Explanation
Use the past simple to tell events in the order they happened. Each main action is in a past form, so the listener knows the story is finished.
For example, "I got home, changed my clothes, and made dinner." In this sentence, "got," "changed," and "made" are all past simple verbs. They show three actions in one short story, and the order tells us what happened first, next, and last. Japanese often uses one sentence with "〜て" forms, but English usually shows the sequence with past verbs and words like "then" or "after that."
過去の出来事を順番に話すときは、過去形を使います。それぞれの動作を過去形にすることで、話が終わった出来事だと分かります。
例えば、"I got home, changed my clothes, and made dinner." では、"got"、"changed"、"made" がすべて過去形です。この1文で3つの行動を順番に述べていて、最初、次、最後が自然に伝わります。日本語では「帰って、着替えて、夕食を作った」のように「〜て」でつなぎますが、英語では過去形の動詞と "then" や "after that" のような言葉で順番を示すことが多いです。
Examples
- I woke up, had breakfast, and left the house. 私は起きて、朝ごはんを食べて、家を出ました。
- She opened the window, sat down, and started reading. 彼女は窓を開けて、座って、読み始めました。
- We met at the station, walked to the cafe, and talked for an hour. 私たちは駅で会って、カフェまで歩いて、1時間話しました。
- Did you call your mom after you got home? 家に帰ったあとで、お母さんに電話しましたか。
- I did not see him yesterday, so I sent a message instead. 昨日は彼に会わなかったので、代わりにメッセージを送りました。
- First I checked my email, then I answered the phone, and finally I went back to work. 最初にメールを確認して、それから電話に出て、最後に仕事に戻りました。
Common Mistakes
Japanese learners often keep the present tense in a past story, because Japanese can link actions with "〜て."
Wrong: "I get home, changed my clothes, and made dinner."
Right: "I got home, changed my clothes, and made dinner."
In a past sequence, keep each main verb in the past simple.
日本語では「〜て」で順番をつなげるので、英語でも最初の動詞だけ現在形のままにしてしまうことがあります。
誤り: "I get home, changed my clothes, and made dinner."
正しくは: "I got home, changed my clothes, and made dinner."
過去の流れを話すときは、主な動詞を全部過去形にそろえます。