We use the past simple to talk about a action that started and finished at a specific time in the past. We can also use it to talk about a list of past actions. The past simple can express the duration of an event in the past or to talk about a habit or a generalization.
The pronunciation of the past tense ending can cause some English learners problems. The -ed ending never sounds like /ed/. It will sound like /t/, /d/, or /Id/.
The /t/ sound follows the sounds /p/, /f/, /sh/, /ch/, /k/, and /s/ sounds. These are known as voiceless sounds (sounds that do not make the voice box vibrate).
The /d/ sound follows voiced sounds (sounds that make the voice box vibrate). These sounds include /l/, /n/, /r/, /g/, /v/, /s/, /w/, /y/, and /z/
The /Id/ sound follows the sounds /t/ or /d/
To be sure about the pronunciation check with an online dictionary. Are there any words that you have trouble pronouncing? 1. The past perfect simple is used for talking about an action that took place before another action. I like to call this tense the "more past, past."
He woke up happened in the past but I had eaten a sandwich before he woke up. We can also think about this as: I ate a sandwich then he woke up. We use before and when to indicate the order of events. 2. We also use the past perfect simple to talk about duration before another event in the past.
This shows how long I knew Paul before he met his wife. The duration is important here. 3. Like with the present perfect tense we use the past perfect to talk about experience. We use it to say if we have had the experience before with something.
The past perfect simple is formed with the past tense of have and the past participle Positive Sentence: subject + had + past participle
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