Clase 10: El Pasado Simple

El Pasado Simple se usa en inglés para describir acciones que sucedieron en un tiempo pasado (muchos
siglos atrás o solo 10 segundos atrás) pero que ya no tienen relación con el presente. En español
corresponde al Pretérito Perfecto simple de Indicativo.

Pasado de verbos REGULARES:

Los verbos REGULARES son los que forman el pasado simple agregándole “-ed” al verbo en infinitivo,
y se conjugan igual para todas las personas.

Ejemplos:
I cleaned the house yesterday. Limpié la casa ayer.
You worked hard last year. (Tú) Trabajaste duro el año pasado.
He watched TV all afternoon last Saturday. Él miró la televisión toda la tarde el sábado pasado.
She lived in Paris for three years. Ella vivió en París por tres años.
The dog stayed in its place all morning. El perro se quedó en su lugar toda la mañana.
It started to rain five minutes ago. Comenzó a llover hace cinco minutos.
We finished our meal very quickly. Terminamos nuestra comida muy rápidamente.
You connected the PC in the wrong place. Ustedes conectaron la PC en el lugar incorrecto.
They enjoyed the party last night. Ellos disfrutaron la fiesta anoche.

En caso de verbos que en inglés terminan en “-e”, solo se agrega “-d”, como en
danced
organized
perforated
abdicated
advanced

En algunos verbos que terminan en consonante más “-y”, en el pasado simple la “y” es reemplazada por
“i” y luego se agrega “-ed”, como en:

study (estudiar) studied

copy (copiar) copied
worry (preocuparse) worried
try (tratar) tried
marry (casarse) married

Pero a los que terminan en vocal más consonante “-y” y “-w”, sólo se les agrega “-ed”, como en:
play  played
show  showed
stay  (stayed)

Otros, como “say (said)” y “pay (paid)”, son considerados verbos IRREGULARES.

Algunos verbos de una sola sílaba, que terminan con una vocal más una consonante, en el Pasado Simple
repiten la consonante y se les agrega “-ed”, como vemos en:
plan  planned
stop  stopped

Pasado de verbos IRREGULARES:

Los verbos en inglés son IRREGULARES cuando cambian totalmente la forma del infinitivo al construir
el pasado. A continuación se detalla una lista de verbos irregulares con sus significados:
Infinitivo Pasado Simple Participio Pasado*
awake (despertar) awoke awoken
be (ser/estar) was, were been
bear (soportar) bore born
become (convertir) became become
begin (comenzar) began begun
bend (doblar) bent bent
bite (morder) bit bitten
bleed (sangrar) bled bled
blow (soplar) blew blown
break (romper) broke broken
breed (criar) bred bred
bring (traer) brought brought
build (construir) built built
burn (quemar) burned/burnt burned/burnt
burst (explotar) burst burst
buy (comprar) bought bought
catch (atrapar) caught caught
choose (elegir) chose chosen
cling (sujetar) clung clung
come (venir) came come
cost (costar) cost cost
cut (cortar) cut cut
deal (tratar) dealt dealt
dig (cavar) dug dug
do (hacer) did done
draw (dibujar) drew drawn
dream (soñar) dreamed/dreamt dreamed/dreamt
drive (conducir) drove driven
drink (beber) drank drunk
eat (comer) ate eaten
fall (caer) fell fallen
feed (alimentar) fed fed
feel (sentir) felt felt
Fight (caerse) fought fought
find (encontrar) found found
fit (encajar) fit / fitted fit/ fitted
flee (huir) fled fled
fly (volar) flew flown
forbid (prohibir) forbade forbidden
forget (olvidar) forgot forgotten
forgive (perdonar) forgave forgiven
freeze (congelar) froze frozen
hang (colgar) hung hung
get (obterner) got got
give (dar) gave given
go (ir) went gone
have (tener) had had
hear (oir) heard heard
hide (esconder) hid hidden
hit (golpear) hit hit
hold (sostener) held held
hurt (herir, lastimar, doler) hurt hurt
keep (guardar, mantener) kept kept
know (saber. conocer) knew known
lay (poner, colocar) laid laid
learn (aprender) learned/ learnt learned/ learnt
leave (partir, dejar) left left
lend (prestar) lent lent
let (permitir) let let
lie (recostarse, tirarse) lay lain
light (encender) lit / lighted lit / lighted
lose (perder) lost lost
make (hacer) made made
mean (significar) meant meant
meet (encontrarse, conocer) met met
mistake (equivocarse) mistook mistaken
misunderstand (malentender) misunderstood misunderstood
overcome (sobreponerse) overcame overcome
overtake (sobrellevar) overtook overtaken
pay (pagar) paid paid
prove (probar) proved proven/ proved
put (poner) put put
read (leer) read (suena como "red") read (suena como "red")
ride (conducir, montar) rode ridden
ring (sonar) rang rung
sise (elevar) rose risen
run (correr) ran run
say (decir) said said
see (ver) saw seen
sell (vender) sold sold
send (enviar) sent sent
set (poner, fijar) set set
sew (coser) sewed sewn/ sewed
shake (temblar, menear) shook shaken
shine (brillar) shined / shone shined / shone
shoot (disparar) shot shot
show (mostrar) showed shown / showed
shrink (encojer) shrank / shrunk shrunk
shut (cerrar) shut shut
sing (cantar) sang sung
sit (sentarse) sat sat
sleep (dormir) slept slept
smell (oler) smelled/ smelt smelled/ smelt
speak (hablar) spoke spoken
speed (acelerar) sped / speeded sped / speeded
spell (deletrear) spelled/ spelt spelled/ spelt
spend (gastar) spent spent
spit (escupir) spit / spat spit / spat
split (dividir) split split
spoil (arruinar) spoiled/ spoilt spoiled/ spoilt
spread (desparramar) spread spread
spring (saltar) sprang / sprung sprung
stand (pararse) stood stood
steal (robar) stole stolen
stick (pegar, con pegamento) stuck stuck
sting (pinchar) stung stung
swell (hincharse) swelled swollen, swelled
swim (nadar) swam swum
swing (balancearse) swung swung
take (llevar) took taken
teach (enseñar) taught taught
tear (rasgar) tore torn
tell (decir) told told
think (pensar) thought thought
throw (tirar) threw thrown
understand (entender) understood understood
undertake (encargarse de) undertook undertaken
wear (usar) wore worn
weep (llorar) wept wept
wet (humedecer) wet/ wetted wet/ wetted
win (ganar) won won
wind (dar cuerda) wound wound
withdraw (sacar) withdrew withdrawn
write (escribir) wrote written

Negativo del Pasado Simple:

El negativo del pasado simple se forma con el auxiliar DID NOT o su abreviatura DIDN’T, más el verbo
en infinitivo:

Ejemplos
I didn’t clean the house yesterday. No limpié la casa ayer.
You didn’t work hard last year. No trabajaste duro el año pasado.
He didn’t watch TV all afternoon last Saturday. Él no miró la televisión toda la tarde el sábado pasado.
She didn’t live in Paris for three years. Ella no vivió en París por tres años.
The dog didn’t stay in its place all morning. El perro no se quedó en su lugar toda la mañana.
It didn’t start to rain five minutes ago. No comenzó a llover hace cinco minutos.
We didn’t finish our meal very quickly. No terminamos nuestra comida muy rápidamente.
You didn’t connect the PC in the wrong place. Ustedes no conectaron la PC en el lugar incorrecto.
They didn’t enjoy the party last night. Ellos no disfrutaron la fiesta anoche.

Como se puede observar, al ir didn’t desaparece la terminación “-ed” del verbo en el pasado afirmativo, y
lo que indica que el verbo está en pasado es el auxiliar didn’t.

Interrogativo del Pasado Simple:

El interrogativo del Pasado Simple se forma con el auxiliar DID al comienzo de la pregunta y el verbo
principal en el infinitivo

Ejemplos:
Did I clean the house yesterday? ¿Limpié la casa ayer?
Did you work hard last year? ¿Trabajaste duro el año pasado?
Did he watch TV all afternoon last Saturday? ¿Miró él la televisión toda la tarde el sábado pasado?
Did she live in Paris for three years? ¿Vivió ella en París por tres años?
Did the dog stay in its place all morning? ¿Se quedó el perro en su lugar toda la mañana?
Did it start to rain five minutes ago? ¿Comenzó a llover hace cinco minutos?
Did we finish our meal very quickly? ¿Terminamos nuestra comida muy rápidamente?
Did you connect the PC in the wrong place? ¿Conectaron ustedes la PC en el lugar incorrecto?
Did they enjoy the party last night? ¿Disfrutaron ellos la fiesta anoche?

Ejemplos con QUESTION WORDS:

What did I clean yesterday? ¿Qué limpié ayer?
How did you work last year? ¿Cómo trabajaste el año pasado?
When did he watch TV? ¿Cuándo miró él la televisión toda la tarde?
Where did she live for three years? ¿Dónde vivió ella por tres años?
Where did the dog stay all morning? ¿Dónde se quedó el perro toda la mañana?
When did it start to rain? ¿Cuándo comenzó a llover?
What did we finish very quickly? ¿Qué terminamos muy rápidamente?
Where did you connect the PC? ¿Dónde conectaron ustedes la PC?
What did they enjoy last night? ¿Qué disfrutaron ellos anoche?

Obsérvese que en el interrogativo el verbo principal también se usa en el infinitivo, o sea, no lleva “-ed”.
Lo que adjudica la noción de pasado al verbo es el uso del auxiliar DID.
Ejercicios: Traduzca estas oraciones:

She used a hat all the summer.

He followed the instructions carefully.
The pain didn’t disappear after two days.
Did you ask for help?
We worked together to achieve your goal.
She kept her word.
He spent little time with the crutches.
The report was good.
Dentists improved their mouths greatly.
She had a terrible accident last year.
We cleaned the house yesterday.
They didn’t maintain oral hygiene.

Traduzca este párrafo:

A NEW JOB

My first job was as a receptionist but then I replaced a secretary. When I came to France I was the
secretary to the Ambassador for two years!! When I was younger it was very rare for Latin American
people to have good English. It isn’t difficult for me to find a job. All the doors are opened for me
because of my languages. I went to University and studied languages and Tourism. I like meeting people,
travelling and using my languages. I got a job in an international Travel Agency ten years ago and I’m
still working there! I’m a very happy person and I like my job very much.

PRINCE WILLIAM
Early in the morning of 31 August 1997, Princess Diana came out of the Ritz Hotel in Paris with
Dodi Fayed. A short time later, they died in a car accident. Diana was only 36 years old. William and
Harry were on holiday at Balmoral with their father. The two young princes were sleeping. At 7:30 their
father talked to them about the accident. He then telephoned Tiggy, their nanny, and she came from
Scotland to be with them.
WAS-WERE

WAS y WERE son el pasado del verbo TO BE (ser – estar). WAS es el pasado de AM-IS y WERE es el
pasado de ARE. Los negativos son WASN’T y WEREN’T. La particularidad de estos verbos es que se
pueden usar como auxiliares del pasado continuo (ver clase 11).

Ejemplos:
I am in London now. Yo estoy en Londres ahora
I WAS in Buenos Aires last year. Yo estuve/estaba en Buenos Aires el año pasado.

You are the leader of the team now. Tú eres el líder del equipo ahora.
You WERE the leader of the team two years ago. Tú eras/fuiste el líder del equipo dos años atrás.

He is a teacher now. Él es maestro ahora.

He WAS a student last year. Él era/fue alumno el año pasado.

She is a lady now. Ella es una dama ahora.

She WAS very rude last year. Ella era muy torpe el año pasado.

The dog is here now. El perro está aquí ahora.

It WAS in the garden five minutes ago. Él estaba/estuvo en el jardín cinco minutos atrás.

We are at school now. Estamos en la escuela ahora.

We WERE at school last week. Estábamos/estuvimos en la escuela la semana pasada.

You aren’t in the pool now. Ustedes no están en la pileta ahora.

You WEREN’T in the pool ten minutes ago. Ustedes no estaban en la pileta diez minutes atrás.

They aren’t at home now. Ellos no están en casa ahora.

They WEREN’T at home yesterday. Ellos no estaban en casa ayer.

Traduzca estas oraciones:

I was tired last night.
Was she at school last Saturday?
When I was a child I was in England.
The weather wasn’t nice yesterday.
Charlie Chaplin was a famous actor.
I phoned him last night but he wasn’t at home. Where was he?
That exam was very hard.
The museum was very interesting.
Those books weren’t very expensive.
Was she here last week?