Simple Past
The simple past describes completed actions in the past.
Formation: Regular Verbs
Affirmative
Add -ed to the base verb:
| Subject | Verb |
|---|---|
| I / You / He / She / It / We / They | worked |
Spelling rules:
Most verbs: add -ed
- work → worked
- play → played
- clean → cleaned
Verbs ending in -e: add -d
- live → lived
- like → liked
- dance → danced
Verbs ending in consonant + y: change y to -ied
- study → studied
- try → tried
- carry → carried
Short verbs (CVC): double consonant + -ed
- stop → stopped
- plan → planned
- drop → dropped
Negative
did not (didn’t) + base verb
- I didn’t work yesterday.
- She didn’t go to school.
- They didn’t see the movie.
Questions
Did + subject + base verb?
- Did you work yesterday?
- Did she go to school?
- What did they see?
Formation: Irregular Verbs
Many common verbs have irregular past forms:
Common Irregular Verbs
| Base | Past | Base | Past |
|---|---|---|---|
| be | was/were | have | had |
| go | went | do | did |
| see | saw | say | said |
| come | came | get | got |
| make | made | take | took |
| know | knew | think | thought |
| give | gave | find | found |
| tell | told | feel | felt |
| become | became | leave | left |
| put | put | read | read |
| run | ran | write | wrote |
| eat | ate | drink | drank |
| begin | began | bring | brought |
| buy | bought | catch | caught |
| choose | chose | cost | cost |
| cut | cut | drive | drove |
| fall | fell | fly | flew |
| forget | forgot | grow | grew |
| hear | heard | hit | hit |
| hold | held | keep | kept |
| lose | lost | meet | met |
| pay | paid | send | sent |
| sit | sat | sleep | slept |
| speak | spoke | spend | spent |
| stand | stood | swim | swam |
| teach | taught | throw | threw |
| understand | understood | win | won |
The Verb “Be”
| Subject | Past of Be |
|---|---|
| I / He / She / It | was |
| You / We / They | were |
Negative: was not (wasn’t), were not (weren’t) Question: Was I…? Were you…?
When to Use Simple Past
1. Completed Actions (specific time)
- I visited Paris last year.
- She called me yesterday.
- They moved here in 2020.
Time expressions: yesterday, last week/month/year, ago, in 2020, when…
2. Sequences of Actions
- I woke up, had breakfast, and left for work.
- She opened the door, walked in, and sat down.
3. Past Habits (no longer true)
- When I was young, I played football every day.
- She worked in a bank for 10 years. (not anymore)
- We lived in a small village.
4. Past States
- He was very tired.
- She had long hair when she was young.
- They knew each other well.
Simple Past vs. Present Perfect
| Simple Past | Present Perfect |
|---|---|
| Specific time in past | Unspecified time |
| Finished time period | Unfinished time period |
| No connection to now | Connection to now |
Examples:
-
I saw him yesterday. (specific time)
-
I have seen him. (sometime, unspecified)
-
I lived in Paris for 5 years. (not anymore)
-
I have lived in Paris for 5 years. (still living)
-
I didn’t eat breakfast today. (my day is over, I’m in bed)
-
I haven’t eaten breakfast today. (my day continues)
Questions with “Be” vs. Other Verbs
With “be”: invert subject and verb
- Was she at home?
- Were they happy?
With other verbs: use “did”
- Did she go home?
- Did they enjoy it?
Practice
Complete with the simple past:
-
“Yesterday, I ___ (go) to the cinema.” → Yesterday, I went to the cinema.
-
“She ___ (not/see) the email.” → She didn’t see the email.
-
”___ you ___ (enjoy) the party?” → Did you enjoy the party?
-
“When I was a child, I ___ (be) afraid of dogs.” → When I was a child, I was afraid of dogs.