The past simple is called the past simple because it talks about the past and it's simple right? No.
The past simple does not always refer to the past and it's not always simple and that's a terrible
thing. But don't worry because I'll explain it all to you right now! You're the best! I know. I know.
[Music]
We can use the past simple for the past. Yeah it's most commonly used for telling
stories. But it's not that simple because we can also use the present perfect for events in
the past. Just remember that the past simple is related to a definite time in the past.
For example last night I watched 10 SMASH English videos because I love SMASH English. Oh my God,
Duke! No you did not! You followed me home and threw rocks at my window! What is wrong with
you?! What!? No Monica! Bruce threw the rocks! What!? Bruce!? Why!? Excuse me, Duke. That is
a lie! They were not rocks! It was a brick! Okay. Oh, sorry Bruce that's just fine then,
isn't it!? Monica, I was trying to warn you about Duke! He was following you home! Bruce, you idiot!
Duke follows me home every night! How is throwing a brick at my window going to help me? All right I
see! So suddenly I'm the weird one! Oh my God.... Okay so here the past simple is used because we
understand that this situation occurred last night. We use the past simple when we definitely
know exactly when this thing happened and this can either be explicitly mentioned in the text
or in the conversation or it can be just because, well, the speaker and the listener or the writer
and the reader know exactly when it happened. It can be part of the shared knowledge. Basically
if you have a definite time in your head for when something happened and you know that the listener
also has a definite time in their head for when this thing happened then use the past simple.
Let's make it even more complicated by introducing the present perfect. Um yeah Bruce you are a
little bit weird... You threw a brick at my window, you freak! To be fair Bruce she does have
a point. Yeah but Monica I've never followed you home! Sure... but you have followed Duke follow
me and that's even weirder! oh well Bruce, that is pretty freaky behavior... you can't deny that,
can you? This is more complicated because you'll notice how we've moved from the past simple to
the present perfect. Notice how Monica starts with the past simple. This is because we're
referring to Bruce throwing the brick. Monica knows exactly when this happened and Bruce
knows exactly when this happened and it's an isolated and definite event. It has a beginning
and an end in the past. We know exactly what's going on and it's not related to the present so
past simple. However Bruce then switches to the present perfect and this is because he's
not talking about the definite past he's talking about all of the past up until the present and
this indefinite past somehow informs the present. Bruce is using this indefinite past as evidence
that in the present he is not a freak. So we have the present perfect being used here to talk about
an indefinite past that somehow is related to the present. This is complicated because you need to
think about "is this thing that I'm talking about a definite period in the past with no connection
to the present or is it indefinite and in some way relevant to the present?" "Should I tell
you that I went to America three years ago or should I tell you yeah I've been to America"?
In the second example it is indefinite because I'm not telling you when but it's relevant to the
present in some way, it somehow informs who I am as a person or it's relevant to the conversation.
Yeah I know all about American politics because I've been to America! I'm a genius!
You see the difference? Let's look at another example. Oh for goodness sake! Duke, when did
you start following Monica home exactly? Um hello? Yeah I will take this one. Um, Duke, the little
freak, has followed me home every single night for two years. It's great! I love being me! Isn't it
great working at SMASH English!? Wow! The employee perks! They're incredible! Uh, no, Monica! I
followed you home every night for 10 years okay!? The first example is the present perfect. Monica
is using the present perfect because Duke still follows her home. This is indefinite because it's
still happening in the present. The second example is the past simple because Duke no longer follows
Monica home. The two-year period refers to when Duke started following Monica home and the last
final time that Duke followed Monica home. So, it's a definite time period - those two years in
which Duke followed Monica home but he no longer follows Monica home and he will not follow Monica
home again and so Duke has decided to use the past simple. As we can see from the previous example
the past simple isn't only used for single events in the past, we also use it for past habits. Now,
normally this is made obvious with an adverbial. In the example "Duke followed Monica home every
night for two years" it's obvious that this was a habit because we have "every night" and "for two
years". However in the example "Duke followed Monica home" maybe this only happened once or
maybe this was repeated. We don't know without the context. In order to avoid this ambiguity and
to not use an adverbial we can just use "used to" or "would" to talk about past habits. And
if you're thinking "I don't know how to do that?! What do you think I am!? A genius?!". Well, don't
worry! Because you don't have to be a genius! You just have to listen to what I say and do
what I tell you to do because that's how you learn languages... obviously... Watch that right there!
Yeah um, I thought maybe before we spoke about social distance we could talk about something
that makes me really happy... DONATIONS. Oh goodness gracious me! I really do love money!
There's nothing there because I don't have any... And that means that I love nunaromadus! Anita
Marshman! Sofia! Alessio! Jessica Mendes! Meri! And Frozeynight! Oh it's pretty cold in here,
right Frozey!? Seriously, thank you guys so much! It is thanks to donations like yours
that I can keep this channel going. I really do appreciate it. And if you feel like my
videos have helped you prepare or maybe pass your Cambridge exams then please do consider donating
yourself! The link will be in the description and the comments section below! Cheers! Bye!
Ahem! Yep? You wanted to see me? Yes Duke you can't follow Monica when she goes home,
all right? What on earth do you think you're doing?! What message does that send to our
audience?! Duke, it's 2023! Actually Toby she leaves work at about 20:25 not 20:23. Duke...
Sorry! Don't worry, Toby! I FOLLOWED Monica home every night for two years! Past simple
remember? Don't you know your grammar!? Here Duke said "Toby you wanted to see me?".
The past simple here is a form of politeness. Duke is using it to create social distance.
Oh my God we're doing that again?! Okay! Not like that! Let's look at a few more
examples! Hello Monica, I wondered whether you wanted to walk home with me tonight? No!
This is why the past simple is weird and not strictly speaking about the past,
because we also use it for social distance and to talk about hypothetical imaginary futures
and presents. Most commonly we do this in the condition clause of a second conditional and
this can either refer to the imaginary present or the imaginary future. For example "if I were
a pet lizard I would be really really happy right now". Seriously, all I want to do is eat insects
under a bright lamp. That would be heaven! We also use the past simple with "I wish" and "if
only" to talk about a desired imaginary present. And right now you're probably thinking "I wish I
could learn more about I wish and if only" and if that is your wish then your wish is my command!
There! There's a video all about both of them! We also do this with many other structures like "as
if" and "I would rather" and "I'd prefer" and "it's time" and "supposing that" but
yeah I can't talk about all of them now because if I did this video would be over 20 minutes
long and, did you see that!? I did the the past simple for the imaginary present thing. Yeah,
the point is I have a video for all of these structures already and you will find all of
the videos in the description and you should watch them now because this video is finished!
So then what have we learned today? Following Monica home is a bad idea.
Oh wow we sure had a great time together! So past simple for events that happened in the past,
for the habitual past, for social distance and for the imaginary present and future. That was so
much fun! If you liked the video don't forget to SMASH that like button, subscribe if you haven't
already, leave a comment down below! (please do). My name is Toby and this was SMASH English.