9 Verbs, verb tenses, imperatives

9.3 The simple past tense

9.3A The past form and pronunciation of regular verbs [> LEG 9.14,~ p 391
p

Study: 1 Regular verbs always end with a -din the simple past, but we do not always pronounce the -d
I**I ending in the same way. We usually add -edto the base form of the verb:
Iplay -Iplayed, I open -I opened. We do not pronounce -ed as an extra syllable. We
pronounce it as /dl: Iplayed /ple~dJNot 1ple1-1d1*; I opened laupandl Not */aupan~d/*;
Iarrived /ararvd/ Not / a r a ~ ~*;dI/ married /mrerrd/ Not 'Imreri-rd/ [compare > 2.5AI.
2 Verbs which end in the following sounds are pronounced It/ in the past: /W packed; Is/ passed;
/tJ/ watched; /J/ washed; If/ laughed; /p/ tipped.
3 A few verbs are pronounced and spelt /dl or It/: burned/burnt; dreamed/dreamt.
4 Verbs ending in the sounds It/ or Id/ have their past ending pronounced 11dI:
added, decided, counted, excited, needed, posted, shouted, started, tasted, wanted.
'
3
' ""
'-
"
i'"'

- "
-'
8
- -
Write: a Give the past forms of these regular verbs.
b Show whether you would pronounce these past forms as /dl, It1or 11dI.
1 We .-, an hour yesterday. (wait) hdl 10 1 ................TV all evening. (watch) I 1
Joan ................ her room on Friday. (clean) I 11 1 We ................ when we saw them. (laugh) 1 I
I ...... .......... squash last night. (play) I I 12 He ................ the sergeant's orders. (obey) / I
She ................ my letter yesterday. (post) I I 13 We ................ into the house. (hurry) 1 1
5 1 ................ at her. (smile) I I 14 You ................ to me! (lie) 1 I
6 She ................ when she saw me. (stop) I I 15 1 ................ early yesterday. (finish) I 1
7 1 ................ of you last night. (dream) I I 16 It's ................ in the bill. (include) I 1
8 Who ................the cakes? (burn) I I 17 1 ................ the door before I left. (lock) 1 1
9 He ................ a lot as a baby. (cry) I I 18 We ................. first class. (travel) 1 1

9.3B Irregular past forms [> LEG 9.15-16,~ p 401

p
-
-

Study: [ I Some irregular verbs have the same form in all parts: hit-hit-hit, cut-cut-cut.
/ 2 Some change one part only: keep-kept-kept, make-made-made, sell-sold-sold.
3 Some change two parts: break-broke-broken, know-knew-known, ride-rode-ridden.

Write: Supply the past forms of the irregular verbs in italics.

1 I often see Giulio. I ........&W ........ him again only yesterday.
2 As teenagers, we always ........................each other very well. We still understandeach other now.
3 1 hardly ........................Ray's wife. Did you know her at all?
4 We always meet on Sunday. We ........................ last Sunday as usual.
5 1 often findthings on the beach. I ........................this very old bottle yesterday.
6 Someone's always leaving that window open. Who ........................it open this time?
7 1 ........................ a lot of letters when I was young. I hardly ever write letters now.
8 They sellall kinds of rubbish now, but they once ........................good handmade furniture.
9 She is very good at figures, you know. She ........................first in maths at school.
10 1 have the same car now that I ........................ five years ago.
11 I don't keep pets now, but I ........................ a dog when I was a boy.
12 Where did you eat last night? - We ........................at a restaurant.
 9.3 The simple past tense

9.3C Uses of the simple past tense: 'I workedthe worked' [> LEG 9.17-181

Study: We use the simple past to talk about events, actions or situations which happened in the past
I**I and are now finished. We always have to say (or imply) when the action happened, so we often
use time references like yesterday, ago, last summer [> 7.2AI.
We use the past:
- to describe actions which happened in the recent or distant past:
Sam phoned a moment ago. (Not *Sam has phoned') [> 9.5AI
The Goths invaded Rome in A.D. 410, (Not 'The Goths had invaded') [> 9.61
- to describe past habit: Ismoked forty cigarettes a day tillIgave up. [compare > 11 .11]
If we do not use time references (a moment ago, when I was young, etc.) we imply them:
I saw Fred in town. (i.e. when I was there this morning)
I never met my grandfather. (i.e. perhaps he died before I was born)

Write: Give complete answers to these questions using the time references in brackets.
1 How long- ago
- did you work as a civil servant? (five years ago)
..I.-.m.r;t..&.-.m.w..w :
,....... ..............................................................
2 When did you last play football? (when I was 14)
............................................................................................................................................................
3 When did the Carters leave for their summer holiday? (last night)

4 What time did John arrive? (at 4)

............................................................................................................................................................
5 When did you last see 'Gone with the Wind'? (recently)
............................................................................................................................................................
6 How long did you wait at the airport? (till they arrived)
............................................................................................................................................................
7 When did Sally tell you about her engagement? (when she was here)

9.3D Context
Write: Put in the correct forms of the simple past tense of the verbs in brackets.
LIZARDMAN
Christopher Davis, a young driver from South Carolina, (claim)
.......&W??Wd ...... a monster (attack) ............................. him while he was
driving along a lonely road. The monster (be) ............................. seven
feet tall and (have) ............................. red eyes and green, scaly skin. It
(chase) ............................. Christopher's car and (jump)
.............................on the roof. Many people (believe) .............................
the story and the newspapers (call) ............................. the monster
'Lizardman'. Seventy hunters recently (set out) ............................. to trap
Lizardman and a local radio (offer) l o ............................. $1 million to anyone
who (capture) l 1............................. him dead or alive. Lizardman had so
much publicity that thousands of people (visit) l 2 ............................. South
Carolina to find him. No one has found him yet. As everyone knows,
monsters may or may not exist, but they are very good for the tourist
industry!
... red eyes and green scaly skin
9 Verbs, verb tenses, imperatives

9.4 The simple past and past progressive tenses

9.4A Irregular verbs with the same form in the present as in the past:
'put/put' [> LEG 9.161

Study: A small number of irregular verbs have the same form in the present as in the past: e.g. bursf/
I**I burst, cost/cost, cut/cut, hitlhit, puf/put. We have to remember, especially with such verbs, that
the third person singular does not change in the past:
He put on a clean shirt yesterday. (past) He puts on a clean shirt every day. (present)
After I, you, we, and they, the context or the adverbial tells us the tense:

Write: Do these sentences refer to the present or the past? Write 'present' or 'past'.
In a few cases both references are possible.
1 That shirt cost me •’7.00. ........... ............ 8 She often hit him. ..............................................
2 He often cuts himself. ..................................... 9 He shut the door with a bang. ...........................
3 She hurt her arm. ........................................ 10 1 hurt my arm yesterday. ...................................
4 He let me drive his car. ................................... 11 I often let him drive my car. ...............................
5 She reads a lot. ............................................... 12 She always beat him at tennis. .........................
6 1 set the table every morning. ......................... 13 The BBC broadcasts every day. .......................
7 1 set the table an hour ago. ............................. 14 The BBC broadcast the talk yesterday. .............

9.48 Uses of the past progressive tense: 'I was working' [> LEG 9.201

Study:
I**I
There are five basic uses of the past progressive tense. We use it for:
1 Temporary actions in progress in the past: I was living abroad in 1987.
I
We often use all to emphasize continuity (all day, all summer): It was raining all night.
2 Actions which were in progress when something else happened:
Just aswhen I was leaving, the phone rang.
These are often introduced by conjunctions like when, as, just as and while, but the shorter
action can be introduced by when: We were having supper when the phone rang.
3 Actions in progress at the same time: While I was reading, Joan was playing the piano.
4 Repeated actions with e.g. always: When I worked here, I was always making mistakes.
I
Write: Use the past progressive in the sentences below.
1 I ...~ . 4 & . l c d t ~ ., .so. I missed what 8 ................................ when I left? (you still work)
he said. (not listen) 9 1 lived in France at the time you .......................
2 We stayed because we ................................ .............. in Spain. (live)
ourselves. (enjoy) 10 When she was younger, she ............................
3 ....................... tennis yesterday? (they play) things for other people. (always do)
4 He ............................. all weekend. (garden) 11 Bill and Sue ................................... their house,
5 ............... television all evening? (you watch) before they moved. (constantly improve)
6 It ...................................... hard all day. (rain) 12 ............................. when I rang you? (you read)
7 1 .............................. whether you could lend 13 Just as I ..................................
to an interesting
me some money. (wonder) part of the story, the doorbell rang. (get)
 9.4 The simple past and past progressive tenses

9.4C The simple past and the past progressive in story-telling [> LEG 9.211

Study: We often use past tenses (simple past, past progressive and past perfect [> 9.61) for story-tellin
0

Write: a Circle the simple past and the past progressive verbs in this story.
b Number the past progressive verbs 1, 2, 3 to show their uses [> 9.481.
THE SECRET AGENT
lt@just before the Second World War. Tom was only 20 at the time and was living with his mother.
He was working in a bank and travelling to London every day. One morning, he received a mysterious
letter. It was addressed to 'Mr Thomas Parker'. The letter, which was signed, 'A Friend', asked Tom to
go to The Crown Inn during his lunch hour. All morning, as he was dealing with customers, Tom was
wondering whether he should do this. At lunch time he decided to go to the inn. It was full of people
and Tom couldn't recognize anyone. He was just wondering if he should leave, when a stranger
introduced himself and said he had known Tom's father, who had died when Tom was a baby. The
stranger explained that Tom's father, Bill, was a secret agent in the First World War. Through this
meeting, Tom was recruited to be a secret agent, too, and was already working in France when the
war began.

9.4D Context
Write: Put in the simple past or past progressive. Note where both forms are possible.
TUG-OF-WAR WITH A HEDGEHOG
Mrs May, our District Nurse, (drive) l.W..-. home at 3 a.m. one night after an urgent visit to a
sick patient. She (drive) ........................ along a deserted country lane, when she (see)
........................ a new kind of animal. She (stop) ........................ her car and (get out)
......................... The animal (be) ........................ clearly visible in the blaze of her headlights. It (look)
........................ like a hedgehog with a tall white hat. It (cross) ........................ the road without paying
any attention to Mrs May. When Mrs May (go) ........................ close to it, she (notice) l o ........................
that there was a plastic yoghurt pot on the hedgehog's head. The poor creature had got its head stuck
in the plastic pot! Her instincts as a nurse (tell) l 1 ........................ her she would have to rescue it, so
she (pull) l 2 ........................ at the pot, but the hedgehog (pull) l 3 ......................... too. After a struggle,
she (pull) l 4 ........................ the pot off the hedgehog's head. Mrs May (think) l 5 ........................ the
hedgehog (look) l 6 ........................ rather sad, when she (notice) l 7 ........................ that the pot was half
full of strawberry yoghurt. She (give) I B ........................ it back to the hedgehog. The creature (seize)
1 9 . . ...................... it, (put) 20 ........................ it on its head again, and triumphantly (continue)

2' ........................ its journey across the road.

A hedgehog with a tall white hat

129
Key 9.2C-9.4D

9.2C The simple present and the present 9.3D Context

progressive tenses in typical contexts 1 claimed 2 attacked 3 was 4 had 5 chased
1 you take ... and sort ... you file 6 jumped 7 believed 8 called 9 set out
(Spoken or written explanation or demonstration) 10 offered 11 captured 12 visited
2 We hope you are enjoying ... We sunbathe and go
... Next week we're going 9.4 The simple past and past progressive
(Letter or postcard from someone who is on tenses
holiday)
3 The action takes place ... goes up ... are sitting ... 9.4A Irregular verbs with the same form in the
They are arguing present as in the past: 'putlput'
(Review of a play in a newspaper or on the radio) 1 past 2 present 3 past 4 past 5 present
4 The plumber is putting ... are rewiring ... is building 6 present or past 7 past 8 past 9 past 10 past
(Letter to, or telephone conversation with a friend) 11 present or past 12 past 13 present 14 past
5 1 think ... you are doing ... I doubt ... knows ... you
tell me 9.48 Uses of the past progressive tense:
(Letter to a friend or relation in reply to a phone 'I was working'
call or a letter) 1 was not listening 2 were enjoying 3 Were they
6 Pym passes ... runs ... shoots ... pushes playing 4 was gardening 5 Were you watching
(Spoken commentary on a football match on TV or 6 was raining 7 was wondering 8 Were you still
radio) working 9 were living 10 was always doing
11 were constantly improving 12 Were you
9.2D Context reading 13 was getting
1 am studying 2 am working 3 don't have to
4 opens 5 closes 6 are always coming in 9.4C The simple past and the past progressive in
7 asking 8 am learning 9 enjoylam enjoying story-telling
10 findlam finding 11 use 12 are 13 are 14 are 1 It was just before
always finding 15 think 16 love 2 Tom was only 20
17 misslam missing 3 (he) was living with his mother (1)
4 He was working and travelling (1)
9.3 The simple past tense 5 He received a mysterious letter
6 It was addressed
9.3A The past form and pronunciation of regular 7 ... was signed ... asked
verbs 8 as he was dealing ... Tom was wondering (3)
1 waited 11dl 2 cleaned /dl 3 played /dl 9 he decided
4 posted 11dl 5 smiled /dl 6 stopped It1 10 It was full
7 dreamt It/, or dreamed /dl 8 burnt It/, or burned /dl 11 He was just wondering ... when a stranger
9 cried /dl 10 watched It1 11 laughed It1 introduced himself (2)
12obeyedldl 13 hurriedldl 14 liedldl 12 (The stranger) said ... when Tom was a baby
15 finished It1 16 included /rdl 17 locked It1 13 The stranger explained ... Bill was
18 travelled /dl 14 Tom was recruited ...
15 was already working ... when the war began (2)
9.38 Irregular past forms
1 saw 2 understood 3 knew 4 met 5 found 9.4D Context
6left 7wrote 8sold 9was 10 had 11 kept 1 was driving 2 was driving 3 saw 4 stopped
12 ate 5 got out 6 was 7 looked 8 was crossinglcrossed
9 went 10 noticed 11 told 12 pulled 13 pulled
9.3C Uses of the simple past tense: 'Iworkedlhe 14 pulled 15 thought 16 looked/was looking
worked' 17 noticed 18 gave 19 seized 20 put
1 I worked as a civil servant five years ago. 21 continued
2 1 last playedfootball when I was 14.
3 The Carters left for their summer holiday last night.
4 John arrived at 4.
5 1 last saw 'Gone with the Wind' recently.
6 lNVe waitedat the airport till they arrived.
7 Sally told melus about her engagement when she
was here.