2. The Formula of Simple Past Tense
a. Verbal Sentence
Table.2.3 Verbal Sentence Formula Type of Sentence
Subject Verb
Time Signal Affirmative
I, you, we they, he, she,
it Regular= V1+
ded Irregular=
Dictionary Yesterday,
ago, last time, week, just
now,…etc Negative
I, you, we they, he, she,
it Didn’t did not +
V1 without d ed
Interrogative Did+ Subject
I, you, we they, he, she,
it Verb 1 without
d ed
Table.2.4 Verbal Sentences Examples
6
John worked here yesterday affirmativestatement
John worked here yesterday
Did John work here yesterday? Question
Did John study yesterday? Question
Affirmative short answer
Did John study yesterday? Question
Affirmative long answer
6
Robert Krohn, English Sentence Structure, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1986, p.28
Singular Yes, I did
Yes, you did Yes heshe did
Plural Yes, we did
Yes, you did Yes, they did
Negative short answer
Singular No, I didn’t
No, you didn’t No heshe didn’t
Plural No, we didn’t
No, you didn’t No, they didn’t
Singular Yes, I studied yesterday
Yes, you studied yesterday Yes heshe studied yesterday
Plural Yes, we studied yesterday
Yes, you studied yesterday Yes, they studied yesterday
Negative long answer
Singular No, I didn’t study yesterday
No, you didn’t study yesterday No heshe didn’t study yesterday
Plural No, we didn’t study yesterday
No, you didn’t study yesterday No, they didn’t
b. Nominal Sentence Table.2.5 Nominal Sentence Formula
Type of Sentence
Subject To be was, and
were adverb, adjective,
noun of occupation Affirmative
I, you, we they, he, she,
it I= was
Youthey= were He she it= was
In the morning, quicly, in Bandung,
ect. adv Hansome, beautiful,
Negative I, you, we To be + not
they, he, she, it
ugly, etc
adj Teacher, doctor, etc
noun of accupation Interrogative To be+
Subject
Table.2.6 Nominal Sentences Examples
7
Was John busy? Yes, he was
Affirmative short answer
Singular Yes, I was
Yes, you were Yes, heshe was
Plural Yes, we were
Yes, you were Yes, they were
Negative Short Answer
Singular No, I wasn’t
No, you weren’t No, heshe wasn’t
Plural No, we weren’t
No, you weren’t No, they weren’t
Was John busy? Yes, he was
Affirmative long answer
Singular Yes, I was busy
Yes, you were busy Yes, heshe was busy
Plural Yes, we were busy
Yes, you were busy Yes, they were busy
Negative Long Answer
Singular No, I wasn’t busy
No, you weren’t busy No, heshe wasn’t busy
Plural No, we weren’t busy
No, you weren’t busy No, they weren’t busy
7
Krohn, p.25
3. The Use of Simple Past Tense