







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 | |
|---|---|
| Basically everything, it was like a haunted hippie house. | 그냥 다 이상했어, 무슨 히피족들이 사는 폐가 같았어. |
| Diego was living in this house and there was a vacancy. | 디에고가 이 집에 살고 있었는데 방이 비길래. |
| It was there when you went to the bar. | 네가 바 쪽으로 갈 때까지는 거기 있던데. |
| Oh, do you know what we forgot? | 앗, 우리 뭘 깜빡했게? |
| Yeah, everything is fine, I just came here to... | 아뇨, 문제는 없고요, 무슨 일인가 하면... |
| Because we were at the cinema, dear... | 왜냐면 영화관에 가 있었으니까... |
| I hope it wasn't an expensive wine! | 비싼 와인이 아니면 좋을텐데! |
| But then I realized my battery was about to die. | 근데 배터리가 거의 다 된 거야. |
| Erm, okay guys, let me explain what happened... | 으음, 알겠어요 두분, 무슨 일이 있었는지 설명을 할게요... |
| I left it on this chair! | 이 의자 위에 뒀는데! |
| We've been coming here since Pogo was a kitten. | 포고가 아기 고양이였을 적부터 데리고 왔거든. |
| Anyway, I called the girl again, and of course, she didn't answer. | 아무튼 그래서 다시 전화를 했는데, 역시나 이번에도 전화를 안 받잖아. |
| But I really wanted to go there tonight. | 그치만 오늘 밤 꼭 거길 가고 싶었는데. |
| Umm, since we met I can count the days I didn't hear you snoring. | 으음, 우리가 만난 이래로 네 코골이를 안 들었던 날은 손에 꼽을 거 같아. |
| Yeah, I know that, I got this place because I was in a hurry. | 응, 알아. 급하게 구하던 거라서 여기로 얻었어. |
| It wasn't long ago. | 오래 되진 않았어. |
| We also tried to find a house for you a couple of weeks ago. | 그리고 몇 주 전에 너희 집을 구하려고 같이 알아보기도 했고. |
| Bye Toby, it was nice talking to you! | 잘 있어요 토비, 만나서 반가웠어요! |
| That was so easy, I can't believe it worked! | 완전 쉬웠어, 성공하다니 믿기질 않네! |
| Very funny, I think you just killed some time there. | 대단히 재밌으시네요. 너 그냥 시간 죽이다 온 거지. |