







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 | |
|---|---|
| For no reason? How did she go mental? | بدون أي سبب؟ كيف جن جنونها؟ |
| He had an X-ray... | .لقد قام بعمل أشعة سينية |
| Then she started to talk about how she was allergic to cats, etcetera. | .بعد ذلك بدأت بالحديث حول ان لديها حساسية تجاه القطط، وهكذا |
| We met at the vet a couple of weeks ago. | .لقد تقابلنا عند البيطرية منذ أسبوعين |
| Oh sorry, I didn't know that. | .اوه، أسفة لم أكن أعلم ذلك |
| Sorry, Julianne, I didn't know you were still here. | .متأسف، جوليان، لم أعلم بأنكِ مازلتي هنا |
| Erm... yes, we kind of did... we broke up! | !امم.... نعم، نوعاً ما.. لقد انفصلنا |
| Why didn't you remind me while I was on the phone, then! | !لماذا لم تذكرني بينما كنت على الهاتف، إذًا |
| I don't know, did you check the expiry date? | لا اعلم، هل تفقدتِ تاريخ الصلاحية؟ |
| But then I realized my battery was about to die. | .لكن بعدها أدركت أن بطاريتي قد أوشكت على النفاذ |
| I didn't want you to come out for a smoke, actually. | .فى الحقيقة انا لم أريد منك ان تخرج لنقوم بالتدخين |
| Is that how long your relationship with Jen was, also? | هل هذه كانت المدة التى كنت فى علاقة مع جين ايضاً؟ |
| I didn't say monthly! I meant paying 100 more each daily... | .....لم أقل شهريًا! كنت أعني ندفع 100 إضافية كل يوم |
| What brought you to London? | ما الذى أحضركِ الى لندن؟ |
| It wasn't long ago. | .لم يكن منذ وقت بعيد |
| Did you put a question mark at the end? | هل وضعتي علامة إستفهام في النهاية؟ |
| I didn't ask when, I asked why! | !انا لما اسأل متى، لقد سألت لماذا |
| Apparently you f*cked up, then what happened? | من الواضح أنكِ أخفقتي، ماذا حدث بعد ذلك؟ |
| I knew it was too good to be true! | !لقد علمت أن المنزل أروع من أن يصدق |
| Yeah, normally... But I'm too sick to go to work so I took the day off. | .أجل، في الطبيعي...لكن أنا مريضة للغاية لكي أذهب إلى العمل لذلك أخذت اليوم عطلة |