PAST TENSE

We use simple past tense to talk about  an action that happened in the past. We also use it to tell a story.

The time of signals that indicate such happenings are yesterday, this morning, just now, a few minutes ago, . . . ago (long, long time ago), and last . . .(last Monday, last week, etc).

Pattern:

~ Using be      : S + was/were + V₁ + Complement

~ Using verbs : S + V_past + Complement

The function of the simple past tense:

1.   To express that an action started and finished at the specific time in the past.

2.   To describe a habit which stopped in the past. To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as : always, often, usually, never, when, etc.

3.   To describe past fact6 or generalizations which are no longer true. Example: Grandpa didn’t like coffee before.

Kind of Past Tense:

~ Past Progressive Tense / Past Continous Tense.

~ Past Perfect Tense.

~ Past Perfect Progressive Tense.

Example of Simple Past Tense:

(+) The diligent boy studied last night.

(-) The diligent boy did not study last nigh