When I was Young, Continued

When I was a teenager, I learned how to sing Irish and Scottish songs. I wrote about this last month. I did not learn from an online teacher. But I did buy many tapes and CDs of Irish and Scottish music. I also received some as gifts. I listened to the singers over and over again, and I sang with them. I also sang the songs by myself as often as possible. It wasn’t a very complicated method, was it?

new Past Structures

One thing you will notice is that I used a past tense form in my story that is new for you.

But I did buy many tapes and CDs of Irish and Scottish music.

The basic structure for this sentence is:

subject + past form of do + base verb + object

This structure is used to add emphasis and show contrast.

I didn’t learn from an online teacher. But I did buy many tapes and CDs of Irish and Scottish music.

Do you see the contrast?

I also used something in my story that is called a tag question. A tag question is used to confirm something that we are already thinking. There are several ways to structure a tag question in past simple tense.

subject + past verb + object + past be/do + not + subject repeated

subject + past do/past verb + not + main verb, (if did is used), + object + past be/do + subject repeated

It looks complicated, doesn’t it? Here is the example from my story, written 4 possible ways.

It wasn’t a very complicated method, was it?

It was a simple method, wasn’t it?

I didn’t use a very complicated method, did I?

I used a simple method, didn’t I?

The place where we put “not” makes a difference in meaning, but that will have to be the subject of another post/s.

Going Forward

Now you have read my first post about past simple structures, and you can talk about contrasting events, ask questions, and talk about your past. Unfortunately, there are other structures used in simple past tense, but you have read about the main ones in these posts.  I will begin to write about the ways past tense is used in English. This will help you to understand why tense is so important in English.

Your Turn

Now it’s your turn. To practice the structures in this post, write a comment and tell me the ways that you learned English or another skill when you were younger. Don’t forget to try and use a tag question.

Bonus for you

You have read about how I learned Irish and Scottish songs. Would you like to hear the result? Listen to the audio. Some of the song is not in English. I hope you enjoy it.

A Blessing Walk with you My Love