Course: Idioma​

Teacher: Andrea Jara Lemaire

Students:​
Bolaños Bermudez Fabiola
Solano Salazar Thomás  ​
Simple past tense
Simple Past Tense
(Affirmative/Negative /Interrogative)

There are many ways to talk about the past in English, but the simple past
is the most common form. The simple past tense in English is equivalent to
the past tense and past tense in Spanish. We use the simple past tense for
complete actions in the past. The time period of these actions is not as
important as in Spanish. In the simple past there are regular verbs and
irregular verbs.
Grammatical Rules
To form the simple past with regular verbs, we use the
infinitive and add the ending “-ed”.
The form is the same for all people (I, you, he, she, it, we,
they).

Examples:
want → wanted
learn → learned
stay → stayed
walk → walked
show → showed

For verbs that end in an “e”, we

just add “-d”.
Examples:
change → changed
believe → believed
If the verb ends in a short vowel and a consonant
(except "y” o “w”), we double the final consonant.

Examples:
stop → stopped
commit → committed

With verbs that end in a consonant and an "y", the

"y" is changed to an "i".
Examples:
study → studied
try → tried
Note: There are many irregular verbs in English.
Unfortunately, there is no set standard for forming
them. Below are the three most common irregular
verbs and those that act as auxiliary verbs.

Verb Past simple

was (I, he, she, it)

be

were (you, we, they)

do did

have had
Subject + verb (-d, -ed) + complement

Examples:
She was a doctor.
The keys were in the drawer.
I wanted to dance.
They learned English.
We believed him.
I bought a blue car.
(Era doctora.)
(Las llaves estaban en el cajón.)
(Quería bailar.)
(Aprendieron inglés.)
(Le creímos.)
(Compré un coche azul.)
PRACTICE #1
Subject + did not + basic form verb + complement)

Examples:
I didn’t want to dance. (No quería bailar.)
They didn’t learn English. (No aprendieron inglés)

We didn’t believe him. (No le creímos.)

I didn’t buy a blue car. (No compré un coche azul.)
 Examples:
She wasn’t a doctor. (Ella no era doctora.)
The keys weren’t in the drawer. (Las llaves no estaban en el cajón.)

Note: The verb “to have got”, which in the simple present follows the same rules as the verb
“to be”, cannot be used in the past. To indicate possession in the past, we use the verb “to
have”.
“Did + subject + verb in basic form + complement.
Examples:

Did you want to dance? (¿Querías bailar?)

Did they learn English? (¿Aprendieron inglés?)
Did you believe him? (¿Le creíste?)
Did you buy a blue car? (¿Compraste un coche azul?)
PRACTICE #2
Interrogative Sentences Wh question: Note: As in negative
sentences, the auxiliary
verb is in the past tense.
“To be” + subject (“did”) and the main verb
stays in the infinitive.
Examples:
Was she a doctor? (¿Era doctora?)
Were the keys in the drawer? (¿Estaban las llaves en el cajón?)
Uses
The simple past is used to talk about a specific action that started and ended in the
past. Generally, we use it with adverbs of time like “last year”, “yesterday”, “last night”
Examples:
Tom stayed at home last night. (Tom se quedó en casa anoche.)
Kate worked last Saturday. (Kate trabajó el sábado pasado.)
I didn’t go to the party yesterday. (No fui a la fiesta ayer.)

2. The simple past is used for a series of actions in the past.

Examples:
I received the good news and immediately called my husband.
(Recibí la buena noticia y llamé de inmediato a mi marido.)
He studied for an hour in the morning, worked all afternoon and didn’t return home until 10 at night
(Estudió durante una hora por la mañana, trabajó toda la tarde y no regresó a casa hasta las 10 de la
noche.)
3. We also use it for repeated or habitual actions in the past, such as the Spanish imperfect
tense.
Examples:
We always traveled to Cancun for vacation when we were young.
(Siempre viajábamos a Cancun durante las vacaciones cuando éramos jóvenes.)
He walked 5 kilometers every day to work.
(Caminaba 5 kilómetros hasta el trabajo cada día.)

4. We use it for narratives or actions from long periods of time in the past, such as the
Spanish imperfect tense.
Examples:
I worked for many years in a museum. (Trabajaba en un museo durante muchos años.)
She didn’t eat meat for years. (No comía carne durante años.)
5. It is used to talk about generalities or facts of the past.
Examples:
The Aztec lived in Mexico. (Los aztecas vivían en México)
I played the guitar when I was a child. (Tocaba la guitarra cuando era niño.)
PRACTICE #3
¡THANKS!