The simple past , past simple or past unlimited , sometimes called preterite, is the basic form of past tense in Modern English. It is used primarily to describe events in the past, although it also has several other uses. Regular English verbs form a simple past in -ed ; Yet there are several hundred irregular verbs of various shapes.
The term "simplest" is used to distinguish syntactic constructs of the basic form using plain past tense only, from other past tense constructions that use helpers in combination with participants, such as progressive past and progressive past.
Video Simple past
Formation
Ordinary verbs form the simple end of the past -ed ; Yet there are several hundred irregular verbs of various shapes. For details, see the English verb § Past tense.
Most verbs have a single form of a simple past, independent of the person or subject number (no addition of -s for a single third person as it is at this simple time). However, the copula verb be has two forms of the past tense: is for the first and the third single, and exists in another example. The form can also be used instead of is in the conditional clause and the like; for information on this, see subjunctive English. This is the only case in modern English where differences in form are made between indicative and subjunctive circumstances in the past tense.
Questions, other clauses requiring inversion, negation with not , and forms of empathy from the simple past using helpers do . For details of this mechanism, see do -support. The full list of forms is given below, using the usual verb help as an example:
- Basic simple past:
- I/you/them/them/us/them help
- Expanded simple past (assertive):
- I/you/them/them/us/them help
- Question form:
- Do me/you/them/them/us/them help ?
- Negatives:
- I/you/them/them/us/them not ( not ) help
- Negative questions:
- Do me/you/them/them/us/them not help ?/ Is not I/you/them/them/us/them help ?
Maps Simple past
Usage
A simple past is used for one event (or sequence of such events) in the past, as well as for past customs:
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- He took money and ran .
- I visit them every day for a year.
It can also refer to a previous state:
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- I know how to fight even since childhood.
For the ongoing action at that time, progressive ones are usually used instead (eg I'm cooking ). The same can apply to countries, if temporarily (eg balls lying on sidewalks ), but some early verbs generally do not use progressive aspects at all - see Use of the English verb form Ã, Â Progressive - and in this case a simple past is used even for a temporary state:
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- The dog was in the kennel.
- I feel cool .
However, with the sensing verbs, it is common in such circumstances to use can see in place view , can hear in place Listening , etc. For more information on this, see view .
If one act interrupts the other, then usually the disturbed (ongoing) action is expressed progressively in the past, and the interrupting action becomes simple:
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- Your mom called while you were cooking .
The simple past often approaches the perfect meaning of the moment. A simple past is used when events occur at a certain time in the past, or during periods that ended in the past (ie periods that did not survive to the present). This timeframe can be explicitly stated, or implicit in context (eg the past form is often used when describing the sequence of past events).
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- I was born in 1980.
- We turned off the oven two minutes ago.
- I came at home at 6 o'clock.
- When does them get married ?
- We wrote two letters this morning.
- He places the letter on the table, sighs , and leaves the house.
Compare these examples with those given to Usage of English verb forms § Perfect presentations. Also note that for past actions that occurred before the relevant timeframe, the past is perfectly usable.
Various compound constructs exist to demonstrate past habits. The sentence When I was little, I played football every Saturday might be phrased using used for (... I used to play... ) or using will (... i will play... ).
The simple past also has some uses that do not refer to the past. This is generally in the clause of conditions and some other dependent clauses referring to a hypothetical state, as well as a specific expression of desire:
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- If he runs faster, he will be home early.
- I wish I know what his name is .
- I prefer him to wear longer clothes.
For more details see the section on conditionals, dependent clauses and expressions of desire in the article on the use of English verb forms.
For simple past use (and other forms of past tense) in indirect speech, see Use of the English verb forms Ã,§. Indirect speech. An example:
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- He says he wants to continue the slide.
See also
- English verb
- Use of the English verb form
- Preterite
- Past tense
Other Tenses:
- Comes simple
- Comes perfectly
References
- iStudyEnglishOnline (2013). Use & amp; Explanation
- ingilizceturkce.gen.tr (2014). Past Simple with Exercises
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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