Simple Past Tense

Simple Past Tense
PM 107, GD 100, CM 104
Compiled by: Winti Ananthia, M.Ed .

How do we use this tense?
• Completed action in the past
• A series of completed actions
• Duration in the past
• Habits in the past
• Past facts/ generalizations/ status
Completed action in the past
• I watched a movie yesterday.
• I didn’t see Tono at school yesterday.
• Last year, I traveled to Hawaii.
• I didn’t travel to Japan.
• Did you have dinner last night?

A series of completed actions
• I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a

nice place to swim.
• He arrived from the airport at 8, checked into the
hotel at 9, and met the clients at 10.
• Did you add flour, pour the milk and then add the
eggs?
Duration in Past
• I lived in Melbourne for two years.
• I studied at Monash University for 18 months.
• We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.

Habits in the Past
• I studied French when I was a child.

• He played the violin.
• Did you play a musical instrument when you
were a kid?
Past facts/generalizations/status
• She was shy as a child, but now she is very

outgoing.
• He didn’t like tomatoes before.
• People paid much more money to buy phone
card in the past.
• John was still single in 2010.
Exercise
Identify the mistakes in each of the sentences, and correct the mistakes!
• 1. Last night, Samantha have pizza for

supper.
• 2. My pet lizard was died last month.
• 3. Yesterday I spend two hours cleaning my
living room.
• 4. This morning before coming to class, Jack
eats two bowls of cereal.
• 5. What was happened to your leg?
• Read the story in the following story. How is
the simple past tense applied in the story.
• Pay attention to the narratives and the
dialogues of the story.
• When is the past tense used in the story? Is it
in the narratives or the dialogue/monologue?
• A Local business was looking for office help.
They put a sign in the window:
HELP WANTED
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer
1. Must be able to type,
2. Must be good with a computer and
3. Must be bilingual
A short time afterwards, a dog
trotted up to the window, saw
the sign and went inside. He
looked at the receptionist and
wagged his tail, then walked over
to the sign, looked at it and
whined.
• Getting the idea, the receptionist got
the office manager. The office
manager looked at the dog and was
surprised, to say the least. However,
the dog looked determined, so he
led him into the office. Inside, the
dog jumped up on the chair and
stared at the manager.
• The manager said, “I can’t hire you. The
sign says you have to be able to type”.
The dog jumped down, went to the
typewriter and proceeded to type out a
perfect letter. He took out the page and
trotted over to the manager and gave it
to him, then jumped back on the chair.
The manager was stunned, but then told
the dog, “The sign says you have to be
good with the computer”.
• The dog jumped down again and went to
the computer. The dog proceeded to
demonstrate his expertise with various
programs and produced a sample
spreadsheet and database and presented
them to the manager. By this time the
manager was totally dumb-founded! He
looked at the dog and said, “I realize that
you are a very intelligent dog and have
some interesting abilities. However, I still
can’t give you the job”.
• The dog jumped down and went to a
copy of the sign and put his paw on
the sentences that told about being
an Equal Opportunity Employer. The
manager said, “Yes, but the sign also
says that you have to be bilingual.”
• The dog looked at him straight in the
face and said, “Meow”.
We Use Passive when:
• We don’t know or care who the ‘doer’ of the action
is/was.
e.g. : The university students who joined the strike
were beaten last night.
• When the ‘doer’ is obvious.
e.g: The ceremony was reported in the news last night.
• When the action itself is more important that who
does/did it.
e.g. : Simfoni No.3 was composed by Bethoven.
Assignment
• Write at least a-300-word text applying the
simple past tense. You can choose one of the
two choices:
1. Writing “The unforgettable experience in my
life”; or
2. Creating a story.

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Simple Past Tense

PM 107, GD 100, CM 104

Compiled by: Winti Ananthia, M.Ed .

• I watched a movie yesterday.

• I didn’t see Tono at school yesterday.

• Last year, I traveled to Hawaii.

• I didn’t travel to Japan.

• Did you have dinner last night?

• I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a

• I lived in Melbourne for two years.

• I studied at Monash University for 18 months.

• We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.

• I studied French when I was a child.

• She was shy as a child, but now she is very

• 1. Last night, Samantha have pizza for

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