The Simple Past Tense

The most basic use of the past tense is to describe one completed action in the past, The completed action in the past generally indicated by the time markers such as yesterday, two days ago, in 1981 etc or simply by the use of the verb in the past tense

S + VII + O (+)

Did + S + VI + O (?)

S + did not + O (-)

Example

The physicians left the hospital 2 hours ago (+)

Did the physicians leave (V I) the hospital 2 hours ago (?)

The physician did not leave the hospital 2 hours ago (-)

Listening

I locked it

Karen    : I enjoyed that film

Peter     : yes I enjoyed it, too

Karen    : But Peter, I’m worried

Peter     : worried?

Karen    : Yes I’m worried about the house

Peter     : Oh stop worrying about the house. Let’s go and have a coffee

Karen    : Yes, I’d like a cup of coffee, but you know

Peter     : What’s wrong now?

Karen    : The house. Did you close the door?

Peter     : Of course I closed the door, come on!

Karen    : And did you lock it?

Peter     : Of course. I locked it. Come on.

Peter     : Peter

Peter     : Yes?

Karen    : The windows?

Peter     : what about the windows?

Karen    : did you close them?

Peter     : of course I closed them. And I closed the door, and I locked it

Karen    : I’m still worried

Peter     : Stop worrying about the house. Let’s go and find a café

Karen    : Oh. All right. If you’re sure you locked the house.

I left the keys in the lock

Karen    : how much were the coffee?

Peter     : ten pence each. That’s twenty pence. Where’s the money?

Karen    : in my bag. I’ll get it. How much did you say?

Peter     : twenty pence

Karen    : Peter!

Peter     : yes

Karen    : the keys

Peter     : what about the keys?

Karen    : They aren’t in my handbag

Peter     : nonsense ! I put them in your handbag

Karen    : when?

Peter     : I put them in your handbag before I left the house

Karen    : buy the aren’t in my handbag

Peter     : they must be. Let’s see. I closed the windows

Karen    : yes

Peter     : I closed the door

Karen    : yes

Peter     : I locked the door

Karen    : yes

Peter     : then I

Karen    : yes

Peter     : Oh no!

Karen    : What’s wrong?

Peter     : I locked the door

Karen    : yes?

Peter     : and I left the keys in the lock!

Karen    : you left the keys in the lock! Oh no!

Peter     : come on! Let’s go!

Karen    : but our coffee-

Peter     : never mind our coffee. I left the keys in the door.

Reading

Jim’s stomach-ache

Jim went to the doctor this morning. He likes apples very  much and yesterday he ate too many green ones, so this morning he had a stomach-ache. When he came to breakfast he was crying. “What’s the matter, Jim? “ his mother said “Why are you crying?”

“My stomach hurts, mother” he answer

red. “You ate too many apples yesterday, “she said, and “They were green. Go to Dr. Jones and he will give you some medicine. You know his house “Yes Mother, I’ll go in the bus. And I don’t want any breakfast now.”

Jim go to Dr. John’s house at 9.30, but there were four other people in the doctor’s waiting-room, so Jim didn’t see the doctor until about 10 o’clock. “What’s the matter with you, young man?” said Dr. Jones. “I have a stomach-ache” said Jim. “Have you eaten any green apples?” asked the doctor. “yes I ate a lot yesterday” Jim said, and smiled. They doctor smiled too, he wrote on a piece of paper and said, “Take this to a chemist, and he will give you some medicine. “Jim thanked the doctor, went to  a chemist and bought the medicine, his stomach-ache was soon better.

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