Simple past - 1
Forms of Simple Past
- For regular verbs, just add 'ed' to the infinitive.
- For irregular verbs, use the past form.
| |
Positive |
Negative |
Question |
| All pronouns |
I worked |
You did not work |
Did he work? |
| |
We spoke |
They did not speak |
Did she speak? |
Exceptions in spelling when adding 'ed'
| Exceptions in spelling when adding ed |
Example |
| after a final e only add d |
love - loved |
final consonant after a short, stressed vowel
or / as final consonant after a vowel is doubled |
admit - admitted
travel - travelled |
| final y after a consonant becomes i |
hurry - hurried |
The verbs 'to have' and 'to be' are highly irregular.
TO HAVE
| Positive |
Negative |
Question |
| I had |
I did not have |
Did I have? |
| You had |
You did not have |
Did you have? |
| We had |
We did not have |
Did we have? |
| They had |
They did not have |
Did they have? |
| He had |
He did not have |
Did he have? |
| She had |
She did not have |
Did she have? |
| It had |
It did not have |
Did it have? |
TO BE
The verb "be" is also irregular in the Simple Past.
Unlike other irregular verbs, there are two Simple Past forms: "was" and "were."
It also has different question forms and negative forms.
Always remember NOT to use the auxiliary "did" with "to be".
| Positive |
Negative |
Question |
| I was |
I was not |
Was I? |
| You were |
You were not |
Were you? |
| We were |
We were not |
Were we? |
| They were |
They were not |
Were they? |
| He was |
He was not |
Was he? |
| She was |
She was not |
Was she? |
| It was |
It was not |
Was it? |
Simple past - 2
Uses of Simple Past
The simple past expresses an action in the past taking place once, never or several times.
It can also be used for actions taking place one after another or in the middle of another action.
- action in the past taking place once, never or several times
Example: He visited his parents every weekend.
- actions in the past taking place one after the other
Example: He came in, took off his coat and sat down.
- action in the past taking place in the middle of another action
Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.
- if sentences type II (If I talked, ...)
Example: If I had a lot of money, I would share it with you.
Beware of Double Dutch!
One specific use of the Simple Past's use deserves your attention: Speakers of English use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past.
Dutch uses the Tegenwoordig Voltooide Tijd in those cases.
EXAMPLES
| English |
Dutch |
| I saw a movie yesterday. |
Ik heb gisteren een film bekeken. |
| I didn't see a play yesterday. |
Ik heb gisteren geen theatervoorstelling bezocht. |
| Last year, I travelled to Japan. |
Vorig jaar ben ik naar Japan gereisd. |
| Last year, I didn't travel to Korea. |
Vorig jaar ben ik niet naar Korea gereisd. |
| Did you have dinner last night? |
Heb je gisteren gedineerd? |
| She washed her car last week. |
Ze heeft haar auto vorige week gewassen. |
Signal Words of Simple Past
- yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday
- If-sentence type II (If I talked, ...)
