The Simple Past Tense

The simple past tense:

·         As nominal

·         As verbal

a.     As nominal

            ·         The affirmative form:

I, he, she, it	was
you, we, they	were

Examples:

I was in London in 1999.

Alex was in London in 1999, too.

We were together.

She was my girlfriend.

            ·         The interrogative form:

Was	I, he, she, it?
Were	you, we, they?

Examples:

Were you in London last year?

Was Pam with you?

Were you together?

            ·         The negative form:

I, you, he, she	was not
	wasn't
You, we, they	were not
	weren't

Examples:

I was not in Paris in 1999.

Pam was not in Paris in 1999.

We were not in Paris.

b.      As verbal

The time signal:

Yesterday, last month, last week, last year, two days ago, two weeks ago, two years ago, etc.

            ·         The affirmative form:

I, he, she, it	V2	O
You, we, they	V2	O

      Examples:

      I went to Australia yesterday. (Go)

      We played football last week. (Play)

      He bought a new car two days ago. (Buy)

 

            ·         The negative form:

I, he, she, it	did	not	V1	O
You, we, they	did	not	V1	O

      Examples:

      I did not go to Australia yesterday.

      We did not play football last week.

      He did not buy a new car last month.

            ·         The interrogative form:

Did

I, you, we, they, he, she, it

V1

O

?

      Examples:

      Did I go to Australia yesterday?

      Did we play football last week?

      Did he buy a new car last month?