







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 | |
|---|---|
| I see... at least you weren't far from home. | 그렇군... 그래도 집에서 멀리 나오진 않았으니 다행이다. |
| Were you drunk or sober? | 너 술은 마셨어, 안 마셨어? |
| What brought you to London? | 너는 왜 런던에 있어? |
| When I first came to England, I thought it was a holiday only for banks. | 영국에 처음 왔을 때, 뱅크 홀리데이라길래 은행만 쉬는 날인 줄 알았죠. |
| Yeah, everything is fine, I just came here to... | 아뇨, 문제는 없고요, 무슨 일인가 하면... |
| To tell you I came here earlier than we agreed! | 말한 거보다 일찍 왔다고 얘기해 주려고! |
| Dude, I heard you shagging till late last night. | 자식아, 어젯밤 늦게까지 쿵덕쿵덕거리는 소리 다 들었어. |
| I went there, too, but they didn't have it, either. | 거기도 갔는데, 거기에도 없더라. |
| Did you have much money in your purse? | 지갑에 돈이 많이 있었어요? |
| The first appointment was at 07:30 in the morning! | 첫 약속이 아침 7시 반에 잡혔다고! |
| I'm almost at Brighton! Why didn't you inform me earlier? | 나 브라이튼 거의 다 왔다고! 왜 미리 말해주지 않은 거야? |
| I guess you didn't mention that on the ad. | 광고에 그 말은 안하셨던 거 같은데요. |
| Did you just meet him tonight? | 오늘밤 이제 막 만난 거야? |
| Anyway, I woke up at 07:00 and went to see the first one. | 아무튼, 7시에 일어나서 첫 집을 보러 갔지. |
| I just woke up half an hour ago. | 한 30분쯤 전에 일어났는데. |
| I know, I also didn't expect it to be your favourite movie. | 알아, 네가 제일 좋아하는 영화일 줄은 몰랐는데. |
| Didn't they call you when you didn't show up at 11:00? | 11시에 안 가니까 전화 안 왔어? |
| Yeah, it was a good trick, who did you learn it from? | 맞아, 좋은 수였지, 누가 가르쳐주셨나 몰라? |
| What happened? Did you break a bottle? | 무슨 일이야? 병 깼어? |
| When did you last visit your parents? | 마지막으로 부모님을 방문한 게 언제야? |