Simple Past Tense
Read the passage
During a management seminar, Mr. T.N. Seshan, former chief election
commissioner, shared an experience he had while travelling in
U.P. with his wife. As they were travelling by road, they saw a
mango plantation filled with sparrow nests. Mr. Seshan’s wife decided to
carry two nests to their home.
The police escort called a young boy who was grazing cows
and asked him to bring down two nests and offered to pay him ten rupees.
The boy refused even when Mr. Seshan raised the offer to fifty
rupees. He said, “Sahib, I will not do it for any amount of money.
Inside these nests are baby sparrows. If I give these nests to you, the mother
sparrow will cry on not finding her babies when she returns with food for them.
I don’t have the heart to see that.”
Mr. Seshan and his wife were taken aback. They felt small
in front of that little boy.
Education, position or social status is never a yardstick for the
measure of humanity.
Grammar: You see that in this passage, I have written about a past incident. I
want you to understand the simple past tense.
Usage
1.To
indicate an action that completed in the past.
Mr. T.N. Seshan shared
his experience in the seminar.
The boy refused
to take down the nest.
2.To talk about past habits.
When he was a
child, he loved to be in the wood.
They mostly travelled
by road.
‘Used+
infinitive’ is also common in talking about past habits.
During school days, we used to spend our summer vacations at our
grandmother’s home.
T.N. Seshan used to talk about electoral reforms.
3. For conditionals.
If he went to the cinema, he would watch a comedy film.
If I got rich, I would travel all over the world.
Structure
Subject + verb II + remaining sentence.
Subject + didn’t + verb I + remaining sentence.
Did/Didn’t + Subject + Verb I + remaining sentence.
Question word+ Did/Didn’t + Subject + Verb I + remaining
sentence.
Was/wasn’t/were/weren’t + Subject + (adjective) & remaining
sentence
Examples
- Neha went to the market last Sunday.
- Neha didn’t go to the market last Sunday.
- Sachin played cricket.
- He was always on time throughout the course. (‘Be’ verb- was)
- We were late to office.
- Did she like the surprise?
- How didn’t you notice?
- Who did you ask for help?
- Ravi used to smoke in his teenage.
- If you spent less on clothes, you would be able to save some money.
- The weather was beautiful yesterday.
- I was late for college.
- Was there water in the bottle?
- The books weren’t on the shelf where I left them.
- They were there for the meeting on time.
Activity: Narrate an incident where you stood up for what is right or spoke your mind clearly.
Assignment: Change affirmative sentences into negative and interrogative sentences in Past tense.
Exercise for the assignment:
Example: He went to the library on Sunday
He didn’t go to the library on Sunday
Did he go to the library on Sunday?
Neha went to the market.
Neha came with her farther.
Sachin played cricket.
The cat jumped over the wall.
The dog ran very fast.
The teacher shouted at the student.
Neha studied very hard.
We discussed the topic in class.
I cooked tasty dishes.
I spent quality time with my family.
During the lockdown, we played indoor games.
We watched quite a few movies.
He worked at McDonald’s.
I received his letter a week ago.
Shivaji and Aurangzeb fought many battles.
The movie was entertaining.
I was happy to see my friends at the party.
They were excited about their upcoming trip.
The weather was perfect for a picnic.
I understood the lesson.