







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 | |
|---|---|
| Hm, you didn't tell me that before! | ふん、それ事前に言ってくれなかったじゃないか! |
| I used the same logic as you... | きみと同じように考えたんだよ… |
| Hmm, I guess it was about 5 or 6 months ago. | んー、あれはたしか約5~6ヵ月前だったと思うわ。 |
| Of course I didn't, they had already started playing it before I got there! | そんなわけないだろ。僕が着いた時にはもう、追いかけて遊んでたんだよ! |
| We were just about to talk about leaving the house. | お家を出ようって話をはじめたところだったじゃない。 |
| I hope I didn't make you wait long. | あまり待たせてなければいいけど。 |
| Didn't they call you when you didn't show up at 11:00? | 11 時にいなかったんだから、君に電話をかけてくれなかったの? |
| Actually, I didn't even know you had a cat! | ほんとは、君が猫を飼ってる事さえも知らなかったんだけどな! |
| I didn't know your cat was here. | 君の猫がここにいたなんて知らなかったぜ。 |
| I just got here mate, about 5 minutes ago. | 5分ほど前にここに来たんだ。 |
| I'm not sure, I started using it when I moved into this house. | 分からないな、僕がこの家に引っ越して来た時にそれを使い始めたから。 |
| That's funny... What did you forget to ask? | 面白いわね… 何か尋ね忘れてるんじゃない? |
| Nope, I'm okay, I just had something before I came. | いや、大丈夫、来る前に食べてきたから。 |
| Basically, we were both in the kitchen last night... | まず、昨晩は僕たち二人ともキッチンにいたんだけど… |
| Good morning my friend, did I wake you up? | おはようマイク。起こしちゃったかな? |
| What happened to this one? | その物件に何かあったの? |
| I hope I didn't make you wait long. | あなたをそんなに長く待たせてないといいけど。 |
| To where? You just came, you didn't even finish your beer. | どこにだ?今来たばかりじゃないか、それにお前はまだビールさえも飲み終えてない。 |
| Hello, I booked a table for two in the name of Cate for 20:30. | こんばんは。20:30 にケイトという名前で二人掛けのテーブルを予約しました。 |
| She was yelling at me like how dirty we were... | あなたたちは不潔すぎるって僕に怒鳴ってきたし… |