Simple past tense in English. Past Simple. Regular and Irregular verbs. Past tense in English. Regular and irregular verbs

Hello! Today we continue to get acquainted with the temporary forms of the English language. Our next step is the simple past tense (indefinite), namely the Past Simple, or as it is also called Past Indefenite. Our goal is to learn how to conjugate verbs in the affirmative, interrogative and negative forms in the Past Simple Tense, and also to understand in which cases the Past Simple Tense should be used.

First, let's define what Past Simple Tense is. So, Past Simple Tense expresses actions or states that occurred at some period of time in the past. At the same time, their duration, completion, precedence in relation to another action, etc. are not indicated, i.e., the action is expressed as a fact.

The Past Simple is a tense form that is used to narrate events that happened in the past. This time is typical for both written language and spoken language. Rules for forming the past tense in English language

Education Rules Past Simple Tense

Now let's move on to the main thing - the rules for forming Past Simple Tense in English.

Affirmative form Past Simple Tense

To form the affirmative form of the Past Simple Tense, auxiliary verbs are not required.

Regular verbs form the Past Simple Tense by adding an ending -ed to the stem of the infinitive without a particle to. This applies to all persons alone and plural.

Rules for pronunciation of the ending - ed:

1. after voiceless consonants, except t → [t]
to work - worked
to help - helped

2. after voiced consonants, except d, and after vowels → [d]
to answer [ˈɑːnsə] – answered [ˈɑːnsəd]
to open [ˈəʊpən] — opened [ˈəʊpənd]

3. after consonants t and d → [ɪd]
to land - landed [ˈlændɪd]
to want - wanted [ˈwɒntɪd]

Rules for adding the ending -ed:

1. If the verb ends in silent - e, That - e is missed.
to hop e− hoped
to blam e- blamed

2. If the verb ends in -y, and there is a consonant before -y, then -y changes to —i.
to tr y-tr i ed to cr y-cr i ed

If before -y there is a vowel, then no changes occur.
to pla y- played

3. If a one-syllable verb ends in a consonant preceded by a short vowel, then the final consonant is doubled.
to sto p-sto pp ed

4. If a verb consisting of several syllables ends in a consonant preceded by a stressed vowel, then the final consonant is doubled.
to prefer r—prefe rr ed to permi t—permi tt ed

5. In such cases, the final consonant l doubles before both a stressed and an unstressed vowel.
to travel l— travel ll ed to compe l- compe ll ed

to walk

I walk ed in the forest.
You walk ed in the forest.
He/ She/ It walk ed in the forest.
We walk ed in the forest.
You walk ed in the forest.
They walk ed in the forest.

Irregular verbs do not form Past Simple Tense according to general rule, and with the help of the II main form of irregular verbs, which is also the same for all singular and plural persons. You can find a table of irregular verbs in the article Irregular verbs in English. Verb to be, in this case, is an exception, and we will return to it later. List of irregular verbs to understand in Past Simple Tense in the affirmative form:

I understood the question.
You understood the question.
He/She/It understood the question.
We understood the question.
You understood the question.
They understood the question.

Question form Past Simple Tense

The interrogative form for both regular and irregular verbs in English is formed using the auxiliary verb did (Past Simple from to do) and the infinitive form of the main verb.

To form the interrogative form Past Simple an auxiliary verb did comes first, followed by the subject, and the subject is followed by the infinitive of the main verb.

Regular verb conjugation example to walk

Did I walk in the forest?
Did do you walk in the forest?
Did he/ she/ it walk in the forest?
Did we walk in the forest?
Did do you walk in the forest?
Did do they walk in the forest?

Example of irregular verb conjugation to understand in Past Simple Tense in interrogative form:

Did I understand the question?
Did
Did he/ she/ it understand the question?
Did do we understand the question?
Did do you understand the question?
Did do they understand the question?

Negative Past Simple Tense

The negative form in English is also formed using an auxiliary verb did, but already in combination with a negative particle not. So, the subject comes first, followed by the auxiliary verb did + negative particle not, and finally the infinitive of the main verb.

Auxiliary did usually merges into one with the particle not:
did not - didn't

Regular verb conjugation example to walk

I did not (didn't) walk in the forest.
You did not (didn't) walk in the forest.
He/She/It did not (didn't) walk in the forest.
We did not (didn't) walk in the forest.
You did not (didn't) walk in the forest.
They did not (didn't) walk in the forest.

Example of irregular verb conjugation to understand in Past Simple Tense in negative form:

I did not (didn't) understand the question.
You did not (didn't) understand the question.
He/She/It did not (didn't) understand the question.
We did not (didn't) understand the question.
You did not (didn't) understand the question.
They did not (didn't) understand the question.

And now, in order to make it easier for you to navigate the Past Simple Tense construction, let’s summarize all these rules into tables.

Regular verb conjugation table

Number	Face	Affirmative form	Interrogative form	Negative form
Unit h.	1 2 3	I walk ed You walk ed He/ She/ It walk ed	Did I walk? Did do you walk? Did he/ she/ it walk?	I did not (didn't) walk You did not (didn't) walk He/She/It did not (didn't) walk
Mn. h.	1 2 3	We walk ed You walk ed They walk ed	Did we walk? Did do you walk? Did do they walk?	We did not (didn't) walk You did not (didn't) walk They did not (didn't) walk

Conjugation table for irregular verbs

Number	Face	Affirmative form	Interrogative form	Negative form
Unit h.	1 2 3	I understood You understood He/She/It understood	Did I understand? Did do you understand? Did he/ she/ it understand?	I did not (didn't) understand You did not (didn't) understand He/She/It did not (didn't) understand
Mn. h.	1 2 3	We understood You understood They understood	Did do we understand? Did do you understand? Did do they understand?	We did not (didn't) understand You did not (didn't) understand They did not (didn't) understand

And now, as promised, we return to the verb exception to be. This verb acts as an auxiliary and forms interrogative and negative forms without did.

Conjugation table for the verb to be

Number	Face	Affirmative form	Interrogative form	Negative form
Unit h.	1 2 3	I was You were He/She/It was	Was I? Were you? Was he/ she/ it?	I was not (wasn't) You were not (weren't) He/She/It was not (wasn't)
Mn. h.	1 2 3	We were You were They were	Were we? Were you? Were they?	We were not (weren't) You were not (weren't) They were not (weren't)

Past Simple Tense is used

1. When expressing facts that happened in the past that are not related to the present. Most often, the relationship of an action or state to a specific period in the past tense becomes clear from the context (the content of the sentence or neighboring sentences).

I read this book in London - I read this book in London. (The circumstance in London indirectly indicates the time of the action.)
I called for help, but no one answered - I called for help, but no one answered (The verbs called, answered express a sequence of actions.)
I’m sorry I was out when you called - I’m very sorry, I was absent when you called. (The subordinate clause when you called indicates time.)

Very often sentences in the Past Simple Tense contain time adverbials:

Yesterday - yesterday
last night - last night
last week - last week
last month - last month
last year - last year
last summer - last summer
the other day - on another day
in 1945 - in 1945

And also phrases with adverbs ago:

five minutes ago - five minutes ago
an hour ago - an hour ago
two years ago - two years ago

Where did you travel last year? —Where did you travel last year?
I was born in 1982— I was born in 1982.
They were here ten minutes ago“They were here ten minutes ago.”

Interrogative adverbs when And how can also indicate the past tense.

How did it happen? - How did it happen?
When did you begin your studies? — When did you start studying?

2. When expressing ordinary or repeated actions in the past that are not related to the present:

Last summer I often swam in pool - Last summer I often swam in the pool.
When you were ill I went to see you every other day - When you were sick, I visited you every day.

Please note that you can also use the construction to express repeated actions in the past used + infinitive
We used to see each other very often when I was young - We saw each other very often when I was young.

used + infinitive also used to express habitual or long acting in the past (usually distant).
In his childhood he used to be capricious - As a child, he was capricious.

3. When expressing a property or action that characterized the subject in the past.

She was very thin when she was a small girl - She was very thin when she was a little girl.

4. In additional subordinate clauses V indirect speech, with the condition that the verb in the main sentence is in Past Simple Tense.

Didn't say he lived in Moscow - He said he lives in Moscow.
I told him I wasn’t there - I told him I wasn’t there.

Past Simple Tense is not particularly difficult. The most difficult thing is to learn the II form of all irregular verbs, which I advise you to do. There is no way to do without knowledge of these forms! Good luck in learning English!

Past Simple or Past Indefinite Tense is the second simple tense form after Present Simple. It is a type of tense form of a verb, the task of which is to express in speech single actions that took place in the past. Important! It must be remembered that the time for performing these actions has already expired, that is, the action is no longer relevant. Past tense verbs in English, the table of which will be given below, will allow you to navigate the world more easily English words and expand your knowledge of the past tense. You need to learn it well, because there are fun times in the language - there are a lot of them.

Reference: To make it easier to determine the past tense in English, you can be guided by the presence in the sentence of certain tense identifier words, which are kind of markers, for example =>

Three days ago (three days ago)
Last year/month/week (last year/month/last week)
Yesterday (yesterday)
In 1923 (in 1923).

Examples

It happened three days ago, but I still can’t realize that it really was => It happened three days ago, but I still can’t understand that it really happened.
This grand fest took place in 1543 => This grand festival was held in 1543.
I played football yesterday but wanted to go to the forest to pick mushrooms => I played football yesterday, but wanted to go to the forest to pick mushrooms.
Last month we rent a car to visit our grandparents => Last month we rented a car to visit our grandparents.

On a note! Marker words do not have a specific location in the sentence. They can be placed either at the beginning or at the end.

Examples

Yesterday we visited our friends or We visited our friends yeasterday. - Yesterday we visited our friends or We visited our friends yesterday.

Regardless of the arrangement of words (their order in a sentence), the meaning remains the same. You can only focus on a specific word. For example, in the sentence Yesterday we visited our friends, the main emphasis (emphasis) comes on the word yesterday, that is, the emphasis is on the fact that we visited yesterday. Not 2 days ago, not a week ago, namely yesterday. In the sentence “We visited our friends yeasterday” the emphasis is on the word we, which means ‘’we visited our friends’’. Not he, not she, not me, namely We.

Another example:

The decision was taken in 1947 ó In 1947 the decision was taken. — The decision was made in 1947 ó In 1947 the decision was made.

Every student of English knows that all verbs are divided into regular and irregular. Regular verbs include those formed with the suffix –ed. The endings of such verbs may have different intonation. Suffix –ed, depending on standing nearby letters, can sound like d or t, or even like id.

For example:

In the word stop, when adding – ed, the letter d sounds like t => stopped is formed.

Note! The original verb has one p, but the modified verb has two (stopped).

In the word open, the suffix –ed sounds like opened [ʹoupǝnd]

Reference: after voiced consonants –ed sounds like d, and after voiceless consonants (as in the word stop) – like t.

In the word want, when adding –ed, the letter t takes on the sound id => wanted [ʹwɔntid].

There is nothing complicated in this rule, as it may seem the first time. Practice, constant exercises and language improvement will help you quickly learn regular and irregular verbs, as well as learn how to use them correctly in speech.

The formation of an irregular verb does not need to be explained; all examples must be learned. You need to know such verbs by heart and remember them constantly in order to use them correctly in speech. There is a special table with irregular verbs. It contains verbs in three forms.

Past tense verbs in English: table of some irregular verbs

Examples of irregular verbs
First form	Second form	Third form	Translation
do	did	done	do
see	saw	seen	see
begin	began	begun	start off
drink	drank	drunk	drink
drive	drove	driven	drive a car)
fall	fell	fallen	fall
feel	felt	felt	feel
graw	drew	drawn	paint; drag
forgive	forgave	forgiven	forgive
fly	flew	flown	fly
eat	ate	eaten	There is
come	came	come	come
buy	bought	bought	buy
forget	forgot	forgotten	forget
give	gave	given	give
go	went	gone	go
find	found	found	find

But! Cut – cut – cut => cut, shorten.

Find – found – found => find.

This is a very striking example from the table, since found has another meaning - to found. We decided to found this corporation to help those who had no money => We decided to found this corporation to help people who have no money.

Build-built-built

In this case, only the last letter changes, the rest of the word remains unchanged.

As you can see, English grammar is rich in examples with irregular verbs, the form of which is difficult to explain logically. The patterns must be learned by heart.

Here are examples of sentences with irregular verbs to better explain the features of their use in practice:

Yesterday he won that competition => Yesterday he won this competition.
I built the house in 1995 but still it is nice and modern => I built the house in 1995, but it is still nice and modern.
My wife drew a car last week and I had some problems with police => A week ago, my wife drove a car and I had problems with the police.
I saw a bird in the sky. I was happy to be here again => I saw a bird in the sky. I was happy to be here again.
I felt bad last night. I didn’t want to go anywhere but my friends left me no choice but to agree => I felt bad last night. I didn't want to go anywhere, but my friends left me no choice but to agree.
He brought a bunch of flowers but his gift remained without attention => He brought a bouquet of flowers, but his gift remained unattended.
I did everything right the way you told me but there were no results => I did everything exactly as you told me, but there were no results.
I began this deal late at night but it happened to be too hard to cope with it at once => I began this deal late at night, but it turned out to be too difficult to cope with it at once.
I come at this store and asked to cut some cloth for my new dress => I came to this store and asked to cut some fabric for my new dress.

Negative form of past tense verbs

When dealing with the past tense, you need to be aware of objections. If we are talking about a negative form (referring to the past tense), then we need to use did (auxiliary verb) and not (negation). But! In this case we use English verbs not from the second, but from the first column:

I didn’t eat this cake => I didn’t eat this cake. I didn't eat this cake.
I didn’t see him last week => I didn’t see him last week. I didn't see him last week.
I didn’t go there because I thought it was dangerous => I didn’t go there because I thought it was dangerous. I didn’t go there because I thought it was dangerous.

But! In the second part of the sentence, after because comes the second form of the verb (thought, not think). This happens when the main part of a sentence has several subjects.

Let's sum it up

The tense form of English past verbs can be different. Here you need to know English rule formation of regular and irregular verbs. Incorrect examples are given in the table. In the article we have given the most commonly used examples, there are many more of them, and for proper communication you need to learn them all. All ages are submissive to the English language!

Look through the table every day and learn new words, then success will come quickly! Stock up on tables and go for it! Good luck in learning English!

Not a single language on Earth can do without the past tense. English is no exception. The past tense in English is used to express an action that happened an hour ago, yesterday, last year, that is, in the past. Types of past tense in English and patterns of their formation

The English language differs from Russian in that it has several types of past tense - Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous, whereas in Russian there is only one past tense. The English language is different in that each of these past tenses has its own nuances, and we will talk about each of them today.

The first type of past tense in English is the Past Simple or simple past. The simple past tense in English is formed by adding the ending -ed to the stem of the verb. And to form the negative and interrogative forms of verbs in the Past Simple, an auxiliary verb is used do, namely its past form did. Past Simple corresponds to the perfect form of the past tense in Russian.

I/you/he/she/we/they work ed
I/you/he/she/we/they didn’t work
Did I/you/he/she/we/they work?

The English language reminds you that if you use irregular verbs in the Past Simple, then the second form of the table of irregular verbs is needed here:

I/you/he/she/we/they spoke
I/you/he/she/we/they didn’t speak
Did I/you/he/she/we/they speak?

Please note that the ending -ed we use only the affirmative form of verbs; in the negative and interrogative form there are no endings, everything is taken over by the auxiliary verb.
We bring to your attention the adverbs that are used in the Past Simple:

Yesterday - yesterday
The day before yesterday - the day before yesterday
That day - on that day
Last night - last night

An adverb can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence. For example:

Last night I slept very well. — I slept very well last night.
We spoke with John last week. — He talked to John last week.

Speaking of verbs to be And to have, then you remember that these are irregular verbs and they are conjugated in the Past Simple in their own way:

I/he/she was
You/we/they were
I/you/he/she/we/they had

Pay attention to the examples of sentences in which we use the simple past tense:

I was busy when you called me. — I was busy when you called me.
She hadn't any appointment yesterday. — She didn’t have any meeting yesterday.

What is the continuous past tense?

The past tense in English can be continuous or continuous - this is the Past Continuous, and it corresponds to the imperfect form of the past tense in Russian. If we use verbs in the Past Continuous, this indicates that the action is not finished, it is still ongoing.

The scheme for constructing the Past Continuous tense (long past tense) is as follows: to be V Past Simple + verb + -ing ending.

I/he/she was working
We/you/they were working

Was I/he/she working?
Were we/you/they working?

I/he/she wasn’t working
We/you/they weren't working

Adverbs used in the Past Continuous must express the duration of the action:

At that moment - at that moment
That time - at that time
All the day/night/week - all day/all night/week
One day ago/two days ago - a day ago/two days ago, etc.

Examples of sentences in English using the Past Continuous:

Yesterday I was playing computer games all the day. — Yesterday I played computer games all day.
When you came to us, Sue was talking on the phone. — When you came to us, Sue was talking on the phone.
We were working all the week without weekend. — We worked all week without a day off.

It is worth noting that Past Simple and Past Continuous are used in speech more often than other past tenses.
How to easily learn the past tense in English?

Why is Past Perfect needed?

Past Perfect is the past perfect tense in English, which has the meaning of a long past tense.

The Past Perfect formation scheme is simple: had + verb + ending -ed or the third form of an irregular verb.

I/you/he/she/we/they had worked
Had I/you/he/she/we/they worked?
I/you/he/she/we/they hadn’t worked

The Past Perfect is needed to express an action that happened a long time ago. The past perfect tense is also often used to talk about a past action that happened before another past action. At first glance it turns out to be a mess, but now you’ll see with an example. This phenomenon is present especially in indirect speech.

Pay attention to the following examples where the past perfect tense of verbs is used:

Ann said that she had met John on the street. - Anna said that she met John on the street (at first she met, and then she said - past action before the past).
Bill announced that he had won the competition. — Bill announced that he had won the competition.
Andy observed that he had forgotten his documents. — Andy noticed that he forgot his documents.

The Past Perfect is also used in the third case of the conditional mood, in subordinate clauses:

If you had listened your parents, you wouldn’t have made such a lot of mistakes. “If you had listened to your parents, you wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.”

How to make friends with the Past Perfect Continuous?

The English past tense has another variation. This is Past Perfect Continuous.

Past Perfect Continuous - past perfect long time. Past Perfect Continuous indicates an action that began in the past, continued for some time and ended before some specific moment in the past.

Most often, the Past Perfect Continuous (perfect continuous) is used in written texts; you rarely see it in oral speech, because it is easier to replace it with the Past Continuous.

To quickly and easily make friends with the Past Perfect Continuous, you need to remember its formation scheme: had + been + verb + -ing ending.

I/you/he/she/we/they had been working
I/you/he/she/we/they hadn’t been working
Had I/you/he/she/we/they been working?

Example sentence with Past Perfect Continuous:

He had been working hard and managed to finish the documents in time. “He worked hard and was able to complete the paperwork on time.

As you noticed, the Past Perfect Continuous is a little capricious, but if you remember the formation scheme, you will not have problems with it.

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 events, you need to have a good knowledge of the past tense in English. And it contains many interesting and sometimes difficult to understand discoveries for a Russian-speaking person. Let's analyze them, try to grasp the logic English grammar and master the rules for creating the past tense.

In conversation in Russian, verbs in the past tense are used to talk about actions performed 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. Let’s also learn to carefully analyze the actions performed by analyzing types of past tense possible in English.

Past Simple

The most general category of the past. It includes facts, actions, events that took place 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 a moment in time. Also, the use of the simple past is typical for describing simultaneous actions and conveying actual events.

The affirmative construction in the past simple 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 –Iwatched 34series"The Untouchables" yesterday.
She spent allhermoneyonpurchasesandpaymentslastweekLast week she spent all her money on purchases and payments.
We were at home and our son was at school –WewereHouses,AoursonwasVschool.

Interrogative and negative phrases require the addition of the auxiliary verb did. In questions it is placed at the beginning of the sentence, and in negatives it takes place immediately 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? –Theysoldapartment?
Myfriends didn't 't go totheconcert– My friends didn’t go to the concert.

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

Past Continuous

As the name suggests, this group of times describes the processes of events occurring at a certain moment. It is important for the speaker to express not only the commission of an action, but also the period of time during which it was performed. Words do not necessarily have to be indicators of time: 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 progress.

Continuous tenses in English are formed using the verb to be and the first form of the participle (in –ing). To create questions like this compound predicates are divided: tobe moves to the beginning of the sentence, is followed by the subject, and the participle remains in its third place. In negation, the affirmative word order is preserved, only the particle not is added to to be.

Mysister was playing tenniswhenIcalledher– My sister was playing tennis at the moment when I called her.
Were they writing do they work all the day? –Theywrotemyworkwholeday?
I wasn't 't skating intheparkat5 o'clockyesterday– I wasn’t riding in the park at 5 o’clock yesterday.

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

They are constantly chewing something! –TheyconstantlyWhat-Thatchew!

It should be noted that some English verbs are never used in the 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. The list of such verbs must be known by heart.

The British use past simple and past continuus in conversations much more often than the remaining categories. However, perfect combinations are not uncommon in written speech, so you also need to know their constructions.

Past Perfect

This grammatical form is responsible for describing the completion of actions. Traditionally considered the most difficult to understand because 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.

The perfect tense is used to indicate completed actions. We can, of course, express the past in the 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 the perfect. We remember that continuus is also used with specific time, but it shows a process, not a completed action!

So, the perfect construction allows you to reproduce the sequence of events and establish a connection between actions, since the perfect designates what ended first. The second action, if it was completed, is placed in the Past Simple, and if it was in progress, it receives the 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 a time period.

To compose the predicate in the past perfect, you must use the auxiliary had and the participle II. The participle always remains unchanged, but had comes forward in questions and receives the particle not in negatives.

Shethoughthowlongwe had worked atthefactory“She was interested in how long we had been working at this factory.
Jack hadn't 't repaired mycomputerby3 o'clockJack hadn’t repaired my computer by three o’clock.
Had you written thissongbeforeyoubecameafamousperson? – Did you record this song before you became a famous person?
She had read all magazines and was speaking on the phone –SheI read itAllmagazines,AndThenchattedByphone.

We have discussed the purpose of the perfect; it remains to consider the last combined tense, which is used in English speech.

Past Perfect Continuous

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

Combinations with the perfect continuum express that some action, begun before a specified moment or the occurrence of subsequent events, was still ongoing when a certain moment in time arrived or the next event occurred. But, unlike Pasta Continus, in these situations the action does not just happen, but is nearing completion. In Russian we would translate continuous perfect sentences into the past tense as, for example, “ I was finishing the letter when...", and a simple continuum like " I was writing a letter when..." The use of the Perfect Continuous is also typical for describing recently completed actions, if their result is clearly visible.

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

Had Nick Crowd been writing this novel for a 2 year when he decided to publish the first chapter of the book? –NickCrowdwrotethisnovelalreadytwoof the year,WhenHedecidedpublishfirstchapterbooks?
She hadn't 't been cooking dinnerfor3 hoursbeforeIcame She hadn’t cooked dinner for three hours before I arrived.
By the evening I was very tired. I had been playing tennisallday – By evening I was very tired. I played tennis all day.

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

Past tense in English - summary table with adverbial clues

We have completed the material and learned that the English language expresses the past tense in several ways. To quickly memorize and correctly perform practical exercises, we will make a cheat sheet for ourselves. Note that English past tenses often appear adjacent to specific circumstances. Let's use this tip too.

Past Tenses
Category	+	?	—	Circumstances
Simple Regular, single actions; simultaneity of events	Subject + second form of 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 any money.	last day /week /month/year; ago, yesterday, those times, the day before…
Continuous Action Process	Subject+ tobe+ proverb I I was walking in the park at 3 o’clock yesterday. Yesterday at 3 o'clock in the afternoon I was walking in the park.	Tobe+ subject + proverb I Was he driving to the office when you called him? Was he on his way to the office when you called him?	Subject + to be not +prib. I They weren't singing at that time. They didn't sing at that time.	now, at …o’clock; all the time, constantly, at the moment, that time
Perfect Completed events, order of action	Subject+ had+ proverb 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 + proverb II Had the cat jumped into the window before you called it? The cat jumped out the window before you called it?	Subject + had not+ proverb II He hadn’t cleaned the flat by 5 o’clock. He didn't clean the apartment until 5 o'clock.	for, by, already, until, before, yet, scarcely…when, as soon as
Perfect Continuous The process of events completed in the past; the reason for the current result.	Subject+ had + been +prib. 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 +prib. II Had she already been cooking supper for 30 minutes, when guests arrived? She had been preparing dinner for 30 minutes when the guests arrived?	Subject+ had not + been +prib. II I hadn’t been watching TV for 5 hours, when you came! I hadn't watched TV for 5 hours when you came.	for, by, since, all day/week/month; before

In this article we will look at the second simple tense form in English - The Past Simple (Indefinite) Tense.It is a tense form of a verb, which is used to express single actions that took place in the past and the time for which has expired. In certain contexts where a past tense verb is used, you may notice the following marker words:

yesterday (yesterday);
last week/month/year (last week, last month/year);
two days ago (two days ago);
in 1917 (in 1917).

For example:

I watched my favorite film yesterday.– Yesterday I watched my favorite film.
My parents bought a new car last week. Last week my parents bought a new car.
The First World War began in 1914.– First World War started in 1914.

Marker words can be used both at the end of a sentence and at the beginning. For example:

Yesterday I walked with my friends.– Yesterday I went out for a walk with my friends.
In 988 Christianity was adopted in Russia.– In 988, Christianity was adopted in Rus'.

Please note that in the simple past tense the verbs change their form. According to the method of forming the forms of the simple past tense, all verbs are divided into regular and irregular.

Regular verbs– verbs formed by adding the suffix –ed to the base of the infinitive. The suffix –ed is pronounced [d], after voiceless consonants (except t) it is pronounced [t], after t and d it is pronounced . For example:

The baby stopped crying. – The baby stopped crying.

For irregular verbs There is a special table called “Table of Irregular Verbs”. You can view it here (). The table of irregular verbs consists of three forms. Let's look at some irregular verbs as an example:

Our team won the football competition two days ago.– Two days ago our team won the football competition.

We have examined the main features of the affirmative form of simple past tense verbs. The negative form of verbs in The Past Simple Tense is formed using the auxiliary verb did and the negation not, which are placed before the semantic verb in the infinitive form without the particle to. Just like in the form of the simple present tense (The Present Simple Tense), the abbreviated form didn’t is used in speech and writing. For example:

We didn't go to the sea last summer.– We didn’t go to the sea last summer.
They didn't know anything about that story.“They knew nothing about this story.”

The interrogative form of verbs in the simple past tense is formed using the auxiliary verb did, which is placed after the subject, and the subject is followed by a semantic verb in the form of the infinitive without the particle to. At the same time, the tone of voice on the last stressed syllable of the sentence rises. For example:

Did you see him yesterday? – Did you see him yesterday?
Did the pupils visit the museum last week?– Did the students visit the museum last week?

The answers to the questions in these examples are identical, as in the case of interrogative form simple past tense. The answers will look like this: Yes, I did or No, I didn’t.

Using The Past Simple Tense

designation of events, actions, situations that occurred at a certain time in the past and are not related to the present: Last summer we ofte went to the river.— Last summer we often went to the river;
designation of completed actions in the past: Yasterday I wrote you a letter.- Yesterday I wrote you a letter;
designation of habits in the past: My sister liked to play with dolls when she was small.— My sister loved to play with dolls as a child;
denoting a fact that happened once in the past: Mary telephoned an hour ago. — Maria called an hour ago;
description of life events of people who have already died: Pushkin wrote lots of stories for children.— Pushkin wrote many fairy tales for children;
formulating polite questions and requests: I wondered if you could give me a lift(a more polite request than I wonder if...). — I wanted to know if you could give me a ride.

Summary table of tense formation The Past Simple Tense

Formation of The Past Simple Tense in sentences

Affirmative		Negative		Interrogative
I	spoke	I	didn't speak	Did	I	speak
You	worked	You	didn't work		you	work
We		We			we
They		They			they
He		He			he
She		She			she
It		It			it

To summarize, I would like to note that the difference between the simple past tense and the simple present is that actions occur once in the past and are not repeated. The time in which these actions were performed has expired, and the actions themselves are in no way connected with the present. In English, the grammatical meaning of verbs in simple past tense coincides with the meaning of verbs in the past tense of both imperfect and perfect forms in the Russian language. Read about the last simple tense form of the verb in English in the following article.