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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§ˆāĻ¨āĻ¨ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¨ āĻ•āĻĨā§‹āĻĒāĻ•āĻĨāĻ¨ā§‡, āĻ…āĻ¤ā§€āĻ¤ āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ•ā§‡ āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž āĻ–ā§āĻŦ āĻ˜āĻ¨ āĻ˜āĻ¨ āĻ•āĻ°āĻž āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧāĨ¤ āĻ¯āĻ–āĻ¨āĻ‡ āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ•ā§‹āĻ¨ āĻŦāĻ¨ā§āĻ§ā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§‡ āĻĻā§‡āĻ–āĻž āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ¨, āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ¸āĻŦāĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻ•ā§‡ āĻ…āĻĒāĻ°āĻ•ā§‡ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻŦā§‡āĻ¨ āĻ¯ā§‡ āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻ•ā§€ āĻ•āĻ°āĻ›ā§‡āĻ¨āĨ¤ āĻŦāĻ¨ā§āĻ§ā§āĻ°āĻž āĻ¸āĻŦāĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻ•ā§‡ āĻ…āĻĒāĻ°ā§‡āĻ° āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻ†āĻ—ā§āĻ°āĻšā§€ āĻ¤āĻžāĻ‡ āĻ¤āĻžāĻ°āĻž āĻœāĻžāĻ¨āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻšāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ…āĻ¤ā§€āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻ•ā§€āĻ­āĻžāĻŦā§‡ āĻ•āĻžāĻŸāĻžāĻšā§āĻ›ā§‡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.

āĻ†āĻœāĻ•ā§‡āĻ° āĻĒāĻžāĻ  āĻ…āĻ¤ā§€āĻ¤ āĻ•āĻžāĻ˛ā§‡āĻ° āĻ¯ā§‹āĻ—āĻžāĻ¯ā§‹āĻ—āĻ•ā§‡ āĻ˛āĻ•ā§āĻˇā§āĻ¯ āĻ•āĻ°āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ¯āĻžāĻšā§āĻ›ā§‡āĨ¤ āĻāĻŸāĻŋ āĻļā§‡āĻˇ āĻĻā§āĻŸāĻŋ āĻĒāĻžāĻ ā§‡āĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§‡ āĻšāĻžāĻ¤ āĻŽāĻŋāĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡ āĻ¯āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ āĻšāĻžāĻ°āĻĒāĻžāĻļā§‡ āĻ•āĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻ¨ āĻ•āĻ°āĻž āĻāĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻ­āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇā§āĻ¯āĻ¤ āĻŦāĻž āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ āĻ•āĻžāĻ˛ā§‡āĻ° āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āĻ¯āĻ•ā§‡ āĻ…āĻ¤ā§€āĻ¤ āĻ•āĻžāĻ˛ā§‡āĻ° āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āĻ¯ā§‡ āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŖāĻ¤ āĻ•āĻ°āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§‡āĨ¤

To begin, here are a couple of sentences that are common to say:

āĻļā§āĻ°ā§ āĻ•āĻ°āĻžāĻ° āĻœāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯, āĻāĻ–āĻžāĻ¨ā§‡ āĻ•āĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āĻ¯ āĻ°āĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ›ā§‡ āĻ¯āĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ¸āĻžāĻ§āĻžāĻ°āĻŖ:

“I went to the airport yesterday.”

“āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ—āĻ¤āĻ•āĻžāĻ˛ āĻŦāĻŋāĻŽāĻžāĻ¨āĻŦāĻ¨ā§āĻĻāĻ°ā§‡ āĻ—āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽāĨ¤”

“I met Bob last week.”

“āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ—āĻ¤ āĻ¸āĻĒā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻšā§‡ āĻŦāĻŦā§‡āĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§‡ āĻĻā§‡āĻ–āĻž āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĨ¤”

“I was an hour late for my meeting.”

“āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ†āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻ•ā§āĻˇāĻžāĻ¤ā§‡āĻ° āĻœāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻāĻ• āĻ˜āĻ¨ā§āĻŸāĻž āĻĻā§‡āĻ°āĻŋ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛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.”

“āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻžāĻ¸ āĻ¸ā§āĻŸāĻĒā§‡ āĻ—āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ, āĻ•āĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¤ā§ āĻ†āĻŽāĻžāĻ° 30 āĻ¸ā§‡āĻ•ā§‡āĻ¨ā§āĻĄ āĻĻā§‡āĻ°āĻŋ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛āĨ¤ āĻ°āĻžāĻ¸ā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ•āĻœāĻ¨ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻ•ā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻ†āĻŽāĻžāĻ•ā§‡ āĻŦāĻ˛ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛ā§‡āĻ¨ āĻ¯ā§‡ āĻŦāĻžāĻ¸āĻŸāĻŋ āĻāĻ‡āĻŽāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ° āĻĒāĻžāĻļ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡ āĻ—ā§‡āĻ›ā§‡āĨ¤”

“I completed that task this morning.”

“āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ†āĻœ āĻ¸āĻ•āĻžāĻ˛ā§‡ āĻ¸ā§‡āĻ‡ āĻ•āĻžāĻœāĻŸāĻŋ āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĒāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĨ¤”

Speaking in the past requires past tense words. Let’s take a closer examination for the sentences above.

āĻ…āĻ¤ā§€āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻžāĻ° āĻœāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻ…āĻ¤ā§€āĻ¤ āĻ•āĻžāĻ˛ā§‡āĻ° āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ¯āĻŧā§‹āĻœāĻ¨āĨ¤ āĻ†āĻ¸ā§āĻ¨ āĻ‰āĻĒāĻ°ā§‡āĻ° āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āĻ¯āĻ—ā§āĻ˛āĻŋāĻ° āĻœāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻāĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻ˜āĻ¨āĻŋāĻˇā§āĻ  āĻĒāĻ°ā§€āĻ•ā§āĻˇāĻž āĻ¨ā§‡āĻ“āĻ¯āĻŧāĻž āĻ¯āĻžāĻ•āĨ¤

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.
āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻšāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻŸā§‡āĻ° āĻ•āĻŋāĻ›ā§ āĻ‰āĻĻāĻžāĻšāĻ°āĻŖ āĻĻā§‡āĻ–ā§‡ āĻĻā§‡āĻ–āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻĒāĻžāĻšā§āĻ›ā§‡āĻ¨, āĻ…āĻ¤ā§€āĻ¤ āĻ•āĻžāĻ˛ā§‡āĻ° āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻ•āĻŋāĻ›ā§ 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¤ āĻ•āĻŋāĻ›ā§ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻ›āĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻžāĻ“, āĻ…āĻ¨ā§‡āĻ• āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻļā§‡āĻˇā§‡ ‘d’ āĻŦāĻž ‘ed’ āĻ…āĻ•ā§āĻˇāĻ° āĻ¯ā§āĻ•ā§āĻ¤ āĻāĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŸāĻŋāĻ•ā§‡ āĻ…āĻ¤ā§€āĻ¤ āĻ•āĻžāĻ˛ā§‡ āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĨ¤ āĻāĻ–āĻžāĻ¨ā§‡ āĻ•āĻŋāĻ›ā§ āĻ‰āĻĻāĻžāĻšāĻ°āĻŖāĻƒ:

“I was being polite so I opened the door for him.”

“āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ­āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ āĻ¤āĻžāĻ‡ āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¤āĻžāĻ° āĻœāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻĻāĻ°āĻœāĻž āĻ–ā§āĻ˛ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽāĨ¤”

“I stapled the papers together to keep them organized.”

“āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¤āĻžāĻĻā§‡āĻ° āĻ¸āĻ‚āĻ—āĻ āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻ°āĻžāĻ–āĻžāĻ° āĻœāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻ•āĻžāĻ—āĻœāĻĒāĻ¤ā§āĻ° āĻāĻ•āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§‡ āĻ¸ā§āĻŸā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻĒāĻ˛ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĨ¤”

“The paper ripped on the bottom, so I taped them together.”

“āĻ•āĻžāĻ—āĻœāĻŸāĻŋ āĻ¨ā§€āĻšā§‡ āĻ›āĻŋāĻāĻĄāĻŧā§‡ āĻ—ā§‡āĻ›ā§‡, āĻ¤āĻžāĻ‡ āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¤āĻžāĻĻā§‡āĻ° āĻāĻ•āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§‡ āĻŸā§‡āĻĒ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĨ¤”

“I switched the presents around because I found out Jane doesn’t like red lipstick.”

“āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ‰āĻĒāĻšāĻžāĻ°āĻ—ā§āĻ˛āĻŋ āĻŦāĻĻāĻ˛ā§‡ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ›āĻŋ āĻ•āĻžāĻ°āĻŖ āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻœāĻžāĻ¨āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻĒā§‡āĻ°ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋ āĻœā§‡āĻ¨ ​​āĻ˛āĻžāĻ˛ āĻ˛āĻŋāĻĒāĻ¸ā§āĻŸāĻŋāĻ• āĻĒāĻ›āĻ¨ā§āĻĻ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡ āĻ¨āĻžāĨ¤”

“I was very interested in the topic so I paid close attention.”

“āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇāĻ¯āĻŧāĻŸāĻŋāĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ–ā§āĻŦ āĻ†āĻ—ā§āĻ°āĻšā§€ āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ āĻ¤āĻžāĻ‡ āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ—āĻ­ā§€āĻ° āĻŽāĻ¨ā§‹āĻ¯ā§‹āĻ— āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛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,

āĻ•āĻ āĻŋāĻ¨ āĻ…āĻ‚āĻļ āĻšāĻ˛ āĻāĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻā§‡āĻ° āĻļā§‡āĻˇā§‡ ‘d’ āĻ¯ā§‹āĻ— āĻ•āĻ°āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ•āĻ–āĻ¨ āĻāĻŸāĻŋāĻ•ā§‡ āĻ…āĻ¤ā§€āĻ¤ āĻ•āĻžāĻ˛ āĻ•āĻ°āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻšāĻŦā§‡ āĻ¤āĻž āĻœāĻžāĻ¨āĻžāĨ¤ āĻ•āĻŋāĻ›ā§ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ•ā§āĻ°āĻŽ āĻ†āĻ›ā§‡ āĻ¯āĻž āĻŦāĻŋāĻ­ā§āĻ°āĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ° āĻ•āĻžāĻ°āĻŖ āĻšāĻ¤ā§‡ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§‡, āĻ‰āĻĻāĻžāĻšāĻ°āĻŖāĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°ā§‚āĻĒ,

“I rode my bike to school.” It would be incorrect to say, ‘I rided…’

“āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ†āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻ‡āĻ•ā§‡āĻ˛ āĻšāĻžāĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡ āĻ¸ā§āĻ•ā§āĻ˛ā§‡ āĻ—āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽāĨ¤” āĻāĻŸāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž āĻ­ā§āĻ˛ āĻšāĻŦā§‡, ‘āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻšāĻĄāĻŧā§‡āĻ›āĻŋ…’

“I built the house from scratch.” Incorrect way is to say, ‘I builded…’

“āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¸ā§āĻ•ā§āĻ°ā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻš āĻĨā§‡āĻ•ā§‡ āĻŦāĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻŋ āĻ¤ā§ˆāĻ°āĻŋ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĨ¤” āĻ­ā§āĻ˛ āĻ‰āĻĒāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻšāĻ˛ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž, ‘āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¤ā§ˆāĻ°āĻŋ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋ…’

“I sat on the chair next to the emergency exit.” Incorrect way is to say, ‘sitted…’

“āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻœāĻ°ā§āĻ°ā§€ āĻŦāĻšāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻ—āĻŽāĻ¨ā§‡āĻ° āĻĒāĻžāĻļā§‡āĻ° āĻšā§‡āĻ¯āĻŧāĻžāĻ°ā§‡ āĻŦāĻ¸āĻ˛āĻžāĻŽāĨ¤” āĻ­ā§āĻ˛ āĻ‰āĻĒāĻžāĻ¯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¤ āĻ•āĻžāĻ˛ā§‡āĻ° āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻ—ā§āĻ˛āĻŋ āĻ¸āĻ āĻŋāĻ•āĻ­āĻžāĻŦā§‡ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšāĻžāĻ° āĻ•āĻ°āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ­ā§āĻ˛āĻŦā§‡āĻ¨ āĻ¨āĻž āĻ…āĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻ•ā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ¯āĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ›ā§‡āĻ¨ āĻ¤āĻž āĻŦā§āĻāĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ¨āĻžāĻ“ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§‡āĨ¤