Past Simple
You will learn to:
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Use verbs to describe an event which started and finished in the past.
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I ate dinner.​
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She drank beer.
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We went to the shops.
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Use 'time adverbials' to add detail.
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On Saturday​...
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At 1:00pm...
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...last Friday.
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We will use 'the' for all place names.
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"I went to the cinema."
The past simple is used for one event which starts and finishes in the past.
Past
Now
Future
I went to the cinema.
Let's look at these verbs before we start.
Past Simple Examples
First, the structure.
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Subject + past form verb + noun / noun phrase.
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I went to the bank.
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She ate cake.
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They drank my water.
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This structure will create simple sentences.
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This is Tom's diary for Saturday. In the evening he tells Jane what he did.
9am - football
1pm - lunch with friends
Past
11am - shopping
3pm - beer in the pub
Now - 7pm
Let's create some simple sentences.
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Subject + past form verb + noun / noun phrase
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Tom played football.
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Tom went shopping.
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Tom lunch with friends.
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Tom beer in the pub.
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The last two sentences can be made more natural.
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Tom lunch with friends.
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Tom beer in the pub.
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Answer
ate
Answer
drank
Answer
had
Answer
had
+ LOCATION CHUNK
+ LOCATION CHUNK
To extend your sentences you can add:
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Time (remember to keep it in the past)
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Time + Subject + past tense form + noun / noun phrase
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At 9am I played football.
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At 11am I went shopping.
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At 1pm I had lunch with friends.
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Or you can put the time at the end.
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Subject + past tense verb + noun / noun phrase + time.
I played football at 9am.
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I went shopping at 11am.
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I had lunch with friends at 1pm.
+ TIME CHUNK
Time - vocabulary
Past Simple Exercises
Time + Subject + past tense verb + noun / noun phrase.
On Monday Kate went swimming.
On Tuesday Kate had dinner at a friend's house.
Answer
On Wednesday Kate went to the cinema.
Answer
On Thursday Kate had a hot chocolate before bed.
Answer
On Friday Kate had a takeaway pizza.
Time - vocabulary
Past Simple Examples- negative
Used for one event which did not happen.
Past
Now
Future
I did not play football.
First, the structure.
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Subject + did not + present form verb + noun / noun phrase
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I did not go to the bank.
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She did not eat cake.
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They did not drink their water.
This is Jane's calendar, but Jane was ill so did not do any of it.
Last Friday - a haircut
Two days ago - the bank
Past
Today - Friday
Last Monday - the supermarket
Yesterday - the gym
Let's create some simple sentences.
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Subject + present form verb + noun / noun phrase
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Jane did not have a haircut.
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Jane did not go to the supermarket.
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Jane did not to the bank.
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Jane did not to the gym.
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Answer
go
Answer
go
Past Simple Exercises - Negative
Let's add time to Jane's sentences.
Subject + present form verb + noun / noun phrase + time
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Time + Subject + present form verb + noun / noun phrase
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Jane did not have a haircut last Friday.
+ TIME CHUNK
Answer - supermarket / last Monday
Jane did not go to the supermarket last Monday.
Answer - Two days ago / bank
Two days ago Jane did not go to the bank.
Answer - bank / yesterday
Jane did not go to the bank yesterday.
Make sentences in the positive and negative form.
I
I went to the museum.
Answer
I did not eat pizza.
Answer
I did not go to school.
Answer
I did not drink milk.
Answer
I drank coca-cola.
Answer
I ate cereal.
Past Simple Examples - Questions (?)
Past
Now
Future
Did you go to the bank?
First, the structure.
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Did + subject + present form verb + noun / noun phrase?
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Did you go to the bank?
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Did she eat that cake?
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Did they drink water?
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This structure will create simple questions.
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You can answer the questions using a full sentence. We usually shorten it to make it more natural.
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Did you have pizza?
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Full sentence: "Yes, I had pizza" or "No, I did not have pizza."
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Short form: "Yes, I did." or "No, I didn't."
Kate went to a friend's house for the weekend. Tom asks her questions about it.
Did you go to the cinema?
Yes, I did.
Did you have fish and chips?
No, I had pizza.
Did you have milk?
Yes, I did.
Past simple - advanced
We can join our events in the past into one sentence using and.
Past
Now
Future
I went to the supermarket.
I ate chocolate cake.
I went to the bank. I ate chocolate cake.
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I went to the bank and ate chocolate cake.
If we have three sentences, we using a comma (,) and an 'and' at the end.
I had a cup of tea.
Past
Now
Future
I went to the supermarket.
I ate chocolate cake.
I went to the supermarket. I had a cup of tea. I ate chocolate cake.
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I went to the supermarket, had a cup of tea and ate chocolate cake.
Let's turn these into long sentences:
On Saturday Tom
Answer
played football, went shopping and had lunch with friends.
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