







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 | |
|---|---|
| Pinocchio didn't know he wasn't a real boy in the beginning, either. | Pinocchio ne savait pas qu'il n'était pas un vrai garçon non plus. |
| It doesn't mean I didn't spend any time finding a house. | Ça ne veut pas dire que j'ai pas passé de temps pour trouver une maison. |
| And now you've woken me up just when I was about to sleep! | Et là vous me faites lever alors que j'allais m'endormir! |
| I'm still shocked... I can't believe what I just heard! | Je suis choquée... Je n'arrive pas à croire ce que je viens d'entendre! |
| When did you last visit your parents? | Quand est-tu allée voir tes parents pour la dernière fois? |
| No, it seems I'd forgotten to charge it before I left. | Non, on dirait que j'ai oublié de le charger avant de partir. |
| It seems you checked the production date. | Il semble que vous ayez regardé la date de production. |
| That's brilliant, did you manage to see any houses today in the end? | C'est génial, tu as réussi à visiter d'autres maison finalement? |
| Oh yeah, I remember, you had some snails and you hated them. | Oh oui, je me souviens, tu avais pris quelques escargots et tu les avais détestés. |
| Except Pinocchio knew he wasn't a real boy from the beginning. | Sauf que Pinocchio savait qu'il n'était pas un vrai garçon depuis le début. |
| Is that how long your relationship with Jen was, also? | C'était la durée ta relation avec Jen également? |
| Did you manage to find it? | Tu as réussi à le trouver? |
| That was a strange conversation... What did they say? | C'était une conversation bizarre... Qu'ont-ils dit? |
| Yes, I did, did you? | Oui, et toi? |
| Don't lie, I saw you googling it just now. | Ne mens pas, je t'ai vu entrain de chercher sur ton portable à l'instant. |
| I didn't want to wake you up, so I went to the kitchen. | Je ne voulais pas te réveiller, alors je suis allé dans la cuisine. |
| Yeah, I know that, I got this place because I was in a hurry. | Ouais, je sais. Je me suis installé ici parce que j'étais pressé. |
| Do you remember what number it was? | Tu te souviens du numéro? |
| You nearly gave me a heart attack! | J'ai failli avoir une attaque du coeur ! |
| I thought you turned it on when you went home. | Je croyais que tu l'avais allumé en rentrant. |