







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 used the same logic as you... | ...لقد إستخدمت نفس المنطق الذي إستخدمتيه |
| Oh sorry, I didn't ask you what you wanted. | .اوه أسفة، لم أسألك عن النوع الذى تريده |
| Nope, my shoes and trousers just got a little bit wet. | .لا، فقط حذائى و بنطالى أصبحوا مبللين قليلاً |
| Where did you get that idea from!? | من أين أتيتِ بهذه الفكرة!؟ |
| After hearing that, she decided to leave suddenly. | .بعدما سمعت ذلك قررت ان تغادر فوراً |
| Why didn't you remind me while I was on the phone, then! | !لماذا لم تذكرني بينما كنت على الهاتف، إذًا |
| Because it's in my bag, I didn't hear it. | .لأنه في حقيبتي، لم أسمعه |
| I went home and plugged my phone into the charger... | ...ذهبت إلى المنزل ووضعت هاتفي على الشاحن |
| Anyway, did you have any problems with that girl before? | على أي حال، هل كان لديك أي مشاكل مع تلك الفتاة من قبل؟ |
| Why didn't you tell me that before? | لماذا لم تخبريني من قبل؟ |
| Nope, I'm okay, I just had something before I came. | .لا, انا بخير, لقد أكلت شيئاً قبل ان أتى |
| Exactly... So I gave up and decided to sit at a cafe and have a coffee. | .بالضبط...لذا فقد استسلمت وقررت أن أجلس في مقهى واحتسي القهوة |
| 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 |
| Do you remember what number it was? | هل تتذكري ماكان رقم البيت؟ |
| What happened? Did you break a bottle? | ماذا حدث؟ هل كسرتى الزجاجة؟ |
| Did the chips remind you of her? | هل تذكرك الرقائق بها؟ |
| Hey, I just got an idea where to put the bed! | !مهلا، لقد جائتني فكرة في مكان لنضع به السرير |
| Sorry dear, I didn't mean to annoy you at all. | .أسفة عزيزي، لم أقصد أن أضايقك على الإطلاق |
| I thought your laptop was worth a cigarette! | !كنت أعتقد ان اللاب توب الخاص بك يستحق سيجارة |
| She was yelling at me like how dirty we were... | ...لقد كانت تصيح في وجهي وكيف اننا قذرين |