103: How to form and use the Past Simple (Regular Verbs).
How To Form The Past Simple:
To form the past simple affirmative of the present simple take a subject (I, you, the dog, my friends...) and after that put the compliment of the verb with ...ed added to the end (jumped). Like this we get I jumped. To construct negative sentences, take a subject (I, you, the dog, my friends...), then put the auxiliary did, next put not and finally put the compliment of the verb (jump). Do not add ...ed to the end of the verb. Like this we get I did not jump. To make questions use the auxiliary did, followed by a subject, followed by the compliment (no ...ed) of the verb. Did I jump? If you wish you can put a question word before to give: When did I jump? How far did I jump? The table below shows the form of the past simple:
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
|---|---|---|
| I jumped | I did not jump | Did I jump? |
| You jumped | You did not jump | Did you jump? |
| He jumped | He did not jump | Did he jump? |
| She jumped | She did not jump | Did she jump? |
| It jumped | It did not jump | Did it jump? |
| We jumped | We did not jump | Did we jump? |
| You jumped | You did not jump | Did you jump? |
| They jumped | They did not jump | Did they jump? |
The following video explains how to form the past simple:
How to form the past simple for regular verbs. To make affirmative, positive statements, take a subject I, then take the compliment, the verb in the infinitive without to and add ...ed. So for this example we are going to use the verb to jump. So jump plus ...ed jumped. So past simple affirmative of jump, I jumped. Notice the pronunciation jumped not jump...ed, jumped, yea? Jump...ed is a very common mistake, particularly among my students. So be careful of that. So I jumped, second person you jumped, he jumped, she jumped, it jumped, we jumped, you jumped, they jumped. So no changes, it's easy. To make negatives use the auxiliary verb did, OK? And then after that put not. So take your subject I, then your auxiliary did, then your not and then the compliment of the verb, the infinitive without to. But this time no ...ed. So to make a negative statement in the past, I did not jump, This can be shortened to I didn't jump. For second person you did not jump, you didn't jump. He didn't jump, she did not jump, it did not jump, we did not jump, you did not jump, they did not jump. To make questions swap, change the place of the subject and the did, change positions. So, to make a question in the past simple, the interrogative, did I jump? Did you jump? Did he jump? Did she jump? Did it jump? Did we jump? Did you jump? Did they jump? Ok? So that's how to form the past simple with regular verbs in English. I'll see you in the next videos which will talk about when to use the past simple and when and how to use irregular verbs in the past simple. See you soon.
When To Use The Past Simple:
We use the past simple for past finished actions, situations or habits that took place in finished periods of time. This tense invites words like yesterday, on Monday last week, in 1943. Use of the past simple implies finished action and finished time even if we do not specify either of these things. For example: When I was in the supermarket. This indicates that I have left the supermarket and am no longer there.
Hi. When to use the past simple. We use the past simple for actions, or situations that are finished, that no longer happen, in a finished period of time. So for example: Yesterday I went to the cinema. I saw a good film. I enjoyed it a lot. It finished at 8 o'clock. All of these are actions in the past, which are finished, I'm not at the cinema any more, and in a period of time that is finished, yesterday. What did you do yesterday? Perhaps you didn't go to the cinema. Perhaps you went to another place. In all of these phrases I am talking about actions in the past that are finished, in a finished period of time. We can also use the past simple to talk about habits in the past that we no longer do. Situations in the past. In the 1990s I lived in England. I worked in many different jobs. So I lived in England, this is a situation in the past, in the past, time that is finished. And I worked, this was a habit during that period of time. As the past simple talks about finished periods of time, it is commonly used with words like yesterday, last week, last year, in the 1990s, when I was born, on my 18th birthday, last Christmas. All of these phrases are talking about past finished times and therefore are most suitable to use the past simple. So I will see you in my next video and we will learn some more. See you soon.