Page 86 - BACKUP ENGLISH | PREPARATORY CLASS

THEME 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Structure

SIMPLE PAST TENSE
We use the Simple Past Tense to describe...
acts or events that happened in the past.

finished actions that occurred at a specific time or period in the past.

Affirmative Sentences

To make the Simple Past Tense, we usually add ‘-ed’ to the base form of regular verbs. However, irregular verbs have multiple
forms that must be memorised. You can look at the list on page 249.
I played soccer yesterday.
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She watched a movie last night.
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I ate a delicious meal at the restaurant yesterday.
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He spoke to the manager about his concerns.
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Negative Sentences
To make negative sentences in the Simple Past Tense, we use the auxiliary verb ‘did’ + ‘not’ (didn’t) + the base form of the main verb.

I didn’t go to the party last night.
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She didn’t finish her homework on time.
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We didn’t see the movie at the theater.
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He didn’t like the book he read.
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Interrogative Sentences

To form question sentences in the Simple Past Tense, we use the auxiliary verb ‘did’ + the base form of the main verb + the subject.
Did you eat breakfast this morning?
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Did she visit her friend last weekend?
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Did we go to the park yesterday?
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Did he finish his work on time?
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Note: Remember to put the auxiliary verb “did” before the subject when forming questions.

SIGNAL WORDS
Signal words are words that often indicate the use of the Simple Past Tense. Some common signal words for the Simple
Past Tense include yesterday, last week, ago, in 2005, and when.
I saw him yesterday at the mall. She travelled to Paris last summer. He called me when he arrived home.
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We met each other in 2010. They finished their project two days ago.
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REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

Reflexive pronouns are a specific type of pronoun that refers back to the subject of a sentence. They are used when the
subject of a sentence performs an action on itself. In other words, reflexive pronouns reflect or refer back to the subject.
Reflexive pronouns always end in “-self” in the singular form and “-selves” in the plural form. The singular reflexive pronouns
are “myself,” “yourself,” “himself,” “herself,” and “itself.” The plural reflexive pronouns are “ourselves,” “yourselves,” and
“themselves”.

84 English for Preparatory Class