Simple Past一般过去式.docx

Simple Past 一般过去式Simple Past FORM VERB+ed or irregular verbs Examples: · You called Debbie. · Did you call Debbie? · You did not call Debbie. Complete List of Simple Past Forms USE 1 Completed Action in the Past Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind. Examples: · I saw a movie yesterday. · I didn't see a play yesterday. · Last year, I traveled to Japan. · Last year, I didn't travel to Korea. · Did you have dinner last night? · She washed her car. · He didn't wash his car. USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on. Examples: 1 · I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim. · He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00. · Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs? USE 3 Duration in Past The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc. Examples: · I lived in Brazil for two years. · Shauna studied Japanese for five years. · They sat at the beach all day. · They did not stay at the party the entire time. · We talked on the phone for thirty minutes. · A: How long did you wait for them? B: We waited for one hour. USE 4 Habits in the Past The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc. Examples: · I studied French when I was a child. · He played the violin. · He didn't play the piano. · Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid? · She worked at the movie theater after school. · They never went to school, they always skipped class. 2 USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to." Examples: · She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing. · He didn't like tomatoes before. · Did you live in Texas when you were a kid? · People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past. IMPORTANT When-Clauses Happen First Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when I dropped my pen." or "when class began." These clauses are called when-clauses, and they are very important. The examples below contain when-clauses. Examples: · When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question. · She answered my question when I paid her one dollar. When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both clauses are in the Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the same thing: first, I paid her one dollar, and then, she answered my question. It is not important whether "when I paid her one dollar" is at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence. However, the example below has a different meaning. First, she answered my question, and then, I paid her one dollar. Example: · I paid her one dollar when she answered my question. ADVERB PLACEMENT The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc. 3 Examples: · You just called Debbie. · Did you just call Debbie? ACTIVE / PASSIVE Examples: · Tom repaired the car. ACTIVE · The car was repaired by Tom. PASSIVE 4