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 | |
---|---|
It was a total disaster! | 那简直是一场灾难! |
What happened? Did you break a bottle? | 发生什么事了?你打碎瓶子了? |
I just woke up half an hour ago. | 我半个小时前刚刚睡醒。 |
Didn't you hear what she said? | 难道你没听到她说什么吗? |
Hey, I just got an idea where to put the bed! | 嗨,我刚想到了把床放到哪里的主意! |
Nope, those are the days when I slept alone... | 不是,在我单独谁的那几天你不打... |
I'm not sure, I started using it when I moved into this house. | 我不知道,我从搬到这里就开始使用它。 |
My housemates once had a dog, too. | 我的室友之前也养了一只狗。 |
I came here to visit her, then she went back and I stayed here. | 我当初来这里是为了看望她,后来她回去了,我呆在了这里。 |
Hmm, why weren't we here at the time?... | 嗯,为啥那时候我们不在?... |
Plus you drank half of my bottle of wine! | 而且你还喝了我的半瓶葡萄酒! |
I didn't have any time to go and check houses. | 我没有任何时间去看其他房子。 |
We are going to follow the original plan, how it was before. | 我们就根据之前的初始计划行动吧。 |
No, I didn't even know her name, until today. | 没有,我甚至不知道她的名字,直到今天。 |
Oh yeah, I remember, you had some snails and you hated them. | 哦是的,我记得,你吃了一些蜗牛,而且你很讨厌蜗牛。 |
Of course, we all grew up together. | 当然,我们都是一起长大的。 |
But you just did it, why did you kill the wasp, then? | 但是你刚才就做了,那么你为什么把黄蜂杀了? |
I'm almost at Brighton! Why didn't you inform me earlier? | 我就快到布莱顿了!你为什么不早点通知我? |
Didn't I just say the same thing? | 我刚才说的不是一回事吗? |
I took a picture and printed it out at school! | 我拍了一张照片,然后在学校里打印出来了! |