Yesterday – The Past – General Statements; Day: 64
In daily conversation, talking about the past is done very frequently. Whenever you meet a friend, you always tell each other what you have been doing recently. Friends are always interested in each other so they want to know how you have been spending your time in the past.
āĻĻā§āĻ¨āĻ¨ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¨ āĻāĻĨā§āĻĒāĻāĻĨāĻ¨ā§, āĻ āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤ āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻā§ āĻāĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž āĻā§āĻŦ āĻāĻ¨ āĻāĻ¨ āĻāĻ°āĻž āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧāĨ¤ āĻ¯āĻāĻ¨āĻ āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¨ āĻŦāĻ¨ā§āĻ§ā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§ āĻĻā§āĻāĻž āĻāĻ°ā§āĻ¨, āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ¸āĻŦāĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻā§ āĻ āĻĒāĻ°āĻā§ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻŦā§āĻ¨ āĻ¯ā§ āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻā§ āĻāĻ°āĻā§āĻ¨āĨ¤ āĻŦāĻ¨ā§āĻ§ā§āĻ°āĻž āĻ¸āĻŦāĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻā§ āĻ āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻāĻā§āĻ°āĻšā§ āĻ¤āĻžāĻ āĻ¤āĻžāĻ°āĻž āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ¤ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤ā§ āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻā§āĻāĻžāĻŦā§ āĻāĻžāĻāĻžāĻā§āĻā§āĻ¨āĨ¤
Today’s lesson is going to target past tense communication. This goes hand in hand with the last two lessons and changing a few words around can make a future or present tense sentence into a past tense sentence.
āĻāĻāĻā§āĻ° āĻĒāĻžāĻ āĻ āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤ āĻāĻžāĻ˛ā§āĻ° āĻ¯ā§āĻāĻžāĻ¯ā§āĻāĻā§ āĻ˛āĻā§āĻˇā§āĻ¯ āĻāĻ°āĻ¤ā§ āĻ¯āĻžāĻā§āĻā§āĨ¤ āĻāĻāĻŋ āĻļā§āĻˇ āĻĻā§āĻāĻŋ āĻĒāĻžāĻ ā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§ āĻšāĻžāĻ¤ āĻŽāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻ¯āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻŦāĻ āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻĒāĻžāĻļā§ āĻāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻāĻŋ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻ¨ āĻāĻ°āĻž āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻāĻŦāĻŋāĻˇā§āĻ¯āĻ¤ āĻŦāĻž āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ āĻāĻžāĻ˛ā§āĻ° āĻŦāĻžāĻā§āĻ¯āĻā§ āĻ āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤ āĻāĻžāĻ˛ā§āĻ° āĻŦāĻžāĻā§āĻ¯ā§ āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŖāĻ¤ āĻāĻ°āĻ¤ā§ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§āĨ¤
To begin, here are a couple of sentences that are common to say:
āĻļā§āĻ°ā§ āĻāĻ°āĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯, āĻāĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§ āĻāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻāĻŋ āĻŦāĻžāĻā§āĻ¯ āĻ°āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻā§ āĻ¯āĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ¤ā§ āĻ¸āĻžāĻ§āĻžāĻ°āĻŖ:
“I went to the airport yesterday.”
“āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻ¤āĻāĻžāĻ˛ āĻŦāĻŋāĻŽāĻžāĻ¨āĻŦāĻ¨ā§āĻĻāĻ°ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽāĨ¤”
“I met Bob last week.”
“āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻ¤ āĻ¸āĻĒā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻšā§ āĻŦāĻŦā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§ āĻĻā§āĻāĻž āĻāĻ°ā§āĻāĻŋāĨ¤”
“I was an hour late for my meeting.”
“āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻā§āĻˇāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻāĻ āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻāĻž āĻĻā§āĻ°āĻŋ āĻāĻ°ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽāĨ¤”
“I went to the bus stop, but I was 30 seconds late. A person on the street told me the bus just went by.”
“āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻžāĻ¸ āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻĒā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ, āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¤ā§ āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° 30 āĻ¸ā§āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻĄ āĻĻā§āĻ°āĻŋ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĨ¤ āĻ°āĻžāĻ¸ā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻ° āĻāĻāĻāĻ¨ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻā§ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻ¨ āĻ¯ā§ āĻŦāĻžāĻ¸āĻāĻŋ āĻāĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ° āĻĒāĻžāĻļ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻā§āĻā§āĨ¤”
“I completed that task this morning.”
“āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻ āĻ¸āĻāĻžāĻ˛ā§ āĻ¸ā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĒāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ āĻāĻ°ā§āĻāĻŋāĨ¤”
Speaking in the past requires past tense words. Let’s take a closer examination for the sentences above.
āĻ āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤ā§ āĻāĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻ āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤ āĻāĻžāĻ˛ā§āĻ° āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻ¨āĨ¤ āĻāĻ¸ā§āĻ¨ āĻāĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻŦāĻžāĻā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŋāĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻāĻ¨āĻŋāĻˇā§āĻ āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻā§āĻˇāĻž āĻ¨ā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĨ¤
Past Tense | Present Tense | Future Tense |
Went | Go | Going to go |
Met | Meet | Will meet |
Was | Am | Going to be |
Completed | Complete | Will complete |
As you can see by some of the examples in the chart, some words change when speaking in the past tense.
āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻŋāĻā§ āĻāĻĻāĻžāĻšāĻ°āĻŖ āĻĻā§āĻā§ āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¤ā§ āĻĒāĻžāĻā§āĻā§āĻ¨, āĻ
āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤ āĻāĻžāĻ˛ā§āĻ° āĻāĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻŋāĻā§ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧāĨ¤
Besides some words that change, many times a word with the letter ‘d’ or ‘ed’ at the end changes the word to past tense. Here are some examples:
āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻāĻŋāĻā§ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻāĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻžāĻ, āĻ āĻ¨ā§āĻ āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻļā§āĻˇā§ ‘d’ āĻŦāĻž ‘ed’ āĻ āĻā§āĻˇāĻ° āĻ¯ā§āĻā§āĻ¤ āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻāĻŋāĻā§ āĻ āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤ āĻāĻžāĻ˛ā§ āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻāĻ°ā§āĨ¤ āĻāĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻā§ āĻāĻĻāĻžāĻšāĻ°āĻŖāĻ:
“I was being polite so I opened the door for him.”
“āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ āĻ¤āĻžāĻ āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¤āĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻĻāĻ°āĻāĻž āĻā§āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽāĨ¤”
“I stapled the papers together to keep them organized.”
“āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¤āĻžāĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻāĻāĻ āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻ°āĻžāĻāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻāĻžāĻāĻāĻĒāĻ¤ā§āĻ° āĻāĻāĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§ āĻ¸ā§āĻā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻĒāĻ˛ āĻāĻ°ā§āĻāĻŋāĨ¤”
“The paper ripped on the bottom, so I taped them together.”
“āĻāĻžāĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻ¨ā§āĻā§ āĻāĻŋāĻāĻĄāĻŧā§ āĻā§āĻā§, āĻ¤āĻžāĻ āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¤āĻžāĻĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻāĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§ āĻā§āĻĒ āĻāĻ°ā§āĻāĻŋāĨ¤”
“I switched the presents around because I found out Jane doesn’t like red lipstick.”
“āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻĒāĻšāĻžāĻ°āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŋ āĻŦāĻĻāĻ˛ā§ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻŖ āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻ¤ā§ āĻĒā§āĻ°ā§āĻāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¨ ââāĻ˛āĻžāĻ˛ āĻ˛āĻŋāĻĒāĻ¸ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ āĻĒāĻāĻ¨ā§āĻĻ āĻāĻ°ā§ āĻ¨āĻžāĨ¤”
“I was very interested in the topic so I paid close attention.”
“āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇāĻ¯āĻŧāĻāĻŋāĻ¤ā§ āĻā§āĻŦ āĻāĻā§āĻ°āĻšā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ āĻ¤āĻžāĻ āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻā§āĻ° āĻŽāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ā§āĻ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽāĨ¤”
The tricky part is to know when to add a ‘d’ to the end of a word to make it past tense. There are exceptions that can cause confusion, for example,
āĻāĻ āĻŋāĻ¨ āĻ āĻāĻļ āĻšāĻ˛ āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻļā§āĻˇā§ ‘d’ āĻ¯ā§āĻ āĻāĻ°āĻ¤ā§ āĻāĻāĻ¨ āĻāĻāĻŋāĻā§ āĻ āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤ āĻāĻžāĻ˛ āĻāĻ°āĻ¤ā§ āĻšāĻŦā§ āĻ¤āĻž āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻžāĨ¤ āĻāĻŋāĻā§ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻ¤āĻŋāĻā§āĻ°āĻŽ āĻāĻā§ āĻ¯āĻž āĻŦāĻŋāĻā§āĻ°āĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ° āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻŖ āĻšāĻ¤ā§ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§, āĻāĻĻāĻžāĻšāĻ°āĻŖāĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻĒ,
“I rode my bike to school.” It would be incorrect to say, ‘I rided…’
“āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻāĻā§āĻ˛ āĻāĻžāĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻ¸ā§āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽāĨ¤” āĻāĻāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž āĻā§āĻ˛ āĻšāĻŦā§, ‘āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻĄāĻŧā§āĻāĻŋ…’
“I built the house from scratch.” Incorrect way is to say, ‘I builded…’
“āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¸ā§āĻā§āĻ°ā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ āĻĨā§āĻā§ āĻŦāĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻŋ āĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻŋ āĻāĻ°ā§āĻāĻŋāĨ¤” āĻā§āĻ˛ āĻāĻĒāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻšāĻ˛ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž, ‘āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻŋ āĻāĻ°ā§āĻāĻŋ…’
“I sat on the chair next to the emergency exit.” Incorrect way is to say, ‘sitted…’
“āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻ°ā§āĻ°ā§ āĻŦāĻšāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻāĻŽāĻ¨ā§āĻ° āĻĒāĻžāĻļā§āĻ° āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧāĻžāĻ°ā§ āĻŦāĻ¸āĻ˛āĻžāĻŽāĨ¤” āĻā§āĻ˛ āĻāĻĒāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻšāĻ˛ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž, ‘āĻŦāĻ¸āĻž…’
So remember to use past tense words correctly or the other person might not understand what you are saying.
āĻ¤āĻžāĻ āĻ āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤ āĻāĻžāĻ˛ā§āĻ° āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻā§āĻ˛āĻŋ āĻ¸āĻ āĻŋāĻāĻāĻžāĻŦā§ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ°āĻ¤ā§ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŦā§āĻ¨ āĻ¨āĻž āĻ āĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻāĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ¯āĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻā§āĻ¨ āĻ¤āĻž āĻŦā§āĻāĻ¤ā§ āĻ¨āĻžāĻ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§āĨ¤