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 | |
---|---|
Oh yeah, I remember, you had some snails and you hated them. | Oh sim, eu me lembro, você pediu caracóis e comeu. |
You know we talked about bringing Pogo here one day. | Sabe, nós falamos de trazer o Pogo aqui um dia. |
How come? We just called this morning! | Como assim? Nós ligamos esta manhã! |
What happened? Did you break a bottle? | O que aconteceu? Você quebrou a garrafa? |
It seems you checked the production date. | Acho que você leu a data de produção. |
Then the wine bottle broke, etcetera... | Depois a garrafa de vinho quebrou etcetera... |
I hope I didn't make you wait long. | Espero que não tenha feito você esperar muito tempo. |
I left it on this chair! | Eu o deixei nesta cadeira! |
I don't know, did you check the expiry date? | Não sei, você conferiu o prazo de validade? |
But I lost all of my pictures and contacts on my phone. | Mas perdi todas as minhas fotos e contatos de meu celular. |
At one point, I thought you were interested in the house. | A certa altura, eu pensei que você estava interessada na casa. |
You didn't tell me what kind of muffin you wanted. | Você não me disse o tipo de queque que queria. |
Yes, that's me, hello, I think we talked on the phone before... | Sim, sou eu, olá, penso que falamos ao telefone antes... |
When I first came to England, I thought it was a holiday only for banks. | Quando vim para Inglaterra, eu pensei que era um feriado apenas para os bancos. |
Didn't you forget something, dear? | Você não esqueceu nada, querida? |
What made you change your mind? | O que fez você mudar de ideias? |
After a couple of minutes, I heard a scream from the kitchen... | Alguns minutos depois, eu ouvi um grito vindo da cozinha... |
I didn't say that, I was just reminding you of what you said before. | Eu não disse isso, estava apenas lembrando você de algo que você disse antes. |
Hmm, why weren't we here at the time?... | Hum, por que não estávamos aqui a essa hora?... |
After just a couple of minutes, it died. | Descarregou passados alguns minutos. |