Simple Past Tense

Tense

A tense is a verb form that indicates when something happened or is about to happen. The following are the three main tenses:

• Past Tense: A verb tense that expresses an activity or state that occurred in the past or as though it occurred in the past. For example, ran, drank, ate, etc., are the words used to describe an activity that happened in the past. 

Example sentence – a. She drank too much coffee. 

• He ran very fast and won the race. 
• Present Tense: The tense of a verb that reflects a current action or state. For example, running, drinking, eating, etc., are the words used to describe an activity that is happening at the current time. 

Example sentence – a. She is drinking coffee.

• He is running very fast. 
• Future Tense: A tense expressing an action that has not yet happened or a state that does not yet exist but can or will happen in the future. For example, will, may, might, can, could, would, etc., are words that can be used to talk about any future activity. 

Example sentence – a. She will drink coffee.

• He may top the next examination. 

Types of Past Tense – 

1. Simple Past Tense
2. Past Continuous Tense
3. Past Perfect Tense

Today, we will be learning about Simple Past Tense. 

What is Simple Past Tense?

The simple past is a verb tense used to describe events that occurred or existed in the past. 

What are some examples of Simple Past Tense?

Examples of Simple Past Tense: 

1. Jake won the game,
2. I finished the meal. 

Usage of Simple Past Tense

Simple Past Tense can be used in the following ways:

• Completed Actions

When we discuss events, activities, or situations that happened in the past and are now over, we usually employ the Simple Past Tense. We aren’t concerned with the passage of time when we use the Simple Past.

This tense is used:

• For describing the events which may have happened recently.

For example – 

1. The girl left home a week ago. 
2. Jim went a moment ago. 

• For narrating the events of the distant past. 

For example –

1. Jodha was very pretty. 
2. Germans fought in World War 2. 

• When a reference to a specific point in time is provided.

For example – 

1. I met Uncle John this morning. 
2. We finished our homework yesterday. 

• When the context must be used to deduce the time reference.

For example –

1. I saw Jane at school (i.e., when I was there this morning).
2. The Immediate Past

The Simple Past can be sometimes used without reference to the time for describing something that happened a very short time ago.

For example –

• Terry punched me in the stomach.
• Who left the window open?  

• Past Habits

The Simple Past can be used sometimes to describe habits of the past.

For example – 

• He smoked ten cigarettes a day till he gave up. 

• Polite Enquiries

The Simple Past is not necessarily about the past. It’s also common to employ it with verbs like hope, ponder, or wonder when making polite inquiries (especially when asking for favours).

For example –

• I wonderif you would drop me home. 
• I wondered if you could drop me home. (more polite) 

Some exercises to better understand Simple Past Tense

1. I studied very hard this morning. 
2. I went home last night by taxi. 
3. We drove to Pune last Saturday. 
4. We had our dinner at a restaurant last night. 
5. I came by metro this morning. 
6. The wind blew hard last night. 
7. It rained heavily this morning. 
8. I read two stories last night. 
9. I slept soundly this afternoon. 

Kevin played the piano for his guests.

Conclusion:

The simple past tense indicates that we are discussing an event that has already occurred. Unlike the past continuous tense, which is intended to describe events that occurred across time, the simple past tense stresses the completion of the action. The simple past can also be used to describe a previous state of being, such as how someone felt about something. The simple past tense of the verb to be, along with an adjective, noun, or prepositional phrase, is frequently used to convey this.