Simple Past

Verbi regolari

Ortografia

Fonetica

Verbi irregolari

Forme interrogative

Forme negative

Be and have

Uso e funzioni

Traduzione

Verbi regolari

Il Past Simple dei verbi regolari si forma aggiungendo –ed all’infinito

senza il to.

La forma del Past Simple è la stessa per tutte le persone: (I loved, you loved, he

loved)

To enjoy + ed

I enjoy +ed the film (da enjoy) (Il film mi è piaciuto)

You enjoy+ed (il film ti è piaciuto)

He / she enjoy+ed (il film gli/le è piaciuto)

We enjoy+ed (il film ci è piaciuto)

You enjoy+ed (il film vi è piaciuto)

They enjoy+ed (il film vi è piaciuto)

Con i verbi terminanti in –e si aggiunge solo –d.

To love

I love+d the music (da love) (La musica mi è piaciuta molto)

Ortografia 1) I verbi in –y preceduta da consonante cambiano la –y in –i, e aggiungono-

ed:

to try tried

to cry cried

to carry carried

Se la –y fosse preceduta da vocale si aggiunge direttamente -ed:

to play played

2) I verbi monosillabici che terminano con una sola consonante preceduta da una

sola vocale raddoppiano la consonante finale:

to fit fit+t+ed (andar bene, adattare)

to stop stop+p+ed

to clean cleaned

3)I verbi bisillabici (o polisillabici) che terminano con una sola consonante preceduta

da una sola vocale raddoppiano la consonante finale solo nel caso in cui si tratti di

parole ossitone (in cui l’accento cade nell’ultima sillaba): (except w or y):

to regret to re.Igret regretted (rammaricarsi di)

to refer to re.Ifer referred (riferire)

to prefer to pre.Ifer preferred (preferire)

to permit to per.Imit permitted (permettere)

Nei seguenti casi non vi è raddoppiamento:

to offer to Iof.fer offered (offrire)

to repeat to re. Ipeat repeated (ripetere)

to remember re.Ime.mber remembered (ricordare)

to fashion Ifa.shion fashioned (modellare)

to allow to al.Ilow allowed (permettere, concedere)

4)I verbi che terminano con una -l preceduta da vocale raddoppiano la –l

finale, a prescindere dall’accento:

to travel to Itra.vel travelled

to cancel to Ican.cel cancelled

Nel caso seguente non c’è alcun raddoppiamento della –l:

to boil boiled

o In British English, -l is doubled in the Past Simple even if the vowel is not

stressed: travel travelled

Fonetica

Il suffisso –ed del Simple Past può essere pronunciato in tre

diversi modi:

[d]

[t]

[id]

A) [d] dopo foni vocalici e dopo consonanti sonore (eccetto [d]):

[ð] (then); [b] (blue); [v] (valid); [z] (rose); [g] (give); [m] (moon); [n] (nine);

[ʒ] (massage); [ ] (George), [l] (lamp);

to use used;

to try tried;

to fail failed;

to judge judged;

to phone phoned;

to move moved;

to cycle cycled

to massage massaged

B) [t] dopo i verbi che terminano con una consonante sorda (eccetto[t]):

[θ] (think); [p] (play); [f] (laugh); [s] (sun), [k] (cage); [∫] (shame), [t∫]

(China);

to stop stopped,

to pass passed,

to laugh laughed;

to watch watched;

to kick kicked;

to wash washed;

C) [id] dopo I verbi che terminano con [d] (dance)e [t] (time):

end ended;

start started;

want wanted;

land landed;

defend defended; ecc.

Verbi irregolari

Eat ate (Past simple) eaten (participio passato)

Drink drank (Past simple) drunk (participio passato)

Wake woke (Past simple) woken (participio passato)

Read [Ri:d] read [Red] (Past simple) read [Red] (participio passato)

Forma affermativa del Simple Past SOGGETTO + VERBO all’INFINITO + –ed

I opened the door (da to open)

(Ho aperto la porta)

I enjoyed the film (da to enjoy)

(Il film mi è piaciuto)

I loved the music (da to love)

(La musica mi è piaciuta molto)

Forme interrogative

Le forme interrogative yes/no si formano con:

l’ausiliare DID + SOGGETTO + INFINITO senza il to:

Domande totali (yes/no)

Did I enjoy?

Did you enjoy?

Did she enjoy?

Did we enjoy?

Did you enjoy?

Did they enjoy?

Did you enjoy the film? Yes, I did/ No, I didn’t (I did not).

NOT: Enjoyed you the film?

NOT: Did you enjoyed the film?

(Ti/vi è piaciuto il film?)

Did you drink all the milk? Yes, I did/No, I didn’t.

NOT: Drank you all the milk?

NOT: Did you drank all the milk?

(hai/avete bevuto tutto il latte?)

Did you open the door? Yes, I did/no, I didn’t.

NOT: Opened you the door?

NOT: Did you opened the door? (Hai aperto la porta?)

Domande specifiche (wh-)

Wh- + DID + SOGGETTO + INFINITO senza il to

Why did I open the door?

Why did you open the door?

Why did she/he open the door?

Why did we open the door?

Why did you open the door?

Why did they open the door?

What did you do yesterday? I went to the cinema. (

(Che cosa hai/avete fatto?) (Sono andato al cinema)

Why did she leave? Because she was in a hurry.

(Perché è partita/se ne è andata?)

Non viene impiegato l’ausiliare interrogativo did quando Who/what/,

ecc. fungono da soggetto della frase:

Who played the piano last night? John Carin played the piano last night.

NOT: Who did he play the piano last night?

(Chi ha suonato il pianoforte la scorsa notte?)

What happened yesterday? An accident happened yesterday.

NOT: What did it happen yesterday?

Esercizio:

1) Who (to invite) last night?

2) Who (to invite) last night ?

(S)Who invited you last night? (S)Jessica invited me last night.

(C)Who did you invite last night? (S)I invited (C)Jessica last night

Forma negativa

Le forme negative si formano con:

SOGGETTO + DID + NOT + INFINITO senza il to.

I did not open the door. (non ho aperto la porta)

You did not open the door.

She /he did not open the door.

We did not open the door.

You did not open the door.

They did not open the door.

Nel parlato spontaneo, non sorvegliato e nei testi informali did not si

contrae in didn’t:

The coat didn’t fit me. NOT: The coat fitted not me. NOT: The coat did not

fitted me. (Il cappotto non mi andava bene)

Carol didn’t eat very much. NOT: Carol ate not very much. NOT: Carol did

not ate very much.

(Carol non ha mangiato molto)

I didn’t open the door. NOT: I opened not the door. NOT: I didn’t opened the

door.

IL Past simple del verbo be (essere)

Il verbo be (essere) è irregolare. Il paradigma è: be (infinito)

was/were (Past Simple) been (participio passato).

Le voci del Past Simple sono:

Forma affermativa:

SOGGETTO + WAS /WERE

I was

You were

/he/she/it was

We were

You were

they were

o It was very cold last night.(C’era molto freddo la scorsa notte)

o The shop was closed. (Il negozio era chiuso)

o Carol and Jane were at school yesterday. (Carol e Jane ieri

erano a scuola)

Forma negativa:

SOGGETTO + WAS/WERE+ NOT

I was not (wasn’t) NOT: I did not was, you did not were, ecc.

You were not (weren’t)

/he/she/it was not (wasn’t)

we were not (weren’t)

You were not (weren’t)

they were not (weren’t)

o It was not (wasn’t) very cold last night.(Non c’era

freddo la scorsa notte)

o The shop was not (wasn’t) closed. (Il negozio non era

chiuso)

o Carol and Jane were not at school yesterday. (Carol e Jane ieri

non erano a scuola)

Forma interrogative (yes/no):

Inversione VERBO SOGGETTO

Was I?

Were you?

Was he/she/it?

Were we/

Were you

Were they?

Were you at school yesterday? Yes, I was, /no, I wasn’t (Eri a scuola

ieri?. Sì, C’ero/ no, non c’ero).

Was she at the cinema last night? (Lei era al cinema ieri?)

Forma interrogative wh-:

WH+ INVERSIONE VERBO SOGGETTO

Where was I yesterday afternoon?

Where were you yesterday afternoon? (Dov’eri ieri sera?)

Where was she/he…?(dov’era ieri sera?

Where were we…? (dov’eravamo ieri sera?

Where were you…? (dov’eravate ieri sera?

Where were they…? (dov’erano ieri sera?

Why was the cinema closed? (Perché era chiuso il cinema?)

What time were they at home last night? (A che ora erano a

casa la scorsa notte?

NOT: Where did you were you yesterday afternoon?

, NOT:Why did was the cinema closed?, ecc.

IL Past simple del verbo to have (avere)

Il verbo to have è irregolare. Il paradigma è have (infinito) had

(Past Simple) had (participio passato). In genere si usa got nel

Past Simple.

Forma affermativa

Soggetto + had I had a car when she was a student. (avevo una macchina)

You had…

He/she/it had…

We had…

You had…

They had…

Forma interrogative (yes/no)

DID + SOGGETTO + HAVE

Did I have?

Did you have?

Did he/she/it have?

Did we have?

Did you have?

Did they have?

Did you have breakfast this morning? (Hai fatto colazione questa mattina?)

Did you have a computer when you were at school? (Avevi il computer

quando eri a scuola?

NOT: Did you had breakfast this morning?

Forma interrogative (wh-)

o Wh- DID + SOGGETTO + HAVE

What did I have for breakfast?

What did you have…?

What did he/she/it have?

What did we have?

What did you have?

What did they have?

NOT: What did you had breakfast this morning?

What time did you have dinner last night? (A che ora hai cenato la scorsa

notte?)

What time did you have breakfast this morning? (A che ora hai fatto colazione

stamane?)

Forma negativa

SOGGETTO + DID + NOT + HAVE

Did you write the report yesterday? (Hai scritto la relazione ieri)

No, I did not (Ididn’t) have time. (No, non ho avuto tempo)

No, you did not (you didn’t)have time.

No, she did not (she didn’t) have time.

No, we did not (we didn’t) have time.

No, you did not (you didn’t) have time.

No, they did not (they didn’t) have time.

Il Past Simple: finished periods of time

1) Il Past Simple descrive azioni, situazioni, o stati determinati

nel passato e completamente conclusi. In linea di massima

indica un’azione A) sempre collocata in un momento

anteriore rispetto al momento presente; B) priva di legami

obiettivi con il tempo presente.

Generalmente viene impiegato con gli avverbiali di tempo

definito (es. yesterday, last weekend, three years ago, in

1970, ecc.).

o I saw Lucy yesterday.

o Tom was ill last week.

o She died three years ago.

o I saw you last when we were on holiday.

o I met Lucy in 1972.

In alcuni casi il tempo concluso è sottinteso in maniera implicita:

o Shakespeare wrote over 30 plays. (i.e. During his life. We know that he’s dead).

In altri casi ancora “the finished period of time” non è solamente implicito, ma

è interamente soggettivo:

o I saw Harry in the office today.

Questo esempio sembra contravvenire alla regola del “periodo di tempo

concluso”, poiché today, e dunque la giornata di oggi, non si è ancora conclusa.

Ciononostante, il parlante interpreta la giornata di oggi (today) come conclusa

(ad es. in riferimento esclusivo alla propria giornata lavorativa).

A) Si traduce molto spesso con il passato prossimo italiano.

I enjoyed the film we saw last night.

(Mi è piaciuto il film che abbiamo visto la scorsa notte)

We listened to some new CDs yesterday afternoon.

(Abbiamo ascoltato dei CD nuovi ieri pomeriggio)

B) Il Past Simple descrive anche situazioni abituali nel passato. In tal

caso si traduce con l’imperfetto.

Every day we got up early and went to the beach.

(Ogni giorno ci alzavamo presto e andavamo in spiaggia)

Antonio Piga