In English, the simple past tense is used for finished actions
or situations that began and ended before now. There are
three ways to make simple past tense.
or situations that began and ended before now. There are
three ways to make simple past tense.
In order to show when an action or situation happened
in the past, particular words and phrases (time adverbials)
are often used. Here are some of the most common ones:
in the past, particular words and phrases (time adverbials)
are often used. Here are some of the most common ones:
| 1. | yesterday This refers to the day before today, but not at any specific time. | |
| 2. | last _____ This time adverbial is similar to yesterday, but it can be used with many different time references: last night last week last month last year last Tuesday last summer etc. | |
| 3. | a / an / one _____ ago A singular noun phrase showing a period of time follows a, an, or one: a / one minute ago an / one hour ago a / one week ago a / one week ago a / one month ago a / one year ago etc. | |
| 4. | (plural number or expression) _____ ago A plural noun phrase showing a period of time is used before ago: two minutes ago three hours ago several days ago a few weeks ago a number of months ago many years ago etc. | |
| 5. | the day before yesterday This time adverbial has the same meaning as two days ago. | |
| 6. | the _____ before last This common time adverbial is similar to the day before yesterday, but it can be used for many more time references: the night before last the week before last the month before last etc. | |
| 7. | past dates Any time expression that refers to a date before now requires a past tense. Examples: in 1998 on June 21st (if this date was before now) on June 21st, 2000 during 1995 in the 19th Century last Christmas etc. | |
| 8. | past events Any time that refers to an event that happened before now also requires a past tense. Examples: on my last birthday at the beginning of my class during my childhood when I got up this morning when my grandfather was a boy etc. |
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Special Notes:
| 1. | Any time expression that refers to "before now" can require past tense. If "now" is Monday afternoon at 2:15 PM, for example, these time adverbials require past tense if they refer to Monday:
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| 2. | "Last" is very commonly used, but not with "day": use yesterday, not *last day. | ||||
| 3. | Two or more time adverbial can be combined: at 2:30 yesterday afternoon late last night early in the morning a couple of days ago every Thursday last summer etc. Note that when two or more time adverbials are combined, shorter periods of time come before longer periods of time. |
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