







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 | |
|---|---|
| You didn't tell me what? | Was hast du mir noch nicht gesagt? |
| An old lady came out and shouted at me very angrily! | Eine alte Frau kam heraus und hat mich sehr wütend angebrüllt! |
| She was yelling at me like how dirty we were... | Sie hat mich angeschrien wie schmutzig wir seien... |
| I hope I didn't make you wait long. | Ich hoffe ich habe dich nicht lange warten lassen. |
| That's the point... It wasn't the right door! | Darum geht es ja... Es war nicht die richtige Tür! |
| And we just bumped into each other tonight. | Und wir sind uns heute Abend zufällig über den Weg gelaufen. |
| I thought your laptop was worth a cigarette! | Ich dachte, dein Laptop sei dir eine Zigarette wert! |
| Then my phone rang and I went to the garden to talk. | Dann hat mein Telefon geklingelt und ich bin in den Garten zum Sprechen gegangen. |
| After I had waited a while, I decided to knock on her door... | Ich entschied mich an ihre Tür zu klopfen, nachdem ich eine Zeit lang gewartet hatte... |
| Basically everything, it was like a haunted hippie house. | Im Grunde alles, es war wie ein Hippie-Spukhaus. |
| What kind of coffee did you get me? | Welche Art von Kaffee hast du mir gekauft? |
| I checked the train schedule on the internet. | Ich habe den Zugfahrplan im Internet überprüft. |
| After just a couple of minutes, it died. | Nach nur wenigen Minuten war der Akku leer. |
| While I was trying to catch the rice, I accidentally knocked over a bottle. | Als ich versucht habe den Reis zu fangen, habe ich ausversehen die Flasche berührt. |
| Then when I got there, I called her again, but she didn't answer! | Als ich dort war habe ich sie nochmal angerufen, aber sie ist nicht rangegangen! |
| Then, apparently I fell asleep... And slept for a couple of hours! | Dann bin ich scheinbar eingeschlafen... Und habe ein paar Stunden lang geschlafen! |
| Why didn't you tell me that before? | Warum hast du mir das nicht vorher gesagt? |
| I didn't say monthly! I meant paying 100 more each daily... | Ich sagte nicht monatlich! Ich meinte wenn jeder 100 mehr pro Tag bezahlt... |
| I can see why the f*cking toilet got clogged now! | Jetzt verstehe ich warum die verdammte Toilette verstopft ist! |
| At least you didn't waste your whole day off for nothing! | Zumindest hast du nicht den ganzen Tag unnötig vergeudet! |