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Level 1 Lesson 11: Simple Past

April 25, 2013 by Stephen Mayeux

2Pac is one of the greatest rappers of all time, and his music is recognized across the world. Most of 2Pac’s songs revolved around the struggles and violence in the inner city, racism and other social problems that he encountered during his life. In “Life Goes On” he reflects on and pays respect to his friends who lost their lives to the tough streets. Some of his friends were shot and killed, and others will spend the rest of their lives in jail. 2Pac reminds us, however, that no matter how bad and rough life is, it always continues and goes on.

How many brothers fell victim to the streets?
Rest in peace young nigga. There’s a Heaven for a ‘G’
Be a lie if I told you that I never thought of death
My niggas, we the last ones left
But life goes on!

-2Pac

 Irregular Verbs in the Hook

Use the simple past for actions that started and finished in the past.

Regular verbs in English simply add ed, d or ied to the endings.

  • play – played
  • like – liked
  • study – studied

Irregular verbs do not have a consistent ending. You must memorize the new forms because the past forms are irregular. In the hook, there are 3 irregular verbs in the simple past tense.

  • fall – fell
  • tell – told
  • think – thought

There are other irregular verbs in the verses, too. Listen to “Life Goes On” and pay attention to these verbs:

  • get – got
  • blow – blew
  • give – gave
  • choose – chose

Making Questions in the Simple Past

Did + subject + base verb (no ed/d/ied ending)

  • Did 2Pac live in California? Yes, he did.
  • Did 2Pac like Biggie Smalls? No, he didn’t.
  • Did 2Pac sing “All Eyez on Me”? Yes, he did.

How many/Who/What/When/Where/Why/How + Did + subject + base verb

  • Where did 2Pac live? He lived in California.
  • Where did 2Pac pass away? He died in Las Vegas, Nevada.

If the question word (who/what) is the subject of the answer, then do not use did.

Who/what/How many ____ + past verb

  • How many brothers fell victim to the street? Many brothers fell victim to the street.
  • Who killed Tupac? A gang killed Tupac.

How do you deal with difficult situations? If you have problems or anxiety, what do you do? Has a close friend ever died? How do you have a normal life after friends and family pass away? What helps you? Please write your comments below.

Filed Under: Grammar, Level 1, Students Tagged With: 2Pac, death, grammar, irregular verbs, past, simple past, Tupac, verbs, west coast

About The Founder

Stephen Mayeux is the founder of ESLhiphop.com. He used to be an English Teacher, but now he lives in Austin, TX and works as a software developer.

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