Simple past
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Il simple past si usa per parlare di azioni concluse che si sono svolte nel passato. La durata dell'azione è irrilevante. L'azione può essersi svolta in un passato prossimo o remoto.
Esempi
- John Cabot sailed to America in 1498.
- My father died last year.
- He lived in Fiji in 1976.
- We crossed the Channel yesterday.
Il simple past si utilizza sempre per indicare in che momento si è verificato un avvenimento; pertanto, questo tempo è sempre associato a un determinato tipo di espressioni temporali.
- frequenza: often, sometimes, always
I sometimes walked home at lunchtime.
I often brought my lunch to school. - un momento preciso: last week, when I was a child, yesterday, six weeks ago
We saw a good film last week.
Yesterday, I arrived in Geneva.
She finished her work atseven o'clock
I went to the theatre last night - un momento non preciso: the other day, ages ago, a long time ago People lived in caves a long time ago.
She played the piano when she was a child.
Nota: la parola ago è un termine utile per esprimere la distanza nel passato. Si colloca dopo il periodo di tempo: a week ago, three years ago, a minute ago.
Come si forma il "simple past"
"Simple past" con i verbi regolari
| Affermativa | ||
| Soggetto | + verbo + ed | |
| I | skipped. | |
| Negativa | ||
| Soggetto | + did not | + infinito senza to |
| They | didn't | go. |
| Interrogativa | ||
| Did | + soggetto | + infinito senza to |
| Did | she | arrive? |
| Interrogativa negativa | ||
| Did not | + soggetto | + infinito senza to |
| Didn't | you | play? |
To walk
| Affermativa | Negativa | Interrogativa |
|---|---|---|
| I walked | I didn't walk | Did I walk? |
| You walked | You didn't walk | Did you walk? |
| He walked | He didn't walk | Did he walk? |
| We walked | We didn't walk | Did we walk? |
| They walked | They didn't walk | Did they walk? |
"Simple past" di to be, to have, to do
| Soggetto | Verbo | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| be | have | do | |
| I | was | had | did |
| You | were | had | did |
| He/She/It | was | had | did |
| We | were | had | did |
| You | were | had | did |
| They | were | had | did |
Note sulle forme affermativa, negativa e interrogativa
Affermativa
La forma affermativa del simple past è semplice.
- I was in Japan lastyear
- She had a headache yesterday.
- We did our homework last night.
Negativa e interrogativa
Le forme negativa e interrogativa al simple past di to do, in quanto verbo semplice, si formano usando l'ausiliare to do, ad esempio: We didn't do our homework last night.
La forma negativa di have al simple past si forma solitamente con l'ausiliare do, ma talvolta si aggiunge semplicemente not o la contrazione n't.
La forma interrogativa di have al simple past si forma solitamente con l'ausiliare do.
Esempi
- They weren't in Rio last summer.
- We didn't have any money.
- We didn't have time to visit the Eiffel Tower.
- We didn't do our exercises this morning.
- Were they in Iceland last January?
- Did you have a bicycle when you were young?
- Did you do much climbing in Switzerland?
Nota: Le forme negativa e interrogativa di tutti i verbi al simple past si formano sempre con l'ausiliare did.
Simple past e i verbi irregolari
Alcuni vebri sono irregolari al simple past. Ecco un elenco dei più comuni.
to go
- He went to a club last night.
- Did he go to the cinema last night?
- He didn't go to bed early last night.
to give
- We gave her a doll for her birthday.
- They didn't give John their new address.
- Did Barry give you my passport?
to come
- My parents came to visit me last July.
- We didn't come because it was raining.
- Did he come to your party last week?