







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 | |
|---|---|
| So I got one chocolate and one blueberry one. | Así que traje una de chocolate y una de arándanos. |
| Oh, okay, did she say why they needed to cancel it? | Oh, vale, ¿dijo por qué tenían que cancelarla? |
| Hey, I just got an idea where to put the bed! | Hey, ¡se me acaba de ocurrir dónde poner la cama! |
| Yes they do, they looked after him last time. | Sí lo hacen, cuidaron de él la última vez. |
| Exactly, I think they understood it at first sight! | Exactamente, ¡creo que lo entendieron a primera vista! |
| That's interesting, did you also teach them how to cook? | Es interesante, ¿también los enseñabas a cocinar? |
| Yes, I managed to see the last one... But I didn't like it! | Sí, alcancé a ver la última... ¡Pero no me gustó! |
| Did something happen to Pogo? | ¿Algo le pasó a Pogo? |
| Because you didn't remind me! | ¡Porque no me lo recordaste! |
| What's the joke? I didn't get it. | ¿Cuál es el chiste? No lo entiendo. |
| That's the point... It wasn't the right door! | Ese es el punto... ¡No era la puerta correcta! |
| I don't even want to remember it, but, since you asked... | Ni siquiera quiero recordarlo, pero ya que preguntaste... |
| Hm, you didn't tell me that before! | Hmm, ¡no me lo habías dicho antes! |
| It was a total disaster! | ¡Fue un desastre total! |
| Hmm, why weren't we here at the time?... | Hmm, ¿por qué no estábamos aquí a esa hora? |
| To be honest, I didn't really understand what happened! | Para ser sincero, ¡no entiendo muy bien qué pasó! |
| That was so easy, I can't believe it worked! | ¡Eso fue muy fácil, no puedo creer que funcionó! |
| I hadn't realised you could remember things so fast before! | ¡No me había dado cuenta de que podías recordar las cosas tan rápido antes! |
| After a couple of minutes, I heard a scream from the kitchen... | Después de un par de minutos, escuché un grito en la cocina... |
| Oh, what did she say? | Oh, ¿qué ha dicho? |