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The Past Simple Tense
(also called the simple past tense)
It's similar to the present simple because it has different rules for the verb 'be', which becomes 'was' or 'were':
The Past Simple with 'be'
Here's how to make the positive:
Positive with 'be'
I was cold
you were tired
he was in the garden
she was late
it was sunny
we were on holiday
they were hungry
To make the negative with 'be', just add 'not':
I was not sleepy
I wasn't sleepy
you were not on the bus
you weren't on the bus
he was not at school
he wasn't at school
she was not beautiful
she wasn't beautiful
it was not cold
it wasn't cold
we were not at work
we weren't at work
they were not tired
they weren't tired
To make a question, just like the present simple, we change the position of 'was/were' and the subject.
Here are the past simple 'yes/no' questions with 'be':
'Yes / No' Questions with 'Be'
was I sleepy?
were you late?
was he at the cinema?
was she kind?
was it hot?
were we hungry?
were they at work?
And the 'wh' questions with 'be' (the question word just goes at the beginning, everything else is the same):
'Wh' Questions with 'Be'
why was I sleepy?
where were you?
when was he at the cinema?
how was she?
how was it?
why were we hungry?
when were they at work?
The Past Simple (Simple Past) with Other Verbs
We make the past simple just like the present simple except we use 'did' instead of 'do / does'. It's really easy because 'did' doesn't change, even with 'he / she / it'.
The positive:
We usually make the positive by adding '-ed' to the infinitive. For example, 'play' becomes 'played'. However, there are some irregular verbs, for example 'go' becomes 'went' and 'run' becomes 'ran'.
Positive with Other Verbs
I walked (regular)
you played (regular)
he cooked (regular)
she listened (regular)
it rained (regular)
we ate (irregular)
they drank (irregular)
In the negative there aren't any irregular verbs. All verbs use 'did not (didn't) + infinitive':
I did not walk I didn't walk
you did not play you didn't play
he did not cook he didn't cook
she did not listen she didn't listen
it did not rain it didn't rain
we did not eat we didn't eat
they did not drink they didn't drink
Questions are also very easy. Just put 'did' before the subject, and the infinitive after it.
did I walk?
did you play?
did he cook?
did she listen?
did it rain?
did we eat?
did they drink?
To make a 'wh' question, of course, put the question word at the beginning of the sentence:
where did I go?
what did you play?
what did he cook?
why did she listen?
when did it rain?
where did we eat?
how did they travel?
https://www.tgoop.com/learn_tenses
source: https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple.html
BY English Tenses
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