Simple Past Tense

Chapters 6 & 7, Book 5A

New Welcome to English

(Second Edition)

e.g.

People rode in sedan chairs a hundred years ago.

Simple Past Tense to talk about things that

happened in the past.

People used lamps in the evenings fifty years ago.

We use this tense:

Simple Past Tense If there is no action in the

sentence, we use ‘was’ or ‘were’ as the verb.

am / is / are was / were

e.g.

I was short.

This tense has only one word.

Regular verbs

Irregular verbs

There are two kinds of past tense

verbs:

Simple Past Tense

Simple Past TenseRegular verbs Spelling rules Examples

base form + ed walk walked

play played

verbs ending in -e + d like liked

move moved

carry carried

study studied

verbs ending in a consonant + y

change y i + ed

Some verbs ending in a single consonant + the second last letter is a vowel

double the last letter + ed

plan planned

stop stopped

Spelling rules Examples

no change in base form put put

cut cut

Simple Past TenseIrregular verbs

different spelling from the base form

go went

eat ate

dig dug

come came

Base Form Simple Past Tenseget

ride

use

travel

listen

try

stop

enjoy

light

Practice

got

rode

used

travelled

listened

tried

stopped

enjoyed

lit

Simple Past Tense yesterday

Hint words:

last night

last

Sunday

last year

ago

Now

yesterday

last night

last year

last Sunday

50 years ago

1 I _______ (sleep) late last night.

2 He _______ (go) to school by bus yesterday.

3 I _______ (have) a dancing lesson last Tuesday.

4 She _______ (watch) a film yesterday.

5 They _______ (learn) to play the piano five years ago.

6 We ________ (make) a big pizza last Sunday.

Practice slept

went

had

watched

learned

learnt

made

Simple Past Tense We add did not to make the

sentence negative.

Don’t change the verb after did not.

Negative sentences

e.g.

He had a computer lesson last week.

+ not

He did not have a computer lesson last week.

1 I __________ (not go) to school by bus yesterday.

2 She ___________ (not have) a dancing lesson last week.

3 Peter ____________ (not give) any flowers to his mum last Mother’s Day.

4 He ____________ (not watch) the dragon boat races last year.

Practice did not

go

did not have

did not give

did not watch

Simple Past Tense We use did to make questions.

Don’t change the verb after did.

Questions

e.g.Did people watch TV a hundred years ago?

No, they didn’t.

What did Billy drink last night?

He drank a cup of milk last night.

Simple Past TenseQuestions

e.g.

Were they at home last night?

Yes, they were.

Was he happy?

No, he wasn’t.

We can also use was or were to make questions.

1 _____ (be) there any computers a hundred years ago?

No, there ______.

2 _____ you ______ (come) to school by MTR yesterday?

Yes, I ____.

3 When ____ Grandpa ____ (get) married?

He __________ when he was fifteen.

Practice Wer

e

weren’t

Did come

did

did get

got married

4 How ______ you _________ (travel) when you were young?

I _________ (travel) by bus.

5 _____ you _______ (listen) to the radio last night?

No, I _______.

6 ______ (be) there an MTR eighty years ago?

No, there ________.

Practice did travel

Did listen

didn’tWas

wasn’t

travelled

1 Sam always _____ (ride) his bike in the park.

2 It _____ (be) Mother’s Day last Sunday.

3 _____ you ______ (eat) a pizza last night?

No, I ______.

4 The children _______ (play) football every weekend.

Revision ride

s

Did

was

didn’t

eat

play

5 My parents _____ (get) married twenty years ago.

6 ______ (be) Sam and Susan in the office yesterday?

Yes, they ______.

7 Ken ___________ (not do) his homework last night.

8 It ______ (be, not) cold last month.

Revision got

Were

were

did not do

wasn’t