Present verbs. Past Simple - past simple tense in English

Past Simple - simple past tense in English. It is indeed very simple in formation, even simpler than the simple present -, but its use is complicated by the presence and some features of the pronunciation of regular verbs in the past tense.

Past Simple sometimes also called preterite.

Watch Anna's explanation from Cambridge University Press:

Past Simple is mainly used to describe events in the past that have been completed. Although it also has other uses.

The past form of regular verbs is usually formed by adding -ed at the end, in addition, there are several hundred irregular verbs that have different shape. Most verbs have one past tense form, regardless of the person or number of the noun. That is, there is no need, as in Present Simple add -s for a third party.

Past Simple formation table for the verb “to be”

Past Simple formation table for all other verbs

Past Simple is used with words that can be remembered using an acronym (on, in, last, when, ago, yesterday)

Examples of Past Simple:

Features of writing and pronunciation of regular verbs in the Past Simple

According to pronunciation, regular verbs in the past tense can be divided into three groups:

1. If regular verb ends with a dull sound, then in the past tense it will be read with (t) at the end, for example:

2. If the correct verb ends in -t or -d, then in the past it is read with -id at the end:

3. A regular verb ends with a vowel sound or a voiced consonant sound, then in the past it is read with -d at the end:

Exercise - Song Rihanna Diamonds

Listen to the song and find all the verbs in the past tense.

This infographic shows the basic information about the Past Simple. Read more below.

Past Simple education scheme: rules and examples

Let's look at how sentences with the Past Simple are formed in the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms.

Most verbs form the past simple form using the ending – ed, have special forms of the past tense. Let's take the example of the regular verb to visit- visit.

Examples:

Last week Dana invited me to her birthday party – Last week Dana invited me to celebrate her birthday.

I completed the course on Monday – I finished the course on Monday.

2. Past Simple in negative form: I didn’t visit

Negation is constructed using an auxiliary verb in the past tense form - did and particles not. The semantic verb is used in initial form. IN colloquial speech did not reduced to didn't’ t.

Examples:

Igor didn't meet me at the airport – Igor did not meet me at the airport.

We didn't order this meal – We did not order this dish.

3. Past Simple in interrogative form: Did I visit?

The interrogative form is also constructed using did- it is placed before . The semantic verb itself is used in the initial form (without endings).

Examples:

Did you go to school yesterday? – Did you go to school yesterday?

Did they feed your cat? – Did they feed your cat?

Meaning of Past Simple: When is the past simple used?

In the majority cases Past Simple denotes an action that happened at some point in the past. Unlike, it does not denote an ongoing, ongoing action. Let's look at the basic meanings of the past simple tense.

• An action that happened in the past (base case).

Action in the past, usually accompanied by clarifications like yesterday(yesterday), last week(last week) in 2011(in 2011), about two hours ago(about two hours ago) and so on.

This could be an action that happened at a certain moment:

I returned from the meeting an hour ago. – I returned from the meeting an hour ago.

We arrived to London at seven thirty-two PM. “We arrived in London at seven thirty-two in the evening.

At an approximate time in the past:

Karen purchased new car yesterday. – Karen bought a new car yesterday.

We met in 2011. – We met in 2011.

Or simply in the past, without specifying the time:

I lost my phone. – I lost my phone.

He won.- He won.

• An action repeated in the past.

In this case, there is tense in the sentence, otherwise it would be unclear what is meant. For example: last summer- last summer, every evening- every evening.

Last summer I spent a lot of time in the country – Last summer I spent a lot of time outside the city (that is, I visited the country from time to time).

She visited us almost every evening – She visited us almost every evening.

In the meaning of “a repeated action in the past”, instead of the past simple tense, the following is often used:

I used to spend a lot of time in country – I (often) spent a lot of time outside the city.

She used to visit us almost every evening – She visited us almost every evening.

• Consecutive past actions.

When recounting events, we often use the simple past tense:

Harry woke up, took a shower and made breakfast. – Harry woke up, took a shower and cooked breakfast.

She closed her eyes and smiled. “She closed her eyes and smiled.

Past Simple video tutorial and exercises

The Past Simple topic is discussed in detail in the video lesson on Puzzle English. After watching the video, you can also do strengthening exercises.

In the article I wrote briefly and simply about the present simple tense: Present Simple:

— rules of use,
- how to say a regular sentence in simple tense,
- how to ask a question in Present Simple,
- sentences with negation - “He doesn’t, doesn’t know, etc.”
— video from a native speaker about Present Simple,
- consolidation exercises,
— and why is it necessary to study the material out loud?

Present Simple - education

To say:

I Working,
You you're working,
They work,
We we work - we use a verb without endings.

I You They We work.

Check out the full example:

I drink coffee in the morning. I drink coffee in the morning.
You drink coffee in the morning. You/You drink/drink coffee in the morning.
They drink coffee in the morning. They drink coffee in the morning.
We drink coffee in the morning. We drink coffee in the morning.

To say:

He works,
She works,
It works - add - s - to the verb at the end

He it works.

He drinks coffee in the morning. He drinks coffee in the morning.
She drinks coffee in the morning. She drinks coffee in the morning.
It drinks coffee in the morning. It drinks coffee in the morning.

Remember:

1. The simple present tense is used in cases that make up your daily life or in English it sounds daily life - daily routine.
2. No word endings /noun adj./, as in Russian or German, does NOT exist in English, only the letter -s- on the verb and that’s it. This greatly facilitates the process of learning English.

Negative sentences in the Present Simple

To say:

I NOT working
You NOT working
They DO NOT work
We We DO NOT work - do not is used after the pronoun. .

I You They We do not work.

Look at the example:

I do not drink coffee in the morning. I don't drink coffee in the morning.
You do not drink coffee in the morning. You/You don't drink/drink coffee in the morning.
They do not drink coffee in the morning. They don't drink coffee in the morning.
We do not drink coffee in the morning. We don't drink coffee in the morning.

To say:

He NOT working
She NOT working
It Does NOT work - does not is used after the pronoun.

He it does not work.

He does not drink coffee in the morning. He doesn't drink coffee in the morning.
She does not drink coffee in the morning. She doesn't drink coffee in the morning.
It does not drink coffee in the morning. It doesn't drink coffee in the morning.

Interrogative sentences in Present Simple

To ask:

I Working?
You are you working?
They do they work?
We are we working? — at the very beginning we put Do.

Do I You They We work?

Do I drink coffee in the morning?
Do you drink coffee in the morning?
Do they drink coffee in the morning?
Do we drink coffee in the morning?

To ask:

He works?
She works?
It works? — at the very beginning we put Does.

Does He work?

Does he drink coffee in the morning?
Does she drink coffee in the morning?
Does it drink coffee in the morning?

If question words are used, they come first.

When do I you we they wake up on the morning?
When does he she it wake up on the morning?

When to use the Present Simple

1. If you need to talk about your habits, your daily life, customs, in general:

- work, wake up in the morning, have breakfast, brush your teeth,
- live, go to school, study lessons, attend clubs,
— think, watch TV, visit friends, etc.

then we say:

I work, I live, I think, I drink, I watch.

I work, I live, I think, I drink, I watch.

We / You / They

We work, They live, You think, you drink.

We work, They live, You think, You drink.

If you need to say the same thing, but about someone/something:

He/She lives, works, watches, thinks, has breakfast.
There is a third party It- train, house, tree, dog.

In these cases we add to the verb -s- and then in English we’ll say this:

She works - She works.
He lives - He lives.
He has - He has.
She thinks - She thinks.
The train leaves - The train leaves.

2. If you need to talk about facts:

Gasoline costs 40 rubles per liter - Gasoline costs 40 rubles per liter.

It's snowing in Moscow today - It’s snowing in Moscow today.

Cats love milk.

Putin is the president of our country, etc. — Putin is the president of our country.

3. If you need to say something that has already been planned, happens according to the established schedule:

The working day starts at 9 am - The working day starts at 9 am.

The train leaves at night at 11 o'clock - The train leaves at night at 11 o’clock.

The plane arrives in the evening - The plane arrives in the evening.

Total: if all of the above happens constantly, daily, often, usually, sometimes, rarely, we speak in the Present Simple.

ATTENTION:

If all of the above actions, facts, events occur right now, at the time of conversation, used Present Continuous - about him in the next post.

**In Russian grammar textbooks you will find information that indicator words are usually used in the Present Simple: usually, seldom, often, every day, always +
In fact, in life, these markers are rarely used and you should NOT rely on them.

Below I have posted additional examples to reinforce the material.

Video from a native about simple English time

It’s good to listen to any material from native speakers, whether it’s grammar or topics - it develops an important skill - to be able to understand English speech. They all speak very well, with an acceptable vocabulary, and usually have English subtitles. They don't pour water like our teachers do. They try to make the videos as informative, short and useful as possible. I strongly advise everyone who is learning English to watch and listen to educational videos only from native speakers.

Sentences in Present Simple

Affirmative sentences in Present Simple

I have a car. I have a car.
I already know the answer. I already know the answer.
I love this highway. I love this road.
She wants to talk to you about it right now. She wants to talk to you about it right now.

He cares about me. He cares about me.
We do prints, posters, and art books. We make prints, posters and art books.
Everybody lies. Everyone lies.
They live a simple, happy life. They live a simple happy life.
They have rights. They have rights.
He respects her. He respects her.

Imperative sentences

Deep breath. Breathe deeply.
Hold her hand. Hold her hand.
Forget it. Forget.
Come back. Come back.
Do it. Do it.

Consolidation exercises

Practice 20 times out loud /this is important!/ the following questions:

Do I work?
Do you work?
Does he / she / it work?
Do we work?
Do they work?

Say out loud in English:

I work for Apple.
I live in Moscow.
My wife loves ice cream.
My son goes to school.

I don't smoke.
I don't drink coffee in the morning.
They don't know this.
We don't quarrel.

Does she live in New York?
Does he drive a BMW?
Do you want to learn English?

Why is working out loud necessary?

First, speak out loud phrases from life, not from a textbook.
What you use every day: you drive a car, you get up in the morning, you go on vacation - it is phrases from your everyday life that will give you the skill in the future not only to speak living English, and not book English, but also to understand native speakers.

Speaking new material gives your tongue and brain the opportunity to remember what you have learned and automatically “give out” it when needed in the future.

My personal example

At this stage, I read, watch and listen to various kinds of books and videos.
Previously, I tried to write down all the words and phrases I didn’t know in a dictionary.
As a result, the notebook increased in size, but the new words remained passive.
It would seem that I write, thereby training visual memory, but this skill does not have any special results for speaking English, because writing only helps in remembering the correct spelling of words and recognizing them in books.

But after I started read aloud, repeating new phrases after the natives, WITHOUT writing anything down in a notebook, I noticed that subsequently, the words themselves seem to “crawl out” and it’s easy for you to translate something from the text, immediately remember this or that idiom and fit it into the context . Those. our memory is somehow so cunningly designed, it gives us, on occasion, everything that we have said before. At least that's how it is for me.

Therefore, always, after acquiring new knowledge, speak the material out loud not once or 10 times, but 20 or more times. The results will surprise you.

Unlike Russian. Here, we will look at the Present Simple in English. The second name for the present tense is Present Indefinite. This tense is pronounced in English (present simple, stress on the first syllable).

This tense is used by native speakers very often in everyday life; it is quite easy to understand and at the same time important. After studying the material on the site, you can easily understand the rules for using the Present Simple.

Start studying. We Believe in You! We Believe in You!

Read the mini-story and pay attention to the highlighted words. In this text you will see how verbs are used in the Present Simple tense.

Leonard likes hockey He is a goalkeeper. A goalkeeper tries to catch the puck.
Leonard plays hockey every day. His training starts at 4 pm.
After school, he goes home, packs his bag and goes to hockey training. He learns new tricks every minute.
After the training, he goes home on foot.
He does his homework, eats, brushes the teeth and goes to bed.

Cases of using Present Simple, rules with examples

• 1. Permanent situations or conditions.

For example:

- No works as a driver - she works as a driver.
—They own a large restaurant - they own a large restaurant.

• 2. Repeated actions or habits (habitual actions), especially those used with the adverbs often, usually etc.

For example:

— I usually wake up at 8 am - I usually wake up at 8 am.
— Do you go to church every Sunday? – Do you go to church every Sunday?

• 3. Laws of nature or truth.

For example:

— Money doesn't buy happiness – Money can’t buy happiness.
— Magnet attracts iron - A magnet attracts iron.
—Milk contains a lot of vitamins - Milk contains many vitamins.
— The earth rotates round its axis - The earth rotates around its axis.

• 4. a) Schedule or programs (indication of future tense). And also with verbs of motion to come, to leave, to arrive etc.

For example:

— The match finishes at 8 pm – the match will end at 8 pm.
—His training starts at five o’clock – His training will begin at 5 o’clock.

— We find the same phenomenon in the Russian language:
He leaves Tomorrow.

b) In the subordinate clause and time after the conjunctions as long as, before, after, till, as soon as, on provided that etc.

For example:

— I promise not to bother you as long as you love me – I promise not to bother you as long as you love me.
— Can you tell me her number before you go? “Can you tell me her number before you leave?”

• 5. Sports commentary/drama/reviews.

For example:

—Angelina Jolie acts brilliantly in this film - She played brilliantly in this film (news reviews).
— The ball hits the bar – The ball hit the goal post (sports commentary).
— The Thief enters the room and opens the safe – A thief enters a room and opens a safe (dramatic story).

• 6. Any facts.

For example:

— A cat has four legs – The cat has four legs.
— I live in Russia – I live in Russia.
— The President of the USA lives in The White House - The President of the United States lives in the White House.

• 7. With verbs that are not used in the Continuous form, that is, those actions that are happening at the moment.

For example:

— I hear somebody knock. Go and open the door - I hear someone knocking. Go and open the door.

Companion words (markers) that are used with the Present Simple

These are the words that tell you what tense you should use. They are also called signal words, let's look at examples with them:

In the morning/evening/afternoon, rarely, usually, almost never, as a rule, from time to time, off and on, as a rule, in general, most of the time, often, always, as a rule, rarely, never, sometimes, frequently, at night, on Monday.

Once a ___ (minute, hour, day, week, month, year, etc).

Every ___ (minute, hour, day, week, month, year, etc).

Examples with word markers (satellites):

He drinks a liter of milk every day— He drinks a liter of milk every day.

I always do yoga – I always do yoga.

They often play outside – They often play outside.

I meet my friends in the evening - I meet with friends in the evenings.

We get up late on Fridays– On Fridays we wake up late.

Mary goes to the seaside every summer– Mary goes to the sea every summer.

Present Simple sentence forms

You have learned when to use the simple present tense in English and you know how to use the rule. Let's look at how sentences are constructed: affirmative, negative, interrogative.

Important to know!– In the 3rd person singular. (3rd person singular) the ending –s is added.

Affirmative form of Present Simple

The verb in affirmative sentences is written without a particle to and is placed in second place after the subject. Did you know that the Present Indefinite statement does not use an auxiliary verb?

Examples in affirmative sentences. Verb conjugation table:

+Bonus Rule

Auxiliary verb do/does is used in affirmative sentences when we want to indicate that we really strongly desire or love something.

For example:

I do listen to the teacher - I really listen to the teacher.

He does love her - he really loves her.

But remember that it is impossible to reduce it.

Negative form of Present Simple

An auxiliary verb is used to construct negative sentences Do/does with the particle not after the subject. For those who don't know, in English it will be Auxiliary verb. Don't forget that Does is used in 3 liters. Units

Examples in negative sentences. Verb conjugation table:

In colloquial speech, the shortened negative form is very often used.

Don't– unabridged form

Don't- with an apostrophe, shortened form.

Examples:

I don't want to go, and you don't want to stay - I don’t want to go, and you don’t want to stay.

John doesn't swim – John doesn't swim.

Question form Present Simple

IN interrogative sentences auxiliary verb do/does comes first, after which the subject is used, and after the subject the semantic verb (main verb). When we use Does with the 3rd person singular, the ending ( -s or –es) is not used in a semantic verb.

Interrogative sentences are divided into:

General questions - Yes/No questions
Alternative questions
Dividing questions – Tag questions
Special or WH-questions

Rules for the formation of Present Simple Tense

As we already know the ending - s added to verbs that form the 3rd person singular:

— I eat
—He/she/it eat s

The pronunciation of the ending –s (-es) depends on the sound that precedes it. Pronounced like this:

• 1. after hissing, whistling (sibilants) [s], [z], [ʃ], , [ʤ]:

— Passes [‘pa:siz]
— Pushes
- Judges [ʤ ʌ ʤiz] and so on.

• 2. [z] after voiced non-sizzling vowels:

—Reads
— Lives

• 3. [s] after voiceless:

— Works

Verbs ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -o, then the ending is added –es:

— You watch
—He/she/it watch es

Verbs ending in –y the ending is added to the preceding consonant –es , -y is replaced by –i:

— I fly
—He/she/it fli es

Verbs ending in –y, but this time with a preceding vowel, ending –y saved and added –s

—I stay
— He/she/it sta ys

General Present Simple Time Usage Table

The diagram below will help you understand the material covered above. We have tried to make for you a clear construction of the use of the simple present tense.

The Present Simple Tense present simple tense: exercises with translation and answers.

You have studied all the above material. Let's consolidate it and do some exercises, look at example sentences in the Present Simple, and also solve several tests.

Exercise 1. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form.

Make 10 Sentences in Present Simple and translate.

1. Bob and Ron (say) hello.

2. She (forget) the lunchbox.

4. Harry (dream) in the lesson.

5. Every morning John (wake up) at 10 am.

6. What does he usually (have) for dinner?

7. Where do you (go) on Sundays?

8. John (not get) up very early.

9. This train is never late. It always (leave) on time.

10. Money (don’t) buy happiness.

Answers to the exercise:

1.Say
2.Forgets
3.Eats
4. Dreams
5. Wakes up
6. Does he usually have
7. Do you go
8. Doesn't get
9.Leaves
10. Doesn't

Exercise 2. Put the following sentences in the negative form using the auxiliary verb do/does.

1. We call our dog.

2. He runs 3 kilometers before work.

3. We have two houses.

4. Sara takes the bus to go to the swimming pool.

5. My brothers often help me with my homework.

Answers to the exercise:

1. We don't call our dog.
2. He doesn’t run….
3. We don't have...
4. Sara doesn’t take…
5. My brothers don’t often help me…

Now take Exercises No. 2 and make the sentences interrogative.

Answers to the exercise with interrogative sentences:

1. Do we call our dog?
2. Does he run 3 kilometers before work?
3. Do we have 2 houses?
4. Does Sara take the bus to go to the swimming pool?
5. Do my brothers often help me?

Exercise 3. Put the verbs into the 3rd person singular and distribute them in the table.

Watch, write, mix, dry, sneeze, play, buy, go, reach, pay, smash, try, drive, stay, fly, get, drop, kiss, say, cry.

Answers to the exercise:

Buy-buys kiss-kisses write-writes sneeze-sneezes smash-smashes stay-stays

Go-goes say-says mix-mixes reach- reaches try- tries

Drop-drops cry-cries dry-dries pay-pays drive-drives

So we are done with the Present Simple. If you understand it well, everything is very simple. The main thing is not to give up everything at once, but to go to the end - towards the goal.

If you want to better understand the material, then do a few more independent tasks, as this good workout for beginners:

Make 10 interrogative, 10 affirmative, 10 negative sentences.

WELL DONE! YOU ARE SO BRAINY! WELL DONE! YOU'RE SO SMART!

Note!

Present simple tense - Present Simple, often confused with the present continuous tense - to avoid falling into a time trap, follow the link and study the next topic

The most important thing in learning English is to listen to native speakers. Thanks to the video, you will consolidate your knowledge in the simple present tense Present Indefinite.