Past and Future Tenses
This page covers the Past Simple tense and two forms of expressing future actions: Will and Going to.
Past Simple
The Past Simple is used to talk about events that happened in the past.
Structure:
- Affirmative: Subject + verb −ed/2ndcolumnforirregularverbs
- Negative: Subject + didn't + base verb
- Interrogative: Did + Subject + base verb + ?
Example: Yesterday we went to the countryside.
Highlight: The Past Simple often uses time expressions like 'yesterday', 'last week', or 'two days ago' to indicate when the action occurred.
Future Expressions
Will
Will is used for spontaneous decisions and predictions.
Structure:
- Affirmative: Subject + will + base verb
- Negative: Subject + won't + base verb
- Interrogative: Will + Subject + base verb + ?
Example: I don't like this meal, I won't eat it.
Going to
Going to is used for plans or intentions.
Structure:
- Affirmative: Subject + am/is/are going to + base verb
- Negative: Subject + am/is/are not going to + base verb
- Interrogative: Am/Is/Are + Subject + going to + base verb + ?
Example: We are going to travel to NY next weekend.
Highlight: The choice between 'will' and 'going to' often depends on how certain or planned the future action is.