







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 | |
|---|---|
| I'm his friend from London, as he mentioned! | Sou uma amiga dele de Londres, como ele disse! |
| Welcome, tonight we reserved one of our best tables for you! | Bem-vindos, hoje reservamos uma das melhores mesas para vocês! |
| We met at the vet a couple of weeks ago. | Nós nos conhecemos no veterinário há algumas semanas. |
| Today Rebecca called me about... | Hoje a Rebecca me chamou para... |
| Then, apparently I fell asleep... And slept for a couple of hours! | Depois, aparentemente, adormeci... E dormi algumas horas! |
| No, I couldn't, I went to Sainsbury's, they didn't have it. | Não, não consegui, fui ao Sainsbury's e não havia. |
| I hope the other appointments weren't very far apart from each other. | Espero que as outras marcações não tenham sido muito afastadas umas das outras. |
| I remember watching it when I was a little kid. | Me lembro de o ver quando era criança. |
| Wow! Did you just agree to get a new house? | Uau! Você acabou de aceitar arranjar uma casa nova? |
| Yeah, everything is fine, I just came here to... | Sim, está tudo bom, eu apenas vim aqui para... |
| I sent you the link... | Eu enviei o link para você... |
| What happened? Did you break a bottle? | O que aconteceu? Você quebrou a garrafa? |
| Meanwhile I was feeling very tired and wanted to lie down for a while. | Entretanto, eu estava me sentindo muito cansada e deitei-me por um momento. |
| While I finished doing things here by myself! | Enquanto eu acabava de fazer as coisas sozinha! |
| Anyway, did you have any problems with that girl before? | De qualquer modo, você já teve problemas com aquela garota antes? |
| I was going to today, it just happened last night! | Eu ia falar hoje, aconteceu ontem à noite! |
| We've been coming here since Pogo was a kitten. | Nós vimos cá desde que Pogo era um gatinho bebê. |
| She was yelling at me like how dirty we were... | Ela estava me gritando, dizendo que sujávamos tudo... |
| After hearing that, she decided to leave suddenly. | Depois de ouvir isso ela decidiu sair subitamente. |
| So I snore everyday... Why didn't you tell me that before? | Então eu ronco todos os dias... Por que você não me disse isso mais cedo? |