Download Module 2, Lesson 4B: Simple Past Tense

Business Writing
Firefly Electric and Lighting Corp.
Training and Organizational Development
Human Resources Department
Module 2
WORKING WITH WORDS
Module 2
Lesson 4
Tenses of Verb
Grammar
A.
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B.
C.
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Tenses of Verbs
Simple tenses
Continuous/ Progressive tenses
Perfect tenses
Subject –Verb Agreement
Voices of Verb (Transitive Verb)
Active Voice
Passive Voice
TENSES of VERBS
TENSES of VERBS
Grammar rules details of language
syntax. Like spelling issues,
grammar violations in a business
document can reflect negatively on
a professional or a company. Care
should be taken that all business
documents are grammatically
correct.
TENSES of VERBS
There are two grammar issues most writers
have trouble with - tenses of verb and
subject-verb agreement. This part of
Module 2+will deal with discussion of
tenses of verb.
Modern English has two sets of tenses- the
simple tenses and the perfect tenses. Each
set has a corresponding continuous or
progressive tenses
Simple tenses:
Present tense, Past
Grammar
tense and Future tense
Progressive tenses: Present
progressive, Past Progressive and
Future Progressive
Perfect Tenses: Present Perfect,
Past Perfect and Future Perfect
Module 2
Lesson 4
Tenses of Verb: The Simple Tenses
Module 2
Lesson 4B
The Simple Past Tense
The Past Tense
Definition: The past tense is the
tense of the verb that indicates
an action, state or situation that
happened or existed in the past
at a specific time.
Common Time Expressions Used for
Past Tense
The Simple Past Tense
Other time expressions used for past tense:
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•
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•
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last (night, Sunday, week, month, year, etc)
a/an/one (minute, hour, day, week, while, etc) ago
the day before yesterday
the (day, night, week, etc) before last
in 2001
last Christmas
in the 20th century
on my last birthday
when mother was a girl
Format of Past Tense
• For regular verbs:
a) verb + d or ed: taste-tasted; walk-walked
b) Verb with y ending- change y to i then add –
ed: study-studied, carry-carried
• For irregular verbs: format of the past tense may
vary.
a) Past form is the same as present form
Ex. cut-cut; set-set; broadcast-broadcast;
hit-hit; let-let
Format of Past Tense
b)
Past form ends with t
Ex. sleep-slept; keep-kept; sweep-swept;
kneel-knelt
c) Past form undergoes an internal vowel
change
Ex. rise- rose; ride –rode; fall-fell; sit-sat;
swim-swam; ring-rang; come-came; sing-sang
d) Past form ends with ught
Ex. buy- bought; catch-caught; fight-fought;
teach-taught; think –thought, seek-sought
The Simple Past Tense
Conditions that use the past tense:
1) Completed action in the past – the action
started and finished at a specific time in the
past.
oRonnie bought a new polo shirt last week.
o Romina sent Raffy a package the month
before last.
2) A series of completed action in the past
oThe cat swiped the ball of thread with its
paws, chased after it, and discovered a
new game: football
The Simple Past Tense
3) Duration, which starts and stops in the past, is a
longer action indicated by such expressions as:
for two years, all day , the entire time, all year.
o Mina worked in the garden the entire morning.
o She only stopped when it was time for lunch.
4) Habits in the past- refers to actions that were
done regularly in the past but had already
stopped in the past.
o Jasper often went fishing with his grandfather
when he was a child.
The Simple Past Tense
5) Past facts or generalizations which are no
longer true. Similar in expression to “used
to”
o In 1960’s, pricey fares prevented many people from
taking airplane rides. Now with the peso fare, people
preferred taking plane rides to boat rides.
6) “When” clauses – happen first in sentences in
which both clauses are in the simple past
tense.
o When the clock chimed 12 noon, Norma tidied her
table and left to have lunch.
The Simple Past Tense
When putting emphasis on an action in the past,
the format used is:
did + base form of the verb
Examples:
o Alex did attend the Mass last Sunday
even though he was not feeling well.
o Carmen did go to the party but she left
early.
o Louie did clean his room after you told
him to.
The Simple Past Tense
Conditional past tense refers to habitual acts in the
past that were regularly done then, but is not
being done now. The format used is:
used to +base form of the verb
Examples:
• When I was in high school, I used to play
volleyball. ( I don’t play volleyball now).
• Cory used to bite her nails when she was
nervous.( She does not bite her nails now.)
The Simple Past Tense
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The Simple Past Tense
Write the correct form of the enclosed verb in the
simple past tense.
1. Just a minute ago, Luisa (see) _______ the
postman pass by.
2. The rain (fall)_______ in torrents the day before.
3. In the 19th century, polio (be) _______a
prevalent disease.
4. We (celebrate) __________ Father’s birthday
last Sunday.
5. Janet screamed when she (see) ______ a snake
in her bed.
The Simple Past Tense
6. Cesar (send)_____ me an invitation to his
wedding a week ago.
7. Sunny (cry) ______ when she heard the
terrible news.
8. ABS-CBN (broadcast) _______ the news
during the evening edition.
The Simple Past Tense
Fill in the correct form of the enclosed verb as
indicated after the sentence.
1. Daniel (go) ____to parties on weekends
when he was still a bachelor. (conditional
past)
2. Father (stop) _______ smoking for a while
after Mother got angry with him.
(emphatic past)
3. He (smoke) ______two packs of cigarettes
a day. (conditional past)
The Simple Past Tense
4. Then, he started coughing, and later on, he
saw blood in his spit. Boy! it (give)
_____him a scare. (emphatic past)
5. He (refuse)________when Mother
suggested he went for a check-up.
(conditional past)
6. Mother (not know) ______ how terrified
Father was. (Emphatic past)
7. He (think) ______ he was about to die.
(emphatic past)
The Simple Past Tense
If you got a score of 4 or less in the practice
exercises, please review the notes on past
tense before taking the quiz.
Please look over the uploaded “Notes on
Simple Past Tense” in Quia and check
whether there are other facts you need to
include in your Cheat Sheet.
The Simple Past Tense
Write the correct form of the enclosed verb in the
simple past tense.
1. Just a minute ago, Luisa (see) saw the postman
pass by.
2. The rain (fall) fell in torrents the day before.
3. In the 19th century, polio (be) was a prevalent
disease.
4. We (celebrate) celebrated Father’s birthday last
Sunday.
5. Janet screamed when she (see) saw a snake in
her bed.
The Simple Past Tense
6. Cesar (send) sent me an invitation to his
wedding a week ago.
7. Sunny (cry) cried when she heard the
terrible news.
8. ABS-CBN (broadcast) broadcast the news
during the evening edition.
The Simple Past Tense
Fill in the correct form of the enclosed verb as
indicated after the sentence.
1. Daniel (go) used to go to parties on
weekends when he was still a bachelor.
(conditional past)
2. Father (stop) did stop smoking for a while
after Mother got angry with him.
(emphatic past)
3. He (smoke) used to smoke two packs of
cigarettes a day. (conditional past)
The Simple Past Tense
4. Then, he started coughing, and later on, he
saw blood in his spit. Boy! it (give) did give
him a scare. (emphatic past)
5. He (refuse) used to refuse when Mother
suggested he went for a check-up.
(conditional past)
6. Mother (not know) did (not) know how
terrified Father was. (Emphatic past)
7. He (think) did think he was about to die.
(emphatic past)
Module 2, Lesson 4B The Simple
Past Tense Quiz
1. Please proceed to www. Quia.com/web
2. On the space provided, enter your log in
name and your password.
3. Under “Quiz”, please select Lesson 4B, Quiz 1
4. Follow the instructions in the quiz.
5. Follow these same steps when you go to
succeeding quizzes after every lesson.