







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 snore everyday... Why didn't you tell me that before? | じゃあ毎日いびきをかいてるのね… どうしてもっと前に教えてくれなかったの? |
| I'm sorry, why did you call that much? | ごめんなさい。どうしてそんなにかけたの? |
| Do you remember what number it was? | 何番だったか覚えてる? |
| You drank too many beers last night! | あなた昨晩、沢山ビール飲み過ぎてたわ! |
| He had an X-ray... | レントゲンを撮ったの。 |
| We met at the vet a couple of weeks ago. | 数週間前に、獣医さんのところで出会ったの。 |
| It was there when you went to the bar. | あなたがバーに行った時はそこにあったんだけど。 |
| Didn't you hear what she said? | 彼女の言うこと、聞いてなかったの? |
| Did you manage to find it? | 何とか見つかったかい? |
| Look at that, it splashed water all over me! | ちょっと見て、水が私の全身に飛び散ったわ! |
| What happened? Who was that? | 何が起きたの?誰だったの? |
| I'm still shocked... I can't believe what I just heard! | ほんとにショックだわ… さっき聞いたことが信じられないの! |
| Why didn't you tell me that before? | なんでもっと前に話してくれなかったの? |
| After a couple of minutes, I heard a scream from the kitchen... | 数分後、キッチンから叫び声が聞こえたんだ… |
| When did you get here? I didn't see you. | いつ来たの、見なかったけど。 |
| Bye Toby, it was nice talking to you! | さよなら、トビー、お話できて良かったわ! |
| Oh my god, I'm sorry dear, I got what you meant just now... | あ、ごめんなさい、あなた。たった今あなたが言ってたことがわかったわ… |
| Yes, while I was looking at the wine, the rice fell... | えぇ、ワインを見てる間に、お米が落ちて... |
| Then she started to talk about how she was allergic to cats, etcetera. | そのあと猫アレルギーのこととか他の件を話しはじめてさ。 |
| I can see why the f*cking toilet got clogged now! | じゃあ今トイレが詰まってるのは、そのせいか! |