The Form of the Simple Past Tense

For example: - Did you pass the test? - Did she send me the letter? - Didn’t they go to Bandung last weekend? - Did he make the cake? - Didn’t Lina study math so hard? Note that all of the verbs are not ending with –d or –ed. In question, the verbs are all in the simple form.

2. The Simple Past Tense in an Irregular Verb

Kirn, Jack and O’Sullivan highlight that there are a number of verbs which have irregular past tense forms. These verbs do not end with an –ed in the past form. Verb that has irregular past forms, follows the same pattern in affirmative, negative and interrogative statements. The following table is the irregular past tense verb form and their example: Table 2.2 Rule of Irregular Verbs Form Table 9 No. Example Simple Form Past Tense Form Simple Form Past Tense Form Notes 1. cost cut hit hurt cost cut hit hurt Let put quit shut Let put quit shut The simple and the past forms of some verbs are the same. 2. bend built lend bent build lent Send spend Sent spent With some verbs the simple forms end in –d and the past form ends in –t. 3. dream dreamt Lose lost Some verbs have other consonant changes or add a consonant in the past tense. Have hear had heard Make made 9 Elain Kirn, Darcy Jackson and Jill Korey O’Sullivan, op. cit., p. 116. No. Example Simple Form Past Tense Form Simple Form Past Tense Form Notes 4. Begin bleed come choose drink drive began bled came chose drank drove Grow know ride ring run sing Grew knew rode rang ran sang Many verbs have vowel changes in the past tense. 5. Bring buy catch creep do fly Brought bought caught crept did flew leave lie pay say sell sleep Left lied paid said sold slept Many verbs have consonant and vowel changes in the past tense. As it has been stated above that, the irregular verbs of the simple past tense have the same pattern with the regular verb in affirmative, negative and interrogative statement. Here are for more details of irregular verb pattern: a. Forming Affirmative The formula: S + V2 + O + ..... Example: - Andre bought some apples for Meli yesterday - The birds flew and never come back b. Forming Negative The formula is: S + Did not + V1 + O +...... Example: - She didn’t eat any of the cakes - Dona didn’t ride her motorcycle last Friday c. The Interrogative Form of the Simple Past Tense in Irregular Verb The formula: Did + S + V1 +....... ? Example: Did she fall from the rooftop? Yes, she did No, she didn’t Did they drink the coke? Yes, they didNo, they didn’t