Past simple
Uses
Events in the past that are now finished
Situations in the past
A series of actions in the past
USE 1: Past actions that are now finished
The first use of the Past Simple to express actions that happened at a specific time in the past. The actions can be short [1] or long [2].
Examples:
John cut his finger last week. [1]
I went to college 3 years ago. [2]
He ate the dinner 1 hour ago. [1]
USE 2: Situation in the past
Another use of this tense is talking about situations in the past.
Examples:
Before Now
USE 3: A series of actions in the past
The Past Simple can also be used with a few actions in the past happening one after another.
Example:
the grey monster was in love with the pink monster, he decided to give her some flowers but his friend hit him on his head considering him a betrayer.
Time Expressions |
Common time expressions in the Past Simple are:
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To be
Form regular verbs
irregular verbs
to be
| Positive sentences | Negative sentences |
I | was | Was not (wasn't) |
you | were | Were not (weren't) |
He/she/it | was | Was not (wasn't) |
we | were | Were not (weren't) |
they | were | Were not (weren't) |
Question form |
Was I? Were you? Was he/she/it? Were we? Were they? |
Regular verbs
Positive senteces
we add -ED to the base form of the verb
Ex: work → worked
look → looked
when the verbs end in y:
Irregular verbs
Positive sentences
we take the form from the second column of the paradigm.
Base form | Past simple | Past participle |
bring | brought | brought |
meet | met | met |
sing | sang | sung |
take | took | taken |
Negative and question forms (both regular and irregular verbs)
negative form
subject + did not (didn't) + base form verb
Ex: I did not go out last night.
questions
did + subject + base form verb?
Ex: Did you work yesterday?
Present Perfect
Uses
1) Actions which happened at an indefinite (unknown) time before now
2) Actions in the past which have an effect on the present moment
3) Actions which began in the past and continue in the present
USE 1: Indefinite time before now
Use the Present Perfect to talk about actions that happened at some point in the past. It does not matter when they happened.
Examples:
I have passed my exam.
He has been to England.
USE 2: Effect on the present moment
We also use this tense when an activity has an effect on the present moment.
Examples:
USE 3: Continuation in the present
We often use the Present Perfect when we want to emphasize that an event continues in the present.
For this use in Italian we don't use “passato prossimo” but “presente” so pay attention when you translate from Italian into English!
Example:
(Mary lavora come insegnante da più di 25 anni)
teacher's note: Presen Perfect can be considered the tense that expresses experiences in your life (when you are alive) without an exact time reference.
Common time expressions in the Present Perfect are: |
Since and For are very common time expressions used with the Present Perfect. We use For with a period of time, for example: When talking about a starting point, we use Since, for example: |
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Form
To form a sentence in the Present Perfect, you need:
present simple of TO HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
1. to Have
Person | Singular | Plural |
First
| I have
| We have
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Second
| You have
| You have
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Third
| He/she/it has
| They have
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2. The Past Participle
The past participle can be either regular or irregular. -
Verb | Past Participle |
talk
| talked
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explain
| explained
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Base form | Past simple | Past participle |
bring | brought | brought |
meet | met | met |
sing | sang | sung |
take | took | taken |
Positive form
Subject + have/has + past participle
Negative form
Subject + have not/ has not (haven't / hasn't) + past participle
Question form
have/has + subject + past participle ?