Simple Past
Narrate & Describe
Objectives
Understand the difference between the three major aspects of past
Produce the correct pronunciation of -ed endings
Correct spoken narrations & descriptions for accuracy
Create detailed narrations& descriptions in English
Narrations & Descriptions
When we talk about narrations in terms of grammar and language, there are two very important vocabulary words: tense and aspect. These two concepts give us different, but essential, information about the story we are listening to.
- Tense
- tells us WHEN in time a verb occurred. Think of this as a timeline.
- Aspect
- adds information by telling us HOW that verb occurred in that time. Was it continuous? Or was the action in one particular moment?
Simple Past
The first aspect we will discuss is simple past. We use simple to talk about an action that occurred in one specific moment in time in the past OR was a habit or routine occurrence.
For example:
She ran yesterday. (specific moment in the past)
We played basketball in high school. (habit or routine in the past)
Someone said hello to me.
This form should be fairly comfortable for you at this stage of your language learning. The most common errors with the simple past are related to the pronunciation of the -ed endings and irregular past tense verbs.
Simple Past Form
-ed Ending Pronunciation
There are three different pronunciations of the -ed ending in English. The pronunciation is based on the final sound of the base verb.
final -ed pronunciation table
Pronunciation | -ed pronounced as /t/ | -ed pronounced as /d/ | -ed pronounced as /ed/ |
|---|---|---|---|
Final Sound | Voiceless You cannot feel the vibration when you touch your throat. /f, k, p, s, tʃ, θ, ʃ/ | Voiced You can feel the vibration when you touch your throat. /b, g, j, l, m, n, ŋ, r, ʤ, ð, v, w, y, z ʒ/ | Ends with It would sound strange to have two identical sounds together. /t/ or /d/ |
Examples | Laughed Picked Slipped Kissed Watched Washed | Loved Gagged Rubbed Buzzed Judged Tethered | Waited Wanted Hated Traded Faded |
Irregular Verbs
Unfortunately, there's not an easy explanation for irregular verbs. Many of the most common words in English are irregular (ex. go, do). Since there is not a simple pattern to help you know when a verb is regular or irregular, the best advice is to listen and notice while reading for these verbs.
Examples of common irregular verbs: say/said, has/had, fall/fell, come/came, and let/let.
List of English irregular verbs
Exercise 1: Listen for past
Watch the video below to practice before continuing to the exercises. Listen and write down the past tense verbs you hear. Then put them in different categories.
-ed pronunciation sorting
Here is the answer key to the practice with the video "Japanese Folktale: The Selfish Scholar."
-ed pronunciation sorting answer key
-ed /t/ | -ed /d/ | -ed /ed/ | Irregular |
|---|---|---|---|
stretched walked cramped (past participle) approached stopped risked | lived resolved revealed cooled determined strayed defiled strained tried overwhelmed implored explained listened weighed resolved filled whispered discovered shunned mingled | decided afforded animated polluted committed tormented (past participle) communicated | was/were felt sought took began spoke hung set left sank hid met went |
In the story, the scholar is doing something he believes is good, but then changes his actions to something better. Have you ever had a similar experience? Describe what you did and how you changed your behavior to be even better.
The scholar experiences these changes while traveling. Narrate and describe a travel experience that influenced your life.
-ed /t/ | -ed /d/ | -ed /ed/ | Irregular |
|---|---|---|---|
Exercise 2: Read
Here is a paragraph written with all of the verbs are in the base form between brackets [verb]. Change the verbs to the simple past. Click on the next tab to check your answers.
Marie Curie [be] a famous chemist. As a child, Marie [learn] about science from her father, who [be] a professor. However, being a woman [limit] her opportunities to study at a university. Marie [work] hard to earn the money and [attend] a school that [allow] women and [continue] to learn on her own. When she [move] to Paris, she [begin] a career. Through this work, she [meet] her future husband and co-researcher, Pierre Curie. The two of them [support] each other in their scientific research. They [research] the elements and [discover] important information about radioactivity. In fact, the term "radioactivity" was [create] by the Curies. Marie [become] the first woman to receive the Noble Prize.
Here is the paragraph written in the simple past. Check your answers.
Marie Curie was a famous chemist. As a child, Marie learned about science from her father, who was a professor. However, being a woman limited her opportunities to study at a university. Marie worked hard to earn the money and attended a school that allowed women and continued to learn on her own. When she moved to Paris, she began a career. Through this work, she met her future husband and co-researcher, Pierre Curie. The two of them supported each other in their scientific research. They researched the elements and discovered important information about radioactivity. In fact, the term "radioactivity" was created by the Curies. Marie became the first woman to receive the Noble Prize.
Read the paragraph and think about the pronunciation of the past verbs. Click on the next tab to check your answers.
Marie Curie was a famous chemist. As a child, Marie learned about science from her father, who was a professor. However, being a woman limited her opportunities to study at a university. Marie worked hard to earn the money and attended a school that allowed women and continued to learn on her own. When she moved to Paris, she began a career. Through this work, she met her future husband and co-researcher, Pierre Curie. The two of them supported each other in their scientific research. They researched the elements and discovered important information about radioactivity. In fact, the term "radioactivity" was created by the Curies. Marie became the first woman to receive the Noble Prize.
Here is a recording of the paragraph. Listen for pronunciation and check if you correctly chose the ending pronunciation.Audio recording (Marie Curie)
Marie Curie was a famous chemist. As a child, Marie learned /d/ about science from her father, who was a professor. However, being a woman limited /ed/ her opportunities to study at a university. Marie worked /t/ hard to earn the money and attended /ed/ a school that allowed /d/ women and continued /d/ to learn on her own. When she moved /d/ to Paris, she began a career. Through this work, she met her future husband and co-researcher, Pierre Curie. The two of them supported /ed/ each other in their scientific research. They researched /t/ the elements and discovered /d/ important information about radioactivity. In fact, the term "radioactivity" was created /ed/ by the Curies. Marie became the first woman to receive the Noble Prize.
Exercise 3: First Day Story
Talk about a "first day" experience. You can talk about your first day in a new job, at a new school, or in a new place.
Include as many details as you can about the experience.
Remember to organize the events clearly and to tell the story in the past.
Try to use a variety of verbs in simple past
Exercise 4: Work Solutions
Share an experience from work when you solved a difficult problem.
Include as many details as you can about what caused the problem and the process of solving it.
Remember to organize the events clearly and to tell the story in the past.
Try to use a variety of verbs.
After each person in the group shares a story, ask questions (in the past) about the events and solution.
Talk about other possible solutions in those situations.