







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 | |
|---|---|
| Do you remember what number it was? | 몇 번지였는지 기억해? |
| How come? We just called this morning! | 그럴 리가요? 오늘 아침에 전화드렸는걸요! |
| Actually, I was going to ask you something at the pub, but Diego interrupted me. | 실은, 술집에서 뭘 물어보려고 했는데, 디에고가 끼어들어서. |
| Except Pinocchio knew he wasn't a real boy from the beginning. | 물론 피노키오는 처음부터 자기가 진짜 아이가 아니라는 걸 알았지만. |
| I went there, too, but they didn't have it, either. | 거기도 갔는데, 거기에도 없더라. |
| Nope, there was no evidence of fire anywhere... | 아니, 불 난 흔적은 아무 데도 없었어... |
| No, don't worry, nothing happened to him. | 아뇨, 걱정 마요, 포고는 괜찮으니까. |
| Yes they do, they looked after him last time. | 있기야 하지, 전에도 봐줬으니까. |
| Oh, what did she say? | 아, 뭐랬길래? |
| But I really wanted to go there tonight. | 그치만 오늘 밤 꼭 거길 가고 싶었는데. |
| It totally slipped my mind! | 완전히 까먹었어! |
| When did you last visit your parents? | 마지막으로 부모님을 방문한 게 언제야? |
| I think we should move the desk back where it was before. | 책상은 원래 있던 쪽으로 다시 옮겨야 할 거 같아. |
| What was wrong with the last house? | 마지막 집은 뭐가 문제였는데? |
| Yeah, it was a good trick, who did you learn it from? | 맞아, 좋은 수였지, 누가 가르쳐주셨나 몰라? |
| Didn't I just say the same thing? | 내가 말이 헛나왔나? |
| Hm, you didn't tell me that before! | 엥, 미리 안 말해 줬잖아! |
| Yes, I moved from Brighton about a month ago. | 네, 브라이튼에서 한달 쯤 전에 이사왔어요. |
| It's a nice area, I considered living there once, too... | 좋은 동네지, 나도 거기 살까 하는 생각을 한 적 있는데... |
| What brought you to London? | 너는 왜 런던에 있어? |