The basics
Advanced
Subjects
Topics
|
|
The Past
The syntax is:
| POSITIVE | NEGATIVE | QUESTION |
| I/We/You/They/He/She/It | I/We/You/They /He/She/It didn't (did not) | Did I/We/You/They /He/She/It |
| past form of the verb | base form of the verb | base form of the verb |
| Examples | | |
| Regular verb: started | start | start |
| Irregular verb: began | begin | begin |
We use the simple past when the action :
- is completely finished (finished time).
That is to talk about activities or situations that
began and ended in the past (Yesterday, last week, 3 months ago...)
We mention the time and place of the action (finished
time and specific place)
Examples:
We had, she had. They were, he was. It hadn't. She wasn’t. We weren’t.
She lived in Philadelphia when she was young.
He did not go to work yesterday.
Did you see the big snake at the zoo?
Were you late yesterday?
Where were you last night?
But: Where were you is not formal.
The writer x is died. He wrote many books. (Past)
The writer y is really in life. He has written many books. (Present perfect)
Finished time: yesterday, last week, in 1980, six month ago, ...
- occurred in the past. It can be short or long.
Examples:
The car exploded at 9.30 A.M.
She lived in Paris for 14 years.
The syntax is :
To be (in the past = Was/were) + (base form)-ing
| POSITIVE | NEGATIVE | QUESTION |
| We/You/They were | We/You/They were not (weren’t) | were/We/You/They |
| I/He/She/It was | He/She/It was not (wasn’t) | was He/She/It |
| + doing | + doing | + doing ? |
We use the past continuous to talk about activities
that take some time in the past and we are interested in this
period of time. The activity is completely finished.
Examples:
She saw the bird in the sky.
She was seeing the plane taking off at the airport when her car arrived.
He was deeply sleeping when the phone rang.
What are you doing (right now)? What were you doing? (In the past)
When the bell rang, He was sleeping. (In the middle of an action: Something
happening now.)
The past perfect expresses an activity that occurred before another time
In the past. ( the past of the past)
It expresses an activity that was competed before a particular
time in the past.
The syntax is:
Subject + HAD + past participle.
Examples:
When I was born , the second war had already finished.
I had understood when he spoke out ( understood before spoke
out: in the past )
Use:
Present perfect : before NOW at an unspecified time in the past.
Past perfect : before ANOTHER TIME IN THE PAST.
Abder. Ajaja - © - All rights reserved 2002.
|
|
