What is the structure of the Simple Past Tense? Is English a mandatory subject in Vietnam?

Structure of the Simple Past Tense

The simple past tense is used to describe an action that happened and was completed in the past, with no relation to the present.

General Structure:

Affirmative: S + V2/ed + O

S: Subject

V2/ed: Verb in the past simple tense (regular or irregular)

O: Object

Negative: S + did + not + V (base form)

did not = didn't

Question: Did + S + V (base form)?

*Example:

Affirmative: I went to the cinema yesterday. (I went to the cinema yesterday.)

Negative: She didn't study for the test. (She did not study for the test.)

Question: Did you finish your homework?

Indicators of the simple past tense:

Adverbs: yesterday, last night, last week, last month, last year, ago, when I was young, ...

Phrases: once upon a time, in 2022, ...

Regular verbs in the simple past:

Regular verbs: Add -ed to the verb. Example: work -> worked, play -> played

Irregular verbs: Have specific past forms. Example: go -> went, see -> saw

*Note:

The verb "to be" (am/is/are) when conjugated in the simple past becomes "was" (I, he, she, it, singular nouns) or "were" (you, we, they, plural nouns).

The simple past tense is often used to narrate stories and describe events that happened in the past.

*Example:

I visited my grandparents last weekend.

They played football in the park yesterday.

*Examples with the verb "to be" (was/were):

Affirmative:

I was at home yesterday. 

They were in Paris last week.

Negative:

She wasn't happy. 

We weren't at the party. 

Question:

Were you tired? 

Was he at school? 

Examples with regular verbs:

Affirmative:

I played tennis yesterday. 

She visited her grandparents last weekend. 

Negative:

He didn't watch TV last night. 

They didn't eat any fruit. 

Question:

Did you go to the party?

Did they finish their homework?

Examples with time adverbs:

Yesterday: I bought a new book yesterday.

Last night: She watched a movie last night. 

Last week: We went on a trip last week. 

Ago: I saw him two days ago. 

Examples with more complex sentences:

When I was young, I played with dolls.

Before I went to bed, I read a book.

*Note:

Irregular verbs have specific past forms, which you need to memorize. Example: go -> went, see -> saw, eat -> ate.

The simple past tense is often used to narrate stories and describe events that happened in the past.