ, ʧ, s, θ] - speak [t].
The -e is silent. Example: I stop - I stopped [stɒpt]
2) verbs ending in -ed preceded by a voiced consonant [b, g,
v, ʒ, ʤ, z, ð, l, m, n] or a vowel - speak [d].
The -e is silent. Example: I clean - I cleaned [kli:nd]
3) verbs ending in -ed preceded by [t] or [d] - speak [ɪd].
The -e changes to [ɪ]. Example: I visit - I visited [vɪzɪtɪd]
