







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 | |
|---|---|
| Hmm, I guess it was about 5 or 6 months ago. | Hum, creio que foi há 5 ou 6 meses. |
| Did you put a question mark at the end? | Você colocou um ponto de interrogação no final? |
| Wow! Did you just agree to get a new house? | Uau! Você acabou de aceitar arranjar uma casa nova? |
| Oh, by the way, one of my best friends from Australia called me... | Oh, a propósito, uma das minhas melhores amigas da Austrália me ligou... |
| At least you didn't waste your whole day off for nothing! | Pelo menos, você não tirou o dia para nada! |
| What happened? Did you break a bottle? | O que aconteceu? Você quebrou a garrafa? |
| Actually, I was going to ask you something at the pub, but Diego interrupted me. | Na verdade, eu ia perguntar uma coisa a você no bar, mas Diego me interrompeu. |
| Basically, we were both in the kitchen last night... | Basicamente, estávamos os dois na cozinha a noite passada... |
| Why did you wake up so early? | Por que acordou tão cedo? |
| Hey, I just got an idea where to put the bed! | Ei, acabei de ter uma ideia de onde colocar a cama! |
| How did we switch from Mayfair to the suburbs that fast? | Como passamos de Mayfair para os subúrbios assim tão rápido? |
| Except Pinocchio knew he wasn't a real boy from the beginning. | Tirando o fato de o Pinóquio saber que não é um garoto verdadeiro desde o início. |
| Oh, okay, did she say why they needed to cancel it? | Oh, certo, ela disse por que tinham de a cancelar? |
| No, I couldn't, I went to Sainsbury's, they didn't have it. | Não, não consegui, fui ao Sainsbury's e não havia. |
| When did you get here? I didn't see you. | Quando você veio, eu não vi você. |
| And... Your cat? I didn't know you had a cat! | E... Seu gato? Eu não sabia que você tinha um gato! |
| Don't lie, I saw you googling it just now. | Não minta, eu vi você a pesquisar no Google agora mesmo. |
| I sent you the link... | Eu enviei o link para você... |
| 5 minutes before I arrived, I called her, but she didn't answer. | 5 minutos antes de chegar, liguei para ela, mas ela não atendeu. |
| To be honest, I didn't really understand what happened! | Para ser honesto, na verdade, eu não percebi o que aconteceu! |