Il past simple o simple past (in italiano passato semplice) è un tempo verbale della lingua inglese.
Si usa per descrivere un'azione, una situazione o un evento concluso in maniera definitiva e permanente, sia che essa sia avvenuta in un passato recente che distante.
Past simple del verbo essere Per il verbo to be ci sono due forme di past simple (was e were).
Forma affermativa La forma affermativa del verbo to be si forma con il soggetto seguito dal verbo al passato:
I was
You were
He/she/it was
We were
You were
They were
Forma negativa La forma negativa del verbo to be si forma con il verbo al passato seguito dalla negazione not:
I was not
You were not
He/she/it was not
We were not
You were not
They were not
Forma interrogativa La forma interrogativa del verbo to be si forma anteponendo il verbo al soggetto:
Was I?
Were you?
Was he/she/it?
Were we?
Were you?
Were they?
Risposte brevi Per le risposte brevi, in inglese non è sufficiente rispondere con un semplice "sì" o "no" come si fa in italiano. Bisogna aggiungere il verbo essere declinato correttamente:
Yes, I was - No, I wasn't
Yes, you were - No, you weren't
Yes, he/she/it was - No, he/she/it wasn't
Yes, we were - No, we weren't
Yes, you were - No, you weren't
Yes, they were - No, they weren't
Formazione dei verbi regolari Forma affermativa Per formare la forma affermativa del past simple dei verbi regolari, si aggiunge la desinenza -ed alla forma base del verbo (che si ottiene prendendo l'infinito del verbo e togliendo il to che vi è anteposto). Non varia in base alla persona. Prendendo, ad esempio, il verbo to work, si avrà quindi:
I worked
You worked
He/She/It worked
We worked
You worked
They worked
Variazioni ortografiche La regola base di formazione del past simple è che bisogna aggiungere la desinenza -ed alla forma base del verbo. Ci sono tuttavia delle variazioni ortografiche; quando la forma base del verbo termina in: -e → si aggiunge soltanto la "d" hope/hoped situate/situated change/changed die/died consonante preceduta da una sola vocale → si raddoppia la consonante e si aggiunge ed stop/stopped travel/travelled -y preceduta da una consonante → la "y" si toglie e si aggiunge ied study/studied marry/married
Forma negativa Per la forma negativa del past simple, bisognerà aggiungere il verbo to do (declinato al past simple) seguito da not dopo il soggetto e prima del verbo principale posto nella sua forma base.
I did not work - I didn't work
You did not work - You didn't work
He/She/It did not work - He/She/It didn't work
We did not work - We didn't work
You did not work - You didn't work
They did not work - They didn't work
Forma interrogativa La forma interrogativa del past simple si forma ponendo did all'inizio della frase, seguito dal soggetto e infine dal verbo nella sua forma base:
Did I work?
Did you work?
Did he/she/it work?
Did we work?
Did you work?
Did they work?
Risposte brevi Per formare le risposte brevi, in inglese bisognerà far seguire l'ausiliare did al "si" o al "no":
Yes, I did - No, I didn't
Yes, you did - No, you didn't
Yes, he/she/it did - No, he/she/it didn't
Yes, we did - No, we didn't
Yes, you did - No, you didn't
Yes, they did - No, they didn't
Formazione dei verbi irregolari In inglese esistono i verbi irregolari che, al past simple, hanno una forma separata e non deducibile dalla regola generale. to be → was to become → became to begin → began to blow → blew to bring → brought to build → built to burn → burned/burnt to buy → bought to can → could to catch → caught to come → came to cost → cost to do → did to draw → drew to dream → dreamed/dreamt to drink → drank to drive → drove to eat → ate to feel → felt to find → found to fly → flew to forget → forgot to get → got to give → gave to go → went to grow → grew to have → had to hear → heard to hide → hid to hit → hit to hold → held to hurt → hurt to keep → kept to know → knew to learn → learned/learnt to leave → left to lend → lent to let → let to lose → lost to make → made to mean → meant to meet → met to pay → paid to put → put to read → read to ride → rode to run → ran to say → said to see → saw to seek → sought to sell → sold to send → sent to set → set to shine → shone to show → showed to shut → shut to sing → sang to sit → sat to sleep → slept to smell → smelled/smelt to speak → spoke to spend → spent to steal → stole to sting → stung to strike → struck to swim → swam to take → took to teach → taught to tell → told to think → thought to understand → understood to wake → woke to wear → wore to win → won to wind → wound to write → wrote
Voci correlate Grammatica inglese Lingua inglese Tempi verbali inglesi
Collegamenti esterni Grammatica inglese: Grammatica inglese di base con esercizi interattivi Tavola dei verbi irregolari inglesi: Tavola dei verbi irregolari inglesi
Categoria:Tempi verbali inglesi