







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 just got here mate, about 5 minutes ago. | 방금 왔다구 친구, 한 5분 전에. |
| I'm his friend from London, as he mentioned! | 얘기한 것처럼, 런던에서 온 "친구"니까요! |
| Hey, I just got an idea where to put the bed! | 나 침대 어디로 둘지 생각 났어! |
| I didn't say that, I was just reminding you of what you said before. | 그런 말은 안 했지, 그냥 네가 전에 무슨 말을 했는지 되짚어 주는 거야. |
| What happened to this one? | 이 사람은 또 뭐가 문제래? |
| I remember watching it when I was a little kid. | 꼬꼬마였을 적에 봤던 기억이 나네. |
| After just a couple of minutes, it died. | 한 몇 분 있더니 폰이 죽었어. |
| But you just did it, why did you kill the wasp, then? | 방금 죽이고 왔잖아, 그럼 말벌은 왜 죽인 거야? |
| No, don't worry, nothing happened to him. | 아뇨, 걱정 마요, 포고는 괜찮으니까. |
| Didn't they call you when you didn't show up at 11:00? | 11시에 안 가니까 전화 안 왔어? |
| Basically everything, it was like a haunted hippie house. | 그냥 다 이상했어, 무슨 히피족들이 사는 폐가 같았어. |
| That was so easy, I can't believe it worked! | 완전 쉬웠어, 성공하다니 믿기질 않네! |
| That's right, how did we forget that? | 맞네. 어떻게 그걸 까먹었지? |
| It was my mistake accepting the job to work with them. | 같이 일을 하겠다고 한 내 잘못이지. |
| Anyway, I called the girl again, and of course, she didn't answer. | 아무튼 그래서 다시 전화를 했는데, 역시나 이번에도 전화를 안 받잖아. |
| You got it right, cleaning in general! | 잘 맞혔어, 치우는 건 전반적으로 다 싫어! |
| We should've checked inside the oven before we turned it on. | 오븐을 켜기 전에 안을 들여다볼 걸 그랬어. |
| Because you didn't remind me! | 네가 얘기를 안 해주길래! |
| I only went to the kitchen and no one was there. | 부엌에만 갔는데 아무도 없던걸. |
| You, too, I hope you found the house easily. | 저도요. 집은 찾아오기 어렵지 않으셨길 바라요. |