In our YouTube video section is you press right here...this video comes up
explaining a little bit about the past tense in English.
For the beginning student, I concentrate on this area first.
There are basically regular verbs and irregular verbs
I have a list of the irregular verbs that you can simply print out.
These are the verbs...these are the past tense.... and with HAVE which I will explain.
The regular verb is simply I and a verb and you just add ED.
I workED. I studiED. I playED
Those are the regular verbs.
The irregular verbs have 2 forms.
One is this form here which is the regular past tense.
And for example.....DO is DID
I did it.
GO is WENT. I went. These are the irregular verbs.
There is also a combination with HAVE.
This is the Past Participle.....the verb and the Past Participle.
This is here.
So..an example as you see here is without the past participle...I saw...with the past participle....I have seen.
The question here goes in the front.
Have you seen?
This one simply uses DID. Did you see? I saw.
Let me give you a little visual of the difference.
This is the present tense here. This is the past tense.
There is a distant past... a long time ago. And a recent pass like an hour ago..two days ago.
I have studied....using the past participle here
and I went. without the past participle
They're very, very, very similar.They're very hard ot distinguish.
In the beginning, if someone ask you Have you studied?....just answer I have studied.
The more you practice, the more you will you will get a better feel for this.
Bust basically....it is the past.
This is with the adjective....I was.
However, there is also a combination of the past tense which is used a lot.....I HAVE BEEN vING.
The question form....goes to the front.
Have you been studying?....Have you been eating?
It just uses the regular verb here.
The difference in feeling is this.....
These 2 refer to the past or the distant past.
I HAVE BEEN includes up to the present.
So for example, Where have you been living?
You're still living there.
I have been living at home.
Where did you live?....I lived at home......This is the past.
So, in the beginning,We are just going to concentrate on these 2 forms here.
These other forms here which are a bit more complicated...we learn in lesson 35.
But in the beginning, these are the most important.
The only difference between I STUDIED...I HAVE STUDIED and I HAVE BEEN STUDYING
is that HAVE BEEN includes up through the present.
It is very, very simple like that.
With the irregular verbs which is this list of verbs,
In the past tense...DID YOU EAT?....I ATE.
HAVE YOU EATEN?.....I HAVE EATEN.
This...I HAD EATEN...we are going to learn in lesson 35.
But, in the beginning, you're just going to be concentrating on these.
These at the top.
Of course, with the adjective. there is the simple WERE YOU TIRED?...I WAS TIRED.
I have been tired.....
emphasizes both the the past up to the present.
You can get a copy of these printouts
on the video with these PDF's. Just touch them and the copies come up and you can print them if you want to reference.
Once again, there are a number of irregular verbs as you see here...this list.
In the beginning, just take a few of them and memorize them. You know...you just say DO..DID...DONE.
GO...WENT...GONE
That's how we learned them as children.
EAT....ATE...EATEN
So, this is used with the regular past tense
which you see here.
This is used with either the irregular verb or the past participle.
Thank you.