Simple Past Tense - Learn English Grammar

1 00:00:00,170 --> 00:00:03,640 Wanna speak real English from your first lesson? 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:07,240 Sign up for your free lifetime account at EnglishClass101.com. 3 00:00:08,80 --> 00:00:09,880 Hi, everybody! 4 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:14,530 My name is Alisha, today we're gonna be talking about simple past tense. 5 00:00:14,530 --> 00:00:18,490 We're gonna talk about how to make simple past tense statements in English. 6 00:00:18,490 --> 00:00:20,80 So let's get started! 7 00:00:20,80 --> 00:00:26,820 Okay, so first, let's talk about when we should use the simple past tense. 8 00:00:26,820 --> 00:00:32,740 Simple past tense statements for today are for actions that started and ended in the 9 00:00:32,740 --> 00:00:39,139 past, so these are things that both started or began and ended in the past, both of those 10 00:00:39,139 --> 00:00:43,769 must be true to use simple past tense. 11 00:00:43,769 --> 00:00:49,179 The second point for today is these are actions which happened at a specific point in time, 12 00:00:49,179 --> 00:00:57,969 so a specific point in time can be yesterday, it can be an hour ago, it can be last year, 13 00:00:57,969 --> 00:01:03,589 it can be when you were a kid, all of these are a specific point in time, but the key 14 00:01:03,589 --> 00:01:06,280 is that we know when the action happened. 15 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:11,0 So specific point in time is point two for this grammar point. 16 00:01:11,0 --> 00:01:17,219 Third, we can use simple past tense for repeated actions in the past. 17 00:01:17,219 --> 00:01:23,361 So things you did every week or every month, or every year, every summer, every hour, if 18 00:01:23,361 --> 00:01:30,229 you like, but one point about this, make sure to include a frequency indicator if you want 19 00:01:30,229 --> 00:01:34,840 to talk about an action that repeated in the past. 20 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:40,710 Frequency indicator, for example, I just mentioned a few, every week, every month, every year. 21 00:01:40,710 --> 00:01:46,659 So frequency, meaning how often, an indicator shows how often you did that. 22 00:01:46,659 --> 00:01:52,189 So you can use repeated actions with past tense to show, let's see, something you did 23 00:01:52,189 --> 00:01:55,689 a lot in the past, for example. 24 00:01:55,689 --> 00:02:02,659 So to give you a visual, the past is down here, now is this point here, and future is 25 00:02:02,659 --> 00:02:03,999 up here. 26 00:02:03,999 --> 00:02:10,660 When we use the simple past tense it's an action that started and ended in the past 27 00:02:10,660 --> 00:02:13,170 somewhere before now, that's one. 28 00:02:13,170 --> 00:02:19,360 It's at a specific point in time, so this action and this action, we know when they 29 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:25,810 happened, it could be this morning, it could be yesterday, for example, but we know when 30 00:02:25,810 --> 00:02:26,280 these actions happen. 31 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:35,420 Third, we can use for repeated action, so maybe these actions repeat, but we know when 32 00:02:35,420 --> 00:02:41,150 the repetition happened, we know when we repeated these actions, so it's okay to use simple 33 00:02:41,150 --> 00:02:44,930 past tense to describe those. 34 00:02:44,930 --> 00:02:51,730 Okay, so now we know when we should use simple past tense, we know why we should use simple 35 00:02:51,730 --> 00:02:55,80 past tense, but how do we make simple past tense statements? 36 00:02:55,80 --> 00:03:01,349 So, when you want to use the simple past tense to explain an action that happened in the 37 00:03:01,349 --> 00:03:06,40 past, you need to conjugate your verb, you need to change your verb. 38 00:03:06,40 --> 00:03:12,629 So that means when you're using a regular verb, you do verb + ed. 39 00:03:12,629 --> 00:03:19,400 So verb + ed is the basic form for simple past tense verbs, but keep in mind this is 40 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:23,140 only for regular verbs, not all verbs are regular verbs. 41 00:03:23,140 --> 00:03:30,280 So, for example, some common ones are talk, which becomes talked; start which become started; 42 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:33,129 and enjoy which becomes enjoyed. 43 00:03:33,129 --> 00:03:38,209 Please be careful, however, you'll notice that the past tense form of verbs has a few 44 00:03:38,209 --> 00:03:45,810 different pronunciations, so, for example, start becomes started, it has an ID sound 45 00:03:45,810 --> 00:03:48,430 it's not an ED sound, but an ID sound. 46 00:03:48,430 --> 00:03:55,549 You might hear a word like walked, also, which has a sort of T sound about it; walk becomes 47 00:03:55,549 --> 00:03:58,490 walked; started becomes started; an ID sound. 48 00:03:58,490 --> 00:04:03,60 And then there's also a sound like in breathed, a very soft D sound. 49 00:04:03,60 --> 00:04:09,489 So there are three past tense verb sounds to listen for, an ID sound, started; a soft 50 00:04:09,489 --> 00:04:15,900 D sound like breathed; and then a more hard T sound like walked. 51 00:04:15,900 --> 00:04:20,290 So pay attention to that when you're trying to make these past tense verb conjugations. 52 00:04:20,290 --> 00:04:25,100 Ok, but some verbs are irregular verbs. 53 00:04:25,100 --> 00:04:31,170 Irregular verbs do not have a simple rule for understanding past tense conjugation. 54 00:04:31,170 --> 00:04:38,570 How to change them in past tense, there's no rule for these, you simply have to practice, 55 00:04:38,570 --> 00:04:43,420 you have to remember them, read them, listen to them until you can remember the correct 56 00:04:43,420 --> 00:04:48,50 conjugation, the correct way to change these verbs into the past tense. 57 00:04:48,50 --> 00:04:56,320 So, for example, some common ones are eat, which becomes ate; speak becomes spoke; and 58 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,190 make becomes made. 59 00:04:59,190 --> 00:05:05,780 If you see a verb somewhere that seems a little odd, or you're not sure what the present tense 60 00:05:05,780 --> 00:05:09,160 form would be, you can check a dictionary and try to remember it from there. 61 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:15,820 So, now we've talked about simple past tense, irregular and regular verbs, let's try to 62 00:05:15,820 --> 00:05:17,700 use them to make some sentences. 63 00:05:17,700 --> 00:05:20,340 I've prepared a few example sentences, so let's take a look. 64 00:05:20,340 --> 00:05:27,700 Okay, first sentence, He ______ a towel and sunglasses to the beach. 65 00:05:27,700 --> 00:05:30,300 So the verb here is bring, I want to use the verb "bring." 66 00:05:30,300 --> 00:05:37,210 Bring, however, is an irregular verb, so I can't use the ED rule for regular verbs; the 67 00:05:37,210 --> 00:05:43,70 correct conjugation is brought. 68 00:05:43,70 --> 00:05:46,240 He brought a towel and sunglasses to the beach. 69 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:51,710 This is the correct conjugation here, so bring is an irregular verb. 70 00:05:51,710 --> 00:05:53,160 Okay, let's go to the next sentence. 71 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:57,210 They ______ to the gym every day last week. 72 00:05:57,210 --> 00:06:03,890 So here, I'm showing you a repeated action, here I'm using every day, this is a frequency 73 00:06:03,890 --> 00:06:09,660 indicator, how often did I do that action; and last week shows the specific point in 74 00:06:09,660 --> 00:06:10,660 time. 75 00:06:10,660 --> 00:06:16,340 So I'm using both of these two points, in addition to a simple past, the basic simple 76 00:06:16,340 --> 00:06:18,970 past structure here. 77 00:06:18,970 --> 00:06:24,970 So the verb that we want to use here is "go," but go is an irregular verb so we can't use 78 00:06:24,970 --> 00:06:26,900 go-ed, for example. 79 00:06:26,900 --> 00:06:33,930 Go changes to went in the past tense, so went is the correct answer for this sentence here. 80 00:06:33,930 --> 00:06:35,280 Okay, let's try the next one. 81 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:40,280 I ______ to tell my boss about my schedule. 82 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:44,500 So the verb I want to use here is "forget." 83 00:06:44,500 --> 00:06:47,910 Forget is a very useful word, I think, to remember. 84 00:06:47,910 --> 00:06:54,540 But again, forget is not a regular verb, forget is an irregular verb, so we cannot use the 85 00:06:54,540 --> 00:06:55,800 ED form. 86 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:58,580 Forget in the past tense becomes forgot. 87 00:06:58,580 --> 00:07:06,130 Ok, so, I forgot to tell my boss about my schedule is the correct sentence here. 88 00:07:06,130 --> 00:07:07,130 Alright! 89 00:07:07,130 --> 00:07:11,330 Let's go to something a little bit different, here's a negative sentence. 90 00:07:11,330 --> 00:07:17,560 I don't think they _______ a reservation at the restaurant. 91 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:23,780 Ok, so here I'm using a phrase, I want to use the phrase "make a reservation," to make 92 00:07:23,780 --> 00:07:24,199 a reservation. 93 00:07:24,199 --> 00:07:30,60 So the verb here is "make," this was one of my example verbs for the irregular form. 94 00:07:30,60 --> 00:07:32,960 So make becomes made. 95 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:40,160 I don't think they made a reservation at the restaurant is the correct verb form to use 96 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:41,160 here. 97 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:48,580 All right, the next sentence, we ______ junk food almost every day last month. 98 00:07:48,580 --> 00:07:54,250 So here, again, I have every day, but I have almost here, so almost every day, not every 99 00:07:54,250 --> 00:07:57,190 day but close to every day. 100 00:07:57,190 --> 00:08:02,870 And then last month, last month is my specific point in time in this case. 101 00:08:02,870 --> 00:08:08,220 So here we have junk food, that means that the verb we want to use is probably eat, and 102 00:08:08,220 --> 00:08:14,320 we learned that eat is an irregular verb, there's no rule for conjugating this, we just 103 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:18,570 know that eat becomes ate. 104 00:08:18,570 --> 00:08:20,430 We ate junk food almost every day last month. 105 00:08:20,430 --> 00:08:21,430 Great. 106 00:08:21,430 --> 00:08:22,430 Okay. 107 00:08:22,430 --> 00:08:28,870 So next sentence has two spaces for verbs, actually. 108 00:08:28,870 --> 00:08:33,110 Okay, so the next sentence that I've prepared I included because a lot of my students asked 109 00:08:33,110 --> 00:08:36,909 about how to report information. 110 00:08:36,909 --> 00:08:41,399 When you want to report information, share something that you heard from a friend, a 111 00:08:41,399 --> 00:08:48,839 past tense action, you need to conjugate the reporting verb, for example, say becomes said, 112 00:08:48,839 --> 00:08:50,940 or hear becomes heard. 113 00:08:50,940 --> 00:08:55,220 You need to conjugate this verb and you need to conjugate the information that you heard. 114 00:08:55,220 --> 00:09:01,600 So there are two past-tense conjugations that should happen when you report information. 115 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:02,230 Let's take a look. 116 00:09:02,230 --> 00:09:09,870 So here we have She _____ she _____ a great time at the party. 117 00:09:09,870 --> 00:09:17,790 So, here, she ____ a great time at the party, so we used the expression "to have a great 118 00:09:17,790 --> 00:09:18,790 time." 119 00:09:18,790 --> 00:09:24,79 To have a great time, again, have is an irregular verb so we conjugate it to had. 120 00:09:24,79 --> 00:09:30,529 She had a great time at the party. 121 00:09:30,529 --> 00:09:38,610 Okay, but then to report your speech, so someone gave you information, past tense, give becomes 122 00:09:38,610 --> 00:09:45,889 gave you information, so the verb for giving information, a neutral way to pass information 123 00:09:45,889 --> 00:09:46,250 is "say." 124 00:09:46,250 --> 00:09:53,170 So to conjugate say into the past tense, it's an irregular verb, so we use said. 125 00:09:53,170 --> 00:10:01,610 Say becomes said, so she said she had a great time at the party. 126 00:10:01,610 --> 00:10:02,610 Okay. 127 00:10:02,610 --> 00:10:07,779 Please be careful of your pronunciation with the word said, a lot of people I've heard 128 00:10:07,779 --> 00:10:08,240 use say-d. 129 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,79 Say-d is not correct, so please use said. 130 00:10:11,79 --> 00:10:18,769 It sounds like SED, the pronunciation, but it's said, SAID is the spelling. 131 00:10:18,769 --> 00:10:19,970 Say becomes said. 132 00:10:19,970 --> 00:10:22,269 She said she had a great time at the party. 133 00:10:22,269 --> 00:10:25,930 Ok, so last one. 134 00:10:25,930 --> 00:10:31,779 Okay, so the last example sentence for today includes spaces for a few different verbs. 135 00:10:31,779 --> 00:10:35,459 I included this because I wanted to show you that you can use a lot of different information 136 00:10:35,459 --> 00:10:40,970 in one sentence, just by connecting your past tense verbs together. 137 00:10:40,970 --> 00:10:42,550 So let's take a look. 138 00:10:42,550 --> 00:10:43,589 Okay. 139 00:10:43,589 --> 00:10:49,420 Yesterday I _____ late, _____ shopping, and _____ to my mother. 140 00:10:49,420 --> 00:10:58,759 Okay, so the verbs I want to use for this sentence are sleep, "go," and "speak." 141 00:10:58,759 --> 00:11:03,449 These are all irregular verbs, there are no regular verbs in this sentence. 142 00:11:03,449 --> 00:11:14,290 So sleep in past tense becomes slept; go in past tense becomes went; and speak in past 143 00:11:14,290 --> 00:11:18,949 tense becomes spoke. 144 00:11:18,949 --> 00:11:24,260 So here, in one sentence, I have explained three things about my day yesterday. 145 00:11:24,260 --> 00:11:29,839 Yesterday I slept late, I went shopping, and I spoke to my mother. 146 00:11:29,839 --> 00:11:34,189 So you can explain a lot of things with past tense and a few connecting words, in this 147 00:11:34,189 --> 00:11:39,569 case, I've just used "and" to connect the last two things in this sentence. 148 00:11:39,569 --> 00:11:45,589 So please keep this in mind when you're sharing information about your past events. 149 00:11:45,589 --> 00:11:49,170 So today we talked about the simple past tense, and we talked about how to conjugate both 150 00:11:49,170 --> 00:11:52,820 regular and irregular verbs. 151 00:11:52,820 --> 00:11:56,220 It might seem a little bit difficult to understand which verbs are regular and which verbs are 152 00:11:56,220 --> 00:12:00,210 irregular, but with some practice it will become easier. 153 00:12:00,210 --> 00:12:04,240 So I hope that you enjoyed this video, if you have any questions or comments, please 154 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,740 be sure to leave us a comment and let us know. 155 00:12:07,740 --> 00:12:12,540 Also, please be sure to LIKE this video and subscribe to our channel, if you haven't already. 156 00:12:12,540 --> 00:12:16,560 Thanks very much for watching, check us out for more on EnglishClass101.com. 157 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:18,820 And we'll see you again soon. 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