Everything is past in English. What is the continuous past tense? Affirmative form Past Simple Tense

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This article is the second in the series “Times of the English Language”. The first was devoted to ways of expressing it in this language, and this material will present past tense in English. As we know, the past tense is a form of a verb that indicates the time of an action, which in this case happened in the past. In English we call all past tenses Past Tenses, the difference of which lies only in their duration or quality: will it be simple past -, long past - or past perfect – . Let us dwell on each of the indicated past tenses in English.

Past Simple - simple past tense in English

This tense can be called practically the main one when expressing the past tense in English, since it, in principle, expresses any action that took place in the past. Of course, it competes with this time , which, being the present perfect tense, is nevertheless translated by a verb in the past tense. In this case, you should remember only one point - Present Perfect comes into force only in cases where the action occurred in the past and in some way affects or is connected with the present. If past events have no such connection, take Past Simple and use it without doubt.

Time is formed Past Simple simple: if , take its second form (from the table); if the verb is correct, add an ending to it - ed. Need a question? We use did. The predicate is expressed by a verb to be in the required form? We put it at the beginning of the sentence and we're done. Is denial necessary? The same auxiliary verb will come to the rescue did, only in company with a particle not. The same particle is easily attached to the verb to be in the past tense form in English.

To sum it up: time Past Simple we use in the following cases:

• our action happened in the past and has nothing to do with the present. Pay attention to the marker words: yesterday(yesterday), last month(last month), 5 years ago(5 years ago), in 1999(in 1999)
  

  My brother was born in 1987. - My brother was born in 1987.

  She moved to the capital 7 years ago. - She moved to the capital seven years ago.

  We saw him last month. - We saw him last month.

• we strive to retell a series of actions in the past
  

  He wrote the letter, put it in the envelope, left it on the table and went out. - He wrote a letter, put it in an envelope, left it on the table and left.

• we want to show that the action referred to was common and occurred repeatedly in the past over a period of time
  

  From 1995 to 2000 he worked as a manager. - He worked as a manager from 1995 to 2000.

• if our goal is to present a well-known fact of the past
  

  The Second World War began in 1939. - The Second World War began in 1939.

Past Continuous - long past tense in English

The only difference between this time and the previous one is that in this case the action of the past is shown in process. For example:

Mary was doing chores at 10 a.m. - Mary was cleaning at 10 o’clock in the morning.

As a cheat sheet, you can remember that the verb will be of the imperfect form. From the sentence it is clear that the formation of time Past Continuous requires only knowledge of the verb form to be - was / were. To one of them we add the main verb and assign an ending to it - ing. When interrogative sentence we put the auxiliary verb at the beginning, and in a negative sentence we attach it to the same auxiliary verb not.

You also need to use this past tense in English:

• if you are talking about an action that happened at a certain point in the past
  

  She was drinking coffee when I came in. - She was drinking coffee when I arrived.

• if you want to characterize a person, thus making your speech emotionally charged
  

  My mother was always hiding sweets from me when I was a kid. - When I was a child, my mother constantly hid sweets from me.

Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous - perfect and perfect continuous past tenses in English

To form these tenses you will need a good knowledge of verb forms, both regular and irregular. For Past Perfect need an auxiliary verb have in the past tense form in English, that is had and participle II of the main verb (for regular ones - form in - ed, for incorrect ones – the third form in ). For time use an auxiliary verb to be in the form of time Past Perfect, that is had been, to which we add the main verb as participle I, that is, the form in - ing. In question had goes to the beginning of the sentence, and when negated, calls to itself not.

The simple perfect tense is used only in a few cases:

• if we want to express an action that ended before a certain point in the past
  

  Malfoy had done the work by the time his friend returned. - Malfoy had finished all the work by the time his friend returned.

• if we want to show two actions, one of which was in progress, and the second was completed by the time it started.
  

  The rain had stopped and the stars were twinkling on the dark sky. - The rain stopped, and the stars sparkled in the dark sky.

English language learners quickly encounter this grammatical topic. You need to tell, for example, what you did yesterday. How to do it? Obviously, use a special form of the verb, different from the one used in the present tense. To do it right you need to know general principle, which forms the past tense in English. This is what this article is about.

When is the best time to start studying?

First of all, it is necessary to clarify that you should approach the study of the past form of a verb only after you have completely mastered how to form the present tense. Especially in sentences where pronouns are the subject he, she, it(or their corresponding nouns). If you still do not feel confident with the present tense, then it is better to postpone a detailed acquaintance with the past. Otherwise, you risk getting confused. Especially in light of the fact that it is necessary to study not only affirmative, but also interrogative and negative sentences.

Let's start by understanding the two basic principles by which changes English verbs in the past time. This is the basis of this topic in grammar.

Regular and irregular verbs

The first group is the most numerous, but the method of formation here is the simplest. In the second group, everything is somewhat more complicated, which is why verb forms you have to learn it by heart. But the plus is that there are not so many of them. And there are even fewer of those that are constantly used in speech. But first things first.

Let's start with regular verbs. They are named so because they form the past tense according to a single pattern (rule). In English this is done by adding the suffix -ed. For example:

• look - looked - looked;
• answer - answered - answered.

In these chains you see the initial form of the verb, then the simple past tense (in English Past Simple) and the past participle (Past Participle).

If the stem of the verb ends with a consonant and a vowel - y, then in the past form it changes to - i, as in these examples:

• cry - cried - cried;
• study - studied - studied.

If before -y there is one more vowel, then no change occurs:

• destroy - destroyed - destroyed.

With the second group of verbs (irregular) the situation is somewhat more complicated. They have no fixed ways of forming past forms. In addition, irregular verbs often have different forms of the past tense and the corresponding participle, for example:

• write - wrote - written.

In some cases, two forms or even all three may coincide:

• send - sent - sent;
• put - put - put.

Since such verbs do not obey a single rule formation of past forms, then they are simply remembered, like a poem.

Past forms for be, have, can

These verbs are used not only as semantic ones, but also as auxiliary and modal ones (that is, they convey a certain grammatical meaning), so they need to be highlighted separately.

Past tense in English: a brief description

Surely you already know that there are a total of 12 tenses in this language. It turns out that there are 4 of them that have passed. Let’s figure out why each one is needed.

Past Simple is used when:

1. The action took place at a certain time, famous moment in the past (or occurred constant sign subject):

   We lived there in 1998.
   He was a doctor.

2. The action was repeated regularly in the past:

   I went fishing every summer.

3. Several actions were performed in the past one after another:

   She came home, had lunch, washed the dishes and went shopping.

Past Continuous is used when:

1. The action took place at the indicated moment in the past:

   Last night I was watching TV at home.

2. The action lasted for a designated period of time in the past:

   They were playing football from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Past Perfect is used when:

1. An action occurred before a certain moment in the past (or before another past action):

   She had cooked dinner before I came back.

Past Perfect Continuous used when:

1. The action lasted and ended in the past; Often this is the result:

   He was tired because he had been working all night.

Declarative, interrogative and negative sentences

Let's look at the basic principles in the form of a diagram. You can form different types of sentences, which will be united by one similarity - the past tense. The English language offers fairly similar basics, which are not difficult to remember.

In the diagrams below, V means verb (verb), and the numbers 2 or 3 in the lower corner are the second or third form in the table of irregular verbs.

Easier than it seems - that’s what can be said about such a phenomenon as the past tense in English. The more you practice (do exercises, listen to texts, read, answer questions, participate in dialogues), the better you will do. Not all of the past tenses are used in everyday speech. But you need to know them all in order to understand the books you read, newspapers, etc., complex sources of information. Indeed, in a sentence in English, the type of tense used helps to better understand the idea expressed by the author.

Knowing how different tense forms are formed in English is very important. It is equally important to be able to distinguish forms from each other. The previous lesson explained how the Present Perfect is used. Today's lesson will make it clear how not to confuse the Present Perfect with the Past Simple, especially when both of these tenses are used in the same sentence.

Using Past Simple and Present Perfect

So, it is important to remember that the Past Simple is always used to indicate facts in the past. The action expressed by this form has already ended.

The Present Perfect is the present tense form and is used to express an action that either has not ended or has recently ended. And, as you remember from the material in the last lesson, the Present Perfect always expresses some kind of result. Also, do not forget that both forms have certain signals by which you can understand what time to use.

Table. Features of Past Simple and Present Perfect

Let's systematize the differences between Present Perfect and Past Simple:

Important! With question words “when” and “what time” the Past Simple is used. For example: When did you go to the cinema?

In complex sentences with since, the Past Simple is used after since. For example:

She has been a secretary since she moved here. — She has been working as a secretary since she moved here.

In American English it is acceptable to use the Past Simple with the words just, yet, already. In British English the Present Perfect is preferred.

Lesson assignments

Task 1. Open the brackets using the Present Perfect or Past Simple.

1. I (read) this book yesterday.
2. When do you (arrive) in Paris?
3. — I (buy) a new dress. —Where do you (buy) it? — I (buy) it in H&M.
4. I (not/play) football since I (be) ten.
5. She (live) in Manchester for three years. Now she lives in Edinburgh.
6. I (fix) the car. You can drive now.
7. Beethoven (write) many pieces of music.
8. What time do you (call)?
9. Yesterday he (lose) his glasses.
10. We (do) a lot of work today.

Task 2. Translate into English.

1. I've just returned home.
2. You talked to him this morning. And now it’s evening.
3. When did they wake up?
4. She left for work at ten.
5. I haven't played the piano since I left school.
6. We have already visited the art gallery.
7. Anna is upset. She lost her phone.
8. When I was a child, I didn't like beans.

Answer 1.

1. did...arrive
2. have bough, did... buy, bought.
3. haven't played, was.
4. lived
5. have fixed
6. wrote
7. did...you
8. have done

Answer 2.

1. I've just come home.
2. You've talked to him this morning. Now it is evening already.
3. What time did the wake up?
4. She went to work at ten.
5. I haven’t played the piano since I finished school.
6. We have already visited the art gallery.
7. Ann is upset. She has lost her mobile phone.
8. When I was a child I didn’t like beans.

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.– The First World War began 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 not regular 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. 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 form of an infinitive 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

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 grammatical meaning verbs in simple past tense coincides with the meaning of verbs in the past tense, both imperfect and perfect form In russian language. About the last downtime temporary form verb in English, read the following article.

General summary of this article

Four types of past tense in English

Usually, when talking about the past tense in English, they mean four types of tense forms: Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous. I propose to remember their main meanings. Detailed articles about each of the forms can be read using the links below.

• - simple past tense. THE MOST common way of expressing action in the past, especially in colloquial speech. Used MUCH more often than others. Basic meaning: an action that happened at a certain point in the past. Including a list of sequential actions.

Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. – Christopher Columbus opened America in 1492.

My sister and I found this puppet in the street and took him in. - Me and my sister found this puppy on the street and took him home.

Daniel woke up, made his bed, took a shower and made breakfast. – Daniel awoke, ran it bed, accepted shower and prepared breakfast.

There are two difficulties associated with this time:

1. If regular verbs form the past tense using -ed at the end of the word, then with irregular ones it is a little more difficult. But only a little, because there are only about 90 actually used irregular verbs (see), and they are learned quickly.
2. Beginners often get confused when to use time Past Simple, and when Present Perfect, because both forms can be translated into Russian in the same way. In colloquial informal speech, the form Past Simple often used instead Present Perfect(which makes life easier). More details about this are written in the article about.

• - past long time. Basic meaning: an action that occurred at a certain moment or period of time in the past. Since we often have to talk about something that happened (and did not happen) at a certain time, this form is also used quite often.

What were you doing yesterday evening between 6.30 and 7.30 pm? - What do you did last night between 6.30 and 7.30?

You said you were running. But why is your t-shirt dry? - You said that ran. But why is your T-shirt dry?

Unlike Past Simple, this form does not require knowledge of irregular verbs, except for the verb involved in its formation.

Important Note: in colloquial speech you can easily just these two ways past tense expressions.

• - past perfect (long past). An action that ended before another action in the past. Past Perfect- this is an action one step earlier than Past Simple, the “before last” action. It is used much less frequently than the previous two, but is often found in fiction.

Someone had painted (Past Perfect) the bench before I sat (Past Simple) on it. - Somebody painted the bench before I get on it sat down.

One day I was (Past Simple) outside and this weird feeling came over (Past Simple) me. Like something had popped (Past Perfect) me in the chest. - Once I was on the street and it's a strange feeling visited me. As if someone poked me in the chest.

• - an action lasted in the past until a certain moment and ended at that moment or immediately before it. Just like other times Perfect Continuous, is used very rarely.

I had been doing my homework for 3 hours and then my dog ​​eat it. - I wrote homework three hours, and then my dog ​​ate it.

Repeated actions in the past: used to, would

A special case of action in the past is a habitual, repeated action. In Russian, in this case, sometimes they add “byvalo” and verb forms like “wondered”, “read”, indicating the repetition of the action:

As a child, I used to read books about pirates.

In English, this is done using the phrase used to or verb would.

I used to

I would read books about pirates in my childhood.

Turnover used to also used to express an action that used to occur regularly but no longer occurs.

My dog used to howl like a wolf but now he is very quiet. – My dog ​​before howled like a wolf, but now he is very quiet.

I used to be an adventurer like you then I took an arrow in the knee. - Me too was an adventurer like you, but then I was shot in the knee with an arrow.

Past tense in English and modal verbs

They can only be conditionally attributed to ways of expressing actions in the past, because they can express not the action itself, but the attitude towards the action. Here are the main examples.

Verbs could and might combined with an infinitive can mean probability, the possibility of some action in the past. In this case, there is almost no difference between could and might, they are almost synonymous, except that could can express physical possibility, and might- just a probability. But this difference only appears in a certain context.

Someone stole my wallet. It could be John. - Someone stole my wallet. It could have been John (since John has the key to the room).

Someone stole my wallet. It might be John. - Someone stole my wallet. It was probably John (or maybe not John, since I don't lock the room).