Sentences in English in the past tense with translation. Past Simple - simple past tense in English

You are browsing the sub-heading " Past tense forms".
Past tense forms express actions that take place in the past tense, but at slightly different time intervals.
Learn Past Simple first, then Past Continuous, Past Perfect, and finally Past Perfect Continuous.
It is highly recommended to study in this sequence, this allows you to quickly understand this form (like everyone else)

Past Simple or Simple Past or The Past Indefinite)- used to describe an action or event that happened once in the past shortly before the present and less often long before the present. Simply put, Past simple Is all that ended at a certain point in time in the past and no longer occurs in the present.

Before proceeding to study Past simple, first learn and remember - the simple present.

Elapsed continuous time (Past Continuous or Past Progressive) - used to describe an action or event that occurred during some long definite period of time in the past and without directions on its beginning and completeness (that is, when exactly it began and ended), the emphasis falls only on the process of this action. Moreover, it could be interrupted by another event or occur with it at the same time - in this case, additional clarifications.

Sounds confusing? Do not be alarmed, read this lesson to the end and everything will become clear to you.

We were sing ing yesterday.
We yesterday sang.

He was pack ing his suitcase today.
He today packed your suitcase.

They were visit ing Rome in 2014.
They attended Rome in 2014.

Anna was wait ing for the bus this morning.
Anna in the morning waited bus.

I was writ ing an email when the computer crashed.
I AM wrote e-mail letter when the computer turned off / stopped working.

Before you start learning Past Continuous, it is recommended to master it well at first - simple past tense.

The article will not turn out very long, since Past perfect usually has only one property of designating time.

Past Perfect is used when they want to talk about an action that happened in the past, but before another action in the past (understand what was said now). It is formed with the help of the auxiliary verb "had" followed by

General summary of this article

Four kinds of past tense in English

Usually, when they talk about the past tense in English, they mean four types of temporal forms: Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous. I propose to recall their main meanings. Detailed articles on each of the forms can be found at the links below.

• - simple past tense. The MOST common way of expressing past actions, especially in colloquial speech. Used MUCH more often than others. Primary meaning: an action that occurred at a particular point in the past. Including a listing of sequential actions.

Christopher columbus discovered America in 1492. - Christopher Columbus opened America in 1492.

My sister and I found this puppet in the street and took him in... - Me and my sister found this puppy on the street and took him home.

Daniel woke up, made his bed, took a shower and made breakfast. - Daniel woke up, tucked in bed, accepted shower and prepared breakfast.

There are two difficulties associated with this time:

1. If regular verbs form the past tense with -ed at the end of a word, then the wrong ones are a little more difficult. But only a few, because there are only about 90 really common irregular verbs (see), and they are absorbed quickly.
2. Beginners are often confused about when to use time. Past simple, and when Present perfect because both forms can be translated into Russian in the same way. In informal colloquial speech, the form Past simple often used instead of Present perfect(which makes life easier). Read more about this in the article about.

• - elapsed long time. Basic meaning: an action that took place at a certain moment or period of time in the past. Since we often have to talk about something that happened (and not happened) at a certain time, this form is also used quite often.

What were you doing yesterday evening between 6.30 and 7.30 pm? - What do you did last night between 6.30 and 7.30?

You said you were running... But why is your t-shirt dry? - You said that ran... But why is your shirt dry?

Unlike Past simple, this form does not require knowledge of irregular verbs, except for the verb involved in its formation.

Important note: in colloquial speech you can easily get by with just these two ways expressions of the past tense.

• - the past perfect (long past). An action that ended before another action in the past. Past perfect Is an action one step in time earlier than Past simple, The "before last" action. It is used much less often than the previous two, but often found in fiction.

Someone had painted (Past Perfect) the bench before I sat (Past Simple) on it. - Somebody painted bench before I'm on it sat down.

One day I was (Past Simple) outside and this weird feeling came over (Past Simple) me. Like something had popped (Past Perfect) me in the chest. - Once I was on the street and it feels strange attended me. As if someone poked me in the chest.

• - the action lasted in the past until a certain moment and ended at that moment or immediately before it. Like other times Perfect continuous, is used very rarely.

I had been doing my homework for 3 hours and then my dog ​​eat it. - I AM wrote homework for three hours, and then my dog ​​ate it.

Repeated actions in the past: used to, would

A special case of action in the past is habitual, repetitive action. In Russian, in this case, sometimes "happened" is added and verb forms like "walked", "read", indicating the repetition of the action:

As a child, I used to read books about pirates.

V English language the turnover is used for this used to or verb would.

I used to

I would read books about pirates in my childhood.

Turnover used to also used to express an action that used to happen regularly but no longer occurs.

My dog used to howl like a wolf but now he is very quiet. - My dog ​​used to howl like a wolf, but now he is very quiet.

I used to be an adventurer like you then I took an arrow in the knee. - Me too was an adventurer like you, but then I was shot in the knee with an arrow.

Past tense in English and modal verbs

It can only be conditionally attributed to the ways of expressing actions in the past, because they can express not the action itself, but the attitude to the action. Here are some basic examples.

Verbs could and might combined with an infinitive can mean the likelihood, the possibility of some action in the past. In this case, there is almost no difference between could and might, they are almost synonymous, except that could can express physical ability, and might- just a probability. But this difference only appears in a specific context.

Someone stole my wallet. It could be John. - Someone stole my wallet. It could have been John (since John has the key to the room).

Someone stole my wallet. It might be John. - Someone stole my wallet. It was probably John (or maybe not John, because I don't lock the room).

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In English, the past tense or Past Tense denotes an action taken in the past. This type of time is subdivided into the following time forms:
Past Simple is a simple past tense.
Past Continuous - long elapsed time.
Past Perfect - past completed tense.
Past Perfect Continuous

Considering the first form, that is, Past Simple Tense, we can say that in its use it is similar to Present Simple, but all actions take place in the past. From this we conclude that Past Simple is used when it comes to an action performed at a certain point in time in the past. In addition, when any facts, years of life and actions that regularly occurred in the past are mentioned, Past Simple is also used. Signal words usually help to recognize this time in a sentence: ago, last, once upon a time, yesterday, the day before yesterday, and others.

Subject + Verb (ed / 2 / was / were) + object.

When using verbs, it is worth remembering about their modification. If the verb is correct, the ending -ed should be added to it. If an irregular verb is used, then you should use the table of irregular verbs, the second form. For example:
I left home at 4:45 pm yesterday.
In my childhood he was so cute boy, unfortunately time changes people.
He was 18 years old, when he decided to make a world trip.
We watched TV three hours ago.
We use Past Continuous Tense when it comes to action that began in the past and continues. Basically, time frames are indicated. For example:
I was reading this magazine all day long the day before yesterday.
At this time yesterday we were playing tennis.
Also, this time is used in combination with Past Simple, in order to distinguish one action against the background of another in the past.
I was looking for my glasses, when somebody called me.
My mother came back home, while I was laying in my bad and dreaming about my future.
It must be remembered that after the words WHEN, IF, AS SOON AS, TILL, UNTIL, verbs are not used in Past Continuous, this is a gross mistake.
Signal words that help determine the given time: while, during, at that moment in the past, all day long and others.
Sentence structure:
Subject + was / were + Verb + ing + Object.

Past Perfect Tense in its use is similar to Present Perfect, however, the actions take place in the past. This temporary form is used quite rarely, but it is still used. It is mainly used to show that one action was performed earlier than another in the past.
When he called to St. Petersburg his friend had already booked a hotel there.
He refused to buy this bag, because he had already reserved one.
There are times when actions are listed sequentially, in which case Past Simple is used.
She came home, cooked dinner and saw all missed calls on the phone.
Sentence structure:
Subject + had + Verb (ed / 3) + Object.


And finally, Past Perfect Continuous is used when it comes to an action that began in the past, continued and finally ended. before the start another action in the past.
I was so exhausted that evening, because I had been walking in the forest during the day.
She didn’t like this vocation. She had been working as a nurse for two years.
Sentence structure:
Subject + had + been + V + ing + Object.

In everyday life, we talk about past events much more often than about present or future actions. To tell a foreign interlocutor about your achievements or interesting life stories, you need to know the past tense well in English. And it is fraught with many interesting and sometimes difficult to understand discoveries for a Russian-speaking person. Let's analyze them, try to grasp the logic of English grammar and master the rules for creating the past tense.

In a conversation in Russian, verbs in the past tense are used to talk about actions taken in the past. It's the same in English. But, if for us there is only one form, then the British were able to distinguish four categories in the past. We will learn how to carefully analyze the actions performed by analyzing kinds of past tense possible in English.

Simple (Past Simple)

The most generalized category of the past. It includes facts, actions, events that happened a long time ago, a year / month / week ago, as well as yesterday and the day before yesterday. But, all this is provided that we are talking about isolated or periodic cases that are not related to other events and moment in time. Also, the use of a simple past is characteristic of describing simultaneous actions and the transmission of actual events.

The affirmative construction in simple pastes is created by the second form of the verb. Note that for sentences with to be and have in the past tense, there are two forms: were / have - plural, was / has - singular.

• I watched the 34 episode of the Untouchables yesterday -I AMwatched 34series"Untouchables" yesterday.
• She spent allhermoneyonpurchasesandpaymentslastweek- Last week she spent all her money on shopping and payments.
• We were at home and our son was at school -Wewereat home,aoura sonwasvschool.

Interrogative and negative phrases require the addition of the auxiliary did. In questions, it is placed at the beginning of the sentence, and in negations it gets a place right after the subject, forming the form did not = didn’t. Please note that in these cases, the main predicate is in the first form. verb, i.e. has the form of an infinitive.

• Did they sell the flat? -Theysoldan apartment?
• Myfriends didn ’T go totheconcert- My friends didn't go to the concert.

This is the simplest category of time for Russian perception, since one can draw an analogy with our language. Next, we will study more specific cases.

Continuous (Past Continuous)

As the name suggests, this group of times describes the processes of events that took place at a certain moment. It is important for the speaker to express not only the performance of the action, but also the period of time in which it was performed. Words do not have to be a time indicator: whole sentences can also be used in this capacity. In this case, we focus on the fact that one event happened, while another was still in the process.

Long tenses in English are formed with the verb to be and the first participle form (in –ing). To compose questions, such compound predicates are separated: tobe goes to the beginning of the sentence, followed by the subject, and the participle remains in its third place. Negation preserves the affirmative word order, only the not particle is added to to be.

• Mysister was playing tenniswhenIcalledher- My sister was playing tennis the moment I called her.
• Were they writing their work all the day? -Theywrotemyworkwholeday?
• I wasn ’T skating intheparkat5 o’Clockyesterday- I didn't skate in the park at 5 o'clock yesterday.

The extended past tense in English is also used to give an emotional coloring when talking about any bad habits, negative, annoying actions that occur constantly.

• They are constantly chewing something! -Theyconstantlywhat-thenchew!

It should be noted that some English verbs are never used in a continuous tense. These include:

• afford,
• agree,
• arrange,
• decide,
• deserve,
• fail,
• forget,
• hope,
• learn,
• manage
• offer,
• plan,
• mean,
• promise,
• refuse,
• tend,
• threaten

These are exclusion verbs, the verb following them cannot be used in the form. You need to know the list of such verbs by heart.

The British use simple pasta and continuius pasta in conversations much more often than the remaining categories. However, perfect combinations are not rare in written speech, so you also need to know their designs.

Past Perfect

This grammatical form is responsible for describing the completeness of actions. It is traditionally considered the most difficult to understand, as it can be confused with simpler forms of the past. Let's try to learn how to separate it from others by considering the theory and example sentences.

Perfect timing is used to indicate completed actions. We can, of course, express the past in a simple past in English. , however, there is a key difference between these methods. Simple tense expresses either the simultaneity of several actions, or regular actions, or a single event. That is, in these cases, the very fact of what happened is important. If it is necessary to establish its connection with other events or a specific moment in time, it is necessary to use a perfect. Remember that the continius is also used with a specific time, but it shows a process, not a completed action!

So, a perfect construction allows you to reproduce the sequence of events and establish a connection between actions, since perfect denotes what ended first. The second action, if it was completed, is put in Past Simple, and if it was in the process, it gets Past Continuous. Therefore, the perfect past tense in English, as a rule, is more common in indirect speech and complex expressions, but sometimes its use is justified in simple sentences indicating the time period.

To compose the predicate in perfect pastes, you must use the auxiliary had and the participle II. The participle always remains unchanged, but had comes forward in questions and gets a particle of not in negations.

• Shewonderedhowlongwe had worked atthefactory- She was interested in how long we worked in this factory.
• Jack hadn ’T repaired mycomputerby3 o’Clock“Jack didn't fix my computer by three o'clock.
• Had you written thissongbeforeyoubecameafamousperson? - Did you record this song before you became famous?
• She had read all magazines and was speaking on the phone -Shereadallmagazines,andafterchattedonphone.

We have analyzed the purpose of the perfect, it remains to consider the last combined time that is used in English.

Past Perfect Continuous

These constructions are used to describe the processes of the actions that took place. How, then, are they different from Past Continuous? The fact that, paradoxical as it may sound, indicate events close to completion. Let's try to sort out this confusion.

Combinations with a perfect continuus express the fact that some action, started before a specified moment or the occurrence of the next events, was still continuing when a certain moment in time came or the next event happened. But, unlike the Continius Pastes, in these situations the action does not just take place, but approaches completion. In Russian, we would translate continued perfect sentences in the past tense like, for example, “ I was finishing my letter when... ", and a simple continuius like" I wrote a letter when ...". The use of Perfect Continuous is also typical for describing recently completed actions, if their result is expressed on the face.

The formation of a construction depends on several elements: the verb had, the third form to be, and the participle I. For interrogative sentences, had is advanced and for negative sentences, not is added.

• Had Nick croud been writing this novel for a 2 year when he decided to publish the first chapter of the book? -NickCrowdwrotethisnovelalreadytwoof the year,whenhedecidedto publishthe firstchapterbooks?
• She hadn ’T been cooking dinnerfor3 hoursbeforeIcame “She didn’t cook dinner for three hours before I came.
• By the evening I was very tired. I had been playing tennisallday - By the evening I was very tired. I played tennis all day.

Note that Perfect Continuous is rarely used, and mostly in writing.

Elapsed tense in English - summary table with prompting circumstances

We finished mastering the material and learned that English expresses the past tense in several ways. For quick memorization and correct implementation of practical exercises, we will compose a cheat sheet for ourselves. Note that English past tenses often coexist with specific circumstances. Let's use this hint as well.

Past tenses
Category	+	?	—	Circumstances
Simple Regular, single actions; simultaneity of events	Subject + second form of the verb She wrote the letter. She wrote a letter.	Did+ subject. + infinitive Did you read this newspaper? Have you read this newspaper?	Subject + did not (didn't) +infinitive We didn’t spend money. We didn't spend money.	last day / week / month / year; ago, yesterday, those times, the day before ...
Continuous Action process	Follow + tobe+ c. I I was walking in the park at 3 o’clock yesterday. Yesterday at 3 pm I was walking in the park.	Tobe+ subject. + c. I Was he driving to the office when you called him? Was he driving to the office when you called him?	Subject. + to be not +and I They weren’t singing at that time. They weren't singing at the time.	now, at ... o'clock; all the time, constantly, at the moment, that time
Perfect Completed events, order of action	+ Had+ c. II She had already gone to the party, when Bob came home. She had already left for the party when Bob came home.	Had+ subject. + c. II Had cat jumped into the window before you called it? The cat jumped out the window before you called her?	Subject. + had not+ c. II He hadn’t cleaned the flat by 5 o’clock. He didn't clean the apartment until 5:00.	for, by, already, until, before, yet, scarcely ... when, as soon as
Perfect continuous The process of events that ended in the past; the reason for the current result.	+ Had + been +and II He couldn’t get up early because he had been working all night. He couldn't wake up early because he worked all night.	Had +subject + been +and II Had she already been cooking supper for 30 minutes, when guests arrived? Was she cooking dinner for 30 minutes when the guests arrived?	+ Had not + been +and II I hadn’t been watching TV for 5 hours, when you came! I haven't watched TV for 5 hours when you came.	for, by, since, all day / week / month; before

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Today we will look at the last tense related to the Simple group in English grammar - Past Simple Tense. With Easy Speak English for adults, our students start using this time already at the first level. It translates into Russian as “simple past tense”. From the article you will learn when it is used, how it is formed, how to build negative and interrogative sentences at this time.

When we use Past Simple

We use the simple past tense when we say:

1. About events or actions that have occurred in the past and the time of which has expired. That is, the action or event is complete.
(he bought a car last year, they went on vacation last month, the meeting was last week)

2. About events or actions in the past that were repeated regularly, but are not happening now.
(she did dance at school, we went to the gym last year)

3. About events in the past that happened one after another.
(they met, walked in the park, went to the cinema)

Bonus! Difficulty with English times? in Moscow and find out how easy it is to master the tenses and start speaking English in 1 month!

How is the affirmative form of Past Simple formed?

When forming Past Simple, we always look at the verb, as it will change. There are two kinds of verbs in English: right and wrong.

Depending on the verb, the past tense is formed like this:

• if the verb is correct, we add the ending -ed(cook - cooked);
• if the verb is irregular, we put it in second form (see - saw).

There is no rule by which to determine the correct or irregular verb in front of us. You can find out only by looking at it in the dictionary or memorizing it.

The same is with the irregular verb forms. They must be memorized or looked up in a dictionary. The Past Simple education scheme is as follows:

The person in question + the regular verb with the ending ed or the 2nd form of the irregular verb.

I
You
We	worked
They	slept
She	went
He
It

For example

I went to the cinema yesterday.
I went to the movies yesterday.

She moved last year.
She moved last year.

They married three years ago.
They got married three years ago.

The ending of the verbs -ed in Past Simple

There are a few nuances when adding the -ed ending to regular verbs.

• If the verb ends in -e, then the verb is added -d only:

chang e- chang ed- change;
clos e- clos ed- close.

• If the verb ends to a consonant, in front of which is stressed vowel, then the consonant is doubled:

sto p- sto pped- stop;
ba n- ba nned- forbid.

Exceptions: verbs ending in -x and -w:

fi x- fi xed- fix;
flo w- flo wed- to flow.

Note: v British English, when the verb ends in -l, then it doubles, regardless of where the stress falls:

trave l- trave lled- travel.

American version:

trave l- trave led- travel.

• If the verb ends in -y and there is a consonant letter in front of it, then y changes to i +ed:

cr y- cr ied- cry;
tr y- tr ied- sample.

Important: if before -y is a vowel then the ending -ed is added without change letters:

sta y- sta yed- stay;
pla y- pla yed- play.

Companion words Past Simple

These are clue words that help determine that we have a simple past tense in front of us:

• yesterday,
• last week / month / year,
• in 1989 (2000, 2012, etc.) year,
• two (three, four, etc.) days / month / years ago.

Examples of

I saw him five days ago.
I saw him five days ago.

She watched this film yesterday.
She watched this movie yesterday.

They lived in England in 1999 year.
They lived in England in 1999.

Negative Sentences in Past Simple

Denial is formed with the auxiliary did(this is the auxiliary verb do, but in the past form) and particles not... In this case, the semantic verb is used in its initial form.

The combination did + not will be our particle " not"... For example, he did not participate in the exhibition, they did not go to the club yesterday.

The scheme for constructing a negative sentence in Past Simple is as follows:

The one in question is + did + not + verb in the initial form.

I
You
We			work
They	did	not	sleep
She			go
He
It

An important point: the auxiliary verb did already indicates that the sentence is in the past tense, so itself verb in a sentence(run / jump / work) we do not put in the past tense, but use the initial form... That is, we do not put it in the 2nd form and do not add the ending ed.

Why is it necessary to show 2 times that this is the past tense?

Нe did not swim yesterday.
He didn't swim yesterday.

NOT: He did not swam yesterday.

For example

They did not work last summer.
They didn't work last summer.

She did not run yesterday.
She didn't run yesterday.

What abbreviation can I use?

We can shorten the negative particle not as follows.

Did + not = didn't

We didn "t win this battle.
We have not won this battle.

Interrogative sentences in Past Simple

The construction of questions in Past Simple is the same as in other tenses of this group (Simple). To ask a question, you need to put the auxiliary verb did in the first place in the sentence. The semantic verb, as well as in negation, is not put in the past tense, but its initial form is used. You don't need to add -ed endings.

Did + the person in question + the initial form of the verb.

	I
	you
	they	work?
Did	we	sleep?
	he	go?
	she
	it

Statement

He called me last week.
He called me last week.

They bought a new car.
They bought a new car.

Question

Did he call you last week?
Did he call you last week?

Did they buy a new car?
Did they buy a new car?

Short positive answer contains the auxiliary verb did, which replaces the action itself.

Yes, he did.
Yes, he called.

Yes, they did.
Yes, they bought it.

Complete affirmative answer is constructed as an affirmative sentence.

Yes, he called me last week.
Yes, he called me last week.

Yes, they bought a new car.
Yes, they bought a new car.

Short negative answer contains the auxiliary verb did and the negative particle not.

No, he did not.
No, he didn't call.

No, they did not.
No, they didn't buy.

Complete negative answer is constructed as a negative sentence.

No, he did not call me last week.
No, he didn't call me last week.

No, they did not buy a new car.
No, they didn't buy a new car.

Special questions in Past Simple

When we ask a question with the following question words:

• what,
• when,
• where,
• which,

Question word + did + the person in question + initial verb?

		I
When		you
Where		they	work?
What	did	we	meet?
Why		she	buy?
		he
		it

Let's take a look at some examples.

Why did you steal this thing?
Why did you steal this thing?

When did she sell her phone?
When did she sell her phone?

What did they buy?
What did they buy?

So, we have analyzed the simple past tense, which in fact is not so simple. If you still have questions, ask them in the comments below the article.

Also, if you haven't done so already, I advise you to read about other times of the Simple group:

Now let's get down to practice.

Past Simple Pinning Exercise

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. He built his house in 1997.
2. They went to a concert last month.
3. Did you give her a present yesterday? Yes, I gave her a present yesterday.
4. We didn't see each other last week.
5. My friend broke her phone last year.
6. The kids didn't go to camp last summer.
7. Why did he move?
8. Did you go camping last weekend? No, we didn't go.

Write your answers in the comments, and I will definitely check them.