







In English we use the past simple tense to talk about finished actions in the past.
We use 'did' as an auxiliary verb in negatives and questions and we often use the past simple with past time phrases such as 5 minutes ago, yesterday, last week, in the 1980s, and when I was a child.
Notes for use of past simple :
In English, to change verbs to the past tense, we add '-ed' to regular verbs. For example;
work --> worked
live --> lived
walk --> walked
If the verb ends in 'e', we drop the 'e' before adding '-ed'. For example;
dance --> danced
smile --> smiled
phone --> phoned
If the verb ends in a vowel + consonant, we double the last consonant. For example;
stop --> stopped
tag --> tagged
plan --> planned
If the verb has more than one syllable, we double the consonant at the end only if the last syllable is stressed. For example;
prefer --> preferred
permit --> permitted
regret --> regretted
If the last syllable of the verb is not stressed, we do not double the last consonant. For example;
visit --> visited
happen --> happened
develop --> developed
In British English, verbs ending in 'l' double the 'l' before '-ed' whether the last syllable is stressed or not. For example;
travel --> travelled
cancel --> cancelled
If the verb ends in a 'y' or a 'w', we do not double it when we add '-ed'. For example;
stay --> stayed
play --> played
sew --> sewed
In English we do not double the consonant if the verb has two vowels before the last consonant. For example;
boil --> boiled
explain --> explained
In English we also do not double the consonant if the verb ends in two consonants. For example;
help --> helped
start --> started
However, irregular verbs change to completely different words in the past tense. For example;
go --> went
take --> took
know --> knew
The table below shows the different forms of past simple :
Example Verb : live | I / You / We / They / He / She / It |
| Positive | ... lived. |
| Negative | ... didn't live. |
Questions | Did ... live? |
| Short answers | Yes, ... did. / No, ... didn't. |
For the verb 'to be' we use 'was' and 'were'' in the past simple. No auxiliary verbs are used in negative sentences and questions.
Verb : Be | I / He / She / It | You / We / They |
| Positive | ... was ... | ... were ... |
| Negative | ... wasn't ... | ... weren't ... |
| Questions | Was ... ... ? | Were ... ...? |
| Short answers | Yes, ... was. / No, ... wasn't. | Yes, ... were. / No, ... weren't. |
Past Simple Example Sentences :
Positive Examples of Past Simple :
Negative Examples of Past Simple :
Question Examples of Past Simple :
| Past simple example sentences | |
|---|---|
| Oh, that's a relief, did you get rid of it? | Oh, eso es un alivio, ¿te deshiciste de ella? |
| We should've checked inside the oven before we turned it on. | Deberíamos haber mirado dentro del horno antes de encenderlo. |
| Then we found the wallet with nothing left in it. | Luego encontramos la cartera sin nada en ella. |
| I didn't have any time to go and check houses. | No tenía nada de tiempo para ir a ver casas. |
| We've been coming here since Pogo was a kitten. | Hemos estado viniendo aquí desde que Pogo era un gatito. |
| I got you a cappuccino. | Te traje un capuchino. |
| Did you get yourself a cappuccino, too? | ¿Tú también te trajiste un capuchino? |
| What happened to this one? | ¿Qué pasó con esta? |
| Hello, what happened? | Hola, ¿qué pasó? |
| I hope it wasn't an expensive wine! | ¡Espero que no fuera un vino caro! |
| Umm, she started staying with me recently. | Umm, empezó a quedarse conmigo recientemente. |
| No, I got myself a macchiato. | No, yo me traje un macchiato. |
| Umm, since we met I can count the days I didn't hear you snoring. | Umm, desde que nos conocemos puedo contar los días en que no te he escuchado roncar. |
| I went home and plugged my phone into the charger... | Regresé a mi casa y conecté mi teléfono al cargador... |
| I didn't say that, I was just reminding you of what you said before. | No dije eso, sólo te estoy recordando lo que habías dicho antes. |
| Later on, I realized it was too crowded and noisy for me. | Me di cuenta de que habían demasiadas multitudes y era muy ruidosa para mí. |
| My housemates once had a dog, too. | Mis compañeros de piso tuvieron un perro una vez también. |
| But you just did it, why did you kill the wasp, then? | Pero lo acabas de hacer, ¿por qué entonces mataste la avispa? |
| Then the wine bottle broke, etcetera... | Después se rompió la botella de vino, etcétera... |
| After I had waited a while, I decided to knock on her door... | Después de esperar un rato, decidí tocar a su puerta... |