| Explanation |
1.
The simple past tense is expressed with the past form of the
verb and nothing else.
| My
grandfather died last year. |
CORRECT |
| My
grandfather was died last year. |
WRONG |
| My
grandfather has died last year. |
WRONG |
| My
grandfather had died last year. |
WRONG
(without reference to another event) |
|
2.
The simple past tense refers to
| 1. |
action
which occurred at a specific time in the past. |
| 2. |
completed
action |
| 3. |
past
status |
|
| |
| Examples |
| Specific
past action |
Completed
action |
Past
status |
| I
ate lunch at noon today. |
She
finally mailed the letter. |
John
was still single in 1995. |
| He
drove to work yesterday. |
Jan
finished her report on time. |
Jane
was a movie star. |
| |
|
|
| Note
the usage of the past tense in the following story. |
|
Yesterday
Mrs. Hubbard had a very rough day. In the morning, she went to the kitchen
and looked in the cupboard for some food for her dog, but the cupboard
was empty. Her poor dog stared up at her with its hungry eyes, and she
knew she had to do something quickly. She hurried to the grocery store
to buy some dog food, but unfortunately the store was out of her dog's
favorite brand, so she had to catch a bus downtown. After buying the food,
she waited for a half hour in the rain to get a taxi. When she finally
got home, her dog was sound asleep on the living room sofa.
|
| |
| Common
Errors |
1.
Using the present tense when the past tense is required
| Last
week , Tonya fix her neighbor's car. |
INCORRECT |
| Last
week , Tonya fixed her neighbor's car. |
CORRECT |
|
2.
Unecessarily using "was" with verbs in the past tense
| It
was happened one night in September. |
INCORRECT |
| It
happened one night in September. |
CORRECT |
|
| |
| Exercises
|
| Change
the verbs in the following sentence into past tense. |
|
1. |
Yesterday,
I go to the restaurant with a client. |
| 2. |
We
drive around the parking lot for 20 minutes in order to find a parking
space. |
| 3. |
When
we arrive at the restaurant, the place is full. |
| 4. |
The
waitress asks us if we have reservations. |
| 5. |
I
say, "No, my secretary forgets to make them." |
| 6. |
The
waitress tells us to come back in two hours. |
| 7. |
My
client and I slowly walk back to the car. |
| 8. |
Then
we see a small grocery store. |
| 9. |
We
stop in the grocery store and buy some sandwiches. |
| 10. |
That
is better than waiting for two hours. |
|
| |
| Correct
the mistakes in the following sentences: |
| 1. |
Last
night, Samantha have pizza for supper. |
| 2. |
My
pet lizard was died last month. |
| 3. |
Yesterday
I spend two hours cleaning my living room. |
| 4. |
This
morning before coming to class, Jack eats two bowls of cereal. |
| 5. |
What
was happened to your leg? |
| 10. |
|
|