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Conjugation of the simple past
The structure of "simple past" (Simple Past Tense) in English is: [SUBJECT] + [past tense, ending "-ed"] -
Construction of the past
As a general rule, to form the past in English is added "-ed" to a verb.
work➜worked
Although some considerations have to be taken into account: -
Irregular verbs
For irregular verbs you have to memorize your past form. -
Past verbs ending in "-e"
To form the past, the final "-e" is replaced by "-ed". -
The denial in the simple past
The formation of the negation in "past simple" is simpler than the affirmation.
Its structure is:
[SUBJECT] + did + not + VERB IN INFINITIVE (without to) We show you a couple of examples:
I did not sing
I did not sing -
The interrogation in the simple past
To construct the interrogation we use the auxiliary verb to do in past (did).
The Structure is: Did + [SUBJECT] + [VERB IN INFINITIVE (without to)]? -
Using the simple past
The "past simple" is used to:
Actions that began in the past and are now finished.
I ate an apple yesterday -
Temporary Complements
Usually with the sentences in "simple past" it is necessary to detail when the action was performed (explicitly or by context).
For example:
I played a match last week
I played a game last week